Business & Industry
WatchPro
Omega to join Orloff Jewelers following major expansion project
Fresno's Orloff Jewelers is adding 1,800-2,000 square feet and a dedicated watch boutique to its Fig Garden Village flagship, reopening in December with Omega among the new Swiss partners joining Breitling, Panerai and Baume & Mercier. Initial spend exceeds $1 million and could near double with brand fit-outs, courtesy of Obrist Interior. The bet: the Central Valley has the money the Bay Area's Rolex-and-Patek corridor has long ignored, and Orloff wants to be the one to prove it.
WatchPro
THE BIG INTERVIEW: Prestons Jewellers expands with Rolex in Leeds and Surrey
Prestons is expanding its Rolex footprint, reopening an enlarged two-floor Guildford showroom (with a Rolex Certified Pre-Owned space and Tudor alongside its in-house fine jewellery) on 5 August, then tripling the size of its Leeds mono-brand Rolex boutique next year after finishing the Norwich (ex-Winsor Bishop) project around late November. Operations director Lauren Cook frames the strategy around a tight Rolex/Patek Philippe/Tudor stable and appointment-led, hospitality-heavy retail: proof that in the current UK market, capacity and client experience, not brand breadth, are where the family groups are placing their bets.
Community & Culture
Hodinkee
Here Are The Finalists for the 2026 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève
The GPHG has revealed its finalists across 14 categories for the 2026 edition, set for November 7 in Geneva, with Revolution and The Rake founder Wei Koh taking over as jury president from Nicolas Foulkes. Changes this year include an English-language ceremony aimed at a global audience, de-gendered categories renamed "Essential" and "Complication," and an "Iconic" prize now open even to brands that didn't submit. The commercial subtext: with Rolex, Patek, most of Richemont, and much of Swatch Group still absent, the reforms are a bid to make the awards a marketing platform brands can't afford to ignore.
Reviews
Fratello
Chic Deep Down: Hands-On With Two Bicolor Favre Leuba Deep Raider Day Date Models
Fratello goes hands-on with the two-tone Favre Leuba Deep Raider Day Date, a 40mm, 300m dive watch with yellow-gold PVD crown, bezel, and center links (not solid gold, for cost) running the Sellita SW220-1-based FLD05 caliber, priced at €2,450 / US$2,700 / £2,100 / CHF 2,100 across black, blue, and green dials. Lex Stolk finds nothing revolutionary but no disappointment either, calling it a convincing "affordable luxury" play; he favors the subtler black dial and rates the blue as the standout, faulting the smoky dégradé dials for pushing the gold concept a step too far. The trade takeaway: Favre Leuba is chasing the bicolor sporty-chic aspirational buyer at a price point Fratello flags as fiercely competitive.
aBlogtoWatch
Hands-On Debut: The TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Sport Watch Is Now Sharper, Smaller, And More Refined
aBlogtoWatch went hands-on with the next-gen TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Sport, finding it "smaller, sharper, and more refined" than its predecessor: the case shrinks from 44mm/15.5mm to 42mm wide, 48mm lug-to-lug and 14.17mm thick, with a glossy piano-black ceramic bezel, in-house TH20-00 column-wheel movement (80-hour reserve) and TAG's first tool-free link-removal bracelet. They praise the polishing, the automotive Arabic-numeral dial and legibility, noting four panda colorways, available now at authorized dealers for $6,850 as tested.
New Releases
Fratello
Bauhaus Meets The Atelier: How Nomos Turned Its Dials Into Art For The Twice Unique Collection
Nomos launches Twice Unique, a made-to-order collection offering nine artist-collaboration dial designs (including the starry Urania, gradient Drift, and gold-leaf Auric) across five base models: the Tetra 27, Tangente 33 and Neomatik 38, Ludwig, and Orion. Each order comes as a paired set, one in stainless steel and one in 18K yellow gold sharing a dial, with pricing on request; the current designs are orderable through year-end before a new 2027 slate arrives. Requiring buyers to take both a steel and a gold piece is the clever engineering here: it keeps volumes low and positions Nomos to test craft finishes at the top of its range without diluting the everyday collection.
