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Releases, news, and insights from trusted TBWS sponsors.
Watches and the Warfighter
The uniform is uniform, but the watch remains an expressive blend of utility and aesthetic style unique to that military professional. Not exclusive to, but prevalent within the Special Operations community is the facilitation of relationships through common interests. The first SOF Truth states: “humans are more important than hardware”. For the Special Operations professional, people—not equipment, make the critical difference. Ironically, many of us are bonding over hardware…our watches.
Aquastar Benthos H2: Revisiting the Past, With an Eye on the Present
Aquastar’s Benthos 500 holds an important spot in dive watch history. First unveiled in 1970, it stood out from the crowd with its unique chronograph-like functionality and slow-moving 60-minute elapsed-time counter. It was bold, unconventional, and ahead of its time—until the Quartz Crisis swept the industry off course. But what if quartz hadn’t disrupted the market so quickly? The new Aquastar Benthos H2 wonders just that, providing a design inspired by archival drawings from the late ’60s while moving it towards modern tastes and technologies.
A Look at the new IWC Pilot Mark XX Mercedes-AMG Petronas Team
Let’s face it: when you think of Formula One, your first thought probably isn’t, “Gee, I hope IWC drops a new Mark XX today.” But here we are, and IWC is back in the F1 game for 2025 with yet another AMG Petronas tie-in. This time, we’re looking at a no-nonsense titanium Mark XX, a clean time-and-date piece decked out in enough Petronas green to make your Speedmaster a little jealous.
Longines Trolls Us With A $5,000 ‘Dive’ Watch Featuring a Fixed Bezel: The Ultra-Chron Carbon
Let me set the stage for you: somewhere in Switzerland, a Longines executive is sitting in a leather chair, sipping espresso, and staring out over the Alps. “What if,” they muse, “we take a perfectly good dive watch, strip it of its most basic functionality, make it out of fancy plastic, and charge five grand for it?” Cue applause from the boardroom, a slow clap from a guy in a turtleneck, and voilà—the Longines Ultra-Chron Carbon is born.
Panerai Luminor Marina Review: The PAM00777
Every watch has a story, but some watches come with adventures baked right into their DNA. If you’ve listened back to our older podcast episodes, you’ll know that my Panerai Luminor Marina PAM00777 is one of those pieces. It wasn’t just the culmination of years of quiet admiration for the brand; it was the memento of a whirlwind day in Florence that, for a moment, felt like a nightmare.
