Jomashop is currently offering the limited edition and discontinued G-Shock GMW-B5000TCF-2 in new condition for $549.99 (with international shipping available). It states that this is 63% off, but the original price was $1,700 and not $1,500, so it’s actually more like 68% off. Jomashop is not an authorized Casio G-Shock dealer, but it does have […]
G-Central G-Shock Watch Fan Blog
The Rider Jumping Hour
While the name Gerald Genta is synonymous with 1970s sports luxe – your Royals Oak and Nautili – the man was more than a one-trick pony, even if that pony completely upended the watch world. The legendary designer had plenty of feathers in his horological cap that weren’t industrially luxurious, things like his famous Jumping Hours. On the one hand, with that kind of fame comes a price tag to match; on the other, we now have British brand Isotope.
So, how do those two things line up? Well, when in 2015 collector Jose Miranda couldn’t afford the shiny new Gerald Genta Jumping Hours, he did what every sane person does and decided to build his own. It’s a story we’ve heard before from the microbrand sphere – in fact, frustration at mainstream pricing seems to be the single biggest impetus for independent brand launches. But this was now a decade ago, back when ‘microbrand’ wasn’t the ubiquitous term it is today. It was also early enough in the lifespan of microbrands that just drop-shipping some Chinese-made, off-the-shelf watches wasn’t an option, at least not when it came to something as off-kilter as a Jumping Hours. That meant only one thing: a lot of hard graft. The result? The Rider Jumping Hour.
Goutte d’Eau
The Rider was self-evidently inspired by the Streamline Moderne movement, a beautifully rounded piece reminiscent of Pallweber with a distinctively modern dial and six o’clock jumping hour. Most strikingly, the Rider also included the ‘Lacrima’ shape, a teardrop on the dial that has since become an Isotope signature. The run of 99 pieces sold out in no time. Next came the Goutte d’Eau, another modern reimagining of a classic horological archetype, this time the compression diver. It had much the same style as the Rider, complete with the ‘Lacrima’ front and centre, but with a diver-centric sandwich dial and inner rotating bezel. It was one of the more original diving watches of its era, enough that when a new edition comes out in 2025, it’ll barely need changing.
The Hydrium, however, was the watch that really put Isotope on the British watch map. Sure, it was a professional grade diver, but it was one that leaned heavily on the fun factor, with colour combinations that your average Submariner homage wouldn’t dare touch. They had a distinctly British flavour, doubly true of the green exit sign-inspired HydriumX, the first flurry of what would quickly become an avalanche of sold-out limited editions.
Most brands having finally broken through into the ‘no-longer-micro’ brand arena, would take some time, take a breath and consolidate. Release a few more editions of your more popular models, carefully test what works and what doesn’t and don’t upset the boat. Not so Isotope.
Murcury
Last year welcomed what I reckon is their coolest watch yet, the Mercury. Partly, that was to do with the incredible, mirrored steel collaborative edition Isotope produced with Revolution, a monochromatic beauty of shimmering curves. But also because it marked a new approach for Isotope, a more serious one. There were no flamboyant colours, no charming chunkiness, no Lacrima. Instead, the Mercury has been a platform for highlighting serious artisanal techniques – albeit still in Isotope’s accessible price range.
Mercury Marquetry
Marquetry, for example, is generally regarded as one of the most demanding feats of artisanry around, a micro-mosaic of tiny organic elements. And so, the Mercury Marquetry made with tiny pieces of straw, came into existence. And soon to join it are the likes of vitreous enamel, in the UK normally the purview of anOrdain alone, and Cloisonné enamel, creating pictures from gold wire filled with enamel. In fact you can check out the latter right now as it’s one of Isotope’s British Watchmakers’ Day special editions. Isotope have been known to drop some cool stuff without fanfare. At the very least, vitreous enamel sounds like something we here at Oracle can get on board with. Watch this space.
Compax Moonshot
‘But’, I hear you say, ‘I want something sportier, something less tied to all this fancy metiers d’art!’ Well, at the same time as the Mercury, Isotope also launched the Compax Moonshot chronograph, which genuinely innovates with its borderline insane case construction, allowing the time to be read easier than ever before. While the Moonshot is aesthetically a world apart from the Mercury – around 385,000km away – there’s still something distinctly ‘Isotope’ about them both. That’s reassuring as, with plenty more launches on the horizon (36mm case anyone?), the worry is that the brand stretches itself too far, that it tries too hard to do too many things. But when each is done with this level of confidence, that doesn’t seem like something to be too concerned about. At the very least, I hope that Jose finally manages to get himself a Gerald Genta Jumping Hours. He deserves it.