Worn & Wound
Oris Extends Its Muppets Line with the Most Audacious Version Yet
Oris extends its Muppets collaboration with the ProPilot X Gonzo Edition, a 44mm skeletonized titanium piece built on the Caliber 115 with a color-shifting lasered dial ring, a chili-shaped power reserve hand indicating 10 "GREAT" days, and a 1.8-meter mainspring coil etched so Gonzo's face materializes as the watch is wound. It's available now at $10,500, roughly $1,000 above the standard ProPilot X Caliber 115. Oris continues to mine character IP as a way to move higher-priced skeletonized pieces, betting collectors will chase the full Muppets set.
SJX Watches
F.P. Journe Unveils Unique Chronographe to Benefit Monaco Charity
F.P. Journe and Prince Albert II of Monaco have unveiled the Chronographe Fondation Prince Albert II De Monaco, a piece unique in a two-tone 42mm platinum-and-rose-gold case (10.4mm) housing the hand-wound cal. 1518.3, a flyback-free evolution of the Chronographe FB movement, with a burgundy lacquered dial and oracle-bone numerals. It goes to auction at Phillips on November 25, 2026 at Raffles Sentosa Singapore, with all proceeds to the Foundation. It follows the brand's 2024 Chronomètre à Résonance for the same cause, which hammered for US$2.98 million, a precedent that tells you why charity-plus-uniqueness now overwhelms any retail reference point.
Monochrome Watches
The Gold Montblanc Star Legacy Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph Limited Edition 100
Montblanc marks its Nicolas Rieussec chronograph with a rose gold limited edition of 100, its 43mm pebble-shaped case (15.01mm thick) carrying luminescent dial inscriptions drawn from Rieussec's 1821 archival documents, twin rotating chronograph counters and a concealed GMT hand for dual-time travel. It runs the in-house automatic MB R200 (column wheel, vertical clutch, twin barrels, 72-hour reserve), with price to be confirmed but expected around EUR 25,000. A high-margin play at the top of Montblanc's watch range, leaning hard on the writing-heritage story to justify a five-figure ask.
Worn & Wound
Hamilton’s Popular Murph Collection Gets a New Dial Expression
Hamilton has added a new dial to its Interstellar-born Murph collection: a 38mm Khaki Field with a stardust-textured dial fading from bright blue center to black edge, running the H-10 automatic (ETA 2824-2 base, 80-hour reserve). It's available today at $995 on strap and $1,075 on bracelet. The cosmic dial is a rare stylistic swing for a brand that leans timeless, aimed at collectors wanting visual interest over do-everything versatility.
Monochrome Watches
The Nomos Orion Gold Neomatik “New Black” Edition
Nomos Glashütte adds a "New Black" edition to its formal Orion line, pairing a polished 18k yellow gold case (36.4mm wide, 8.5mm thick, 45mm lug-to-lug) with a galvanised black dial, gold indices and hands, and small seconds at 6. It runs the in-house DUW 3001 automatic (3.2mm thick, 43-hour reserve, Nomos swing system) on a black Horween shell cordovan strap. Priced at EUR 12,600, it marks Nomos pushing further into precious-metal territory as it chases higher price points beyond its steel-heavy reputation.
WatchTime
The Peacock Black Hole III Curved Guilloché Central Tourbillon
Peacock, the historic Chinese manufacture, marks its 70th anniversary (1957 to 2027) with the Avant Series Black Hole III Curved Guilloché Central Tourbillon: a 43.5mm Grade 5 titanium piece under 12mm thick, built around the in-house hand-wound PAX9611A caliber with a self-developed central free-sprung tourbillon, four-barrel five-day power reserve, and a three-dimensional hand-cut "Gravitational Weave" guilloché dial with a flame-blued titanium inner ring. It lists at $5,099 ($5,199 for the Cosmic Gravity Special Edition), a striking figure for a central tourbillon, a complication otherwise associated with Omega, Beat Haldimann, and Vianney Halter. The pricing is the real signal here: Peacock is planting a flag in high-complication territory at a fraction of the going rate, another sign of Chinese manufactures pushing upmarket into métiers d'art turf.
