Category: News

After sandbagging the ultra-thin competition out of nowhere with their last Ferrari partnership, the UP-01, Richard Mille is at it again with their second collaborative watch with the legendary Italian marque – and it’s a complicated one: the Richard Mille RM 43-01 Tourbillon Split-Seconds Chronograph Ferrari.

A split-seconds chronograph – or a rattrapante as us pretentious purists put it – is one of the three high complications alongside minute repeaters and perpetual calendars. That goes to show just how intense a piece of mechanical ingenuity it is. Basically, you run the chronograph as normal, but can actually split the seconds hand, with one half staying in place, the other continuing to keep time. If two cars are racing, it means you can time when they each separately cross the finish line.

This being Ferrari, the racing angle is in their petrol-laced blood and it helps that their F1 team consists of two different drivers. This lets you time Hamilton and LeClerc both without needing to reset.

Obviously, this isn’t as ground-breaking as the UP-01, the world’s (temporarily) thinnest watch, given Richard Mille has produced tourbillon split-seconds chronographs in the past across various models. That shouldn’t detract from how impressive it is, but it’s a fair point. What’s new? Well, everything else, really.

The RM 43-01 has gone through three years of development and it shows. For a quick rundown of everything on this, for want of a better word, dial: running seconds are read off the five 12-second segment hands on the tourbillon in the bottom right, using the partial scale tucked right into the corner. The chronograph 30-minute counter is at 9 o’clock, with the power reserve indicator in the corner above that. The very Richard Mille torque indicator is in the top right corner and below that the crown function indicator (Winding, Neutral and Hacking). Running hours, running minutes and the twin chronograph hands are in the centre.

If this all seems like a lot then you’ve obviously not come across many Richard Milles. Sure, the previous Ferrari collab was pretty damn minimal by their standards, but they’ve pulled out all of the stops for the second album. Ferrari certainly had an impact, with design quirks like intake-shaped markers and a Ferrari plate in the bottom left corner the same shape as the wing of a 499P hypercar. The barrel jewel setting is inspired by the clutch of a V8 engine, the pushers echo the SF90 Stradale and the 30-minute chronograph counter is ripped from a Ferrari dashboard. There’s enough there to make Ferrari nuts squeal with delight.

Otherwise, this is Richard Mille as usual, with an intensely skeletonised titanium movement finished to absolute perfection, big, weighty chronograph pushers and two different case variations, one in sandblasted titanium with a Carbon TPT mid-case or a full Carbon TPT version with orange or yellow highlights respectively.

As for availability, there are a surprisingly high number of pieces: 75 of each. That’s not huge of course, but it’s surprising given the price tag: CHF 1.15 million for the titanium version and CHF 1.35 million. So combined, this run of watches represents CHF 187.5 million – just shy of £165,000,000. Let that sink in for a moment.

Is it worth it? I’m certainly not the target market given my propensity for accessible British fare, but you are getting a lot of watch and, let’s be honest, this is Richard Mille and Ferrari. What else did you expect?

More details at Richard Mille.

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A few years back, we worked with watch artist Inkdial to create some iconic horological outlines of watches defined by one signature element. It was a cool, hand-drawn selection you can check out here. But ahead of his live appearance at Hands On Horology, we’ve decided to revisit the concept with a second octet of famous faces.

So, if you want to give yourself a little quiz, block out the names and see if you can guess what the watch is. And bear in mind we’ve picked some absolute icons, so if you can’t… well, you might need a bit of self-educating. I’m sure we have the right revision materials on here somewhere.

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Formex are one of the first brands that come to mind when I think of great value titanium field watches with the Formex Field and with the Essence Leggera they’ve also explored forged carbon. Now they’re pushing the boat even further by taking on the world of ceramic thanks to the new Formex Essence Ceramica Skeleton COSC, which I’ve had on the wrist for the past week around the office.

