Hamilton's latest ODC X watch continues to draw on the 1966 Kubrick-commissioned original, a limited-edition watch featured in "2001: A Space Odyssey" and so eye-catching that both Vogue and Esquire featured it. In 2006, Hamilton decided to rework the ODC-X and came out with another limited-edition timepiece, "X-01." After...

Lionel Ladoire's first collection of watches heightens the standard of watchmaking with its smooth design and newly renovated face. Breaking away from the traditional standards, the watch brings something truly new to the table. Set on micro ball bearings, three revolving discs indicate hours, minutes and seconds. The back...

Partnering with the European firm, SCI Innovations, the celebrated Swiss watchmaker Ulysse Nardin (one of the vanguards in the field) will be unveiling the world's first hybrid smart phone, the Chairman, at the upcoming Baselworld. (Click image for detail.) Inherently green, the phone pairs cutting-edge kinetic technology with the...

Known for its durability, style, quality and efficiency, Retrowerk's watch is both tech-savvy and ultra Army-strong. Featuring compasses, portholes, steel pistons, crown covers and revolving jump hour discs, the German watch is prepared for any adventure. The Piston (left) is a good example of Retrowerk's strong focus on design....

The just-released Defakto Eins watches from Germany might inflict some well deserved clock-envy among little handed friends. Designed by first time creator Raphael Ickler of Pforzheim, Germany, a young guy whose "idea is to display the time with the minimum information while being exact as needed." The clock face...

All obsessions have their own big bangs and appropriately enough, my own compulsive watch collecting began with the Spaceman watches of the '70s. Below is an article I wrote for QP Magazine reminiscing about going back to the future with these Spacemen. Leaving New York one chilly winter day,...

One of Finland's most exclusive mechanical watchmaking companies, Sarpaneva, recently introduced the Korona K3 Red Moon. Featuring a red-hued moon phase indicator—reminiscent of the Harvest Moon typically seen in Europe this time of year—it's a fitting watch to be released just in time for Halloween. Different than the Sarpaneva...

I was lucky enough to be one of the first people in the world to see the latest from Maximilian Büsser & Friends last week. Max and Stephen Hallock of MB&F met me for breakfast at NYC's Brasserie to unveil the most amazing of their Horological Machines yet. I...

We think this gold Longines watch is probably one of the more interesting objects you could own from Albert Einstein. He once said, "the separation between past, present, and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one." Too bad we can't ask him what a real timepiece should...

Perhaps the next James Bond villain with plans to dominate the planet can use this newly announced Hysek "Colosso" to time his greedy destruction. The most obvious tool is the crystal pustule filled with a dimensional earth that rotates to tell local or GMT time but the massive size...

Suspended in a bubble block of Baccarat crystal and powered by temperature change, Jaeger LeCoultre's Atmos 561 mechanical clock is the work of Australian super-designer Marc Newson (known for designing the Ikepod watch and a million other sleek objects). Newson is reportedly a huge fan of the Atmos and...

In this era of mechanical one-upmanship, the Opus 8 from Harry Winston Rare Timepieces shone at Baselworld 2008. Inspired by early electronic LED watches of the 1970s (like the first Hamilton Pulsar), creator Frédéric Garinaud (of Renaud & Papi) and CSH developed the Opus 8 with a new twist...

I'm proud to introduce the first look of two new watches from Bell & Ross. The Limited Edition BR Instrument Minuteur Tourbillon and Grand Minuteur. Using aeronautical instrumentation, the highest standard for readability, reliability and performance, Bell & Ross designers have sought to reproduce as faithfully as possible a...

Angela Yuan, a young NYC-based mechanical engineer, has built a fun little clock from an Etch-A-Sketch. Each minute that passes, the machine tilts the toy, shakes it clean and mechanically draws the correct time....

Helsinki watchmaker, Stepan Sarpaneva, nephew of the famed Finnish mid-century designer Timo Sarpaneva, has produced yet another stellar timepiece, the Korona K1. Following the success of his very limited and sold-out Supernova series (featured on Watchismo), Stepan is quickly forming a significant body of work. At 44mm wide and...

Automotive-themed, with a case, lugs and clasp made of rose gold and featuring BRM's in-house movement, the new Manufacture Birotor BRT-3 is quite the stunner. As Horomundi explains, it's "very much in the spirit of the modern watch world—a boldly designed piece that expresses from the inside out the...

A new top-of-the-line Zenith is debuting at Baselworld 2008 in April. This limited edition all-black PVD coated El Primero Zenith Zero-G Multi-Dimensional Tourbillon will start around €350,000 ($500,000+)....

