Latest watch news · Page 1368

Editor’s note: There’s a lot of hype around steel sports watches these days, with seemingly every watchmaker and their proverbial dog jumping on the bandwagon. And we get it: steel sports watches are not only great looking, they tend to be a fair bit more practical and versatile than most other types of timepieces. But … ContinuedThe post Taking another look at the Breguet Classique 7147 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

TAG Heuer has unveiled the fifth and final iteration of its limited edition series of timepieces celebrating 50 years of the heroic Monaco wristwatch. Like the rest of the limited-run watches, which each celebrate a separate decade in the history of the Monaco since its inception in 1969, the 2009-2019 example will be limited to … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The TAG Heuer Monaco 2009-2019 Limited Edition appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

An ocean explorer sinks his teeth into dive watch design.

It has been a stellar year for Grand Seiko, with the Japanese watchmaker releasing not only a bevy of new iterations of some of their most popular models, but also a completely new manual-wind dress watch, the SBGK series. And, as is always the case with Grand Seiko, the arresting dials adorning these new timepieces … ContinuedThe post Top 5 Grand Seiko dials of 2019 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

TAG Heuer unveils the best Monaco yet in marking the watch’s 50th anniversary, a one-off art piece called the Monaco Piece d’Art.

Ulysse Nardin teams up with acoustics specialist Devialet to bring us what is claimed to be the loudest striking watch - the UN Hourstriker Phantom.

Fourteen years after the first MIH watch, the Swiss museum releases its follow-up.

Retailers tell Revolution how watches featured in movies and TV translates to awareness and sales.

Breguet’s contribution to the most recent Only Watch auction in 2017 was a unique, enlarged version of its inventive in-line perpetual calendar that had the calendar indications arranged in a column vertically across the dial. Though clever and unusual, the watch was probably too esoteric and classical for current tastes, and it sold for 110,000 Swiss francs, just 10% above the high estimate, reputedly to a discerning collector in Australia. This year’s upcoming Only Watch, however, includes a very different Breguet that should sell for a multiple of its estimate. The Type 20 for Only Watch 2019 is essentially a spot-on replica of the two-register aviator’s chronograph Breguet supplied to the French military from the mid 1950s – exactly the type of watch that is desirable now. Specifically, it’s a remake of the first generation Type 20, which was marked “5101/54” on the case back, denoting the order number, “5101”, and the year of 1954. More specifically, it’s based on the Type 20 made for the French air force, distinguished by equal-sized sub-dials; watches for the naval air arm had oversized minute counters. Named after the French military specification for pilot’s chronographs, itself derived from the Second World War German air force chronograph design, the original Type 20s were produced by a variety of watchmakers, including Vixa, Dodane, and Auricoste. Breguet examples, however, are the most valuable. Note that “Type XX” refers to the same...

The Bremont H-4 Hercules’ rotor incorporates original birchwood veneer that flew on Howard Hughes' historic trip in the 'Spruce Goose' off the coast of California in 1947. Shaped into four propeller blades, the precious and historical wood was shipped to the UK from the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, where the plane resides today. Here Nancy Olson tells us what else is cool about this watch!

Birth year watches are a pretty special thing, especially if you manage to find one in a watch model that you actually want. But here’s something you don’t see very often … or ever, really. Darren has gone and bought himself a gorgeous Rolex GMT-Master Ref.1675 “Pepsi” that was not only sold in his birth … ContinuedThe post What Sealed The Deal – Darren’s Rolex GMT-Master Ref.1675 “Pepsi” appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

The ex-Gurkha and UK Special Forces operator has climbed all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter peaks in less than seven months, smashing the old record.

Editor’s note: OK, I’m guessing that 99 per cent of people reading this are already well aware of Rolex’s eponymous Daytona … and, admittedly, it’s hard not to be. Here is a watch that is deeply desirable, seemingly unobtainable, and a cashed-up speculator’s veritable dream timepiece. And, of course, it’s not just the modern iterations … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED READING: A history of the Rolex Daytona appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Closed caseback, honey gold, stainless steel. Need I say more?

INTRO Recently, we had the opportunity to spend several weeks with the Mido Ocean Star Tribute Special Edition. Released to mark the brand’s 75th anniversary, Mido launched two variations of this vintage-inspired dive watch, which is available in either a Mediterranean Blue or a Deep Black model. Today though, we’re going hands-on with the Deep Black variant. FIRST IMPRESSIONS This is a lot of watch for the money, the package you’re getting for under $1,500 is substantial – and a reminder that you don’t have to spend big bucks to get a capable and attractive tool watch. THE DIAL & HANDS Legibility is no issue on the Ocean Star Tribute thanks to the use of Super-LumiNova on the hour-markers, baton-style hands and bezel. Keeping in line with the heavily vintage-inspired design, both the applied indices and hands are an off-white cream colour, imitating the patina’d look often seen on vintage dive watches. The lollipop-style orange seconds hand offers a pop of colour and compliments the custardy indices. At 3 o’clock you’ll also find an unobtrusive day/date function, which blends into the rest of the dial thanks to a matching date wheel.  THE CRYSTAL At first glance, you might mistake the Ocean Star Tribute’s boxed Sapphire crystal for acrylic. However, tougher and less prone to scratches, the use of sapphire crystal blends modern materials with vintage design, ensuring legibility. The curved edges of the crystal offer up some intriguing reflections and dis...

