Category: News

The old adage goes that ‘quality is in the details’. Honestly, it’s a phrase we hear enough that it’s hard to take seriously, like ‘limited edition’ or ‘made in Switzerland’. But every now and then comes a watch that not only embodies the concept, but rams it so far down your throat you’ll be passing bevelling tools for weeks. That watch is the Biver Automatique.

If you’ve never heard the name Jean-Claude Biver you’re either new to the watch industry or never really branched out past Rolex. He’s the man many credit for revitalising the watch industry in its post-Quartz Crisis slump in the 1990s. You have him to thank for Blancpain, Hublot, and a large part of modern Omega (including their obsession with ambassadors). He has historically been a tour de force and, when he retired a few years back, savvy gamblers didn’t bet on him staying away for long.

Last year, the triumphant return of Jean-Claude happened with the advent of Biver and, honestly, it was more of a surprise than you might think. Not that JCB was back of course, but just what he was back with: beautiful, classically built watches drenched in all the trappings of haute horology. He also had his son in tow, who is ostensibly the driving force behind the new brand.

They certainly hit the ground running, with Carillon minute repeaters with tourbillons and jewels aplenty. They were gorgeous and demonstrated a certain mission statement: that every part of the watch, inside and out was finished to perfection. The problem is that nice an idea as that is, it was too easy to get distracted by everything else. When you have a tourbillon, repeater and a gem-set bezel, knowing the barrels inside have been flawlessly finished just doesn’t have the pull it should. And so we have the Automatique, a watch that pulls back on the over-the-top stuff to show off that mission statement all the more clearly.

Let’s not beat around the bush, the Biver Automatique is a beauty. It might just be the finest dress watch I’ve tried on in years. The 39mm rose gold case has some pretty prominent lugs, but at 10mm thick it wears phenomenally well and the slim bezel leaves plenty of room for the dial to breathe. That dial, in matching rose gold has an air of Laurent Ferrier in its streamlined minimalism, albeit with much more ornate, faceted black indexes.

The detail here comes, of course, from the finishing, with alternating circles of radial and circular brushing. On paper it doesn’t sound like it would be a dramatic difference but, well, look at the thing. Finished with a stunningly sharp handset and a solid rose gold chapter ring, it’s the most nuanced bit of monochrome I’ve ever worn. The thing is, that’s not even the main event.

We’re used to seeing a well-finished movement these days, especially at this level. You flip a Vacheron or Patek over, you know it’s going to be something special. The Biver Automatique though laughs at your Poincon de Geneve.

Thanks to the microrotor construction, the full movement is on display and what a display it puts on. The rose gold rotor has a fan-like guilloche pattern, while the main bridges opt for a more classical clous de Paris style motif, all painfully precise and light-catching. But it doesn’t stop there. The remaining metalwork is all brushed, every edge is bevelled. The metal underneath offers plenty of brushing and perlage, even when you’re barely ever going to see it. The JCB logo is hidden 90% of the time, nestled as it is in the microrotor track. It’s the level of obsessive detail that makes me wonder if, at the same time we appreciate its details, we shouldn’t stage an intervention. Engrave a message on the balance cock if you’re being held against your will.

The movement is a Dubois Depraz-made number dubbed the JCB-003, with a not insubstantial 65-hour power reserve. I can’t attest to how quickly it winds with the micro-rotor, but it has manual-wind anyway so that’s not really a problem. Interestingly, it’s a movement that’s been designed from the ground up to be versatile, ready and willing to take on a host of complications. What those complications will be only time will tell. So far JCB have built minute repeaters and automatics; to say it’ll be something between those includes 99% of complications in the world.

It’s worth noting that none of the finishing actually adds to the chronometric performance of course. Hell, the chance of damaging parts during finishing makes it more likely there could be a timekeeping problem and the movement needs to be re-done. So why, why do this?

Well, we’re talking about it, that’s one reason. It’s also incredibly beautiful, so there’s another. Perhaps the biggest reason though takes me back full circle to the beginning. We’ve seen plenty of minute repeaters over the past few years and more tourbillons than 1 can count. We’ve seen metiers d’art engravings, marquetry and enamelling of every stripe and colour. But in the Biver Automatique is a watch that can quietly take its place with the best of them. It’s not flashy (at least, no more so than any other solid gold dress watch), it’s not loud and most of its qualities are hidden on its handsome backside. If there’s a watch that defines the saying that ‘quality is in the details’, it’s this. Which for the price, feels about right.

