WatchTime June 2014

COVER STORY

• DARK SIDE VS. BLACK STEEL By Jens Koch | Both have trendy black cases. Both have manufacture movements. But which is better? In our comparative test, the Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon and the Breitling Chronomat GMT Blacksteel go head to head.

TESTS

• MATCH POINTERS By Mike Disher | We test Vacheron Constantin’s Patrimony Contemporaine Retrograde Day and Date, an automatic watch with twin retrograde calendar hands pointing to the day and date.
• GOING FOR GOLD By Jens Koch | Nomos is known for its affordable manufacture watches. With its new, white-gold Lux model, the Glashütte-based brand aims higher: its price, $20,500, puts it in the same tier as high-end brands like Patek Philippe and A. Lange & Söhne. We test the Lux to see how it measures up.

FEATURES

• REDISCOVERING AMERICA By Joe Thompson | At SIHH, it was clear that China’s watch slump has Swiss producers making eyes at America again. WatchTime talked to Swiss watch executives about the renewed importance of the U.S. market.
• THE NEW WATCHES FROM GENEVA Every new watch year begins in Geneva with the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH). Here are new watches unveiled by the 16 SIHH brands, along with new offerings from DeWitt and Clerc, who also exhibited in Geneva during the fair.
• BREITLING MILESTONES By Gisbert L. Brunner | Pilots rely on Breitling’s chronographs, but calendars, world timers and divers’ watches also are part of the brand’s 130-year history. In this chronology, we trace the origins and development of major Breitlings like the Chronomat and the Navitimer.
• A DIVE WATCH DEFINED By Mike Disher | What makes a watch a dive watch? It’s not as simple as you might think. According to ISO requirements, a dive watch has to pass a battery of tests before it’s worthy of the name.
• ARNOLD ARRIVES By Jay Deshpande | With its rapidly growing collection of manufacture movements, Arnold & Son is a little brand generating big buzz. We visit the La Chaux-de-Fonds-based brand to learn about its watches and its parent company and movement supplier, La Joux-Perret.
• THE JURA TRIANGLE By Norma Buchanan | A cluster of tiny Jura villages, forming a rough triangle from the Saint-Imier Valley to the French border, played a huge role in watch history. We trace the path of Jura watchmaking from the early 1800s to the present day.