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Oddballs
Ming Liu on the uptick in interest for weird & wonderful watches that don't conform to the norm.

We Only Get One Planet Earth
Thoughtful perspective on the Right to Repair from MKBHD.

Manitoba Driver Slapped With $1,900 in Fines for Early Morning ‘Rolex Delivery’

Museum Aspirations
While he has owned & accomplished much within the watch industry—including being the sole representative of the renowned Philippe Dufour—Claude Sfeir's ultimate dream of owning his own horological museum has yet to be fulfilled.

A Workaround to Remove the City Abbreviation From Apple’s GMT Watch Face
From David Smith.

“Moon” & “month” Share the Same Proto-Indo-European Root Word Meaning “to Measure”
Prior to the introduction of divisions on a sundial, the phases of the moon were our first means of quantifying the passage of time.

“A Distant but Reassuring Sign of Intelligence"
Jack Forster on the dependably inexpensive Casio EAW-MQ-24-7B2.

Modernizing Tradition
The Frodsham Double Impulse Chronometer. Traditional in concept & form. Modern in its use of materials & techniques best suited to the task.

Diet NATO
The same great NATO taste with none of the extra calories. A not-so-common, common sense tip from James Stacey.

Thoughtful Subtraction
Research uncovers why simplifying is hard & complicating is easy.

The Benefits of Bulk Metal Glass
A high-level overview of scratch-resistant, BMG production using lasers, from PhD graduate, Navid Sohrabi.

I’m Not Languishing, I’m Dormant

Oystersteel Synonyms
904L, SUS904L, SUS 904L, Uranus Steel, SS2562, UNS N08904, WNR 1.4539, KS STS 317J5L, BS 904S13, WERKSTOFF NR. 1.4539, EN X1NiCrMoCu25-20-5, DIN 1.4539, & DIN 17440.

Code as Therapy
Craig Mod on finding solace & salve in the rudiments of computing.

How Hairsprings Are Made

Naoya Hida Type 3A Moon Phase
Built atop a heavily reworked ETA 7751, with a solid gold moon phase display, cased in 904L stainless steel, Hida has done an admirable job executing on the details in this piece.

What Does It Take to Hear Big Ben Again?
Working from a covert location, Ian G. Westworth is among the 500 workers who have been busy restoring Elizabeth Tower, Big Ben, & its Great Clock, “It’s a real honor. There are very few people who can say they’ve taken the Great Clock of Westminster apart & put it back together again."

Time Limited Batch
To help assuage frustrations of previous iterations selling out in mere minutes, the latest reference from Ming, the 17.09, will be offered in "unlimited" quantity for a brief 10-minute window, with 50% paid down up front & final delivery TBD.

Lego & Rolex
The most trusted brands on the planet & the only two brands that performed strongly with all of the generations surveyed—Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, & the Boomers.

Reinventing the Watch Fair

“In a digital world, you don’t need a fair” – Georges Kern, CEO of Breitling.

While the move to digital has been a boon for some brands, other watch brands are still finding their way.

A Watch So Light It Floats on Water
The avant garde tech & astronomical price tags of Richard Mille timepieces. Ben Clymer writing for GQ.

“There’s No Single Artist, Because the Art Is Not Any One Creature, It Is the Collective Action & Interaction of the Creatures.”
GPT-3 writing in Pharmako-AI.

A Single Gram of Super-LumiNova Can Be Enough to Finish 100 to 500 Watch Dials
A behind-the-scenes look at how the phosphorescent, ceramic-based compound, Super-LumiNova, is made at TRITEC.

If Your Boss Could Do Your Job, You’re More Likely to Be Happy at Work
The research also shows that happier workers are measurably more productive.

Apple Loses Trademark Catchphrase to Swatch
On the heels of losing the iWatch trademark to Swatch & failing to win litigation against their "Tick Different" trademark, Apple has now lost Steve Jobs' classic line, "One more thing..." to the Swiss giant.

