Over the past 5–10 years, we have seen a huge rise in the popularity of American microbrands. It has been interesting to see the success of Monta, Traska, Nodus, Autodromo, and Lorier, to name just a few. Another brand that has been making waves lately is Jack Mason. It began as a fashion brand but…

We all know the world is divided between people who like salmon skin and those who don’t. Whenever I prepare salmon at home for my family, I make sure to buy the kind with the skin still attached. I heat the butter in the frying pan, add the salmon skin side down, and let it…

I’m sure I’m not alone in this feeling of significant insignificance, being so entrenched in a hobby that is so painfully unimportant no matter how you spin it. Watches? Mechanical watches? You can’t be serious. Yet it’s so serious — too serious. It’s an enormous part of my life after my family and friends (many of…

Good things come to those who wait… every two years. That’s not NORQAIN’s official motto, but it very well could be. The Swiss independent brand has only been around since 2018, but keen-eyed observers will note the biennial pace of its impressive milestones. In 2020, NORQAIN announced its partnership with Kenissi and the creation of…

It’s Sunday morning, which means it’s time for breakfast with a classic Sunday Morning Showdown. This week, Mike and Jorg go head to head with two great mid-sized daily wearers from Rolex and Grand Seiko. One is the latest generation of the classic 36mm Rolex Datejust with a domed bezel. It will go up against…

I’m not sure if you’ll agree with me, but I think we are currently living in a golden age of independent watchmaking. We’re regularly treated to a pantheon of wildly creative watches, both stylistically and mechanically, thanks to a boisterous band of free-thinking, financially autonomous watch brands that don’t have to answer to a board…

Although Seiko and Grand Seiko are now regarded as two separate brands, there has historically been quite a lot of overlap between their catalogs, especially from a price-point perspective. However, when the Japanese manufacturer revived the King Seiko name in 2022, it was specifically brought back to serve as a midpoint between Seiko’s consumer-oriented watches…

Aviation-inspired watches are what Bell & Ross does best. While the BR-05 has garnered outsized attention for the brand, I’ve always been partial to its Instrument series of square watches. For me, these are the core of the brand, drawing direct inspiration from cockpit instrument panels. Within the Instrument collection, Bell & Ross has released…