One of the reasons I’ve been unable to put the watch down is that the bracelet fits really well. Which might sound like an odd thing to celebrate but it’s actually a core feature of the watch because the bracelet features the world’s first ceramic micro-adjustment system. It’s very simple to operate, just press the button in the exterior of the clasp and slide the bracelet until it reaches the perfect position – it gives you about 1cm leeway, which doesn’t sound like a lot but has a dramatic impact on how loose or tight it is on the wrist. The bracelet is also made really well in a chunky, H-link style with vertically brushed, ceramic links.

In fact, the entire case is made from brushed ceramic with a diamond polished bezel and anglage facets along the edge of the round design. The finish has to be produced with diamond tools because it’s one of the few materials harder than ceramic once the zirconium oxide powder has been baked. Structurally, it measures 41mm in diameter with a thickness of 11.2mm, so it’s not a small watch. However, it feels proportional and thanks to ceramic being 30% lighter than steel, it’s really not that heavy to wear all day.

On an aesthetic level, it retains the quasi-industrial vibe of the Essence with its exposed screws in the shoulders of the case. That architectural vibe is matched by the skeletonised dial, which reveals the inner workings of the movement. An exposed framework like scaffolding around a futuristic building made of whirring gears.

One thing I haven’t touched on yet is there are actually four versions of the Formex Essence Ceramica Skeleton COSC being produced, a GT edition and three versions of the Stradale. The version I have here is the GT, which means it has rose gold hands and hour markers. The Stradale variants instead have black with various colours of lume depending on the edition. I’m not completely sold on the use of luxurious gold accents in combination with the industrial style as they feel a bit out of place. However, the rosy colour does make them stand out against the grey metal of the movement, boosting legibility, which is often a complaint with skeleton displays.

The movement that’s on display is the SW200-1 SC, the skeletonized edition of a Swiss staple. As noted in the watch’s name, it’s also the COSC chronometer grade of the movement, meaning it has improved accuracy and has been tested in multiple positions to ensure reliability. It does look pretty spectacular in skeleton form, it’s very easy to distract yourself from any task by studying the depth of finish on display as well as the constant motion of the balance spring. I also particularly like the almost imperceptible unwinding of the main spring as the power reserve depletes, serving as an approximate power reserve indicator (41-hours if you’re wondering).

In terms of price, the Formex Essence Ceramica Skeleton COSC GT edition is £3,850, £100 more than the Stradale options. An over-reaction to that price would be to say, £4k for a Sellita movement is wild. However, between the COSC chronometer certification, skeleton display and more important than either of those, full ceramic case and bracelet, that’s a good price. Whether it suits your personal style is a decision that only you can make.

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Colour is one of the areas in which British watchmaking excel above all others. In fact, there are some colours that Britain is internationally famous for, such as the red, white and blue that was seen all over the place at British Watchmakers’ Day. And of course British Racing Green, which is the subject of Farer’s latest release, the new Moritz Green.

It’s a really nice chronograph with a 41mm diameter case in grade 2 titanium. Chronographs tend to be on the larger size in order to accommodate the various subdials required in a tricompax display without being too crowded. The downside to that is on paper it does seem quite thick at 12.9mm without crystal and 13.5mm including the crystal. Not egregious by any measure, but noticeable. However, it’s only a small thing and the extra thickness gives the dial room to have a layered structure.

Those layers are the recessed chronograph subdials at the bottom, then the sunray brushed green dial and lastly the old radium style lumicast numerals and hour markers. Lumicast is a solid block of Super-LumiNova that glows in its entirety in low-light conditions. It all makes for a really clean, legible display that Farer have managed to give a lot of character to with details such as the 6 o’clock numeral serving double duty as the 6 marker in the 12-hour chronograph counter. It’s also a big-eye display with an oversize 30-minute counter, a style that has become popular in British watchmaking likely due to the influence of Studio Underd0g.

Zooming out from the racing green dial, the anodised aluminium bezel is presented in the same colour. Interestingly it features a telemeter rather than the usual tackymeter you’d expect on a racing chronograph. Telemeters are a rarer scale to find on watches and are used to calculate the distance between yourself and something you can both see and hear.