More details at Biver.

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Selten Salvage Bronze Scorched

Featuring a hand patinated dial and a CuSn8 Bronze case that will uniquely age, the Selten Salvage Bronze Scorched lives up to the brand’s meaning of rare in German. The Miyota 9039 Automatic movement, ceramic bezel insert and 39mm sizing on the other hand are all common for a reason thanks to their excellent style and utility.

More details at Selten Watch.

WRK ACF-02

Crafted from superior grade 5 titanium and ergonomically designed to be soft on the wrist, WRK watches ACF-02 improves on their already very cool first launch with an upgraded movement and lower price point. It features a tonneau case shape with rounded corners that give it a strong barrel appearance, which is what tonneaus are named after.

More details at WRK.

Anoma A1 Slate

Anoma go back to black and introduce a vertically brushed slate dial with contrasting lacquer triangles for their latest A1 Slate. The well-proportioned, signature rounded triangle case (inspired by a mid-century modern table) goes untouched, thank God. Inside is the well trusted Sellita SW100.

More details at Anoma.

Papar Anillo GMT

The Papar Anillo GMT (Rose Gold PVD) features an angular 36mm case that borders on brutalist but somehow manages to keep dress watch sensibilities. With a day/night indicator a 12 o’clock and a rotating 24-hour disc it’s a great travel companion. It’s also convenient to service thanks to its trusted Miyota 9075 movement.

More details at Papar.

Monceau Model 01

Monceau’s debut watch, the Model 01, is due to launch on Kickstarter in May. Though the Monceau name itself isn’t new to watchmaking as the original brand that existed more than 50 years ago was sadly one of those to fall victim of the quartz crisis. The new watch features a 39mm steel case with a cool contoured dial and bar indexes.

More details at Monceau Watches.

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The idea for M.A.D Editions first emerged in 2014 as a concept for MB&F to create an accessible sister brand, but that fell through due to projected operating costs. Then, in 2020 when the pandemic meant that running even one brand was incredibly difficult, they decided to give that original accessible concept a try though not as a brand, as a standalone one-off edition. It was an instant hit. After several editions and variations of the original M.A.D.1 they realised that, wait a minute, we have created a brand after all, just without all the extra hassle of actually being a separate brand. And if M.A.D is a brand then the M.A.D.1 needs to be followed by the M.A.D.2, which is what they have released today.

One of the defining features of the original M.A.D.1 is that it was the brainchild and passion project of Maximillian Büsser. As such, in order to create a satisfying follow up with the same level of passion involved, Max decided to give (more or less) free rein over the M.A.D.2 to long time MB&F collaborator and designer Eric Giroud, which is why you’ll sometimes see the watch called the M.A.D.2 by Eric Giroud. Giroud has then used this opportunity to finally bring some of his earliest design concepts to life that have never made it into production before.

The first of those Giroud concepts, which defines the case, is called almond. It refers to the extremely smooth finish of the 42mm diameter steel case and the gently curving arc of the round bezel, like an almond. It also finds itself expressed through the almond shaped indicators on the twin subdials in the centre of the display, which mark the bidirectional jumping hours on the left and minutes on the right. Though those subdials are also connected to Giroud’s second concept.

When you think about watch designers you probably picture fairly reserved individuals who spend most of their time alone in labs pouring over mechanisms. However, that is not Giroud’s story. In the 1990s he was at the forefront of the Lausanne rave scene, regularly found at the club Moulin à Danses, aka MAD. That translates to the M.A.D.2 via the fact that those central subdials represent a DJ’s deck. Below them, the main disk of the dial (available in orange or green) is snailed with additional circular brushing to give it the impression of a vinyl record. Lastly, around the perimeter of the display is a lower track with bright dots on it that move creating a strobe light effect.

The movement of that stroboscopic platter, as MB&F describe it, is actually the automatic rotor that’s visible from both the front and rear of the watch. The movement that it’s attached to is the La Joux-Perret G101, the same movement that powers the M.A.D.1, with the exception that MB&F have developed a special module for it in order to add jumping hours. It has a 64-hour power reserve.

Now, as for availability, the M.A.D Editions have always been available via one of two methods. Either you get a direct invitation to buy the watch by being a member of the MB&F ‘Tribe and Friends’ or get your chance through an allocation raffle open to the public. For the M.A.D.2, the orange edition is exclusive to the Tribe and Friends and the green version is being raffled. Both versions have a price of CHF 2,900 excl. VAT (approx. £2,540). At time of writing exact numbers are unknown, but it’ll be approximately 2,000 pieces. That’s a solid number, but between the story of Giroud’s raving past and the fact that the watch is simply very cool, I imagine the number of people entering the raffle will still exceed production by a wide, wide margin.

