Patrick and I have both had a chance to check out Borealis dive watches in the past, and we both have been left with the impression that the brand is producing great value dive watches. This trend look to be continuing with the Borealis Seafarer II, now on pre-order from the brand and scheduled for delivery in May/June 2016.
There are a couple of American brands that we have been able to forge relationships with here at WWR, and I am proud to say that Detroit Watch Company is one of those. This is the second of their watches I have been able to check out in person, the first being the 1701. Let’s just say I liked that watch, so I had high hopes for the Detroit Watch Co M1 Woodward. At least for me, they are now 2-0 (can’t say the Lions are doing that well, sorry Patrick).
Our goal, for the time being at least, is to publish one article per day here at WWR. Discounting the weekend posts, that means we cover on the order of 250 watches per year. Since we don’t cover every new watch we see, I would estimate that we see (collectively) well over 500 new watches a year, and that number is probably closer to 1,000; after all, we read a number of the other watch blogs as well. So this gives us a pretty good pool of watches from which to develop favorites. And that is what this post is all about, our picks for the WWR Top Watches of 2015. This post will cover my picks for the best watches that we have featured on this site, and Patrick and Ken will also chime in with lists of their own.
Welcome to our regular Sunday feature, Watch Video Rewind, where we post watch related video from the web to highlight interesting watches or interesting aspects of watch making. There are a lot of start-up companies that talk about bringing watchmaking back to the US, and a couple of smaller brands that are already doing just that, but I thought I would share a few video from when the US had a large watch manufacturing presence.
It is hard to believe it is December already, but it is, so it is time to roll out our weekly edition of Watching the Web. Here, we highlight interesting articles we come across on other sites, as well as identify which of our own recent articles were the most popular over the last week or so. For this week’s article, I have an ultra thin tourbillon, a new brand from one of the men behind Magrette, and a Damascas steel watch from GoS. From our pages, the posts about new Magrette models, the Lew & Huey Phantom and the Crowdfunding Round Up topped the list.
Chronos 03Wearable technology looks like it is here to stay, regardless of how some of us semi-luddites feel we don’t need it. So if we are going to strap notification devices and fitness trackers to our bodies, do we want to do it through new devices, or as add-ons to what we already wear. The Chronos wearable is betting on the latter, and is currently taking pre-orders for their device intended to augment your existing watch.
Lew and Huey is a brand that I look to when I want to talk about the potential success of the crowd funded marketplace. The brand began on Kickstarter, with multiple watches launched on that platform, all well received. I put the brand in the category of “friend of the site,” and they are always happy to send us information on upcoming watches and then lend us review copies when they are available. I first wrote up the Phantom in April, and now I have a chance to take a two of the three options out for a test drive.
Finding out about new watches from brands we like is especially fun. You get to learn about what is new and changed on existing models, and sometimes even see something brand new being introduced. A lot of that sort of information happens in dribs and drabs, or in the giant flood known as BaselWorld. Well, Magrette likes to do things their own way, and they simply sent out an email detailing what was coming for 2016, to give those interested a chance to pre-order. So, with that background, let’s have a look at what is in the cards for Magrette next year.
This month, we have an opportunity for you to win a copy of the reissued Benrus Sky Chief.
If you are a regular reader, you may have noticed that we have pivoted a bit away from crowdfunded watches in the last few months. We will still cover projects that intrigue us, but we are more selective about the campaigns we highlight these days. That said, this crowdfunding round up is highlighting five watch project currently running on Kickstarter.
