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Slightly retro and conventionally shaped, the Bell & Ross Vintage line is a popular counterpart to the brand’s better-known, all-square BR 01 and 03. The Vintage collection gets three new models at Baselworld 2020 – namely a time-only, GMT, and chronograph – including the BR V2-94 Aéronavale Bronze limited edition. Notably, the new BR V2 watches are offered with a type of elastic fabric strap secured by a small hook, often known as an “MN” strap. That’s short for Marine Nationale – the French navy – and reputedly comes from the fact that such straps were originally fabricated by from parachute webbing by French navy personnel, who were said to have been issued watches without straps. Named after l’Aéronavale, the air arm of the French navy, the BR V2-94 limited edition is inspired by the colours of the French navy’s dress uniform. So the dial is a dark, metallic blue, matched with gold-plated hands and hour markers, and a bronze case. And bezel is fixed and features a blue, anodised aluminium insert that allows for measurement of elapsed time. The 41 mm case is made of CuAl7Si2 bronze, an alloy that’s almost all copper, save for 7% aluminium and 2% silicon. Over time, the alloy acquires a brownish surface oxidisation, in contrast to the green verdigris of more common bronze alloys. And like the other BR V2 chronographs, this is powered by an ETA 2894-2, which is an ETA 2892 base with a chronograph module on top. The other additions to the line wi...

Most brands enjoy celebrating anniversaries based around the centenary, but not Grand Seiko, and it actually makes sense. In watchmaking, the number 60 is significantly more important than 50, as it takes 60 seconds to make a minute, and 60 minutes to make an hour, as well as that in Japan the number 60 signifies … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The bold and blue Grand Seiko 60th Anniversary appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

We’re very proud to announce that the ‘Watch & Act!’ World Watch Auction in aid of the Australian bushfire crisis has raised more than $200,000 Australian dollars, with 100 per cent of the funds going directly to the charities that need it most. This has been a monumental effort from everyone involved and we’re incredibly … ContinuedThe post ‘Watch & Act!’ World Watch Auction results: Over $200K raised! appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

A mechanical watch movement is a tiny-but-complex system made up of components in equilibrium, operating flawlessly. But because the those components are delicate – especially the parts that make up the escapement – its operation can be influenced by external factors,  including shock, moisture, and more commonly, the position of the watch, whether on the wrist or off. The position of a watch determines how gravity affects the moving parts of the movement. In other words, the timekeeping of a watch can vary according to whether it is laid on its back or on its side. That resulting variation is known as positional error, and it is largely because of gravity’s effect on the balance wheel – the oscillator in the regulating organ of the movement. Beyond the position of a watch, positional error is also shaped by factors like the amplitude of the balance wheel, the type of hairspring, and the poise of the balance. All are inextricably linked and must be adjusted just right – properly regulated in watchmaking parlance – in order for a watch to have minimal positional error and thus keep good time. [Editor’s note: In this article we’ll just deal with movements constructed traditionally with conventional materials, leaving out silicon-equipped movements, which are still relatively niche.] The Microstella adjustable-mass balance of the Rolex cal. 4030, which is based on the Zenith El Primero A matter of position The position of a watch significantly affects its ac...

Blue - that was certainly the colour of this weekend just past. Whether it was Rod Laver’s packed tennis court, the fleeting moments of sky that Melburnians witnessed on Sunday … for about 30 minutes, or indeed the watches that people were wearing - the vogue colour was definitely a recurring theme. Anyway, here are three of … ContinuedThe post Weekend watch spotting with JR: The Sunday Blues appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Get wrapped up in this two-part series about a pair of special balance springs.

In this week's Throwback Sundays column, we take a look at six "forgotten" collections that deserves a spot on anyone's wrists.

To mark its 50th anniversary in 2009, the International Museum of Horology in Le Locle, Switzerland launched an international chronometry competition. This effectively broke a long drought of 37 years since the last timing trial, which was held by the Observatory of Neuchâtel back in 1972. So what's going on now?

Roger Dubuis and Lamborghini have a special relationship: the watches that have so far come from this still relatively young collaboration have not only been impressive but also suck you into the world of Lamborghini without a car even being in sight. It is almost like the watchmakers at Roger Dubuis have infused this watch with motor oil and replaced the ticking of the escapement with the growl of an Italian high-performance engine. And the Excalibur Huracán Performante is all the evidence you need!

At the beginning of last year, the famed Le Brassus-based watchmaker Audemars Piguet released their first totally new collection in decades, the Audemars Piguet Code 11.59. It is safe to say that the release got people talking, with an outpouring of expression on social media articulating many people’s disappointment with the collection, blaming it for … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED WATCHING: The Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 explained appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Bond girls often dazzle us with their brains and beauty, but for the upcoming twenty-fifth James Bond movie, 'No Time to Die,' Chopard jewels are also set to do some dazzling. The Swiss brand will have some of its most stunning creations worn in the movie by Cuban-Spanish actress Ana de Armas playing Paloma, this film’s Bond girl. Martin Green fills us in on which diamonds will grace her character.

