I spent three weeks with a Rolex Explorer 124270. I went in skeptical of the hype and came out understanding why people don’t shut up about it.
This is one of those watches that makes sense the moment you strap it on.
A €50 quartz keeps better time than a €5,000 automatic. Everyone knows this. So why do people still buy mechanicals?
Because accuracy isn’t the point. But let’s talk about what you’re actually paying for when you buy an automatic watch.
Tudor announced the Black Bay 58 GMT at Watches & Wonders this month. 39mm case, Manufacture Calibre MT5400 with GMT function, 200m water resistance. €4,200.
This is what people have been asking for since the regular 58 launched. The 41mm Black Bay GMT was fine, but too big for a lot of wrists. 39mm makes it wearable for daily use.
Your watch says “100m water resistant” but the manual says don’t shower with it. What’s the point?
Good question. Water resistance ratings are confusing on purpose. Let me fix that.
Field watches don’t look exciting in photos. No flashy dials, no complications, no ceramic bezels. Just a clean face, Arabic numerals, and a case that’s probably under 40mm.
That’s the point.
Tissot discontinued the PRX Powermatic 80 in its original 40mm size. Still making the 35mm version and the chronograph, but the automatic that everyone actually wanted? Gone from the 2026 catalog.
End of year reflection. Time to be honest about which watches actually got wrist time.
Most worn: Perun Veles
No surprise here. The pointer date captured my attention in June and never let go. Probably 150+ days on wrist. The €399 purchase that embarrassed everything else in the collection.
Zenith turned 160 in 2025. They marked it by resurrecting one of the most decorated movements in Swiss history.
The GFJ houses a modernized Caliber 135 - the hand-wound movement that won over 230 chronometry awards between 1950 and 1960. No other movement in history has matched that record.
Every watchmaker knows: keep magnets away from mechanical movements. Breguet just broke that rule on purpose.
The Expérimentale 1 uses magnetism to regulate timekeeping. Not despite magnetism - because of it.
Tudor’s first moonphase complication isn’t a Black Bay. It’s a dress watch. And the price makes sense.
The Watch # The 1926 Luna builds on Tudor’s entry-level dress watch platform. 39mm case, domed dial, minimal complications - except now there’s a moonphase at 6 o’clock.