40Hz Silicon Oscillator
While I have a deep appreciation for bi-stable mechanisms & admire the pioneering work Flexous has achieved with this new oscillator & escapement for Frederique Constant, I think it's a mistake to show it off through an aperture in the dial.

There is something humane & almost soothing about watching a mechanical timepiece tick away at rate of five to eight times per second. Witnessing the oscillator vibrating a literal order of magnitude more than that every time you look at your wrist is going to feel downright unnerving.

“An Electric Battery Genius”
William Morrison, a Scottish-born watchmaker who pioneered the first electric car in the United States back in 1890.

10 Days
8 Tests
283 Steps
An overview of the METAS certification process that Omega puts its Master Chronometer timepieces through.

Don’t Underestimate the Power of Nostalgia
Vintage quartz watch collecting is, indeed, a thing.

"It’s More Like Forgery Than Creativity"
Graphic designer, Annie Atkins, on designing for the silver screen & the hours of work that may not even get a second of screen time.

No Longer Just a Fad
"[T]he cold, hard truth is that ceramic materials have become permanent fixtures in the horological world." – Nicholas Hegel McClelland writing for Men's Journal.

If the Death Star Were a Tourbillon
An outlandish timepiece, to be sure, & somewhat disconcerting that the bearer of this Dark Side tech will be bestowed with a kyber crystal.

"Had Quartz Watches Not Come About, People Wouldn't Have Appreciated Mechanical Watchmaking."
An interview with Michael Tay, the driving force behind The Persistence of Memory, a superb, online exhibition of artisanal watchmakers that was recently launched by the The Hour Glass.

The Wing
Livestream of the grand opening of Bremont's new facilities in the UK.

Project OM10
Plans for the first caliber from the Open Movement project have been released.

Blued Meteorite Lends a Distinctive Look to De Bethune’s DB28XP

The Persistence of Memory
A splendid, broad-sweeping overview of artisanal watchmaking, from The Hour Glass.

"I Was the Lonely Designer in a Sea of Watchmakers"
Iconic '80s watch designer, Alain Silberstein, in conversation with Jon Bues at HODINKEE.

Young Austen Chu Has Big Plans for the Pre-owned Watch Space
Doubling down on knowledge-based collecting for the streetwear generation.

“The Moment I Sat Down at That Workbench and Picked Up the Screwdriver and Tweezers, I Knew This Was What I Wanted to Do”
While the ranks of watch executives still have a ways to go to close the gender gap, it’s awesome to see the burgeoning enrolment of women in watchmaking schools.

The First to Put an Exhibition Back on a Mechanical Wristwatch
Jon Bues interviews Chronoswiss founder, Gerd-Rüdiger Lang, for HODINKEE.

An Insightful Profile of Watch Journalist, Elizabeth Doerr
From the New York Times.

MicroLean Lab
A factory that can fit in a flat.

HYT Files for Bankruptcy
The microfluidic watchmaker springs a leak. Founder & CEO, Gregory Dourde, to step down. Spin-off company, Preciflex, to subsume after-sales-service & focus business efforts on medical solutions.

"In My Opinion, the Pandemic Has Not Brought About Major Changes in the Way Independents Do Business."
Jared Silver, president of Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry, a major retailer for independent watch brands including HYT, Urwerk, MB&F, & Ressence, on the pandemic & future potential for independent artisans.

Konstantin Chaykin's “Diana” Moonphase Complication in Action

Curtis Australia
Glenn Curtis on the custom watches produced through his family-owned jewellery store in Melbourne.

Telling Time by Ear
An overview of repeating watches that chime the time, by Jordy Bellido for Worldtempus.

See-through Wood
Experiments & proof-of-concept creating transparent wood. Could the recent onslaught of wooden watch cases & wooden watch bracelets eventually migrate to include composite wood watch crystals?