More details at Isotope.
Oracle Time
When Venezianico launched the Neriede Titanio at the tail end of 2024, we mentioned that it had felt like a breakout year for the brand, stepping into the limelight to a far greater degree than ever before. Well, now the brand has published some figures that back that claim up. 2024 saw a 47% growth rate for the Venice-based brand and an €11 million revenue, which for a young microbrand founded in 2017 is seriously impressive. Keen to build on the success of last year they’re kicking off 2025 with the new Venezianico Redentore Bronzo.
As the term Bronzo in its name indicates, the 40mm case is made from bronze. It’s specifically an alloy called QAI9-4, which has a high aluminium content for improved corrosion resistance compared to other bronzes. That means it will take longer to develop a patina, ensuring you can admire the rich tone of the bronze case for a long time before that awkward dirty stage bronze watches go through before looking nice and aged. The style of the case is the standard Redentore, named after a Venetian church.
The inspiration behind using bronze comes from the Horses of Saint Mark, a famous bronze sculpture that forms part of St Mark’s Basilica in Venice. The same is true of dial, which features a hand-weathered texture designed to look like antiquated bronze. It’s an enchanting aesthetic with thin golden strands of bronze across the black display, punctuated only by the central hands and Venezianico’s logo at 12 o’clock.
Beneath that signature dial is the automatic Miyota 9039 calibre with 42-hour power reserve. It’s an absolute staple of the microbrand game, an accessible third-party movement with wide availability and solid enough specs to provide good value to collectors. It’s protected by a steel caseback bearing an engraving of the Horses of Saint Mark. I like the use of steel casebacks on bronze watches because it negates one of the major issues of bronze which is that it can actually stain the skin after prolonged contact.
The Venezianico Redentore Bronzo is priced at €615 (approx. £512) in a limited edition of 300 pieces that are available for pre-order from 2pm GMT today (7th February). For a stylish bronze dress watch with a distinctive dial, that seems like a great deal and just goes to show why Venezianico are going from strength to strength. Don’t let Panerai or Bulgari hear this, but Venezianico might just be the most exciting Italian brand around at the moment. They’re certainly the brand most keen to celebrate their Italian heritage.
More details at Venezianico.
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If you look at the evolution of the Baltic, it was the launch of the Aquascaphe GMT that really made the watch world sit up and pay attention to the French microbrand. A few short years later and Baltic have more or less graduated from microbrand status into the mainstream of the industry. So, there’s a certain poetry to the fact that the Hermetique, the model most associated with this modern era of Baltic, is finally receiving a multi-time zone version of its own: the Baltic Hermetique Dual Time x Enduropale Edition.
The information that a dual time watch and a GMT display is technically the same, the difference comes from how they display that information. They both allow you to keep track of two time zones simultaneously, but a GMT does so with the addition of a fourth hand that points to a 24-hour scale. A dual time does so by adding a rotating 12-hour scale that corresponds to the existing hour hand, meaning the hour hand points to two scales at the same time.
This latter style of display is clear to see on the Hermetique Dual Time x Enduropale Edition. It has grey central disk with 12/3/6/9 hour scale interspersed with baton indexes, surrounded by a rotating hour scale in black, teal and purple. The coloured section actually serves as a form of racing timer – Enduropale being a three-hour motorbike race on sand with over 2,800 racers taking part. You can set the rotating scale so that the teal section coincides with the start of the race and then the purple section will tell you when you’re in the last hour, on the final stretch.
I still wouldn’t personally recommend wearing the watch while taking part in the actual race because it genuinely looks like a scene from a Mad Max film. Yes, you can claim that the 37mm case is made from scratch resistant steel with 150m water resistance, but the simple fact is with that much sand flying around, scratches and sand-logged crowns feel like an inevitability. Instead, pass it off to a friend on the sidelines so they can track the time while they anxiously wait to learn if you’ve become an impromptu apocalypse warlord.
Inside the 37mm case, which features an additional crown at 9 o’clock for setting the internal 12-hour bezel, is housed the Miyota 9039 automatic movement. It’s a widely used movement with 42-hour power reserve, meaning you could run the Enduropale 14 times between windings. I’m sure there are some mad racers out there who would take that as a personal challenge.
The Baltic Hermetique Dual Time x Enduropale Edition is limited to 200 pieces at a price of €600 on FKM rubber strap or €665 on steel bracelet, either beads of rice or flat link, excl. taxes (approx. £500 / £550). Here’s hoping a non-limited Dual Time is in the works for the future.