Essentially you use the chronograph to count the time between when you see something happen and when the sound of it reaches you, which in combination with knowing the speed of sound lets you calculate the distance it has travelled – and the telemeter has already done that maths for you. In war it allows soldiers to calculate where an artillery placement is located after seeing it fire and then subsequently hearing the explosion. Or if you’re a sailor you can work out how far away a lightning storm is based on the thunder and after multiple readings you could calculate how fast the storm itself is moving.

Powering the Farer Moritz Green is the Sellita SW510M b manual-winding movement. It’s an elabore grade calibre with a 63-hour power reserve, making it one of Sellita’s more prestigious offerings. It’s also been adapted slightly with Farer’s signature arrow style finishing when viewed through the exhibition caseback. With a movement like this, it’s not terribly surprising that this is one of Farer’s pricier models at £1,775, which is still pretty reasonable value all things considered. If you’re on the hunt for a nice chronograph to accompany you in your vintage Jaguar, you can stop looking now.

More details at Farer.

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Residents of Canada can enter a random drawing giveaway for the sold out Casio CRW-001-1 ring watch and a copy of the G-Shock-produced ThisTime magazine. Entering requires registering for the Casio Canada email list and confirming your email address, and the registration period ends on March 30, 2025. It sounds like there will be only […]

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Watchmaking is famously a slow industry. We are after all using technology that was developed, in many cases, centuries ago. Using designs that are decades old. Horage though make watchmaking feel like the bleeding edge with their enthusiastic and open approach to innovation and development. With movements like the Tourbillon 2 and MicroReg Concept they’re a small, independent brand taking on some of watchmaking’s biggest challenges. Now though, they want to tackle the other end of the spectrum, revitalising time only displays with a fresh approach. The result is the new K3 Calibre, which is making its debut in the Horage DecaFlux watch.

The idea for the K3 calibre is actually a direct result of Horage’s success as an independent brand. They have been approached many, many times by other independents wanting to be let in at the ground floor with Horage’s technology. Rather than open the vaults, they’ve developed a new movement expressly built for the purpose of sharing and developing with other brands. So don’t be surprised in future to find the Horage calibres in watches that don’t have the Horage name on the dial.

In order to accommodate the wide variety of concepts and ideas that other designers might call upon the K3 to achieve, it has to be an incredibly strong foundation. As such, they’ve built it as a 3-hand base that can easily be adapted with modules for small seconds, date and power reserve indicator. They’ve also developed a 96-hour power reserve, outperforming virtually every third-party or off-the-shelf movement in the industry – though like the ETA Powermatic, they’ve had to reduce the frequency to 3.5 Hz in order to achieve that. Plus, it’s COSC chronometer certified to boot.

However, the most significant feature of the K3 movement is its use of silicon components, with a silicon escapement. Silicon has typically been the exclusive preserve of big brands and corporations, not independents, due to the exclusivity of production. Yet, the chronometric benefits of the material are plain to see with great friction reduction and anti-magnetic properties. As such, while it’s not necessarily new technology, Horage say that it is a horological innovation to see it in presented in an independent movement.

The idea of anti-magnetic silicon components also brings us to the DecaFlux, Horage’s debut timepiece housing the K3. It’s unapologetically styled after the Rolex Milgauss, arguably the most famous anti-magnetic watch of all time. Rolex discontinued the model in 2023 due to the perception that the collection had lost its relevance – after all, it was initially designed for scientists working at CERN, which is an incredibly niche audience and many other watches not marketed as anti-magnetic overtook it as well. However, Horage believe that anti-magnetic watches aren’t just more relevant than ever, but essential for everyone. In a world where we’re constantly connected to our phones, laptops, headphones and countless other electronic devices, magnetic fields are all around us.

As such, the DecaFlux has a Milgauss style round case in steel measuring 40mm in diameter with a dial that also pays tribute to the discontinued watch. It also has a height of 9.98mm, sliding in just under the 10mm mark, which was one of Horage’s goals. It has very legible baton and wedge indexes as well as broad, lumed, hour and minutes hands and a lightning bolt shaped seconds hand. That seconds hand is split between red and blue, the signature colours representing the poles in a magnetic field. The dial below is available in two variants, black or vibrant blue.

