As holiday spending kicks into high gear, November was as busy with watch releases as it was with watch news. Read on for the big winners at the “Watch Oscars”, a behind-the-scenes look at G-Shock’s premium production facility, and the make-or-break choices that go into typefaces. Plus, we find out just how Sellita is penalizing workers for peeing, and why Seagull’s recent decision might be a bullet in the foot. Amidst tons of new releases as brand’s jockey for access to our holiday wallets, we’re focusing this month on the best of the best, from Tudor’s new GMT to a Polerouter that’s so rare, it cannot yet be owned. Want a larger roundup of recent individual watch releases? Check them out here.
GPHG 2024 Award Winners And Highlights
November saw the 2024 GPHG Awards, and the excitement that comes with it. In its twenty-third edition, the ceremony is streamed for free online for anyone curious enough to tune into a somewhat disjointed, sometimes amusing awards show featuring a who’s-who of the watch world (minus Rolex and Patek Philippe, which do not participate). Keen observers knew that IWC’s Portugieser Eternal Calendar would be taking home the grand prize, the Aiguille d’Or, when it was passed over in its main category, Calendar & Astronomy. Van Cleef & Arpels took the stage an impressive three times, collecting statues for the Artistic Crafts, Ladies’ Complication, and Ladies’ Watch categories. While the toughest grouping may have been the Mechanical Exception category, Bovet’s win with its mind-boggling Recital 28 Prowess 1 worldtimer was well-deserved.
Source: A Timely Perspective
New Release: Tudor Pelagos FXD GMT Zulu Time Watch
Slow and steady seems to be the mantra of Tudor in a tougher-than-usual market these past few years. To get to last month’s Pelagos FXD GMT Zulu Time, we have to go back to 2021. That year, Tudor introduced the Pelagos FXD.
While the fixed-springbar version of Tudor’s monster diver was newsworthy enough at the time, the FXD has been pretty dormant since then. The next year, Tudor began its current focus on building out the Black Bay line, releasing the GMT-enabled Black Bay Pro. Last year saw the addition of a white-dial version of the 42mm Black Bay GMT, and this past April, Tudor announced the Black Bay 58 — its most popular watch among collectors — would be adding a GMT version. Now, the pendulum has swung back to the FXD collection, where the booming GMT functionality craze continues.
Source: aBlogtoWatch
Only Watch Hits Pause… Again
It seems the annual Only Watch charitable auction is in trouble again. Reported by Watchonista (and almost nowhere else), the closely-monitored global auction of one-of-a-kind timepieces from the world’s biggest watchmakers appears to be on an indefinite pause with organizers announcing that “The board of directors… has made the indefinite decision to refrain from planning an auction, stating there is no immediate necessity for a new fundraising initiative.” What’s vexing is the phrase “no immediate necessity” when used in regard to charitable fundraising. Did they conclude that too much money has been raised for Only Watch’s goal of combating Duchenne muscular dystrophy? Sarcasm aside, it’s not the first time the event has faced tribulation. Last year, it was postponed to 2024 after mounting criticism about a lack of financial transparency.
Source: Instagram
Ariel’s Thoughts: What Is and Isn’t a Watch Review
Last month, aBlogtoWatch founder Ariel Adams shared his reflections on the meaning and importance of watch reviews, explaining along the way what constitutes a review, and what is just “watch content” rehashing a press release. One of his most important considerations is in regards to those entities that both retail and review watches. For Ariel, “You clearly cannot offer an objective opinion about the merits or worthiness of a watch when at the same time you are hoping someone will hand over top dollar for it.” Encouraging buyers to trust, but verify when it comes to reviews, Adams takes time to explain what makes our reviews different and why “we have not, do not, and will not ever sell watches on aBlogtoWatch.” If you’ve got time, take a walk through the comments section. There’s no shortage of well-articulated perspectives on the subject.
Source: aBlogtoWatch
Casio G-Shock Premium Line
For anyone who fondly recalls the 32 seasons of How It’s Made, Revolution’s recent jaunt through the Yamagata Casio Factory in Higashine might just scratch that itch. Beginning with the case components — the only bits not made in Japan — follows the most premium G-Shocks as they travel the (what else?) G-shaped assembly line en route to final assembly and packaging. One shocking fact: the qualification exams for personnel who want to work in this area of Casio’s production are so stringent that out of 40,000 applicants, fewer than 1% qualify.