Seventeen-time Grand Slam Champion Novak Djokovic has once again teamed up with long-term sponsor Seiko to create this - the Seiko Astron Novak Djokovic 2020 Limited Edition. Based on the standard Astron SSH019J1, the limited-run watch has been designed to celebrate both the Serbian and Japanese flags. The new Djokovic Astron is a handsome-looking timepiece, … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Seiko Astron Novak Djokovic 2020 Limited Edition appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Parmigiani's staple elegant dress watch has a slim profile, complete with an attractive looking movement. The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda is now available in a matte navy blue dial in a stainless steel case.

The Bovet Virtuoso IX combines a (double-face) flying tourbillon with two time zones, large date, an impressive power reserve of ten days, plus the brand's patented Amadeo convertible case. What more need we say?

I have been trying to buy an Omega Speedmaster for a couple of years now. I have to admit I’m finding it nearly impossible to purchase one. Yes, I know they are readily available. That isn’t the problem. In fact, one of the problems is that the Speedmaster universe is infinite and daunting. First, let’s … ContinuedThe post Why it’s difficult to buy an Omega Speedmaster appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Poodle-haired rock god Brian May is world famous as the lead guitarist in Queen who shaped their sound with his nimble-fingered picking and razor-sharp melodies. What’s less well known is that he’s also a die-hard Seiko fan. For years, May has worn one of the brand’s iconic dive watches on his wrist. He’s regularly spotted … ContinuedThe post Fingerpickin’ good: Queen’s Brian May teams up with Seiko to make a watch inspired by his guitar appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

If a friend dropped by for a chat and a drink and pulled out a couple of these whopper Romeo & Julieta Maravillas 8 Cuban cigars, Ken Gargett thinks you would have an enjoyable afternoon, but probably not think a lot about the cigars. He thought the one he smoked was fine, pleasant and consistent, but no fireworks. And then there's the elephant in the room: the price.

While Patek Philippe are kept most popularly in the mind today through a handful of steel sports watches and the lyrics of chart-topping songs, the company has a history of remarkable innovation that is sometimes overlooked. In the middle of last century - 1950 to be precise - the Genevan firm released a solar-powered table clock, an … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED READING: The remarkable innovation of the Patek Philippe Solar Clock appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

18th century mechanics with 21st century aesthetics.

2019 was the year that Rado solidified their intent to deliver watches that not only pleased a loyal fanbase but surprised and captured the imagination of watch enthusiasts new to the brand. Everything from classically proportioned dress watches, to handsome and rugged tool watches and even bold reissues were released by the Swiss marque, to … ContinuedThe post 4 of the most surprising Rado watches of 2019 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

A classic IWC timepiece gets a manufacture motor.

Your weekly round-up of vintage watches from around the web.

Detailed, hands-on review with Live Photo's of the Tulloch T-01 First Edition Regulator - interesting collab project with Voutilainen and Giroud.

As far as racing and watchmaking goes, no one has ventured further in this association than Richard Mille.

In its second collaboration with Revolution, Rado presents the cool grey Captain Cook in a larger 42mm case.

Jaeger-LeCoultre unveiled a trio of grand complications last year, a substantial number given how complex each watch is, although two of the three are powered by existing movements. The Master Grande Tradition Répétition Minutes Perpétuelle (the only one equipped with a new calibre) and the Gyrotourbillon 3 Meteorite were launched first, and late in the year came the Master Grande Tradition Tourbillon Céleste to mark 15 years of partnership with the Venice International Film Festival. Among the brand’s grand complications, the Tourbillon Celeste is one of the most interesting, boasting a quirky combinations of functions – an orbital, flying tourbillon calibrated for sidereal time as well as a star chart, and sidereal annual calendar. And it is also unusually high tech for a Jaeger-LeCoultre, with the movement being equipped with a silicon escape wheel and pallet fork. A simpler complication As with most of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s recent grand complications, the movement in the Tourbillon Céleste is an iteration of an earlier calibre – something the brand has made a habit of in recent years, which is a bit of a shame given its rich history in movement development. Specifically, the movement inside is a streamlined and simplified version of the more complicated Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication, which was launched in 2010 and also included a minute repeater. Being a separate module mounted on the case-back side of the movement, the repeater was s...

Ever since the Bulgari Octo Finissimo premiered in 2017 George Cramer has been very attracted to the model, but was also afraid that the case would be too large for his wrist. But in Paris one day, he tried an Octo Finissimo on in the Bulgari boutique and was immediately convinced that it was perfect and also very comfortable. But he then had to decide which version was his favorite.