Priced at CHF 2,500 (approx. £2,185), it’s also a new entry level price for Horage – around half that of the next most accessible model, introducing a huge new audience to the brand. It’s not as instantly accessible as movements from the likes of Sellita, ETA, Seiko/NH or Swatch’s Powermatics, but it’s produced independently with a superb power reserve and silicon components, so it’s not really a fair comparison. Also, considering the prices some brands charge for a Sellita movement… It’s pretty great value.

More details at Horage.

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The G-Shock GW5000U-1 ($300) is back in stock at Casio America and is also available from authorized dealer Arizona Fine Time. Previously a Japan-only series in the 2010s with the exception of some limited anniversary models, the GW-5000 features a stainless steel screw-back case with a DLC coating, Tough Solar power, and Multi-Band 6 auto […]

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G-Shock U.S. is currently offering a free GM-B2100 pin with the purchase of qualifying full metal GM-B2100 and GMW-B5000 models. The GM-B2100 and GMW-B5000 series feature stainless steel construction with a screw-back case, Tough Solar power, and Bluetooth smartphone link. View all Full Metal G-Shock models at casio.com/us The qualifying models include the following: GMB2100D-1A […]

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Utinam KB2 Standing Clock, €29,700 (approx. £25,000)

Scaling up in both size and colour, if this particular standing clock from French maker Utinam looks familiar, you’ve likely been paying attention to Louis Erard or Yema recently. Those triangles, arrows and circles? The combination of cartoonish blue, yellow and red? That’s the signature of Alain Silberstein and indeed, the KB2 was built in collaboration with the famed Bauhaus designer. As close to a watchmaking sculpture as you’ll find outside of MB&F’s MAD Gallery, and just as big on personality. There’s no putting this thing on a desk; at over 2m tall, it’s as monolithic as it is majestic.

Available at Utinam.

Erwin Sattler Troja 20, €125,800 (Approx. £105,000)

Now we’re talking. Erwin Sattler’s Troja 20 a revamp of their previous Troja 16 model goes well beyond just a pendulum clock, though it’s a stately one at that. The longcase clock section is flanked either side by walls of watch winders, enough to keep 20 pieces in perfect time. There’s no putting this thing on a desk; at over 2m tall, it’s as monolithic as it is majestic. Why bother with a separate watch winder, safe and clock when you can pull them all together into one stunning, room-defining feature like this?

Available at Erwin Sattler.

L’Epee 1839 Grenade, CHF 10,900 (approx. £9,600)

Who said clocks need to be classical? After years of collaborating with MB&F some of that madness must have rubbed off on L’Epee 1839. This timekeeping explosive displays hours and minutes on black, engraved aluminium discs, with the gears powering them making up the body of the grenade. Available in a variety of colours, it’s definitely a statement for your desk. It’s also protected by an Incabloc shock protection system; just don’t be tempted to throw it. Who knows what might happen? Missing a few seconds an hour may be the least of your problems.

Available at L’Epee.

Maison Alcée Persée Nuit

Sure, clocks are a testament to the craftspeople that made them, but what about if you were that craftsperson? That’s the concept behind self-assembly clockmaker Maison Alcée, whose 233-piece kits come with all the tools and instructions you need to build a beautiful desk clock of your own. It’s all very beginner friendly, but the end result is a modern, minimalist clock that, in the case of the Nuit edition, is sleek, dark and cool. It might sound trite and Hallmark-y to say, but this isn’t just a clock, it’s an experience.

Available at Maison Alcée.

Båge & Söner X Monocle Crispy Pillow, €690 (approx. £575)

Let’s start with something relatively lightweight in the world of clocks but something that all of us kind of need in our lives: a rather handsome alarm clock. A collaboration between Swedish clockmaker Båge & Söner and lifestyle brand Monocle, the Crispy Pillow belies its slightly disturbing name with a clean, contemporary twist on a classic California dial. That means Roman numerals across the top, Arabic numerals across the bottom and the overall look of a vintage watch. At 75mm x 75mm, it’s a travel-sized bedside companion and, yes, there is a snooze button.