Source: Revolution Watch
Hands-On Debut: Universal Genève Polerouter Unique Watches for Polerouter SAS Flights Anniversary
It’s here! Well, sort of. When news broke in December 2023 that Breitling had acquired the defunct Universal Geneve watch brand, collectors immediately began speculating what the future held for reviving the vintage darling. Eleven months later, we have a bit of an answer, with the release of three special timepieces made to celebrate seventy years since Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) flew two Douglas DC-6B’s across the North Pole to connect Los Angeles and Copenhagen. This feat, never before attempted by a commercial airline, proved immensely tricky as the unreliable magnetism at higher latitudes makes compass-based navigation almost impossible. Instead, the crew relied on time-based systems like dead reckoning and looked to their specially made wristwatches from Universal Geneve to help get the job done. These “Polerouter” watches have become immensely collectible, and for 2024, they still are — the brand has made just three watches, two of which are headed for a museum while the third will be auctioned off in May.
Source: aBlogtoWatch
Just My Type: An Interview with Watch Typography Designer Samuel Baker
File this either under “Things I Don’t Care About” or “Hills I Will Die On.” Professional typographer, Samuel Baker, shares his thoughts on the use of fonts and more when it comes to watch design. With spacing, legibility, and balance all playing a role in great typography, it can be tricky to nail it on the tiny canvas of a watch dial. But just like some other “art forms,” you’ll know it when you see it. Using examples from Heuer, Grand Seiko, and Nivada, Baker shouts out the best of the best before pointing out that Patek Philippe uses Arial, which is just deeply troubling once you notice it.
Source: Fratello Watches
Wait a Minute: High-End Brands Are Running Out of Trinkets
After an era of hand-wringing about quartz killing off the luxury watch industry, the angel of death may yet prove to be the internet. As aBlogtoWatch’s Mike Razak points out, the days when high-end complications were firmly the prerogative of Swiss luxury brands are now in the past, with smaller manufacturers offering everything from chiming watches to tourbillons. So, too, is the secret out on aventurine and meteorite dials. What were once thought of as exotic and rare are now on offer from everybody and their brother. In the Darwinian landscape of watches, it’s adapt or die, and too much evidence is piling up that the big brands aren’t innovating.
Source: aBlogtoWatch
Is Sellita Hacking Payroll for Bathrooms?
It’s a brave new world at Sellita’s Swiss movement factories. As explained by Prof. Brendan Cunningham, the labor union Unia, which represents many workers in the Swiss watch industry, recently staged a protest outside Sellita’s Crêt-du-Locle factory. At this factory, according to Unia, the company implemented a policy requiring employees to clock out during bathroom breaks. Shortening the workday in this way is a direct hit to workers’ pay, but it seems to be legal under a recent Swiss court decision. Whether legal or not, it’s bad business, and as the old management maxim goes, “Rewards not given, will still be taken.” Not that a bathroom break should be considered a reward, but the sentiment still stands. As any bewildered American tourist facing a coin-op turnstile in an overseas bathroom can attest, the whole notion of paying to use the can is an indignity.
Source: Horolonomics
Watch Review: Elliot Brown Beachmaster Watches
In this month’s edition of “Why Didn’t I Think Of That?” we present Elliot Brown’s forehead-slappingly simple combination of a custom GMT hand and inner rotating bezel. Found in its new Beachmaster watches, it leverages existing tech to stretch a GMT’s functionality into a 12-hour countdown/timer bezel. The secret lies in the printing on the rotating inner ring which starts (or ends) with “H” hour. In the photo above, it’s showing that about three hours and 45 minutes have elapsed. But once that orange hand reaches the 6 o’clock position, it starts counting down the hours as it approaches the “H.” Of course, a standard dive bezel offers a minute countdown as well, so you could theoretically set a timer to count down from very exact times. Need GMT time? It’s right there in the center of the dial.
Source: aBlogtoWatch
Seagull Limits Supply of ST-19 Movements for Chronographs
Is there anything better looking than manual chronograph movement? For a long time, collectors’ entry-point for these gorgeous feats of engineering was the Chinese-made Seagull ST-19, found in everything from the Baltic Bicompax 002 to every luxury “homage” on AliExpress. Now, the manufacturer has announced a new minimum order quantity of 10,000 units, putting the ST-19 far out of reach for many smaller brands using it. Anticipating that brands will just pool their orders together to place a batch order large enough for Seagull’s new rules, the official notice also stipulates that “ST19 movements purchased by customers can only be used for their own brands and must not be sold to other customers or individuals without authorization.” Maybe someone at Seagull should ask around at ETA (whose competitor Sellita is now running laps around it) what happens when you restrict who can buy your movements.
Source: Monochrome Watches