Category: Fashion

‘Tis the season.

Before Cyber Week ends.

The city person’s favourite.

Dua just won at Christmas nail art.

Even for the world’s oldest known watchmaker, the $2 million Blancpain Grande Double Sonnerie is nothing less than a staggering horological achievement, with an eye-popping price tag and the specs to match.

The astronomically- priced timepiece represents a decidedly intricate high horology masterpiece from a watchmaker perhaps best known for the dive-ready utility of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. Built off more than eight years of development and 1,200 technical drawings, an eye-popping 1,053 components went into the Blancpain Grande Double Sonnerie, the design of which resulted in a remarkable 21 patents. Blancpain proudly notes the refined timepiece was “entirely conceived, produced, decorated and assembled in-house,” and to that end, only two models will be produced per year: Indescribably rare doesn’t begin to cover it.

The horologist notes the watch is “the most complicated watch in Blancpain’s history,” packed with a slew of features seemingly impossible to incorporate into one timepiece (perhaps resulting in its 47mm case diameter). The Blancpain Grande Double Sonnerie features everything from a flying tourbillon to a fully integrated retrograde perpetual calendar, a minute repeater and a movement design that’s entirely secured within the watch and its 18-karat case and bridgeplate construction. Most striking is the duo of sonnerie complications (one grande melody, one petite melody, both switchable within the watch itself).

Even more incredibly, one of the melodies was composed by watch collector Eric Singer, who just so happens to be the drummer in KISS (yes, KISS). Billed by Blancpain as a “symphony of innovation, artistry, and emotion,” the Sonnerie complication doubles the number of notes found in a traditional chiming mechanism, using the notes E,G,F and B with four hammers and gongs.

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Singer composed the Blancpain melody, while the other selectable Sonnerie option relies on the Westminster melody. Two manually wound spring barrels, one operating the chiming mechanism, rest within the watch, while the flying tourbillon delivers stability and a striking sense of visual appeal through both the dial and its caseback. Even more impressive is its 96-hour power reserve.

The grande sonnerie, with its impressive list of complications, pushes the boundaries of horology even further than one might have thought possible from Blancpain (of course, the price tag naturally matches such a towering achievement). Accordingly, there’s a sense of triumph from the Swiss watchmaker regarding its latest masterpiece, said Blancpain President and CEO Marc A. Hayek. “Listening to a sonnerie is like tasting a grand wine,” Hayek said. “It is not merely a question of volume, but the clarity, the resonance, the persistence, the richness. Savoring the sounding of a prestige sonnerie is an emotional experience.” 

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The accomplishment raises the bar for what future Blancpain watches might be able to achieve, well beyond even the sporty-yet-luxurious appeal of its most famous model, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. And while only two incredibly fortunate owners (annually) will secure a piece of horology history, the latest experiment from Blancpain very well might set the tone for where the company goes next.

It’s my one recommendation.

No plane ticket required.

Which one is more your vibe?

Winter’s worst weather, and even the daily grind, calls for the proper approach in your menswear wardrobe: Simply build around one truly great winter coat to win the day. That coat comes in a variety of forms, from the erstwhile parka to the tough-as-nails waxed trucker jacket, and Filson has the whole lot covered this season.

Filson outerwear can assuredly be trusted “in any weather,” as the outfitter sagely notes. More than 120 years of experience in crafting some of the strongest outerwear on the planet helps see to that heritage, and many of Filson’s silhouettes harken back a century ago, to when the Seattle-based company helped outfit prospectors braving the treacherous Pacific Northwest.

You can even pair your new favorite jacket with hearty Filson x Blundstone boots or take a high-fashion approach with Filson x Junya Watanabe. While your holiday to-do list hopefully will prove more fruitful than treacherous, outerwear options abound from Filson in matters of absurdly rugged performance and style this season.

Filson Reversible Pile Fleece Jacket

The fleece jacket is all grown up, complete with a surprisingly stylish yet high-performing blend of ripstop nylon on one side, and cozy fleece on the other. When your next winter outing calls for a grab-and-go jacket, one you needn’t fuss over, reach for this casually cool fleece option from Filson. $199

Filson Mackinaw Wool Jac-Shirt

Not every winter day brings with it a blizzard bearing down. For layering up atop a henley or a chambray shirt during an upstate retreat, look towards the humble yet hard-working hybrid design of the shirt jacket. Filson uses extra-thick Mackinaw Wool that should prove warm and insulating even when wet. $329

Filson Down Cruiser Parka

At times, your outerwear rotation can do with plenty of bells and whistles, like a host of handy everyday carry pockets, a large adjustable hood and a sturdy waxed finish to repel snow and wind. Add in warm down filling and fashion it all from Filson’s classically rugged Otter Green waxed fabric, and you’ve got a winter parka cut out for anything. $699

Filson Down Bomber Jacket

The military performance of the bomber jacket fuses with Filson’s no-nonsense, signature waxed cotton exterior and a 650-fill power insulated build. Even the pockets are lined in wool for the utmost in casually rugged warmth, and the silhouette is especially apt at wearing with indigo denim jeans and brown leather moc toe boots. $459

Filson Tin Cloth Short Lined Cruiser Jacket

Filson says its take on the trucker jacket, the Cruiser Jacket fashioned from its famously strong yet supple water-resistant Tin Cloth fabric, is ” often imitated and never replicated,” and they’re largely correct. Water, wind and rain are no match for this tough-as-nails jacket which is especially appealing in a whiskey-esque shade of Dark Tan. $359

Filson Mackinaw Wool Cruiser Jacket

The Mackinaw Cruiser Jacket, which lands somewhere between a field coat and a trucker jacket, has been a Filson staple since it was patented in 1914. The same heritage holds steadfast today, built from thick 100% virgin wool with weather-resistant properties and sewn-in-Seattle pedigree. $599

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While Oasis undeniably had the biggest rock comeback of 2025 with their Oasis Live ’25 reunion tour, it doesn’t look like the Gallagher brothers are ready to release new music anytime soon.

Aside from packing stadiums in Europe and the U.S., the British rockers led by Noel and Liam Gallagher were suddenly everywhere, from partnerships with Land Rover Defender and Stone Island parkas to a “Liam and Noel” oil painting auctioned off at Sotheby’s.

But now that the band has been reunited for months, fans are openly wondering if the comeback tour could lead to a new Oasis album, which would be the band’s first since 2008’s Dig Out Your Soul, reports Uproxx.

But Liam Gallagher doesn’t seem remotely interested in dropping any new Oasis tracks. On November 25, a fan tweeted at Gallagher, “beg your brother for a new album PLEASE I really need it I feel so lost right now,” and he memorably replied, “New music is for WANKERS.” Another user wrote, “i feel like a new album is coming and you’re just hiding it really well,” and Gallagher responded:

“It’s not I honestly do t see the point it won’t be as good as the old stuff im quite happy singing the old stuff I’m not 1 of those WANKERS that need to keep pushing it forward or sideways or backwards in some cases NOSTALGIA forever.”

Meanwhile, Liam also continued to plug potential additional tour dates, tweeting, “There’s loads more classics we need to play for you when we go out again I mean happy Christmas.” In response to a user asking Gallagher what he wants for Christmas, he responded, “A European tour.”