The Joy & Woe of Acquiring a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona
My biggest takeaway from this story from Ben Hodges? That those kitsch mobile apps that let you play with the functions of a mechanical timepiece are actually effective marketing exercises.

Swatch Group Closed 384 Stores in 2020
The global pandemic took a toll on retail operations of the watchmaking powerhouse.

Hazel McCallion Celebrates Her 100^th Birthday
Arguably the greatest City Mayor of our generation. Still thriving at 100.

A Fond Farewell for the Nautilus 5711
An interview with Patek Philippe president, Thierry Stern, about the decision to end production of the Nautilus reference 5711, its one last hurrah, working through a global pandemic, leaving Baselworld, & stewarding the brand.

A Unique Simplicity Is in the Works for Only Watch
Meanwhile, the “waiting” list for the remaining 10 watches in Philippe Dufour’s 20th Anniversary Edition of the Simplicity has sky-rocketed to over 155,000 people.

Decorating Watch Movements
The art of hand finishing, explained by Peter Speake-Marin.

Inside the Recently Updated British School of Watchmaking
Along with a hint of what it’s been like studying such a hands-on craft in the face of lockdowns during a worldwide pandemic.

Teasmade
An alarm clock that brews you a cup of tea to welcome the day.

How to Prototype & Influence People
By Aza Raskin.

Bexei Watches
A deep dive into the work of Hungarian horologist, Aaron Becsei.

High Precision Mechanics
A paper detailing the creation of a self-winding mechanical movement with quartz precision, from the 1990s, by Jean-Jacques Born, Rudolf Dinger, & Pierre-André Farine.

Graveyards Full of Secrets
Philippe Dufour on the tragic loss of skill & know-how.

A Visit to Vacheron Constantin
As well as fellow Richemont-owned dial manufacturer, Stern Creations.

"While the notion of doing everything in-house is sedulously promoted by many companies, the reality, as usual, is more complex. Historically, watchmaking has never been something done exclusively “in-house” and virtually all watchmaking companies at every level, throughout their history, acquired at least some components from specialist suppliers — especially cases, dials and bracelets, and many great names made and still make extensive use of third-party movements as well. The myth that vertical integration in and of itself guarantees some extraordinary quality or exclusivity is well worth dispelling, although it remains true that as a symbol of legitimacy as well as a very real point of distinction, it can be an often compelling characteristic of the watchmaking houses that embrace it." – Jack Forster

3D Printing Bone
Scientists at UNSW print bone-like structures containing living cells using a novel ceramic resin.

Hot-swappable Clocks
A Googol counter built from a massive array of 7-segment LED displays.

Pad Printing Enamel
At F.P. Journe.

Who Decides How Long a Second Is?
It’s currently defined as 9,192,631,770 of the “ticks” between two hyperfine ground states of caesium 133.

You Can Retire When You’re Dead—or Not
Montreal student, Aaron Ansuini, went to email his professor at Concordia, only to discover the man he’d been learning from had been dead for 2 years.

One to Watch
Lovely to see 40-year-old Danish watchmaker, Christian Lass, profiled on HODINKEE.

Timeless Time Machines
Antiquarian Horologist, Brittany Nicole Cox, featured in the February 2021 issue of National Geographic.

New Technique to Build Super-hard Metals From Nanoparticles
"Because of what's known as the plasmonic effect, gold nanoparticles are actually purplish-black in color." – Ou Chen

Freesdial Nord Zeitmaschine
A symphony of cam-work for a novel time display, conceived of & crafted by the late Daniel Nebel.

Apple Watch Series 7 & Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Rumored to Support Blood Glucose Monitoring

“The Goal Is Perfection”
Inside the finishing departments of Patek Philippe.

Cycloidal Reduction Concept
A 3D-render of a cycloidal reducer introduced into the automatic winding system of an ETA 2892.

“Buffett Is Nothing if Not a Long-term Investor”
Buffett’s choice of watch could very well prove to be the most enduring investment he’s made.