If you’ve been reading here for any amount of time, you know I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for New Zealand brand Magrette. Most of this stems from the fact that the Regattare 2011 (link) was the first automatic I ever had. As of late, though, it’s of course influenced by the tremendous value I feel you get your for money. You may also realize that I love a good GMT complication. While this new watch doesn’t quite hit that mark, the Magrette Dual Time has a fun trick up it’s sleeve.
Ok, so that last Kickstarter project I put up was a bit of a last minute affair…
American watches have been popping up more and more on the site, some by design and some by accident. The Weiss Watch Standard Issue is one of those accidental finds, something I came across while checking out site dedicated to cool toys for guys. The fact that is it is assembles in Los Angeles, a few miles from where I write this and the city where I grew up, is a bonus in my eyes. I am a fan of clean, readable designs with interesting touches, so this watch really ticks off the right boxes for me.
Christopher Ward is a watchmaker that gets a fair bit of space on our pages. Not because they pay us, or advertise on the site, but because they make really nice watches and sells them at affordable price points. I have one, a friend of mine has one, and I am pretty sure Patrick has one. But all of these have someone else’s watch movement ticking away beneath the attractive design. Well, CW just changed the equation. The C9 Harrison 5 Day Automatic houses the brand’s first in-house movement, boasting a (you guessed it) 5 day power reserve.
We’re on a bit of a Lew & Huey streak here, coveringquite a few of their watches. We’ve also been fortunate to be in a unique position with the brand, being able to spend time with prototypes (and, eventually, the production version) of their watches. Given that, we’re able to give you a hands-on take on their latest project – the Lew & Huey Cerberus.
A lot of smart watches I see try to be everything. Email, facebook posts, texts, weather, and so on and so on. They are not watches in a traditional sense, but rather wearable computers that display the time. Today, I wanted to highlight two watches that are more “connected” watches than a do everything wearables. The HotBlack by Hoptroff.com and the Withings Activé, with the former connecting you to your favorite football (soccer) team and the latter tracking your daily fitness goals. Interestingly, both watches are coming out of the UK.
Both Patrick and I are fans of Christopher Ward. And we both like dive watches. But as a diver, I see the days of needing a dive watch as long gone. But the ruggedness of a dive watch, that is something which should stick around. And if you take that ruggedness, and tone it down so it works as a true business man’s watch, ten you have a nice product for the real world. Which brings me to the Christopher Ward C65 Trident Classic, available as a pre-order right now.
Christopher Ward C5 Slimline 03
Christopher Ward is a name that is well known to the site. My favorite watch that I own is a C11, I am pretty sure Patrick has at least one CW, and a friend of mine recently picked up a dress quartz from the company. With direct sales, quality products, and a broad design appeal, they are a company that I can easy recommend to anyone looking for a watch. Right now, they are accepting pre-orders for the C5 Malvern Slimline, due to ship at the end of June.
Magrette is offering fans a chance to order a new watch from them, the Leoncino (Little Lion), an automatic that takes its design cues from the styles of the 60s. The case is a squared off cushion style, with lugs that taper from the edges of the case to the strap. The finish is polished stainless steel (brushed on the sides), perfect to go with bright chrome fenders. The dial, however, that is pure Magrette DNA with a clean modern look.
We recently got word from our friends over at Hager about their newest watches in the pipeline, along with some pre-order discounts that are available. If you recall, we took a look at their crowd-funded project about a year ago – now, they’re back, and it’s with production on the watches they were creating for the project.