Projects Watches is not a brand that seems to rest on its laurels. Sure, they have re-issues from their back catalog (like the Newark Museum Watch), but they also are creating new designs. We have featured a few different ones over the last year, and their latest takes a love of geometry and pushes it to the stars. That watch, designed by Alessio Romano, is the Projects Watches Ora Major.
One of the benefits of being a watch reviewer is that we get to see a lot of watches, particularly when new ones come on to the market. Or are in the process of coming, which means that on some rarer occasions we do get to go hands-on with a prototype. This is what we have today with the R. Paige Crash of ’29, which is the result of a collaboration between Richard Paige and Mark Carson of Individual Design. Let’s take a closer look at what this collaboration has wrought, shall we?
It was not all that long ago that a dive watch from the Netherlands seemed like a rarity. As it turns out, there is a new brand starting up that also wants to offer you a Dutch dive watch. While the previous one we wrote about was firmly in the realm of luxury watches, the Van Speyk Dutch Diver is definitely of the more affordable variety.
We just received word the other day from our pals over at Lew & Huey about a handful of updates, so we thought we’d share the news out here as well, as it is likely of interest to our readers. This roundup contains information on the Lew & Huey Phantom pre-order, a handful of replacement dials, and some new strap options.
If there is one watch style that is more popular than others, at least amongst enthusiasts, it would seem that the dive watch would be a top contender, if not king of the mountain. This is based on my extensive research of thinking back over what I have seen newer brands creating, so take the assertion with a grain of salt. Let’s take a look to see what makes the Pellikaan Diving Dutchman-1 stand out.
Tool watch, dress watch, dress watch tool watch; what to wear, what to wear? H2O Watch has an idea that maybe you don’t need to decide any more, you can get a nice tool watch that is elegant enough to wear as a dress watch, and does not have the price tag of a Panerai attached. The H2O Watch Hydra is currently open for pre-order, letting you pick from case finish/material, dial color, bezel design, and even crown to create a watch that fits your style, from the boardroom to the beach.
The Megalodon was a prehistoric shark, the biggest and (presumably) baddest shark to live on Earth. Not too long ago, I saw an article which asked if any of these cold still be alive in the deep ocean (no), but one is definitely back. The Benarus Megalodon dive watch is now available for pre-order, and it is still the beast it has always been.
Fresh of the heels of their first crowdfunded success, ManchesterWatchWorks is back at it again, with a modern looking diver recharged by the sun (really any light). These quartz driven, photovoltaic recharged watches are not new, companies have been making them for decades, but the ManchesterWatchWorks Armada is the first crowd funded dive watch I have seen with this technology, and it looks to be an attractive package.
We get a lot of notifications of crowdfunded projects crossing our virtual desks here at WWR, and the honest truth is that we don’t always have enough time to feature all of them. So for you readers out there, check out the various platforms and search for watches, and for you budding watchmakers, don’t be discouraged if we can’t get to your project, and keep sending them in. One bit of advice I would give to a new brand is to make an attractive and unique (or at least somewhat unique) watch, and make it a value. Those categories fit the Stewart Dawson Belgravia Automatic, a new watch from a new watch company in London.
I mean that title literally, Kickstart a movement. OK, it is a watch movement, but it is a movement none the less. With this Kickstarter campaign (closing soon, I have been remiss in browsing the site), a group of industry insiders and outsiders have banded together to create a new watch movement that they hope to mass produce and compete against ETA and the other available mechanical movements. The Accurat Swiss Jonas K1 is the first watch to house this movement, like the Sistem 51 was the first watch to house that movement.