More details at MB&F.

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G-Shock U.K. and Casio Australia now have the G-Shock GA-V01 series listed as an upcoming release. While we knew that the GA-V01 has the same functions as the GA-2100 but with an estimated 10-year battery life, the new marketing material from the U.K. and Australia explains that the watch has a new feature known as […]

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Sometimes it feels like brands set out to be intentionally confusing and few watches are quite so confusing to talk about than Citizen’s Citizen. Citizen being both the name of the brand and the name of the collection. So, to make it clear when we’re talking about Citizen’s 30^th anniversary and the launch of The Citizen Washi Paper Dial 30^th Anniversary Edition we’re talking about the watch model, not the brand. The brand can trace its heritage back to 1918 so is a fair bit more venerable than a spry 30.

There are two watches in the 30^th anniversary, limited edition collection, both with distinct aesthetics but sharing the same core construction. They both measure 38.3mm x 12.2mm and are made from Citizen’s Super Titanium with coloured duratect coatings. Ref. AQ4106-00A has a sakura pink duratect coating, giving it a rose gold appearance while Ref. AQ4100-22L has the high lustre of the platinum duratect. Duratect is Citizen’s proprietary surface hardening technology that alleviates some of drawbacks of titanium including its poor scratch resistance.

Both watches also feature washi paper dials, an extremely delicate form of paper with a unique texture that makes it ideal for taking on interesting patterns and colours. What’s more, the 30^th Anniversary collection is a follow up to 2024’s Nature Collection, meaning each dial is inspired by a traditional Japanese concept regarding nature. The white dial of the pink gold model is based on early spring mornings, a period of time most famous for its cherry blossom, hence the white and pink tones found across its swirling face. The second model is instead inspired by summer nights, with the silvery moonlight reflecting on clouds in the dark blue sky.

The fact the dials are made from paper and hand-dyed in the case of the indigo version, means no two dials are identical, adding to the unique desirability and exclusivity of each piece. Though that’s not the only benefit of having a paper dial. The dials naturally allow light to pass through their surfaces, making them ideal carriers of Citizen’s Eco-Drive movements that use light to maintain their power reserves, meaning they will essentially never run out of power unless locked away in a box for months on end. The movement is specifically the Cal.A060.

As for availability, both versions of The Citizen Washi Paper Dial 30^th Anniversary watch are limited to 400 pieces globally. Price-wise, these are Citizen’s top end eco-drive models with rare, difficult to produce dials so they have a much higher price than the majority of Citizen watches. But it’s also at a price point we have come to expect for this collection. The rose gold, white dial edition is $3,000 and the silver cased, blue dial version is $2,900 (approx. £2,300/£2,240).

More details at Citizen.

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The idea of prestige dive watches has always existed but it feels like it’s becoming much more common over the past 12 months. Watches that take the basic foundation of a dive watch but twist them in some manner that makes them more or less impractical to use in serious underwater conditions. The biggest culprit of this is the Rolex Deepsea gold but I think it can be argued that the new Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Worldtimer falls into the same category. Albeit for completely different reasons.

I suppose I should address my claim from the introduction immediately. Worldtimers do not belong on dive watches. It’s long been the prevailing thought that a dive watch’s dial should be as pared back as possible with minimal distractions in order to minimize any risk of the diver misinterpreting or misreading the display with potentially deadly consequences as they calculate their immersion time or decompression stops. A world time display is the complete opposite of minimalist.

Omega’s rendition of the complication, which is based on the Aqua Terra GMT Worldtimer, features two extra scales that offer no benefit while you’re underwater. A rotating 24-hour scale in the centre that serves as the second time zone indicator and a peripheral cities ring that denotes the world’s 24 time zones. On top of that, there’s a topographical map of the world in the centre of the dial which is the complete opposite of restrained or utilitarian. To my mind, all this excess information is a hazard on a dive watch.

However, if we change our perception of the watch and stop thinking about using it underwater (which very few people do anyway) and suddenly the watch makes a lot more sense. With its black ceramic case measuring an imposing 45.5mm, this is a pure status watch for global jetsetters. It’s the type of watch I can imagine David Beckham wearing if he wasn’t so closely tied to Tudor. Bold, impressive and macho. The completely blacked out bezel further leans into this visual aesthetic.

