mechanicalwatch
Latest
Ressence's $48,800 connected mechanical watch arrives in April
If you like the thought of wearing a classic mechanical watch but wish it had some of the conveniences of the connected age, your dream wristwear is here... so long as you're willing to pay dearly for it. A year after unveiling a concept, Ressence has unveiled the finished version of its Type 2 watch. Like before, the timepiece (co-designed by Tony Fadell) uses an "e-Crown" that can set the watch to different time zones or check its 36-hour power reserve by either tapping the face or using a mobile app. You only have to set the watch the conventional way when you first take it out of the box. Solar cells hidden under the dial keep the e-Crown powered, and it relies on a true automatic movement that will keep ticking even if the digital side runs out of power.
The Swiss Alp Watch is an unabashed Apple Watch rip-off
We'll get straight to the point: the new Swiss Alp Watch designed by luxury watchmaker H. Moser & Cie looks exactly like the Apple Watch. The company isn't shying away from its design inspirations though -- actually, that's the whole reason why it exists at all. On its website, the company says the timepiece is a "statement" against the smartwatch trend and proves "traditional mechanical watchmaking has a future, and is, in fact, the future." From the rectangular chassis to the thin lugs and narrow band, it's a clear imitation of the Apple Watch, at least at first glance. According to Hodinkee, the overall size even matches the 38mm model.
Swatch's robot-made wristwear offers classic Swiss time at a tiny price
For many watch lovers, Swiss mechanical movement is the gold standard. However, it's also staggeringly expensive -- it's all too common to spend several hundred (if not several thousand) dollars just to see "Genève" on your wrist. That's what makes the US launch of Swatch's Sistem51 so special. While the watch still behaves like a conventional Swiss automatic with visible mechanisms, it's built using a fully robotic process that gets rid of the elaborate hand-crafting that drives up the price. As a result, you'll only pay $150 for the privilege, or about as much as an ordinary quartz timekeeper.