More details at Baltic.
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The full metal G-Shock GM-B2100D-1A, one of the three debut models for the GM-B2100 series in 2022, is officially discontinued, according to Casio Japan (for GM-B2100D-1AJF, casio.com/jp). Although the GMB2100D-1A ($550) is still available in the U.S. and other countries, it is not expected to be restocked once all units are sold. It is effectively […]
G-Central G-Shock Watch Fan Blog
Here’s a secret of the watch journalism trade: we know that readers like to look at the pictures and take in the key points of a watch release as fast as possible. In the case of the new Jaquet Droz Tourbillon Skelet Sapphire – Bushidô, it’s that this watch is freaking cool.
At the centre of the 42mm sapphire case sits a Bushi warrior mask, better known to you or me as a Samurai mask. It’s the mask worn by the followers of Bushidô, the traditional Japanese code of honour for warriors that requires you to assert your power, terrorise your opponents and honour your elders. It’s for that reason these masks typically take on the visage of mythological elements of the Japanese pantheon of divine beings and demons. With its snarling teeth and pointed horns, Jaquet Droz’s mask draws on the myths of the Oni, demonic ogres.
The mask itself took over 200 hours to produce and required the involvement of more than six artisans, each an expert in their craft. The three-dimensional shape of the mask is achieved by micro-sculpture, the golden decoration around the eyes and chin by delicate intaglio engraving, the horns are enamelled and the beads in the forehead are Murano glass, which is a first for Jaquet Droz. Turn the watch over and peek at the underside of the mask and you’ll find a beautiful Sakura painting of cherry blossoms.
Also hidden beneath the mask is the titular tourbillon at 12 o’clock, it’s spinning cage like the whirring of a warrior’s mind in battle. It’s balanced in the display at 6 o’clock by the power barrel, which stores the energy from the winding of the skeletonised rotor, keeping a power reserve of up to 8-days, which is seriously impressive. The timekeeping elements are the hour and minute hands located in the mask’s mouth.
As you might expect from such a precise work of art, the Jaquet Droz Tourbillon Skelet Sapphire – Bushidô is a piece unique with an insane price tag of CHF 457,000 (approx. £404,375). It’s not a watch that sits in the same category as say, the Tissot PRX. But sometimes you just have to bow down to the rule of cool and give crazy, over-the-top design its due.
More details at Jaquet Droz.
Oracle Time
When looking for the perfect strap for your watch, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of choice out there. Between materials, shape, design, texture, fastening mechanism and lug sizes there are a lot of details to choose from and be aware of. Fortunately strap experts Watch Obsession have got you covered with their new Premium Watch Strap Collection, handcrafted by their Belgian counterparts, LIC, which covers the core fundamentals and essential styles you should consider for your watch.
The Flat Epsom strap is highly regarded for its combination of durability and style thanks to its characteristic embossed pattern. Made from calf leather it’s sleek and classic, ideal for a wide range of watches. Available in chocolate brown, cognac and black, it particularly suits vintage tool watches in the daily beater, pilot’s watch and field watch categories. Perhaps as a strap alternative to the bracelet on the Carl F. Bucherer Heritage World Timer.
With its padding, the Polaris Padded Baranil is a thicker strap, making it a great choice for watches that are themselves thicker to account for the natural taper of the lugs and design. It’s also very comfortable when attached to those heavier sports watches. At the same time, the smooth finish gives it a subtlety that doesn’t detract from the style of the watch. It would work great for something like the Tag Heuer Carrera if you aren’t a fan of the perforated racing straps they’re supplied with.
In the watch industry there is one timepiece that rises above all others when it comes to extra-terrestrial aspirations, the Omega Moonwatch. That’s particularly relevant here because the ‘Lunar’ in the name of the Lunar Deployment Baranil refers to the fact that this strap is designed specifically with the Omega Moonwatch in mind – although it’s perfectly suitable for a host of other chronographs too. Baranil leather is produced exclusively at the renowned Tannery Degermann.
Exotic leathers are always a contentious topic and so Watch Obsession have found alternative materials that recreate similar aesthetics. The Classic Gallo has a scaled pattern similar to alligator leathers but instead uses material that might otherwise go to waste: rooster feet. Rooster leather actually pre-dates the widespread use of alligator, making this a vintage throwback. It’s available in classic black and brown as well as a more intense petrol blue. It would make a great alternative for something like the Orient Bambino.