There are two versions of the Seamaster Planet Ocean Worldtimer available, the difference between them being the colour of the varnish used in conjunction with the laser ablated design on the dials. The first has a turquoise varnish and the second a grey one. The turquoise one actually reminds me of the Christopher Ward C1 Moonglow from a few years ago, perhaps showing that British design is ahead of the curve.

Beneath the surface of the dial is the Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 8938 with automatic winding and a 60-hour power reserve. The master chronometer certification means it has been tested by METAs to ensure accuracy and reliability in multiple positions and under diverse atmospheric conditions. You can view the movement through the exhibition caseback.

As for price, both versions of the watch are £14,000. As desk-divers I think these watches are perfectly fine. They have a cool, urban feel to them thanks to the black ceramic and the displays are impressively detailed. I just personally struggle with the idea of a watch with 600m water resistance that isn’t fine tuned for the purpose it was originally designed for.

More details at Omega.

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Like last year’s G-5600BG-1, the upcoming G-Shock G-5600BG-5 is an environmentally-minded watch powered by Tough Solar power and made with recycled resin scraps. The watch has an ivory-colored bezel and band mixed with recycled black resin pieces, resulting in a marble-like appearance. The G-5600BG-5 is expected to be released in April, which coincides with G-Shock’s […]

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Aera C-1 Shadow

Every day seems to bring about a new watch brand or other, bringing something new, be that fresh or otherwise, to the watch industry. Or at least, whatever they think is new. Most of these, let’s be honest, are jumping on the bandwagon of microbrands, turning around cheap watches with a few interesting ideas.

Despite ostensibly falling into that catchment however, seeing as they were founded as late in the day as 2022, Aera have managed to separate themselves from the crowd for two reasons: some incredibly cool designs and a story decades in the making.

Co-Founder Jas Minhas didn’t come to watchmaking on a whim or for a quick buck. His grandfather was a watchmaker in Punjab and his father Surjit, continued the tradition here in the UK, repairing watches at the kitchen table. Needless to say, he knew his way around a movement. It was enough to inspire a then very young Jas to decide he would one day own a watch brand. It’s unlikely he realised just how far away that ‘one day’ would be.

Years later, well into his job as a distributor of watch components, Jas met Olof Larsson, of Swedish retail royalty. The two hit it off immediately over a mutual appreciation of art and design, and before long decided that one day they would own a watch brand together. Another link to watches, another ‘one day. And like many conversations, it could well have ended there, a pipedream that was never going to become reality.

Flash forward 35 years. Most of us would have forgotten that conversation by now, let alone be ready to act on it. But just as Jas was between jobs and wondering what to do with himself, the idea came back to him. He met Olof, not really expecting much to happen. Instead, in all of about 30 seconds, they’d decided to jump headfirst into a new watch brand. Easy, right? After a few serious conversations, it became apparent that both men had the same vision for what their watches should look like. They should be around the £1,000 to £3,000 mark, the price point normally dominated by your Swatch Group workhorses like Hamilton and Longines. They should be tool watches and, most importantly, should be just as appealing to someone buying their first watch as to someone with a collection of minute repeaters. It was a pretty tall order.

Aera M-1 Field

Before they even got to the watches though, they needed a name. They’d toyed with the name Era, to denote the kind of timelessness they were after, but something about it just didn’t sit right. Until one day a fellow shareholder mentioned that he liked the specific A at the beginning of Aesop. After a quick bit of research, the pair realised that Aera is simply the Greek version of Era and, perhaps more pertinently, Jas’ father used to own a watch shop in Birmingham called Aero. Some things are just meant to be, and Aera was born. So then, that tricky task of actually designing a watch.

Plenty of brands, especially British brands, opt for tool watches. If you want to keep things accessible, it’s the logical place to start. The difference is that, rather than taking a template and riffing on it like, for example, something as iconic as the Ministry of Defence commissioned Dirty Dozen Aera look at what those designs are trying to accomplish. Essentially, same destination, different routes. And, of course, no shortcuts. That’s when you get watches like the M-1 Field and Blackbird.

Aera M-1 Blackbird

On a very surface level, both watches fall into that mil-spec, MoD look with high contrast dials, white on black. They’re easily read and simple enough to take a few knocks and not impact their usefulness. But Aera’s versions don’t quite feel the same as, say, Timor’s version. I’d describe them as utilitarian without being severe. What I mean by that is everything from the tactile case to the solid lume indexes to the curved dial adds up to a watch that has equal levels of charm and practicality.