Designed by Niels van Eijk and Miriam van der Lubbe, the Tik Tak clock explodes with every single minute represented on random lengths of powdered steel rods. The sizes of the 60 digits correspond with varying shades of steel for additional depth. Available for £89 at Habitat UK. via...

If you've ever asked yourself, "What was that amazing watch Lieutenant Ripley wore in the 1986 movie 'Aliens?'" I have the answer for you. It was a Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed Seiko Speedmaster Chronograph. The vertical stopwatch pushers placed inside the asymmetrical case extension are what makes the watch entirely unique....

The World Clock Project is a website that displays the current time (in your time zone) using photos of clocks shot around the globe. They're always looking for more shots to fill the empty time-slots and anyone can contribute images (preferably) of public clocks. Submit either using Flickr or...

Philippe Starck, designer of half-a-million dollar Richard Mille watches as well as the mass produced models for Fossil, created this wall clock for Alessi in 1989 and it's part of the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) Design Collection. Two propeller/flipper style hands tell hours and minutes....

Seventies-inspired mechanical digital watches keep rotating into modern designs, including this "Discus" from the Seiko Moving Design Collection. It features a jumping hour display of spinning discs through a porthole viewer, all under a smoky transparent crystal. Powered by a mechanical automatic movement, it sells for close to $900...

Architect Jason Linde created a series of clocks with unique display using a single stationary hand and a rotating dial for hours. Some feature double dials for both hours and minutes. Featuring wood veneered blocks and laser engraved dials, they range from $110-130....

To celebrate my redesigned Watchismo.com website and year anniversary contributing to CH, I thought I'd force my Lips on you all! Actually, I'm giving away a $300 French LIP watch, your pick from six styles, each one evolved from the original 1970s Mach 2000 (below left and right) and...

Maximilian Büsser, the mastermind behind the rule-breaking HM1, recently offered me the rare privilege to have first look in person at his new child, the Horological Machine No.2, before it went public. Since going public, it's been far and wide in the blogosphere, but I think it's too amazing...

TiWalkMe is a clock (still in conceptual stage) designed to track 1,000 years using a forest seeded along a ribbon of land to tell time. Annual tree plantings set the pace, visually representing time passing as they mature and functioning as the clockwork mechanism. The purpose of the project...

by Jason Alan Snyder A much needed update on the MBW 100 model, Sony Ericsson recently released a better looking Bluetooth-enabled wristwatch. Vibrating call alerts, a remote control connected to your phone's music player, track identification and phone controls on the watch (mute or reject) make the MBW 150...

Dutch designer Buro Vormkrijgers' rotating concept clock "About Time" reveals the passing of time by rolling around your desk and telling time in one long continuous sentence. Vormkrijgers intends for the cone-shaped clock to subvert the minute-to-minute planning of today's over-booked lifestyles by simply telling you "It's about six...

Speaking of memento moris and clever watches, Mr Jones' "Accurate" watch makes the inherent implication of a timepiece obvious. In fact, all of the limited edition models in his line are comments on the daily conundrums of life. Last time I featured Mr. Jones Watches, he had an exhibition-only...

If you thought the Mondaine that Ami wrote about yesterday was minimalist, then you haven't seen this new Botta. Get with the times man and check out the Uno, a one-handed watch. Two hands? That's just so second millennium. German watchmaker Klaus Botta's design makes seconds and minutes irrelevant;...

Part of the Tempus Temple of Time watch fair in Singapore, Mocha (Museum of Contemporary Horological Art) just opened and they are hosting their first show ever. Housing some of the most important and rare contemporary watch collections, the first exhibition is a retrospective of sorts cataloguing changes in...

I'm proud to be one of the first to unveil the Richard Mille Planetarium Tellurium. It's a massive achievement in horology with an entirely new mechanical interpretation of a centuries-old tradition—depicting the universe as clockwork. Created by the revolutionary independent watch brand, Richard Mille (with obvious watch case design),...

The first Only Watch auction in 2005 was so wildly successful—raising €1.9 million Euros for charity (Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy)—there was little doubt they'd try to follow it up. Two years later, it's back with more rare machines from today's most desirable brands. The event, commissioned by Prince Albert II...

Originally offered as a limited edition — 999 in titanium — the Maurice Lacroix Pontos Décentrique GMT is now available in stainless steel (click on image for detail). Recognized for its timeless design and attention to detail, the watch won a Red Dot Award for its unique time display....