Bremont brand ambassador and former British Special Forces serviceman Nirmal “Nims” Purja has destroyed the world record for scaling Earth’s 14 tallest mountains, completing the amazing feat in just six months and six days, eclipsing the previous record, which stood for more than eight years. Project Possible kicked off in April this year, and Purja … ContinuedThe post Mission Accomplished! Nirmal “Nims” Purja smashes Bremont’s Project Possible appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Editor’s note: An attractive neo-vintage diver is a de rigueur part of any self-respecting watch brand’s lineup in 2019, and Bremont is no different. In fact, these days the brand has a few offerings in their stable. And one of the first options out of the gate was the handsome Supermarine S301 …  Bremont is … ContinuedThe post Well-sized and very stylish, the Bremont Supermarine S301 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

TAG Heuer announces a one of a kind Monaco Piece d'Art - a restored and redecorated version of an original 1969 model of the iconic caliber 11.

A master tailor from Italy and a collection of interesting timepieces made for quite a night.

Rado marks its latest breakthrough in colored high-tech ceramic with a collection sanctioned by the Fondation Le Corbusier.

Even amongst avant-garde watchmakers, De Bethune stands out for its substance – aesthetic and material innovation matched by technical ingenuity. At its core, the brand has reimagined the most fundamental aspects of mechanical timekeeping, from the barrel to the hairspring, while pushing the boundaries of traditional complications, be it the moon phase, tourbillon or chronograph. But arguably its most distinctive innovation is an aesthetic one, which has come to define the brand no less – heat-blued titanium. The brand has used the alloy for more than 15 years across various parts of the watch, even making almost a whole watch out of it. But now De Bethune has a twist on the theme, resulting in the DB28 Yellow Tones in brilliant golden titanium. Fiery yellow Though the colour of the new DB28 is striking, it is by no means loud, as the amber shade of yellow isn’t the same as yellow gold and doesn’t pass off as such. In fact, it looks more like fresh brass than gold. The colour was achieved through thermal oxidisation of the surface, essentially the same process as that used for blued titanium (and also the same for blued steel). The yellow surface, just like the blue, is the result of an oxide that forms on the surface of titanium when it is heated to a certain temperature. But amber yellow tone in this case was created by heating it at a lower temperature than used for blued titanium. Titanium undergoes different stages of oxidation when heated, and yellow is o...

Long the record holder for the most valuable watch at the biennial Only Watch charity auction, Patek Philippe has probably outdone itself this year. For Only Watch 2019, it’s put together a unique version of the most complicated wristwatch it’s ever made, the Grandmaster Chime ‘Only Watch’ ref. 6300A-010 in stainless steel. Now in its 14th year, Only Watch is an auction of one-off timepieces donated by brands, with proceeds going to support medical research. Patek Philippe has claimed the title of the top lot in nearly all Only Watch auctions, including the most recent in 2017 that saw a Patek Philippe ref. 5208T in titanium sell for 6.2 Swiss francs. And in the auction before that, in 2015, the Patek Philippe ref. 5016A in steel sold for 7.3m Swiss francs. But the steel Grandmaster Chime for Only Watch this year will probably exceed those results, albeit by a margin that’s hard to predict. The buyer of “The Only One” will be the special one By most metrics it’s the ultimate watch – not only is it the most complicated wristwatch ever made by Patek Philippe, it is also the most expensive timepiece in the current Patek Philippe catalogue. And then there’s the style of the watch, which is catered exactly to current tastes. In fact, the elements of the watch are so perfectly suited to today’s fads in watch collecting that it might be a clever and discreet in-joke – a bit of humour from the serious Geneva watchmaker. The size and complexity of the Gr...

Six pre-selected watches, five panelist judges, and four predicted winners. You want variety, our predictions for the 2019 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève Petite Aiguille category has more variety than you can strap on two wrists. Check out the reasons for the disparate views here.

As the 1960s drew to a close, the Swiss watch industry found itself entering one of the most significant periods of turmoil it would ever experience. Its response to the accurate and affordable watches coming out of Asia was not to compete in a race to the bottom - instead, the Swiss took the high … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: Graduating with the Girard-Perregaux Laureato 42mm appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

With Only Watch 2019 now just a mere 11 days away from kicking off, we thought we’d take a look at Blancpain’s Only entrant – the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Barakuda. The unique piece from the storied Swiss marque is, rather obviously, based on the standard Fifty Fathoms Barakuda. However, the Only Watch Barakuda sports very … ContinuedThe post The only Barakuda you’ll ever need – the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Barakuda Only Watch appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Longines offer a great many different styles of timepieces across five unique collections in their portfolio of wristwatches. And while each of the five collections provides a distinctive interpretation of what a timepiece should offer, in my opinion, the Swiss watchmaker’s Heritage collection resonates the most with horological enthusiasts. These are the timepieces that hark … ContinuedThe post 5 Longines heritage timepieces for every occasion appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.