OraOrea is a new independent brand founded by Zach Weiss, best known as co-founder of Worn & Wound and Windup Watch Fair. After years spent analysing, curating and discussing watches, Weiss now steps into product creation with a first model that reflects a collector’s eye for proportion and detail. The OraOrea Coriolis Pointer Date is […]
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Minerva, the historic Swiss brand known for its high horology and manufacture in Villeret, will now have separate billing as a distinct entity within the Montblanc brand, with the name Minerva standing alone on the dial of its new watches.The change marks a notable shift in brand positioning for Minerva, founded in 1858, and long considered the horological jewel within the Montblanc product line, which includes watches, leather goods, and, of course, writing instruments. The separation in iden
Reviving the legacy of an illustrious 19th-century Austrian watchmaker, Bernhard Zwinz has breathed new life into the name Winnerl. With this detail-obsessed watchmaker at the helm, each timepiece is meticulously and beautifully handcrafted, reflecting a deep commitment to artisanal watchmaking. Following the discreet success of its first release, the brand returns in 2026 with a second […]
Stockholm-based, Dutch-rooted microbrand Maen is now a rather familiar face, being known for compelling and accessible watches such as the Skymaster Chronograph or the Manhattan series. Last year, however, the young brand made quite some noise by collaborating with Nico Leonard, a fellow Dutch watch YouTuber, widely known for his outspoken style. The result was a fresh, […]
Founded in 2025 in Hong Kong, Earthen Company entered the watchmaking scene, offering a combination of modern materials, vintage-inspired proportions, and accessible pricing. Its inaugural alpine-spirited Summit collection of compact ceramic field watches with oversized crowns and clean, legible dials had a strong visual identity, tools designed for outdoor use. Now, with the new Nightfall […]
What We KnowZach Starr Weiss has been a fixture of the watch media landscape for nearly 15 years as the co-founder of Worn & Wound and Windup Watch Fair, so if you know his work, you also know that his tastes have been carefully honed over a decade of handling watches. As such, today's introduction of his new brand, OraOrea, should be an exciting day for everyone who has followed his work and continued impact on the watch space.OraOrea is launching with one new model, the Coriolis Pointer
Happy April, folks. The Midwest is doing its annual "can't-make-up-its-mind" dance. I swing from desultory frustration at having to wear long pants as the mercury dips to hopeful thrill at finally being able to wear shorts and be outside without muttering curse words. Then the whole shuffle repeats, seemingly every few days, and I distract myself with watches. I hope wherever you are is more manageable.Scorekeeping last week's picks: both the Omega 3953 and the tropical Zenith A384 passed, whi
Louis Moinet’s 1816 Compteur de Tierces, or “thirds counter”, was originally designed to measure the speed of moving stars. Endowed with a start, stop and reset function and a balance wheel beating at an impressive high frequency of 30Hz or 216,000 vibrations per hour, his novel stopwatch could time events to the 60th of a […]
Origin StoryFor a little while, I've been following Mineroci, a Beijing-based independent watchmaker that has shown some pretty remarkable talent for interpreting traditional Swiss inspiration into a new, pretty impressive watch. That piece, the RD002, recently found the spotlight because Mineroci was one of the 20 semi-finalists for the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives. And yet, far removed from the Swiss watchmaking scene, with only 2,300 Instagram followers and a language
Founded in Biel/Bienne and revitalised in 2016 under the leadership of Raphaël Granito, Formex is appreciated for its engineering-driven watchmaking, ergonomic case design and modularity. Known at first for its motorsport roots and patented case suspension systems, the brand has gradually defined its identity with the Essence and Reef collections, offering well-executed watches with interesting […]
Since its acquisition by the Richemont Group in 2006, historic and highly revered brand Minerva has lived under the control of Montblanc, its watches bearing double-signed dials. 20 years later, under the direction of Laurent Lecamp, Global Managing Director for both Montblanc and Minerva, the venerable hidden gem of haute horology emancipates again and now becomes […]
Albishorn is one of these intriguing newcomers on the independent scene. The brand operates under the concept of “Imaginary Vintage“, designing watches that were never made but could have been. Following the Maxigraph and Type 10 in 2024, both explained by plausible historical scenarios, the 2025 Thundergraph was (or could have been) made for alpine […]
The Horological Society of New York (HSNY) celebrated its 160th Anniversary Gala on Saturday, March 21, 2026, awarding a record $450,000 in financial aid and raising $1.2 million to further the Society's mission of advancing the art and science of horology. Hosted at The Plaza Hotel, the black-tie event brought together more than 500 prominent members of the watchmaking community, including independent watchmakers, leading brands, VIP guests, and major auction houses, to support the industry's
In 2024, indie watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin unveiled the ThinKing watch as a bold attempt to set a world record: an exceptionally thin mechanical wristwatch measuring just 1.65mm. Holding this watch in your hand is simply incredible – the extreme slenderness is astonishing, and the technical achievement behind it is truly impressive. Since then, he has […]
Today, Porsche Design announces a new (limited) edition of the brand's well-known Chronograph 1. It's another subtle variation of the tried-and-true design, as the automotive brand stays true to the silhouette and continues to tweak the details on the case and dial. But while the changes on the outside might be subtle, this edition also coincides with the opening of a new Porsche Design Timepieces facility, located about 170 kilometers from Geneva, in Grenchen, Switzerland.Porsche Design is qu
When a brand drops a set of updates like this, it is rarely about just one watch. With Montblanc’s start to 2026, the focus is more on variety. The Rieussec brings in a historical link, while pieces like the Iced Sea focus more on materials and colour, including a brighter coral dial. There are also […]
What We KnowIf you're looking for a watch (and a watchmaker) with a backstory, then it's best to pay attention to Stéphane Pierre. Trained in mechanics, then engineering from studies in micro-mechanics at Besançon, a subcontractor for the Swatch Group. Pierre then spent years working for the naval and military sector before revisiting Swiss watchmaking (and specifically Geneva-based manufactures). Pierre has had quite a career. And with l'Impétrant, his first watch under his own name, he's now
There’s a new indie brand in town… Stéphane Pierre enters the independent watchmaking scene with a strong personal story and vision. Based in Annecy and trained as a micro-mechanical engineer, Pierre brings a background shaped by traditional watchmaking and the demanding environment of the naval and military sector, as he spent several years in the […]
While most attention in Porsche Design’s timekeeping history probably goes to the original 1972 all-black Chronograph 1 and its modern-day spin-offs, it’s far from all Porsche Design has done over the years. Released in 1972, the Chronograph 1 is still regarded as the cornerstone model for the brand, and as such is reinterpreted in a […]