22 October

The day in brief

Tempo Passado, Lisbon's vintage watch fair organised by the Instituto Português de Relojoaria, holds its fifth edition on 28 November at the Lisboa Jupiter Hotel. The press release was issued on 21 October and registration for sellers is open.

Also with a Portuguese signature, Isotope, José Miranda's brand, teams up with Direnzo on the DRZ 08 Cosmonaire, a GMT limited to 40 pieces.

In Paris, a Rolex boutique run by Bucherer opened on rue Saint-Honoré in early October, with a floor that includes a space for watches certified pre-owned by the brand. Among the launches, Tissot presents the PRX Skeleton Damian Lillard Special Edition, a hand-wound watch that converts into a pocket watch.

Tempo Passado returns to Lisbon on 28 November

Tempo Passado, Lisbon's Vintage Watch Fair, holds its fifth edition on Saturday, 28 November, from 10 am to 6 pm, at the Lisboa Jupiter Hotel, Avenida da República 46. The Instituto Português de Relojoaria, which organises the fair, issued the press release on 21 October.

The fair is open to companies and private individuals and is dedicated to buying and selling vintage watches, parts and supplies, tools and other watchmaking-related objects. Sellers register on the IPR website, where visitor tickets are also on sale.

For restorers and collectors, a fair of this kind is also a market for parts. A hand, a crown or an original supply part for a calibre that is no longer made can decide whether a vintage watch runs again with the right components.

Find out more on the organiser's website.

Isotope and Direnzo sign a GMT limited to 40 pieces

Isotope, the independent brand founded in 2016 by Portuguese José Miranda and his wife Joana, presented a collaboration with independent brand Direnzo on 21 October: the DRZ 08 Cosmonaire Isotope × Direnzo, limited to 40 pieces. According to Direnzo, the idea came from a conversation with José Miranda three years ago.

The DRZ 08 Cosmonaire is Direnzo's first GMT. The 316L steel case, with an 800 HV scratch-resistant coating, measures 39 mm in diameter, 46 mm lug to lug and 10 mm in height, with an elliptical bezel, screw-down crown and caseback, and water resistance to 10 atm. The Isotope version stands out for its grey dial, white Super-LumiNova and heat-blued steel hands.

The movement is the Sellita SW-330-2 in Elaboré grade, with a 54-hour power reserve and Incabloc shock protection. In a GMT, a fourth hand makes one turn of the dial in 24 hours and shows the time in a second time zone, so the traveller keeps track of the time at home.

The dial, slightly concave under a flat sapphire crystal, has applied indices, an engraved ring filled with Super-LumiNova and a laser-engraved basket-weave pattern under glossy lacquer.

The launch is set for 21 November at 3 pm CET, with deliveries expected in mid-January 2027. The limited editions cost 1,350 Swiss francs in pre-sale and 1,400 francs afterwards.

Find out more on the brand's website.

Bucherer opens a Rolex boutique in Paris with a space for certified pre-owned watches

In early October, Bucherer opened an exclusive Rolex boutique at 283 rue Saint-Honoré in Paris, on the corner of rue Royale. The store has two floors and 363 m²: 187 m² on the ground floor and 176 m² upstairs.

The upper floor houses the area for the Rolex Certified Pre-Owned programme, for pre-owned watches certified by the brand itself. According to Montres-de-luxe.com, accepted watches are at least two years old and go through a Rolex workshop, which checks their original configuration and authenticates the components. They then receive a dedicated seal and a two-year international guarantee.

Bucherer has been an official Rolex retailer since 1924 and has belonged to Rolex since the acquisition announced in 2023, while keeping its identity and operational autonomy. In Paris, it has had a store on Boulevard des Capucines since 2013. According to WatchPro, Rolex has around 50 authorised points of sale in France, 21 of them in Paris.

The store occupies the building formerly home to Canada Goose. The interior uses travertine on the floor, columns and walls, solid American walnut, marble and metal, and the two floors are linked by a staircase in green Tinos marble.

Find out more on the retailer's website.

Tissot turns the skeletonised PRX into a pocket watch for Damian Lillard

On 21 October, Tissot launched the PRX Skeleton Damian Lillard Special Edition (reference T137.405.17.371.00), dedicated to basketball player Damian Lillard. The launch coincided with the Portland Trail Blazers' season opener against the Phoenix Suns.

The steel PRX case measures 44 mm in diameter and 11.2 mm in thickness, with a sapphire crystal and caseback and water resistance to 100 metres. The hand-wound, skeletonised movement has a 52-hour power reserve, according to the brand. The open burgundy-toned dial reveals the bridges, and the hand of the small seconds sub-dial at 9 o'clock is shaped like the player's monogram.

What sets it apart is the included conversion kit, which allows the case to be worn as a pocket watch, with a leather pouch and a chain. Monochrome reports that the calibre is based on the ETA 6497, the former Unitas designed for pocket watches, which makes the conversion consistent with the movement's origins and helps explain the 44 mm case.

The watch also comes with a rubber strap and a leather strap, both in burgundy. In Europe, according to Monochrome, it costs 1,895 euros.

Find out more on the brand's website.

What deserves attention

Pre-owned watches certified by the brands themselves are gaining physical space in stores. In Paris, Bucherer's new Rolex boutique sets aside an area on its upper floor for them. According to WatchPro, Audemars Piguet is expected to present its own programme before the end of October, although the brand has not confirmed the date. How each house certifies, guarantees and prices these watches will weigh on a secondary market in which independent dealers and auction houses have played the leading role.

In Lisbon, Tempo Passado shows the other side of that market: direct buying and selling between collectors, watchmakers and dealers, with parts and tools alongside the watches.

Among the launches, Tissot shows that pocket-watch conversion, usually found in niche editions, also has a place in a widely distributed collection such as the PRX.