Nico Bandl

If you are looking for exquisite watches in Hamburg, there is no way around Neuer Wall, the most exclusive shopping street in the Hanseatic city centre. Next to luxury watch brands like Patek Philippe, Omega, Wempe, the recently opened AP House, and many others, the Swiss watchmaker Hublot is now also represented there with its…

There is a clear division of roles in the world of watches. Watch manufactures see themselves – first and foremost at least – as watchmakers. They create beautiful products that respect the values and design codes of often centuries-old companies. At the same time, they strive to appeal to and inspire customers. Retailers, on the…

Anyone with a passion for A. Lange & Söhne's mechanical watches will know of Dutchman Anthony de Haas as well as CEO Wilhelm Schmid. As Director of Product Development, he is personally responsible for many of the brand's 72 in-house movements. Whether it was the Zeitwerk, Grand Complication or the first steel watch Odysseus, he…

The watch manufactures attending this year's watch fair in Geneva presented us with some absolute horological masterpieces. Vacheron Constantin launched the world's most complicated watch with 63 complications (including the first Chinese perpetual calendar), Piaget the world's thinnest tourbillon watch and Rolex, at 322 grams, certainly the heaviest diver's watch ever launched. The watch with the deepest water resistance this year comes from Montblanc, actually…

Back in 2007, Jaeger-LeCoultre presented a model with the patented Duometre mechanism for the first time. The special feature of this construction is that it combines two barrels and two separate gear trains in one calibre, which are connected to a single regulating organ. The watchmakers at Jaeger-LeCoultre are thus addressing a problem by which…

The Master Ultra Thin collection is Jaeger-LeCoultre's answer to a modern dress watch, in which the ultra-thin movement always takes centre stage alongside the elegant aesthetics. This year at Watches & Wonders 2024, the watchmaker is presenting three new variations of the Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar - with a revised case and dial design…

Following Zenith's revival of its pilot's line last year, this year sees another revival in the form of the new Defy Extreme Diver. As with the brand's pilot's watches, the diver's watch has a long history at Zenith – a 55-year history to be precise, as the first Defy A3648 diver's watch appeared in 1969.…

Montblanc launched the Iced Sea Collection for the first time in 2022, with dials inspired by the glacial ice of the Mer de Glace in the Mont Blanc massif. A technique called gratté-boisé was used for the first time for the 'iced' dials. As the watches have been so popular, the Iced Sea is now…

At Watches & Wonders 2024, Montblanc is presenting a new 1858 The Unveiled Minerva Monopusher Chronograph, whose movement has not only been built into the case upside down, but can also be fully admired by the wearer from all angles through openings in the case. Dial and case Five openings have been worked into the…

The iconic Big Bang from Hublot, with its bold design and integrated bracelet, is appearing for the first time as a 38 mm version at this year's Watches & Wonders 2024. Previously, there were smaller Big Bang models in 33, 38 and 39 mm, but only with diamonds and therefore more aimed at Hublot's female…

Were it not for a coincidence, Enrico Barbasini would probably be making it big as a musician, like his father, and not in the limelight as one of the most talented watchmakers of our time. Fortunately, a chance encounter gifted us Enrico Barbasini when his father (he was opera singer) met a young man with…

Ever since the Wright brothers revolutionised aviation in 1903, watch manufactures have competed to produce the best, most precise, and most functional tool watches for the skies. Given the superlatives with which some manufactures gild themselves today, it is easy to lose track of who actually played what role and when. After all, there are…