The current exhibition of French photographer Guido Mocafico at the Hamiltons Gallery in London features his latest large prints of complicated mechanical watch movements. The solo show includes the Chopard Quantieme Perpetuel Phase de Lune (pictured). See more images here. Guido Mocafico: Movement 1 May-2 June 2007 Hamiltons Gallery13...

An obscure vintage find this Heuer (pre-TAG) is a "Mappamondo" chronograph that is fit with the unusual Valjoux 7740 manual winding movement. It also features a stainless steel case and an attractive "Map of the World" face. I found one available from Watch Center and Tempus Domini....

With the new Ikepod Black Hole, a limited edition of 66, Marc Newson's iconic watches are back—this time with more expensive materials, extensive (re)designs and overall exclusivity. Only advertised as silhouette, no images are shown until the potential owners buy it. I met with new owner and prominent art...

A truly spectacular wristwatch, the Invention 1 features time indicators revolving around the edges of Greubel-Forsey's unique invention, an open double tourbillon 30°.The dynamic duo have been creating spectacular timepieces since they teamed up in 1999. And coming off the Opus 6 they created for Harry Winston, they are...

Once I think I've seen everything, somebody alerts me a mind-blowing gadget like this Steineck Subminiature Wrist-camera. Thanks to Max Busser, founder of MB&F Horological Machines who shared his find (right) from a vintage watch store in Lugano, Switzerland. Needless to say, I've been obsessed these antique spy/detective/novelty gadgets...

The new Azimuth Round 1 Bi-Retrograde watch is inspired by the dashboard of a Formula 1 race car. The top bi-retrograde indicator displays minutes while the bottom arc indicates the hour. Both feature hands that snap back to their starting positions after reaching the ends of their respective cycles....

In 1962 Swiss artist Max Bill (1908-1994) created a few mechanical watches for the German company Junghans. Reissued in recent years, most were and are very simple-looking, too understated for my personal tastes. But this rare Chronoscope model has a certain something. Its minimalism is just plain attractive. Apparently...

The Bronnikov family from Vjatka, Russia is responsible for this hand-built and hand-carved mechanical watch made entirely of bone (except for mainspring, balance spring and pivots), which sold at auction in 2005 for $25,000. (Click image for detail.) Also the makers of wood and ivory versions, the Bronnikov's earliest...

A Kinetic and Op-Art pioneer, Yaacov Agam created this 1980s limited edition watch series for the Movado Time Museum Collection. The only other artist to produce a watch for Movado was Andy Warhol with his "Times/5." Featuring anthracite colored steel straps, a mystery dial of multi-colored glass discs rotating...

Black is the new black with the all-black titanium limited edition (100 models) Zenith Defy Xtreme Open Stealth Chronograph (pictured left). An El Primero (a famously advanced automatic movement developed in 1969), it features the latest caliber 4021SX automatic movement from their brand-defining engines. Appearing to have high speed...

Ursula Andress (pictured), the original Bond girl, was the former owner of this jeweled Omega ring-watch by Andrew Grima that is up for auction at Omegamania taking place 14-15 April 2007. The force behind the 1969 "About Time" series for Omega, Grima was also a designer of only one-of-a-kind...

Kronotype, an independent watch brand, features some extreme looking chronographs. Most interesting to me is the MDQS-2 (V1) with long banked sides that sink into the deeply recessed dial, reminding me of the deadly arena of "Rollerball," the 1975 film that envisions a future where a violent futuristic roller-derby...

"The idea was to make something simple and a bit brutal, but beautiful…like life in Finland.”—Stepan Sarpaneva (QP magazine interview). Originally inspired by a Harley Davidson kickstart pinion, Sarpaneva's Loiste II made from Stavax ESR steel is actually a cog itself. The first variation was built as a pocket...

Bullhead Chronographs feature the crown and pushers on top of the case instead of the side. Due to the rarity of this configuration more liberties are taken in regards to the overall design. Many dials are angled up for a drivers style and feature unusual dials. They are some...

I wonder if it were socially acceptable to wear a watch on every appendage, would I? Well, I'd likely start with one of these vintage 1950s ring watches by LeCoultre and Rolex. Very rare, the platinum and diamond set LeCoultre "Duo-Plan" (pictured right) has an impossibly small dial and...

Literally out of this world, the classic-cased timepieces by Dutch watchmaker Christian van der Klauuw are astronomically complicated. Measuring everything from the position of the planets, the constellations, worldwide sunrises, sunsets, solar and lunar eclipses, each model is handmade by Christiaan himself resulting in a very limited edition of...