There are few names in the golden age of watchmaking as revered as Vénus, which produced some of the best chronograph movements of the 1940s. But the history of this small Swiss company is not well documented, and the story reveals the surprisingly-connected world of watchmaking at the time. Vénus rose and fell in just a few decades, but the legacy of their chronograph movements, especially the legendary rattrapantes used by Breitling, lives on.
The Neo-Classical Watches of Naoya Hida
Naoya Hida & Co. is a Tokyo-based independent watch atelier producing a small number of classically-inspired watches. The company recently released their 2022 line for application. This article gives an overview of Hida, the watches, and their movements.
IWC, Porsche Design, and Titanium Watches
On April 25, 1981, attendees at the European Watch, Clock, and Jewellery Fair in Basel got their hands on something completely new. IWC introduced the Porsche Design Titan chronograph, the first titanium watch available for sale. The revolutionary material caught the watchmaking world off guard, and the Titan helped IWC and their partner Jaeger-LeCoultre survive the quartz crisis. This is the story of the watches created by legendary designer Ferdinand Alexander Porsche and the radical utilitarian watch designs he created with IWC. It’s also a story of how materials and design can spark customer enthusiasm and sales.
The Curious Case of the Column Wheel Valjoux 7750 Variants
I first discovered the world of column wheel 7750 variants while looking at a Longines Heritage Chronograph. The movement looked vaguely familiar to me, yet I couldn’t place it. A bit of research revealed it to be something really special: A column wheel variant of the Valjoux 7753 built by ETA for their Valgranges line. Then I stumbled on the fact that Omega also got a version of this ETA Valgranges A08.L01 movement with a Co-Axial escapement.
Panerai PAM 64C Submersible 1000m “La Bomba”
Panerai isn’t for everyone, but if I was going to buy one, it would be this Panerai PAM 64C Submersible 1000m, the original “La Bomba” watch.