Category Archives: militarophilia

inspired by armed forces timepieces

MAT watches new collections

Posted on October 3rd, 2011

I already introduced the reader to French brand MAT in December 2009. The trade mark MAT is the accronym for Mer Air Terre (Sea, Air, Land), the 3 types of armed forces. TLex of Oceanictime recently published renderings, followed by pictures of the brand’s new collections AG5 and AG6. This new collection comes with a [...]

Posted in brand of origin, ETA 2824-2, militarophilia, novelty, original designs, Valjoux 7754 | Leave a comment

introducing: Orbis Morgan Timepieces

Posted on September 26th, 2011

Founded in Hong Kong in 1997 by watch enthusiasts, Orbis Morgan Timepieces specializes in Military-inspired watches. Produced locally with Chinese mechanical movements and sold under USD 300, the watches have earned a solid reputation in Japan. On the photographs, the watches look as good as any reputable brand from Germany or Switzerland. It turns out that [...]

Posted in antimagnetic, Limited edition, militarophilia, novelty, original designs | Leave a comment

introducing: HEXA watches

Posted on August 10th, 2011

On August 24, 2011,  new Tampa-based company Hexa watches will be releasing their first model, the K500. Save for the 500 meter marking on the dial, there is no information on specifications or price yet. Hexa watches press release: “We exist to create products that are consistently fresh and exciting by offering new and unique [...]

Posted in brand of origin, militarophilia, novelty, original designs | Leave a comment

New Instrument Watches from Christopher Ward

Posted on July 29th, 2011

Well I guess it was bound to happen some day: adapting the paradigm of a cockpit clock to the wrist is no longer a novelty. Seiko made one of the earliest documented attempts, and watches like the ZULU-01 by Trintec, the Airspeed by Revue Thommen and the BR01 by Bell & Ross were all released [...]

Posted in assembler, brand of origin, ETA 2824-2, London, UK, militarophilia, novelty | Leave a comment

Ginault, nothing but the Sub

Posted on June 30th, 2011

Established in Fremont, California, the founder of Ginault plans to offer bespoke watches based on legendary military diving watches. The Rolex Submariner is the first source of inspiration, ant there is also a dial inspired by the Omega Seamaster 300. Ginault’s Base Module 1 and Silent Service Mark II both come with a Swiss ETA 2824-2 calibre, [...]

Posted in aftermarket parts, assembler, ETA 2824-2, historic designs, legacy, made-to-order, militarophilia, pimp your watch | Leave a comment

Helson’s Fifty Fathoms

Posted on April 20th, 2011

Hat tip to OceanicTime. Developed in 1952 with the contribution of professionals, the Blancpain Fifty Fathom marked the beginning of SCUBA diving. Today, the brand Blancpain is part of the Swatch Group, and their products are positioned in the high-end price range, way above Rolex. The latest iteration of the Fifty Fathoms capitalizes on the [...]

Posted in assembler, ETA 2824-2, historic designs, militarophilia | Leave a comment

Update on Hamilton’s 2011 collection Khaki Pioneer

Posted on April 13th, 2011

In my entry “Hamilton, mass-produced anachronisms“, I mentioned the new Khaki Pioneer seen at BaselWorld 2011. On close analysis, the watch revealed to be heavily inspired by early Hanhart FliegerUhren. The Khaki Conservation model (a.k.a Team Earth) was already unveiled last year by Hamilton, with the endorsement of actor Harrison Ford to support Team Earth. For a detailed description [...]

Posted in brand of origin, design blunter, ETA 2824-2, historic designs, legacy, militarophilia, Valjoux 7753 | 1 Comment

Upcoming Archimede Outdoor model

Posted on April 6th, 2011

Icklers are a third generation of German watch case makers. They now run the family business by supplying quality watch cases to some of the nicest European watch companies. Besides the traditional case making and watch assembly, the Icklers also run several watch brands such as Limes, Autran & Viala,  Defakto and Archimedes. It seems to me that Limes, Autran [...]

Posted in assembler, brand of origin, ETA 2824-2, legacy, militarophilia, novelty, original designs, Valjoux 7750 | Leave a comment

Hamilton, mass-produced anachronisms

Posted on March 30th, 2011

For the record, guess who in 2011 A.D. still runs a Website designed for Internet Explorer only? Hamilton watch company …And to add insult to injury, they require me to upgrade from Explorer 7 to a more recent version. The browser you are using is not supported by this website, please upgrade to the latest version [...]

Posted in brand of origin, design blunter, ETA 2824-2, historic designs, legacy, Limited edition, militarophilia, Valjoux 7753 | 1 Comment

Second Degree chance in Яussia

Posted on March 28th, 2011

While pacing through the alleys of Baselworld 2011, I came across the booth of the revived Russian brand Raketa, which official Website is registered with a .SU domain name (as for Soviet Union). The new management decided to go for a tongue-in-cheek second-degree idendity, playing with strong visuals of Soviet propaganda of yester. As a matter of fact, I was welcomed by [...]

Posted in arty, assembler, brand of origin, historic designs, legacy, militarophilia, novelty, original designs | Leave a comment