swordsman

 was sitting with Mike France, who runs and co-founded Christopher Ward watches, in London when he casually pulled out two new watches he says are going to be a big deal for the brand after they are released: the new steel and titanium versions of a collection Christopher Ward calls “The Twelve.” Today, I review the titanium version of The Twelve, which is actually a different watch with different movements from the steel variant. It’s qualitatively a very nice watch and, as is the case with many Christopher Ward timepieces, a big part of the selling point is value. For a number of years now, the watch collector population has gone a bit crazy for what many people refer to as “integrated bracelet” watches. At first, only a few specific watch models originally designed by Gerald Genta received attention. Soon after, the watch community began rediscovering other interesting watches with integrated bracelets, many of which originally debuted in the 1970s and 1980s. Many brands looked ...

 strayer is a new watch brand from the creative mind of Mr. Ola Stray. An accomplished Swedish industrial designer, Mr. Stray answered the “call of horology” in deciding to develop his own watch brand, starting with an interesting debut model family known as the STR 4601. “STR” stands for “System-Turn-Release,” a term related to how this watch case was engineered. In short, there is a mechanism that locks and unlocks the middle case from the outer case (the turning lever near the crown is the switch). When unlocked, the middle case is able to be pushed out and then put into another outer case (each STR 4601 watch comes with two outer cases). The idea is to further a sense of giving the watch fashionable versatility. What is probably more interesting is how well the case system is actually engineered. To understand the design and theme of the STR 4601, let’s look at Strayer founder, Ola Stray. He has been designing high-precision, computer-controlled, hand-operated screwdrivers and ...

 As one of the more affordable brands within Swatch Group, Tissot has always offered strong value for the money. However, as many other watch companies try to move upmarket with increasingly higher prices, the value proposition of Tissot watches has become even greater in recent years. Tissot’s popular PRX series is widely considered to be one of the top recommendations when it comes to affordable Swiss timepieces, and the latest release from Tissot for 2023 takes a similar value-oriented approach and applies it to the brand’s Seastar collection of dive watches. Joining the existing models from the series is the new Tissot Seastar 1000 Quartz 40mm, which makes its debut appearance in three different colorways and brings a highly versatile case size to the brand’s entry-level lineup of divers. Featuring cases made from stainless steel, the new Tissot Seastar 1000 Quartz 40mm watches follow much of the same design as the 36mm models that were released last year, although they render ...

 As the official partner of the French Air Force and the French Navy, it comes as no surprise that fan-favorite French watch brand YEMA continues to draw inspiration from the military to create new watches. Take, for example, the recently announced YEMA Urban Field watch collection, which offers two case sizes, three bands, and five dial colors to ensure a suitable flavor for just about anyone who appreciates a well-designed field watch. However, these field watches aren’t limited to the super casual look that’s customary for the genre — they also clean up nicely with a quick bracelet switch and are ready to be paired with more formal outfits.  The new YEMA Urban Field watches feature polished 316L stainless steel cases, available in 37.5mm (45mm lug-to-lug) and 40mm (48 mm lug-to-lug) sizes. The case profile is slim at just 7.80mm-thick and topped with a 1.80mm-thick double-domed sapphire crystal, which provides a neo-vintage look while also benefitting from the material’s re...

 Back in 2016, Bulova introduced the CURV collection, which debuted the world’s very first curved chronograph movement (quartz, mechanical, or otherwise). Having a curved case profile to better fit the wrist is hardly a novel concept, but the challenges associated with producing curved movements are significantly more involved, and those challenges only increase further with more complicated movements such as chronographs. While the inaugural CURV collection from 2016 consisted of twelve models, Bulova has expanded the series for 2023 with three new chronographs, and the new Bulova CURV watches introduce a more refined and streamlined aesthetic with a semi-integrated bracelet design. Presented as two different stainless steel models and one two-tone version with yellow gold colored accents, the new Bulova CURV chronograph watches feature cases that are noticeably more rounded and traditional compared to previous chronograph models from the CURV series. While they are still inherent...

 When St. Louis, Missouri-based Monta (a sister brand of Everest Bands) burst into the watch scene in 2016, it challenged the industry’s perception of microbrands and what they can offer. Monta quickly became somewhat of a gold standard of quality in the microbrand space, with yearly releases that defined the brand’s design language and reaffirmed its presence each time. Seven years later, it continues to raise the bar, leading me to question where we draw the line between “micro” and “independent” brands. As design language develops and catalogs expand, when do we change how we define brands? If Monta wasn’t already considered an independent brand then the direction it is heading will certainly take it there. The Monta Skyquest has received its most significant update after five years in production and is a step outside of the brand’s established comfort zone. The new generation of Monta Skyquest is decidedly aggressive, in contrast to the brand’s other offerings that take a more ...

 As its latest new release of 2023, Bovet has created an updated version of its 19Thirty timepiece that takes the inherently classic series in a more modern and space-oriented direction. While virtually all of Bovet’s models offer a rather traditional overall appearance, the 19Thirty range generally falls to the extreme in that category with its pocket watch-inspired aesthetic and vintage-leaning design details. With that in mind, rather than having a case crafted from traditional precious metals or even stainless steel, the new Bovet 19Thirty Blue Meteorite features a sandblasted titanium case, and it showcases a genuine meteorite dial in a vibrant shade of blue. For those not familiar with Bovet’s 19Thirty series, the line is part of the brand’s greater Fleurier collection, and it was originally launched back in 2015, with its visual inspiration derived from the pocket watches that the brand was producing during the 1930s (hence the “19Thirty” name). Additionally, since 1930 was ...

