Latest watch news · Page 1385

Controversial stories and legendary watches make for a pretty exciting week.

In the unforgiving depths under the sea, the dive watch has but one function: to determine when you must turn back, or never at all.

Les Collectionneurs is a small, but special, line of watches offered by Vacheron Constantin. Made up of select vintage watches that have been restored to pristine condition at the factory, Les Collectionneurs is made up of about 75 watches. A selection is available year-round at three Vacheron Constantin boutiques – the two in Geneva and one in New York City – with the balance travelling and making stops at other boutiques around the world. From now till the end of October, a pick of Les Collectionneurs watches, including the exquisite ref. 4261 minute repeater, are in Singapore, over a year since the line-up last came by. As a whole, the 19-piece selection in Singapore presents a rich and interesting overview of Vacheron Constantin’s midcentury history. The brand’s mastery of case and lug styles is well illustrated, from the dramatic, wing-shaped “Batman” Chronometre Royal to the familiar “teardrop” lugs of the ref. 4178 chronograph. Factory refreshed While the models in Les Collectionneurs are diverse, and also acquired from a variety of sources, ranging from private collectors to auctions, they are all selected based on shared criteria: rarity, provenance, and of course, current trends. More importantly, the watches are fully and correctly restored, and delivered with an archive extract as well as a two-year warranty. For the client, that’s essentially the same assurance as when buying a brand new watch. Importantly, the factory approa...

On a recent trip to Geneva I dropped by the Akrivia workshops in the city’s Old Town and spotted the Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Contemporain “Only Watch”, still in its constituent parts and almost ready for assembly. The dial, however, was finished and gorgeous. It’s a serene grey-blue, made of translucent enamel over a hand-hammered dial plate. Produced with lots of careful effort and a tiny hammer, the hammered finish is usually only applied to Akrivia’s gold dials found on the AK series watches, and is being combined with enamel for the first, and probably only, time. It was a tedious process to get right, which is why the Akrivia is one of the last to be completed amongst the Only Watch line-up. Produced by the same Geneva enamel artisan that does the fired enamel, or grand feu, dials of the standard watch, this dial for the Only Watch example is the second one made, hence “version 2” on its packaging. Rexhep felt the first dial made was not up to scratch – it had too much variation in colour – and had a second one produced. And the first dial was finished only after a handful of trial runs, where it was established that the thinning effect of the hammered surface meant it could not be counter-enamelled on the back as the standard dials are. Aside from the hammered surface, the dial is also unique because the markings are painted in fired enamel, rather than printed. This makes the numbers, lines and text more substantial. And because the ena...

Austrian watchmaker Habring2, highly regarded for its smart, affordable watches, has just revealed the Salmon collection. The new line-up is made up of all of the brand’s key models, but with each watch now offered with a salmon dial. Once found occasionally on vintage watches and now a popular shade for that reason, salmon dials are a novelty for Habring2,  led by husband and wife team Richard and Maria Habring. The brand typically offers its watches in more straightforward shades of silver, blue, black or grey. The salmon colour Habring2 opted for is a strong pink, closer to salmon than copper or pink gold. Here are a few photos of the watches “in the metal” supplied by the Habrings to show how the salmon dials vary in tone depending on the light. The top of the line model is the Perpetual Doppel, recently launched to mark the brand’s 15thanniversary. Its salmon dial is combined with silvered numerals and blued steel hands, the only model in the Salmon collection with heat-blued hands. The range also includes the entry-level, time-only Felix as well as the single-button Chrono-Felix. Both measure only 38.5mm in diameter, and are also the amongst the thinnest watches made by Habring2. And the more complicated models are the Doppel Felix split-seconds chronograph with its “bullhead” pusher layout, and the inventive COS Felix. Short for “crown operated system”, the COS chronograph is activated entirely via the crown, which is turned either forwards o...

As of 18:00 today, the Time+Tide Shop is the only place in Australia and New Zealand that you can buy Doxa watches. It will come as news to very few of you that this is one heck of a legendary brand. First helium valve on a general public diver’s watch – legendary. Jacques Cousteau – … ContinuedThe post Time+Tide is the only place in Australia you can buy Doxa, and we couldn’t be happier about it appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Grand Seiko has something of a reputation for finely finished understatement. This watch is, well, a little extra. That’s not to say that the Grand Seiko SBGE248 isn’t as finely finished as you’d expect, it’s just that, thanks to its popping blue and gold colourway, this Grand Seiko isn’t under anyone’s radar.  Which, honestly, is … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: Blue, gold and oh-so-bold, the Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT SBGE248 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Tudor has decided to honour its partnership with New Zealand’s All Blacks the only way it knows how … with a limited edition watch, the Tudor Black Bay Chrono Dark. Made to not only pay tribute to the All Blacks’ illustrious history, which dates back to 1884, the Chrono Dark also celebrates the rugby team’s … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Tudor Black Bay Chrono Dark appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Since 2013, Arnold & Son has had a stunning watch series called the Time Pyramid inspired by early pyramid-shaped clocks seen in English clockmaking. At Baselworld 2019 the Arnold & Son Time Pyramid got an awesome update with a new tourbillon and some other tweaks.

Jack brings a magnet to a watch fight

Russian watchmaker Raketa has just released a modern interpretation of its classic Raketa Copernic wristwatch, and it is a uniquely compelling timepiece. First created in the 1980s in the twilight of the Soviet Union, the original Copernic was made to honour the renaissance-era Polish astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus. Like the original, the new homage … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Raketa Copernic appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Most seasoned watch collectors will easily recognize the usual culprits, the Pateks, Rolexes, APs, Richemont/Swatch/LVMH brands from a distance. In order to make this list of watches that qualify as stealth wealth, we have chosen timepieces that are 'unexpectedly' expensive, yet not instantly recognizable. They look simple on the dial side, yet have hidden complications and/or 'insane' finishing.