Saffiano leather is a classic watch strap material with a crosshatched texture made from goat leather. It’s ideal for daily wear with an easy to clean surface and great durability. It’s also one of the most versatile, suitable for all varieties of wristwatch from dress to pilot to daily beater. Something which is reflected in its wide array of colours, including black, brown, blue and forest green. The green would be a fun twist for the Studio Underd0g x Fear The Gimlet.
Watch Obsession’s Premium Strap collection isn’t limited to leather numbers as they have vegan alternatives as well. The Classic Apple Fibre is made from waste material from the apple juice industry combined with cotton, polyester and viscose to create a textile with a similar texture to leather, complete with a cork lining. Whether you want a non-leather strap for ideological reasons or just prefer the look and feel of this strap, it’s an important option to have available.
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I’ve been after a vintage Omega Constellation Pie-Pan for a good long while now; it’s not necessarily a grail watch, but it’s one that I really need in my life, with its funky angular dial and signature dog leg lugs. Finding a perfect version however is easier said than done – so it might just be easier to opt instead for Omega’s latest release for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, the aptly named Seamaster 37mm Milano Cortina 2026.
Now, the original Pie-Pan was a Constellation model, not a Seamaster, but the similarities are obvious. Sure, the new watch doesn’t have that signature faceted dial – more’s the pity – but the faceted hour markers are almost painfully retro and the dog leg lugs are pure collector bait. Paired with a 37mm case, it’s hard not to love if you have an eye towards vintage.
There are some Seamaster elements of course. The polished case and that standout hexagonal bezel are both throwback design choices, as is the typography and minute track and the old, golden Omega logo at 12 o’clock. They’re not the most eye-catching elements, but they’re there and fit the kind of less-is-more approach that we don’t often see in modern Omega.
With looks like this, I can excuse the lack of dial facets, particularly because doing so in Grand Feu enamel would be insanely difficult, if not downright impossible. It’s worth it here for the crisp, brilliant white against the polished, faceted Moonshine gold. It’s a stunner.
While it’s perfectly vintage on the outside, the movement is anything but. The Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 8807 is among Omega’s latest generation of Daniels-based movements and has been tested to within an inch of its life by METAS. That means impeccable timekeeping and enough magnetic resistance to show up an MRI machine. Not that you’ll see if of course; in line with other commemorative editions, this Seamaster has a solid caseback showing an Olympic medallion. That likely helps it’s 100m water resistance too, nice to know even though this is technically more of a dress watch than its namesake divers.
The Seamaster 37mm Milano Cortina 2026 illustrates just why I’m always excited for new Olympic watches. I can’t help but roll my eyes at most sports tie-ins, but Omega regularly use the excuse of the Olympics to dive headlong into their back catalogue and come back out with some beauties. Hell, we did an entire piece on just that.
Even by their standards though, this is a gorgeous piece, perhaps only eclipsed by the monochromatic silver of the London 2012 edition. The downside? Price. Moonshine gold, like any proprietary gold, has a premium and this 37mm dress watch will set you back £18,200. Does that feel steep? Yes. Will that stop a ton of people loving this watch? Far from it.
More details at Omega.
Oracle Time
The Piaget Polo is something of a chameleon in the watchmaking world. It can be a luxurious dress watch, it can be a practical sports watch, it can be a sleek, ultra-thin skeleton. One thing it’s never been until now is a flying tourbillon. That has changed though with the introduction of the new Piaget Polo Flying Tourbillon Moonphase – the first Polo with a flying tourbillon.
In terms of shape, the new Polo draws on the collection’s heritage with a porthole shaped bezel in round case, but the size and materials on display are entirely contemporary. It measures a frankly huge 44mm in diameter and is made from titanium, a material that has seen vastly increased use in watchmaking as of this decade. It gives it contemporary feel, like it would be more at home in a display case of the science museum rather than on your wrist on the sidelines of a muddy field.
Why the science museum over an art gallery? Well, that comes down the dial. It’s partially open-worked, revealing the inner workings of the flying tourbillon at 12 o’clock as well as part of the gear train and plate with perlage finishing around the central hands. This is the first time a flying tourbillon has featured in the Polo range, which is designed to combat the effects of gravity on a watch’s movement. It features a rotating cage with a stylised P functioning as the seconds indicator, since the cage rotates once every 60 seconds. The flying part of the name comes from the fact it’s supported from beneath, giving it the appearance of floating in the dial.