Available at Båge & Söner.

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Fun, colourful watch brands have defined our homegrown take on horological design as to be somewhat of an eclectic uniform. Classical shapes updated with bright colours and idiosyncratic aesthetic tweaks, it’s something we can be proud of, especially at the uber-accessible end of the spectrum. Case in point, the Duckworth Prestex Broadgate GMT.

While they’ve yet to hit the heights of Studio Underdog, Farer, or Fears, Duckworth Prestex are firmly in that new aesthetic tradition of British watches. In fact, like Fears, they’re a heritage name (at least, the Prestex part is) revived by a member of the original family and best known for their cushion cases.

Lovely as the Verimatic is however and it is lovely, 1 happen to own the fume orange version one case shape does not a watch brand make. Duckworth Prestex began to break out of that cushion-shaped cage with the Art Deco rectangle of the Centenary and now are entering the rarefied realms of, erm, circles, with the Broadgate GMT.

Named after Broadgate in London and shaped like its well-heeled shopping area, Broadgate Circle, the new watch is essentially a different format of the Rivington GMT. It shares the same accessible workhorse movement in the Miyota 9075, the same 200m water resistance, and in one variation has the same fume orange dial. But the orange isn’t the one we have here and while the two watches may share a specs sheet, they’re visually worlds apart.

First off, the dial. The colour here is a gorgeous mint green. It’s a relatively flat, matte colour and with its white Arabic numerals is a lovely, calming twist on that spring-ready look. It’s elevated slightly with a bit of sunshine from the bright yellow GMT hand and together the mix of colours offers something inoffensively charming. Basically, it’s nice and as soon as you unpack your summer linens, you’ll want something like this on your wrist.

That yellow second time zone can be read off the fixed 24-hour bezel, which is the part of the Broadgate I like the most. It’s always tempting to add a rotating version so that you can, technically, keep track of three timezones. But there’s something retro about the Explorer II-style fixed number, particularly when like that legendary watch, it’s in simple engraved steel. It just feels more solid, and I always love a case-matched bezel. It would be a bit easier to read if the numerals were black instead of white, but it’s a lot easier in the metal than it appears in images. This is yet another instance where you really need to try the watch on to see what I mean.

It’s not just the bezel though; solid is a good word for the Broadgate GMT as a whole. At 40mm across and 13mm high, it’s a little taller than it feels like it should be, but no issue to slip under most sleeves. That size however does help it sit with just the right amount of heft, especially on the rubber strap, a level of heft in fact that belies just how accessible this watch is, which we’ll get on to. The fact that it has that 200m water resistance, making it a typical GADA (go anywhere, do anything) watch, is the pastel icing on the cake.

The other colours in the Duckworth Prestex Broadgate GMT collection are equally seasonal, with a pale blue and white rounding out the summer shades and that aforementioned orange gradient, a Duckworth Prestex signature. The one I really want to see in the metal is the black and red, which swaps calming pastels for an eye-catching, high-contrast palette. They’re all lookers though.

That said, they tread the line between classical and modern a little too lightly for my taste. The Verimatic nailed it, taking a dress watch case and making it fun and modern. I don’t feel like the Broadgate goes quite far enough in that modernising aspect. The mix of railway minute track and classical numerals feel a touch too old fashioned for me. It’s a shame because in the world of uber-accessible British watches which has grown into a respectable sub-genre of the watch industry there’s a lot of competition.

The thing is, some of that competition is coming from Duckworth Prestex; their limited-edition California absolutely nails the entire aesthetic, with a similar palette of colourways. The difference is that it’s not a GMT, but that just makes me realise that a California GMT is something I never knew I needed in my life before now. With a California 24-hour bezel, perhaps?

If the negatives here sound nitpicky, that’s because they are. When it comes down to brass tacks, the Duckworth Prestex Broadgate GMT is a great looking, solidly built watch that feels like it’s worth more than its price tag. To put that in numbers, this is a handsome automatic GMT for £795. If you find yourself approaching spring in need of a wristwear refresh, you could do a damn sight worse than this.

More details at Duckworth Prestex.

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