A Swiss brand now owned by Citizen Watch of Japan, Frederique Constant excels at complications in an affordable and reasonable manner, and now it has added the Regatta Countdown Chronograph to its repertoire. Unlike many yachting watches that are often over-designed with nautical details – think pennants and lots of colours – Frederique Constant has kept its regatta chronograph clean. Priced a bit over US$3000, the Yacht Timer Regatta Countdown has two key elements: central chronograph seconds hand and five circular apertures lined up under 12 o’clock. The apertures function as a 5- or 10-minute regatta countdown timer; this records the time just before the start of a race when yachts position themselves for the best spot at the starting line. When the chronograph is inactive, the apertures show white discs. Once started with the pusher at two o’clock, the apertures turn blue one by one, with each aperture representing one elapsed minute. After five minutes, and five blue apertures, the five-minute countdown to the race begins. The apertures progressively change from showing blue to orange, again at the rate of one a minute. The dials – blue or silver – are straightforward, apart from the countdown windows, and decorated with a hobnail guilloche. Luminous hands match the luminous baton hour markers. Rated to 100m, the case is steel (or gold-plated steel), and 42mm in diameter. Notably, it’s fitted with an upscale, “box-type” sapphire crystal that has ...

The horological mavericks at Urwerk have just dropped their latest wristwatch and it is, pardon the pun, out of this world! The Urwerk UR-100 SpaceTime is a stratospherically cool and novel concept for a timepiece, and one that seems very, very complicated indeed. Essentially, the SpaceTime will not only tell its lucky owners the time, but the … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Urwerk UR-100 SpaceTime appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

One day vintage expert Eric Wind's friend Kevin Kwan sent him a fateful 'URGENT!!!' e-mail searching for an 'impressive' new or vintage watch for a special scene in the movie version of his book 'Crazy Rich Asians.' He sourced a valuable 'Paul Newman' Rolex from a collector in Singapore and when Eric was invited to an advanced screening of the film in New York, he waited with bated breath for the scene, not knowing what to expect. But when Astrid handed her husband the watch in the movie and the beautiful 'Paul Newman' dial got a solo shot on screen, it was pure magic!

For many of us out there, the dream of one day owning a grail watch, like an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15500 or Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1A, is going to remain just that … a dream. And the funny part is, it’s got nothing to do with the amount of spondulicks in your bank account! No, … ContinuedThe post Unsung Heroes: 4 integrated steel sports watches that deserve your attention appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Editor’s note: The dust has well and truly settled on this year’s watch releases, and they’re starting to filter out into the world and onto wrists. This is as true with Tudor as it is with anyone else. Though we haven’t seen any P01 watches out in the wild yet, we thought the timing was … ContinuedThe post It’s 6 months on, how are we feeling about Tudor’s 2019 releases now? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

We take a quick look at the Vacheron Constantin FiftySix Complete Calendar in a gorgeous new blue dial. We covered the watch in detail earlier.

People who care about watches enough to be able to drop reference numbers and movement names can sometimes forget that for some - even many - the act of wearing a watch at all is a foreign one. The shift away from wrist-based time-telling to using our phones has been a big concern for the … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED READING: Rediscovering how to wear a watch appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Tudor’s latest watch is major – beyond the watch itself – for it is the first publicly available limited edition in its 70-year history. In an industry where limited editions usually emphasise “edition” rather than “limited”, the Black Bay Chrono Dark is limited to just 1181 pieces at time of writing (though the number will creep up each year; more on that below). The new watch is a nod to Tudor’s partnership with the New Zealand national rugby union team, better known as the All Blacks – perhaps the most successful rugby team in history. Named for the all-black team jersey bearing a silver fern emblem, the All Blacks provide a literal inspiration for the Black Bay Chrono Dark, which has a black-coated case and bracelet. It’s essentially a cooler, limited and monochromatic version of a watch that is already an excellent value proposition. The watch is based on the Black Bay Chrono launched two years ago. Though it was slightly controversial aesthetically – the design being a mishmash of dive and driving watches – the Black Bay Chrono was well-regarded for being good value; it was powered by a sophisticated chronograph movement based on the Calibre 01 made by Breitling. Proving to be something that grew on you over time, the line-up was joined by the two-tone Black Bay Chrono S&G; unveiled at Baselworld 2019. Now the collection grows to include the Black Bay Chrono Dark, exactly 1181 examples of it to be specific. This is the numbe...

The brand celebrates New Zealand's All Blacks with a rare limited edition.

Nothing can stir up the watch world these days quite as much the launch of a new Apple watch. For some it's a must-have gadget, for others it just isn't a real watch. But perhaps quartz watches face more competition from smartwatches than mechanical watches. Does quartz even have a real future?

Editor’s note: Seiko is a brand with a pretty incredible history. And a lot of this history goes under the radar, to be honest. Which is why, when Sandra visited Tokyo last year we strongly suggested she make a detour to Seiko’s Museum. Here’s what she learned … If you’re ever in Tokyo, I strongly … ContinuedThe post 7 fun facts I discovered at the Seiko Museum appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Two icons reconnect in what may be the future of motorsports.

A rare double balance spring tourbillon, in very eye-catching livery.

Hot off the heels of their last limited-run homage piece, the Astrographic, Zodiac has teamed up with the London-based luxury retailer Liberty to give us this – the Zodiac X Liberty Super Sea Wolf. Like Zodiac, Liberty has been around for more than a century, and has a brilliant history of providing Londoners, as well … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Limited Edition Zodiac X Liberty Super Sea Wolf appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.