03Août 2016 by Martin Green No Comments
Swatch POP: Never Fading Creativity

Swatch POP: Never Fading Creativity

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Isn't it amazing that after over three decades Swatch is still as fun, funky and original as when they first launched. In all those years they brought out numerous design, and you are bound to find some you really don't like, as well as some you love, but they all have this creative spark running through them. And as if we didn't believe them they decided to proof it once more with the new POP-collection. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5XT-vbrsqc The new POP-collection consists out of 9 new models, and as always does each model comes with a character of its own, varying from the colorful Poppingpop to the Popdancing, which resembles a monochrome American flag. Although these 9 models are new, the very first POP-collection was launched 30 years ago, in 1986. Secret…
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02Août 2016 by Martin Green No Comments
Vapaus: A Lesson In Minimalism

Vapaus: A Lesson In Minimalism

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Kickstarter and Indiegogo are full of them, department stores are full of them, and, what a surprise, Alibaba.com is full of them. Minimalist watches that are being presented to us in the most glorious marketing-terms, to convince us that less is more, often tossing some Scandinavian countries, as well as some Scandinavian looking people, in for good measure. Unfortunately these watches are often created by a designer with a minimum of talent, who wanted to invest a minimum amount of his time, because even he knows that the watch will be made at a minimum quality level, in a factory that most likely offers its workers as minimum of a wage as possible, all to maximize profits. Fortunately there are brands like Vapaus on Kickstarter, who try to set the…
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01Août 2016 by Martin Green 7 Comments
Jubileon Superellipse: Not Only Mathematical Correct

Jubileon Superellipse: Not Only Mathematical Correct

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What is it with Singapore and watches? Just like The Netherlands is it a small dot on the world map that produces a disproportional amount of great watches. At Watchisthis?! we are for instance a fan of Regia, which comes from Singapore, just as Jubileon. Jubileon's first model is called the Superellipse, which is a term used in mathematics. They used superellipse to mathematically represent the cushion shape of the case. I must say that this intellectual approach is quite refreshing, especially when it results in a great design as the Superellipse. Actually when I first saw the watch, I thought "that is a great aviation watch!". The tonneau case gives the watch a slight vintage touch, although its thickness and the screws indicate that it is purpose build, like…
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29Juil 2016 by Martin Green 1 Comment
Ticwatch 2: The Nightmare From China

Ticwatch 2: The Nightmare From China

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Raising US$50.000,- in 10 minutes sounds insane, but that is exactly what the Ticwatch 2 accomplished. Meet the nightmare of the affordable Swiss and Japanese watch industry, a smartwatch with a price tag of US$199,-. And this price is not an early bird special, but the full retail price of the Ticwatch 2 once it hits the market. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax7QKR3DiM4 Impossible? A scam you say? Highly doubtful since Ticwatch 2 is produced by Mobvoi. Founded in 2012, this Chinese company is an expert on voice recognition, semantic analytics, and search technologies, and has been making them for WeChat, as well as the Android Wear devices in China, since Google is by law not allowed to use their own. And Google is exactly who is backing Mobvoi now, with the release of…
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27Juil 2016 by Martin Green No Comments
Balticus Star Dust: Staring At The Dial

Balticus Star Dust: Staring At The Dial

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The beauty about today's world is that watch companies are now not limited anymore to countries that produce its movements. Meet Balticus, a small brand from Poland, that is best known for a charming diver that they named "Grey Seal". That is until now, because they just opened the pre-order for their new watch, the "Star Dust". I often have it that I check my watch, and that people ask me afterwards what time it is. I couldn't tell them because I wasn't checking the time, but admiring my watch! The Star Dust will definitely offer the same problem, yet more on a "Pokemon Go" level. Total distraction, thanks to a deep blue/black dial with little sparkles in it, that makes it look like you are staring into the depths…
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26Juil 2016 by Martin Green No Comments
Archimede Expands The Outdoor

Archimede Expands The Outdoor

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No, the people at Archimede are not getting a bigger yard, but they did expand their Outdoor collection with two new watches: the Schwarzwald and the Kalahari. As their names might already indicate: they are referring to dial colors, a deep green for the Schwarzwald and a sandy beige for the Kalahari. They join the white dialed K2, red dialed Stromboli, and the classic black dial, which Archimede strangely didn't gave another name. The cool thing about the Outdoor collection it that it really seems to be a watch made for the outdoors. It is really a mechanical watch that can accompany you on your hikes. The case is part 70's styled, part sports watch, which results into something unique. It is not an attention magnet, unless you go perhaps…
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25Juil 2016 by Martin Green No Comments
Vortic Journeyman: Less Vintage, Equally Exciting

Vortic Journeyman: Less Vintage, Equally Exciting

Uncategorized
Vortic made quick work of their latest Kickstarter campaign for the Journeyman series. With this watch Vortic leaves its usual approach, but not its usual charm. For the first time is a Vortic not powered by restored pocket watch movements crafted decades ago by American watch manufacturers like Waltham, Hamilton, Elgin, and Illinois. Instead, the Journeyman series treats its owners to brand new movements, but equally special ones. Vortic is launching the Journeyman series on Kickstarter, with not one model, but three! The first two are housed in a 41mm titanium case in true Vortic style, with the crown at 12 o'clock. One is manual wind, while the other has an automatic movement. The movement that Vortic uses in these two Journeymen is one that doesn't come around that often,…
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21Juil 2016 by Martin Green No Comments
Longines Heritage 1969: Too Cool For School

Longines Heritage 1969: Too Cool For School

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Longines is one of the Swiss brands with an incredible rich history. In fact I think that even very critical, high-end collectors can be completely satisfied when they can collect nothing but Longines for the rest of their lives. Fortunately Longines sometimes digs in their archives and re-issues one of their treasures. This time a beauty from 1969! I wasn't around yet in 1969, but it was a year in which the cold war could turn hot at any minute, Nixon became president, Led Zeppelin launched their first album and Jennifer Lopez was born, and Longines made a simple, yet stunning cushion shaped watch. For the re-edition Longines stayed very close to the original, but only beefed up the case slightly. As a result the re-edition can fit easier with…
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06Juil 2016 by Martin Green No Comments
Art Mécanique: When Knowledge And Passion Meet

Art Mécanique: When Knowledge And Passion Meet

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Art Mécanique is yet another Kickstarter campaign that shows that there is still hope for this platform to launch affordable, well made, and innovative watches. Adriano and Frédéric, two veterans of the Swiss watch industry, where allegedly tired of their friends asking if they could get a watch from the brands they where working for at a discount, that they decided to create an affordable watch brand themselves.  Pleased to see that they took on that challenge because the result is sure a nice one! Their first model is called AM 16-01. We presume that the AM stands for Art Mécanique, but have no clue what the 16-01 means. Not that it matters, because we rather see a cool watch with a mysterious name, than a mysterious watch with a…
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20Juin 2016 by Martin Green No Comments
Mechanica Done Right!

Mechanica Done Right!

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Kickstarter has become quite the nursery for new watches, yet some of them should not be on there. Most of the watches that fall in that category simply lack any form of quality and originality, but a few should not be on Kickstarter because they are simply too good for crowd funding. One that falls into this last category is Done watches! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6K9ANoi9vc Created in Neuchatel, Switzerland, Done is simply breathtaking! Yes, there is no other way to describe the brand. From the lushly curved case, to the stunning two tone-dial, and not to mention that movement.....The Done Mechanica is created by micro-technology engineer Thierry Clottu, a 10-year veteran of the Swiss watch industry, and that experience for sure shows in his work. The Done Mechanica is a watch to…
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