WatchTime
Louis Erard: Marqueterie de Paille Turns Straw Into Art
Louis Erard is bringing straw marquetry to the wrist at Geneva Watch Days 2026 with the Marqueterie de Paille, a 25-piece limited edition whose "Broken Ice" blue dial is hand-assembled by Portuguese artist Bernardo d'Orey from rye straw across 28 zones. The 39mm steel watch runs the automatic Sellita SW261-1 (38-hour reserve) and is priced at CHF 4,500 before tax, roughly $5,540. It continues Louis Erard's collaboration-driven Métiers d'Art strategy of pairing accessible mechanics with craft that punches above its price.
Time + Tide
TAG Heuer redesigns the Carrera Chronograph Sport, and it’s more refined than ever
TAG Heuer has redesigned the Carrera Chronograph Sport, trimming the steel case to 42mm (down from 44mm) with a 48.6mm lug-to-lug and 14.17mm thickness, across five references in blue, teal green, silver panda and black opaline dials with applied Arabic numerals. All run the automatic Calibre TH20-00 with an 80-hour reserve, 100m water resistance and a five-year warranty; pricing is US$6,850 on bracelet and US$6,650 on leather, available now with the blue leather-strap version landing October 2026. Timed to Formula 1's return to Madrid, it addresses the outgoing model's oversized dimensions, a pointed nod to a market that has been drifting toward more wearable sports chronographs.
Also at: Monochrome Watches
Time + Tide
CIGA Design marks 65th anniversary of first successful Chinese Everest ascent
CIGA Design has unveiled the Mechanical Automaton Watch Everest China 65th Anniversary, marking the 1960 Chinese ascent of Everest via the North Ridge with a five-minute automaton depicting Liu Lianman's "human ladder" and a dial cut from Everest bedrock. The 45mm grade 5 titanium case (13.6mm thick, 5 ATM) runs the brand's self-developed automatic calibre CD-10 (21,600 bph, 42-hour reserve), ships on a 24mm fluororubber strap, and is priced at US$1,699 with interest registration open on the brand's website. The launch lands as CIGA Design heads into its 10th anniversary in 2026, leaning on China-native storytelling to differentiate from the Western explorer-watch trope.
aBlogtoWatch
Actually Affordable: Vaer G2 Fairway GMT Golf Watch
Vaer has added the G2 Fairway GMT to its 2026 lineup, a golf-themed take on its entry-level quartz GMT that swaps the 24-hour bezel for a 24-click scorekeeping ring reading from -5 to +18 relative to par. The 39mm steel watch (10.8mm thick, 150m water resistance, box-shaped sapphire) runs the Ronda Cal. 515.24H caller GMT quartz movement, is US-assembled, and ships with an FKM rubber strap plus a nylon NATO, with bracelet and leather upgrades available. Prices start at $489, roughly $60 above the standard G2 models.
Monochrome Watches
Union Glashütte Unveils the Compact and Dressy Seris Small Second Collection
Union Glashütte adds the Seris Small Second to its dressy, feminine-positioned line: a 36mm steel case (42.67mm lug-to-lug, 9.88mm thick, 50m water resistance) with small seconds and date at 6 o'clock, offered in blue, champagne, and matte white. It runs the UNG-28.S1, an ETA 2892 evolution with silicon hairspring and roughly 60-hour reserve. Priced at EUR 2,350 on bracelet (blue) and EUR 2,200 on leather (champagne, white), it slots below the roughly EUR 2,600 Seris Date.
Podcasts
aBlogtoWatch
ABlogtoWatch Weekly Podcast #237: Rolex Resale Roulette, Formex Upgrades, And A Thousand-Year Watch
Podcast #237 of aBlogtoWatch Weekly has Rick and Ripley running through Rolex resale dynamics (including a game to build the least desirable, worst-performing Rolex possible), the Perrelet Turbine Casino, the Formex Essence 39, the Bulova Shelby Racer Chronograph, and Urwerk's hand-engraved UR 1001 Amadeus with its thousand-year tracker, making it a useful listen for anyone tracking secondary-market hype versus what actually holds value.