At 6 o’clock is a stylised moonphase display, which uses a central hand to point to the phases of the moon. I can’t help but feel that it seems imprecise compared to a traditional moonphase display that constantly shows the current state of the moon. The Piaget instead requires you to work out a rough approximation based on the positioning of the hand in relation to the static phases. That being said, it will remain accurate for over 122 years before it would need adjustment.
Between the astronomical moonphase and the tourbillon, this feels like a very technical version of the Polo. If you want an artistic rendition maybe look at the Polo 79 from last year, which really ups the luxe with its heritage inspired look. It really highlights the diverse spectrum that the Polo collection operates on, running from modern and contemporary to vintage, bordering on Art Deco designs.
The movement powering the Piaget Polo Flying Tourbillon Moonphase is the Calibre 624P, based on the ultra-thin 600P. It’s manual-winding with a 37-hour power reserve, which feels low but is not surprising given the power-hungry nature of a tourbillon and the limitations of an ultra-thin construction. You’d just better be on top of winding it regularly if you want to see that 122-year accuracy on the moonphase be realised in full. Fortunately, there’s a corrector for that function at 9 o’clock if you do need to reset it.
Given this is an haute horological model of the Polo, it’s one of the most prestigious and is correspondingly price on request.
More details at Piaget.
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Each year the prestige watch brands of Switzerland discontinue a fleet of watches models in order to make way for the new blood set to be released later in the year – often coinciding with Watches & Wonders in April. Patek Phillipe has revealed the watches on the chopping block this year so let’s take a look at every watch Patek Phillipe has discontinued in 2025. In brief, the purge of steel Nautili continues.
Whenever the Nautilus collection changes, it will always catch headlines due to its iconoclastic status and connection to legendary designer Gerald Genta. Collectors go crazy for its porthole shaped bezel and the status owning one can bring. However, with the recent down-trend of the secondary watch market it’s actually steel sports watches like the Nautilus that have experienced the most uncertainty. And now another steel model is going the way of the dodo as Patek Philippe have discontinued the steel Nautilus Moonphase Ref. 5712/1A-001. It’s a notable removal as it was one of the longest in production Nautili of the modern collection, first debuting in 2006, almost two decades ago.
It’s goodbye to the steel bracelet edition of the ‘Extra-Large’ Aquanaut, although the rubber strap edition is going nowhere. Considering that the rubber strap is the collection’s signature, it makes a lot of sense to free some additional production capacity by removing the less popular versions of some watches. It also helps to distinguish the Aquanaut from the Nautilus a touch more, which is no bad thing as they can sometimes feel a bit too similar.
While the above Nautilus and Aquanaut have been collection staples for nigh on 20 years, the Patek Philippe Split-Seconds Chronograph Ref. 5370P-011 is only five years old. It also happens to be one of my personal favourite complication models so I’m sad to see it go. It looks amazing with its grande feu enamel dial and white gold case as well as the stunning view of its manual rattrapante movement through the exhibition caseback.
Considering that Patek Philippe produce a fresh batch of Grand Complications every single year, it’s no surprise that there’s a high turnover of models getting discontinued every year as well. For 2025 we bid farewell to the Ref. 5208R-01, which is a gold minute repeater, chronograph and perpetual calendar. In terms of complexity and prestige it’s only one rung down from the Grandmaster Chime. It leaves a gap for a new top end haute horological timepiece, which Patek are surely keen to fill.
The Calatrava Travel Time Ref. 5524G was Patek’s first attempt at a pilot’s watch when it was released in 2015, though more recent versions of the model like the 5326G have left behind the pilot appellation in favour of being more of a versatile globetrotter with additional complications. The 5524G featured a blue dial and 42mm white gold case, though its signature feature was the travel time display, Patek Philippe’s take on GMT and dual time zone complications.
Two of the Ladies’ Nautili have been discontinued. Measuring 35mm in diameter they’re on the smaller end of the sport watch spectrum with silver-white dials. The difference between the two references pertains to the bezels, which are either plain steel or diamond-set. It’s another example of Patek purging the few remaining steel models from the Nautilus collection. Soon only precious metal editions will remain.
A favourite among celebrities, the Nautilus Ref. 5719/10G-010 has been seen on the wrists of the great and the good from across the realms of Hollywood and hip hop. It’s a classic example of fitting as many diamonds to a watch as possible with 1,343 gems across the dial, bezel and bracelet. It’s worth noting that Patek Philippe does produce some of its most extreme gem-set watches off catalogue, so there’s a non-zero chance that we might see watches like the 5719/10G-010 appear in future without first appearing on the website.
More details at Patek Philippe.
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