Timepiece Archives - Page 14 sur 19

17Août 2016 by Martin Green No Comments

Anonimo Nautilo: Blue Works For You

News

Blue is the color of this summer, and I don't mind that at all! Actually, blue is one of my favorite colors when it comes to watches, especially on dials, and especially with diving watches, let alone blue dialed diving watches that come on a blue rubber strap. In that case Anonimo is already ahead of the game before we even get started with the Nautilo! The Nautilo is actually a Watchisthis?! favorite. What I like about the Nautilo, apart from the blue, is that it is still very much an Anonimo! The case is an unapologetic 44.4mm, and being cushion-shaped, that makes it a serious watch. But as intimidating as its size sounds, the watch is actually more like a friendly giant. The case is well-rounded for wearing comfort,…

15Août 2016 by Martin Green No Comments

Micro-brands: Overfeeding The Crowds

Opinion

This year there must have been a record, with so many micro watch brands launching crowd funding campaigns, the majority of them even for the very first time. Many of them even get successfully funded, but the question remains: when is the market saturated? On crowd funding websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, the majority of the watch brands that launch offer watches between US$100,- and US$600,-. When brands go higher, you really need to have something special to offer (and make some additional noise to get people on the platform that normally wouldn't shop there). When brands go lower, they often target the more fashionable consumers. Watch collectors and connoisseurs can only spend their money once, and that makes it continuously more difficult for new brands to have a successful…

11Août 2016 by Martin Green No Comments

TAG-Heuer Introduces New Retail Design Concept

News

Brand boutiques have become a big thing in the last decade. They provide the brands with an opportunity to dedicate one retail space completely to what their brand is all about. These boutiques are not only point of sale and service, but also serve as a business card for the brand. So when TAG-Heuer opens a new flagship store, featuring for the first time globally its new retail design store, that is big news! TAG-Heuer is in the capable hands of Jean-Claude Biver, as CEO. Given Biver's track record the expectations are high, to see something fabulous. To create this the brand relied on its in-house design and architectural team in Switzerland. An interesting move since most brands hire well-known architects and decorators to do the job, and sometimes have…

11Août 2016 by Martin Green No Comments

Roasted To Perfection: Brew Watch Co. HP-1

News

Brew Watch Co. has just launched its second watch, the HP-1. With a design inspired by industrial coffee machines, the HP-1 is unlike any other watch out there. It is a big step ahead of the first Brew watch the special blend series, a quartz chronograph, and not only in terms of movement. Brew Watch Co. is based in New York City, and that shows. The HP-1 has a very urban feel to it, it can express what it is all about with a minimum of details. In previous articles I have stated that minimalism is the most abused term in the watch world. Brew Watch Co. doesn't use this term, but does know how to apply it. Here no hollow references to the Bauhaus-movement, but a simple design that…

10Août 2016 by Martin Green No Comments

Neonos Holland//01: Forged Carbon From Ireland

Uncategorized

Let's first clear something up: it might seems very strange as an Irish brand to name your watch "Holland//01". However, this has nothing to do with the country that sometimes goes by the same name, but refers to John Philip Holland (1841 - 1914) a brilliant, Irish engineer that without any modesty can be seen as the "father of the modern submarine.". This all makes it a bit more logical why Neonos choose him to name their first watch after. [caption id="attachment_1412" align="aligncenter" width="632"] John Philip Holland (1841 - 1914)[/caption] That watch is 44mm of design delight. Neonos did an excellent job in transferring the work of Holland a century into the future. The front is crafted from forged carbon, the back from marine grade stainless steel with a diamond-like…

06Août 2016 by Jonathan Kopp No Comments

Straits Foundry: Bypassing Crowdfunding

News

We are in August and sure thing is that I never saw so many new brands in our industry than this year...and yet Straits Foundry, another new microbrand, will be launched next September. It is true that the industry is suffering this year, but paradoxically, we see more and more small brands making their big debut... Interesting thing is that they often provide original and quality products. Unlike many young brands, Straits Foundry will sell their watches directly on their website and without going through Kickstarter. When we see the success of brands launched on the crowdfunding platforms, we are entitled to ask if this is the right strategy. The team is based in Singapore, and they are a curious crew of engineers by training and explorers on the weekends.…

05Août 2016 by Martin Green No Comments

Stowa Prodiver Blue Limited; Their Ultimate Diver

Uncategorized

One picture, that is all Stowa gave us just before they closed shop to enjoy their summer vacation, but even one picture can tell more than a thousand words. Stowa announced that they are releasing the Prodiver Blue. To me blue is always one of my favorite colors for a divers watch. It must be the reference with the water, or that it looks just a bit more casual than black. With Stowa that blue is a deep dark blue, that area of the ocean where you first have to flick on your diver light. The history of Stowa's sports and diving watches dates back to 1963, and in 1969 they already made a very nice blue one! [caption id="attachment_1362" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Historic Stowa Seatime from 1969[/caption] But this limited…

03Août 2016 by Martin Green No Comments

Swatch POP: Never Fading Creativity

News

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…

02Août 2016 by Martin Green No Comments

Vapaus: A Lesson In Minimalism

News

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…

29Juil 2016 by Martin Green 1 Comment

Ticwatch 2: The Nightmare From China

News

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…

Étiquette : Timepiece