It’s a difficult balance, but this is just the latest illustration in Aera’s catalogue of a similar concept. The one that really got me, for example, was the C-1 chronograph. It took the barest elements needed to read the bi-compax layout and left the entire rest of the dial blank. That’s especially striking in the Cloud, with it’s white on white look interrupted only by a sky blue second hand. Pair that with a beautifully curved 60-second bezel and you have a pretty zen chronograph. Where most watchmakers are tempted throw tachymeters and luminous highlights on them, the C-1 Cloud is an island of calm in a storm of faux-racing watches.

Aera C-1 Cloud

While it might seem that Aera’s story has only just started, it’s one that actually began at a kitchen table nearly half a century ago. It was an idea gestating over the course of decades, one that just needed the right timing, the right environment and the right people to become a reality. And now that it’s here, it looks like it’s here to stay – at least, if watches like the M-1 and C-1 are anything to go by.

More details at Aera.

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It’s unusual to see the newer G-Shock models being sold by Amazon itself (as opposed to third-party sellers on Amazon), but that is the case with the AWG-M100FP-1A2 ($160) and GW-2320FP-1A2 ($150), both of which are now available for pre-ordering directly from Amazon.com with a release date of March 31, 2025. Both models are also […]

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Breva Geneve is an independent watch brand that was founded in 2010 with a flurry of excitement and activity including a GPHG nominationin 2013 for the Genie 01. Sadly, the brand wound down operations after only a handful of limited releases leaving us to wonder if their haute horology creations would ever make a return. Short answer, yes! Breva are back with their revival launch, the Segreto di Lario, a visually impressive timepiece with a dual retrograde power reserve indicator.

Starting with the case, the Breva Segreto di Lario is a prime example of classical dress watch design with some retro flair. It measures 41mm in diameter in rose gold with an angular cushion shape that makes if feel right out of the early 20^th century. Despite its fairly broad proportions, emphasised by the cushion shape, it remains quite svelte with a thickness of just 11.1mm. It’s also stylishly finished with circular brushing across the watch’s shoulders and polished lugs.

However, what really makes the watch stand out is the display on the dial. At six o’clock is an intriguing array of crossed hands, like fencers’ blades meeting in gentlemanly combat. This is actually the dual retrograde power reserve indicator. On the left is the days power reserve indicator showing six out of the seven days of the Segreto di Lario’s power reserve. The reason it only shows six days is that the second power reserve indicator on the right is a 24-hour scale that shows only the final day of the reserve. In a manual-winding watch it essentially means if you see the 24-hour hand moving, you should wind the watch pretty sharpish.

In the centre of the dial are the hands for hours and minutes, which point to a peripheral 60-minute scale in a traditional style. Below 12 o’clock is a retrograde seconds counter. Retrograde counters, if you’re unfamiliar, are a style of watch scale with a hand that follows a linear path. Meaning that instead of being an infinite circle, the hand follows from one end to the other before jumping back to the start.

As for style, it’s very elegant like the case but there’s also a modern, quasi-industrial quality to it. The dial is split into two sections with the bottom-most section below the power reserve showing a sliver of the exposed movement with Côte de Genève finishing. Above that, and held in place by exposed screws, is a blue plate with vertical brushed finishing.

It gives the piece quite a maritime aesthetic, reminiscent of the Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur. It makes you want to take a cruise on an alpine lake, which is half the point because the name Breva is a reference to the warm breeze found on Lake Como. Though with only 50m water resistance, you’ll want to keep the Segreto di Lario away from too much spray.

The movement beneath the dial is a specially adapted version of the Chronode C101 developed for Breva by Chronode’s prestigious watchmaker Jean-François Mojon. It was he who developed the dual retrograde power reserve indicator complication and how it works is perhaps best explained in his own words: “The power reserve indication from the base movement is split into two kinematic chains, each carrying a dedicated cam. Two rake feelers, one per cam, transmit the information to each hand, and two hairsprings maintain tension to ensure constant contact between the cam and feeler. This original 7-day power reserve reading is both intuitive and precise”.

While the launch of the Segreto di Lario is a new start for Breva, they want to retain the exclusivity and class of the originals. Which means it’s a limited edition of just 25 pieces at a price of CHF 58,000 excl. taxes (approx. £51,000). It was also announced as a soucription model, meaning that collectors are able to reserve the watches ahead of production in order to help alleviate some manufacturing costs.

More details at Breva.

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