Zach Kazan

A new brand is the talk of the watch world today, and the latest example of a trend we’ve seen developing over the last several years. GRØNE is the new project from Bart and Tim Grönefeld, the brothers behind the Grönefeld brand, one of the most acclaimed indies in the world. Following in the footsteps of the M.A.D. 1 project, Kurono Tokyo, and others, the brand exists as a way for admirers of a high priced independent maker to buy into the aesthetic and perspective of the brand at a much more affordable price point. The first release from GRØNE, the Manueel One, carries a retail price of just 2,150 Euros. At retail, Grönefeld watches start at around 50,000 Euros and go up from there. They are also very low production, with fewer than 100 pieces made each year.

Taking photos of watches is hard. I’ve been trying for months to get better at it, and only occasionally do I end up with a photo that I think “works” in any meaningful way. The degree of difficulty in shooting these little objects is kind of off the charts. They are, of course, reflection machines, with light bouncing off of cases and crystals in ways that, for an amateur, can be difficult to control. And as any watch lover knows, the magic of this stuff is in the details, and it just takes a lot of skill to capture things that are so vanishingly small. So, I have a lot of respect and admiration for my colleagues and peers who make something so difficult look relatively straightforward. Atom Moore, for as long as I’ve been in the hobby, has been near the top of my and many other’s lists of top watch photographers in the game. His approach is completely unlike any other watch photographer I’m aware of, and the results, as they say, speak for themselves.

I think it’s possible that when it’s all said and done, no brand will have had a more consequential 2024 than Bremont. I can imagine a watch environment three or four or five years out into the future where this brand is fundamentally changed (even from how we see it now, after what most would agree is a tumultuous recent period), and we can pinpoint the start of that change in 2024. Specifically, at Watches & Wonders 2024, when the brand unveiled its new look, and the watch world, almost in unison, shook their heads.

“Watches are made to be worn” is a mantra repeated frequently by people like me. To own a watch and not wear it in our community is borderline shameful. As enthusiasts, we take pleasure in the little scratches and signs of wear that a well worn watch picks up, and many of us adhere to the principle that if a watch isn’t being worn regularly, it’s time to move it along, list it on the forums, and replace it with another that hopefully finds a more regular role in the rotation.

Our friends at Time+Tide have launched their latest collaborative limited edition, a new version of one of our favorite TAG Heuer references, the Aquaracer Solargraph. The Solargraph builds on decades of Aquaracer heritage by incorporating state of the art solar technology that makes it something akin to the ultimate grand and go sports watch. The new LE from Time+Tide trades on the media outlet’s Australian roots to great effect – the end result is a watch straddles the line between the high end and a pure tool, offering something just a little big extra for Time+Tide readers.

It’s getting close to the end of the year, and many of us are naturally in a reflective mood. I’d like to think I speak for most watch writers when I say that for us, it’s all about looking back at the almost incalculable number of watches we saw over the course of the year, and the reviews they spawned. Considering all the watches I got to look at this year, there are a handful that really stand out, and the

Maen’s Manhattan has proven to be a watch that works particularly well as a blank canvas of sorts. We’ve seen a number of limited editions of Maen’s integrated bracelet sports watch ( including our own ) and each finds new ways to present the piece’s central idea of a 70s inspired, elegant sports watch. Maen seems to enjoy riffing on the name of the watch – their

Collective Horology, the Southern California based retailer of independent watches, has unveiled their most recent collaboration, their second with Zenith. The ​​Zenith Defy Skyline C.X follows the El Primero C.01, Collective’s very first limited edition which was released into a very different watch landscape in 2019. Collective has changed along with the watch industry – they’ve become a full fledged retailer of independent watch brands, and have nixed the “members only” concept that the company was born with. It’s fair to say that Collective’s scope has widened considerably since 2019: their goal seems to be spreading the gospel of independent watchmaking at a huge range of price points to anyone who will listen, while continuing to hone in on storytelling in their own limited edition releases to make each of them feel special in their own way.

Nearly a year ago I sat in on a conference call with some colleagues and members of the Serica team, who outlined their upcoming slate of 2024 releases. They were particularly excited about a new watch they weren’t yet ready to show us that would debut toward the end of the year, a watch they claimed was a significant departure for them in terms of style, shape, and what enthusiasts have come to expect from Serica over the last five years. While not an anniversary piece, per se, they framed this release as one that celebrates the brand and their unique perspective on the watch world, and now, finally, having seen the new Reference 1174 Parade, their excitement makes a lot of sense. This is an ambitious release, and should go a long way in expanding what the community might expect from Serica going forward.

Remember the Paris Olympics? It seems, somehow, like they took place a lifetime ago, but it was just this past summer – mere months ago. It was a crazy time. Lots of conversation about the pollution in the Seine, an all time great gymnastics competition, and, of course, Daniel Craig teased a new Seamaster in a conspicuously inconspicuous way