HODINKEE's collaborations with top watchmakers are second to none–that's why we're shining the spotlight on some of the very best they've produced to date, including picks from IWC, Grand Seiko, TAG Heuer, and more.
Since its launch and rise to prominence, online epicenter of watch media HODINKEE has affirmed its status as the foremost name in all things horological, covering the world of watchmaking and the personalities within it like no other. What's more, they've collaborated with some of the top names in the industry on several limited edition collaborations, each flexing their unique perspective on the craft and its history to date. With all this in mind, we're shining the spotlight on some of the very best they've produced to date, including picks from IWC, Grand Seiko, TAG Heuer, and more.
Shop Bezel’s entire collection of HODINKEE Limited Edition collaborations here.
After championing IWC’s reference 3705 Pilot’s Chronograph as a pioneering design in popularizing ceramic-cased watches, HODINKEE doubled down on their love for tool watches from Schaffhausen with the February 2019 release of the reference IW3248-01. Unlike the watch to which it pays homage, this exclusive collaboration featured a case crafted out of “Ceratanium”–IWC’s engineered material combining the lightness of titanium with the hardness and scratch-resistant properties of ceramics.
Produced in a limited edition of just 500 pieces for the entire global market and selling out within minutes, this collaborative effort traded the reference 3705’s chronograph for a no-nonsense, time-only configuration, with luminous indices executed in a custard-colored tone for an added dose of always welcome, vintage flair.
Revisiting an iconic variant of the famed Carrera chronograph, HODINKEE’s widely-celebrated 2021 collaboration with TAG Heuer draws inspiration from Heuer’s reference 3147N “Dato 45,” first introduced by the sports-focused watchmaker back in 1965. Celebrating 160 years of avant-garde designs, this 250-piece limited edition notably features a single chronograph subdial and is further distinguished by its date window positioned unconventionally at the nine o’clock position.
To revive this gem of the back catalog, the watch media authority tasked TAG Heuer with modifying its flagship in-house chronograph caliber—the robust HEUER02, boasting 33 watch jewels and an 80-hour-long power reserve.
Perhaps the most widely celebrated of HODINKEE’s limited edition collaborations to date, the Grand Seiko Automatic GMT is a bona fide fan favorite, and for good reason. Fitted with a brilliant “Twilight blue” dial finished with muted gray accents, its eye-catching nature is only matched by the sophistication of its self-winding, in-house Caliber 9S66 movement, rated to an exceedingly accurate +5/-3 seconds per day.
Considering that just 500 examples of this GMT-equipped limited edition were produced exclusively for the American market, it’s not a watch you’ll see every day. However, when you do, you’ll likely be delighted by the relatively accessible price point at which examples trade.
Though Hermès isn’t known to be a watchmaker first and foremost, the titan of French luxury goods has reinforced their status as a horological force to be reckoned with in recent years through the release of countless impeccably designed timepieces. Boasting tasteful aesthetics and sophisticated manufacture movements, each of the brand’s offerings speaks to a new and refreshing perspective on fine watch design, and the H08 developed in collaboration with HODINKEE is no exception.
Cased in matte black DLC-coated, ultra-lightweight titanium and fitted with a scratch-resistant ceramic bezel, this attractive H08 configuration is suited to withstand the rigors of everyday wear in style, thanks to its multi-layered taupe dial, which matches its textured silicone strap.
Distinguished as the first modern diving watch, the significance of Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms cannot be understated. Largely attributed with charting the future of sports watch design after its release in the early 1950s, it’s an “if you know, you know” piece of sorts, favored by discerning collectors with heightened understandings of horological history.
With the limited edition MIL-SPEC for HODINKEE, the two world-renowned brands honor the epochal dive watch in vintage-inspired style, celebrating military-issued executions in an exclusive series of just 250 pieces. Of particular note are this reference’s drilled lugs and moisture indicator-equipped dial, both found on early and highly collectible examples.
Evolving the quintessential Zenith chronograph to incorporate a contemporary twist, HODINKEE’s limited edition collaboration with Zenith revises the venerated El Primero for a new generation of collectors. Modeled after the highly sought-after reference A386, this straight lug chronograph deviates from the original design by way of its striking, salmon-colored dial.
As the first-ever limited edition in the Chronomaster Original lineup, this deep-cut release set the tone for what’s to come from the Swiss watchmaking powerhouse going forward.
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