 Amid the watch industry’s current materials arms race, organically derived bioceramics have quickly risen to become some of the most intriguing options on the more affordable side of the market. With their extreme light weight, resilient construction, eco-friendly manufacturing, and their ability to be manufactured in a full spectrum of colors, it’s no surprise bioceramics are rapidly spreading through the industry at a rapid clip. Ferragamo is the latest brand to embrace the strengths of bioceramic construction, rendering its stylish integrated F-80 Skeleton model in a pair of striking bioceramic colorways. The new Ferragamo F-80 Skeleton models in bioceramic bring a sleekly futuristic new monochrome look to the series, with intriguing construction, capable movements, and a sustainable ethos that should find a following both in and out of watch enthusiast circles. At 41mm-wide, the bioceramic cases of these new Ferragamo F-80 Skeleton models should carry a balanced, sporty presen...

 When in Geneva recently, I visited a temporary showroom dedicated to the still-fresh watch and luxury accessories company Kross Studio. The company was formed a few years ago by Marco Tedeschi and is dedicated to a combination of high-end timepieces and high-end toys. Tedeschi earned his chops working close to Jean-Claude Biver at Hublot before having his chance in the spotlight to run Romain Jerome (later renamed to just RJ). That brand wasn’t able to keep going due to insufficient investment (as I understand it), and after that, Tedeschi seemed to want to stay in the game by developing a concept that even better manifests his passions, and Kross Studio was born. In this article, I want to mostly go hands-on with the Kross Studio Boba Fett Tourbillon watch (originally debuted on aBlogtoWatch here) and its accompanying replica of the Slave 1 ship that doubles as the case. I also took some pictures of the even more impressive carrying case (furniture, really) that came with Kross S...

 Irecently wrote about Boldr in my column, Actually Affordable, and while the specific model I chose to feature was the titanium Venture Automatic, that only represents one small slice of the brand’s outdoor-oriented offerings. Released last year in 2022, the Boldr Safari series is a collection of rugged outdoor models that are defined by their bold and stylized California dials. While the lineup also includes both a diver and a GMT model, the Ranger variant is a classic three-handed field watch, and the Boldr Safari Ranger Kopje is the black dial version that offers the most traditional and straightforward overall appearance. Crafted from a single piece of 316L stainless steel, the case of the Boldr Safari Ranger Kopje features a matte bead-blasted finish, and it offers a similar overall profile to models such as the CWC G10 or Marathon Officer’s Watch. The overall dimensions of the case come in at 40mm in diameter by 12mm thick, with an overall lug-to-lug profile of 48mm, and thi...

 Cartier is huge. It’s under the Richemont umbrella — in fact, it’s the brand that’s holding that umbrella for all the others under it. Cartier’s 2022 retail value market share is gigantic, third only after Rolex and Omega, as estimated by Morgan Stanley. All the more shocking, then, that a brand of this size would launch an all-gold dress watches limited to just 100 pieces, but that’s what’s happened with the Cartier Tank Normale — an “abnormally” exclusive Cartier gold dress watch for 2023. While there certainly are bigger problems in the world, self-imposed limitations in luxury watch production have understandably been getting on the nerves of watch enthusiasts the world over. Watches that appear to be more or less normal references from a company’s regular collection being knocked back to just a few dozen or a couple hundred pieces for a global market has proven a remarkably efficient way to upset the fans of a brand. It’s all the more irritating when said limitations are impo...

 One of the primary reasons why some people might wear smartwatches over traditional digital sports watches is for their health and fitness tracking capabilities, although rarely do most people actually need all of a smartwatch’s other functions. However, as a multinational electronics manufacturing company that is also widely respected throughout the watch industry, Casio is more than capable of integrating the key functions of a fitness tracker into a traditional sports watch package, and the new Casio G-Shock Move DWH5600 takes the familiar fan-favorite “square” silhouette of the original G-Shock and combines it with all of the capabilities of a modern fitness tracker, including step counting, heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen level measurement, and more. Available in either black as the ref. DWH5600-1 or a blue/gray color as the ref. DWH5600-2, the new Casio G-Shock Move DWH5600 more-or-less looks like an unusual color variant of the classic 5600 series that has been around s...

 Zenith refers to its Defy Skyline 36, which it released earlier this year, as a “midsize unisex” model. A lot of you may balk at that. While watch sizes are undoubtedly trending down after years of wrist-breaking paperweights, 36mm is still too small for many. On top of that, despite its use of the phrase, Zenith has marketed these watches towards women: The watches are modeled by women on the product pages, and the press releases I’ve seen for these particular models highlight exceptional women entrepreneurs. Add to that the colors and the alternate diamond bezel models in the same hues, and Zenith would appear to have checked its swing on the whole midsize unisex idea. After spending time with the lime green Zenith Defy Skyline 36, though, it became pleasingly clear that these colorful watches are, in fact, for everyone. Let me tell you right now that, except for the largest of wrists, 36mm is not too small. While the transition from my mostly 38-41mm watches took a moment, afte...