Latest watch news · Page 1527

A reissue of the Deepstar chronograph and the 2020 relaunch of the Aquastar brand

One of the most important historical dive watch brands is back, with Cousteau's favorite chronograph.

Sotheby’s fall watch auction in Hong Kong included a diverse selection of independent watchmaking, including two examples of the Philippe Dufour Simplicity, both with silver guilloche dials. The first to go on the block was a 37 mm specimen in white gold with a movement number of 68. It sold to a client represented by Joey Luk of Sotheby’s watch department for HK$3.528m including fees, which is a little over US$455,000. That was substantially above the US$250,000-300,000 range that the Simplicity had generally sold for, setting a new record for the model. The next lot was a 34 mm Simplicity in platinum, numbered “100”. And then the record was broken. After a few minutes of back and forth between an online bidder, as well as phone bidders represented by Ms Luk and John Chan, also of Sotheby’s watch department, Mr Chan’s bidder triumphed with a bid of HK$4.1m. Inclusive of fees, the total was HK$5.136m, or about US$662,000, well over double the most recent high for the Simplicity. Part of the reason behind the price is rarity, not only absolute but also relative to other Simplicities. Platinum is unquestionably the rarest metal version for the watch, and 34 mm examples is are regarded to be fewer than 37 mm. The record price for both watches bode well for the Simplicity 20th Anniversary “00/20” – fresh from maker and offered by Mr Dufour himself – that will be sold at Phillips’ November auction in Geneva.  

A new local jumping competitor has appeared.

Originally founded in 1962 to capitalise on the popularity of leisure diving at the time, Aquastar specialised in making diving instruments and notched up several patents, such as a “no-decompression” bezel. But like the rest of the Swiss watch industry in the 1970s, the Aquastar suffered during the Quartz Crisis and faded away, although it never really died. Now it’s been resurrected and makes it debut with, unsurprisingly, a vintage remake with the Deepstar Chronograph. Initial thoughts The Deepstar is obviously a watch of the 1960s, with the angular, tonneau-shaped case and dial design giving away its origins. The retro-diver look is now back in vogue, which was no doubt a reason behind the revival of the brand. And the popularity of the design is for good reason. It is clean and attractive, and unusual compared to today’s dive watches (although vintage remakes are increasingly common). The vintage Deepstar All of the best elements of the vintage original are found on the remake, including the oversized, “big eye” minute register. And though it’s larger than the 37 mm original – a necessity due to the La Joux-Perret movement inside – the remake is 40.5 mm, smallish by today’s standards, which means it still retains the vintage feel. Aside from the true-to-original grey dial, the Deepstar is also offered in black and blue, with an “early-bird” price of US$2,790 (which rises to US$3,590 after the initial run of 300 pieces in each colour). The pre-...

Like we said in the previous instalment, 2020 has been so bad that fantasy is often all we’ve had left. Fantasies of leaving our houses are still being had daily in Melbourne, and fantasies of new watches and sunny days are not far behind. So, to try to make something good of the bad, we’ve … ContinuedThe post 2020 FANTASY WATCH COLLECTION PART 2 – What watches would we buy with a budget of $10,000 USD? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

The controversial Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet is back with a revamp that will silence the doubters just in time for some much-needed optimism in a world gone dark.

I can’t remember the last time we conducted a Fantasy Watch Collection poll at Time+Tide. But I’ve noticed something in 2020 amongst the team. With the majority of us locked down in Melbourne, Zoom meetings frequently degenerate into wistful commentaries on what we’re going to buy next. What’s where on the wish list. Fantasies aplenty. … ContinuedThe post 2020 FANTASY WATCH COLLECTION PART 1 – What watches would we buy with a budget of $5000 USD? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Rolex fakes have existed for a very long time. But where it used to be pretty easy to spot an impostor – from the dull lustre of the cheap materials, to laughable aesthetic inaccuracies, to the sound of the rotor rattling from across the boardroom table like a bag of Skittles – it is now … ContinuedThe post 3 reasons why Rolex fakes are getting so good, and some tips to avoid them from Watchfinder appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

With the new Alfred Helwig Tourbillon 1920 – Limited Edition, Glashütte Original once again nods to the history of the invention of the flying tourbillon. Featuring an "invisible" example of the flying tourbillon, this timepiece pays tribute to one of the most illustrious figures of Glashütte's 175-year history. And its seeming simplicity is mesmerizing to author Sabine Zwettler.

It’s a story we’ve been writing in our weekly editorial meeting for months and months: the idea that lug to lug measurement is a more important fit-telling metric than any other. In layman’s terms, that’s the distance between the outer tip of two opposing lugs on either side of the case. So much discussion. So … ContinuedThe post FRIDAY WIND DOWN: You need to know your ideal lug to lug size, or you’re doing watches wrong appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

187d 21h 43m 52s logged in space.

It's a new role that will report directly to the CEO.

Plus another pair of Simplicities hitting the block this week in Hong Kong.

Here is our detailed, hands-on review of the newly released Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 70s Day Date in dessert sand coloured dial.

Watches that we don't get (but really want to).

The Moser Swiss Alp Watch is a thoroughly intriguing proposal, in what seems a familiar smooth shape of a rectangular pebble with re-imagined wire lugs. Your non-horologically biased mates, family and colleagues will no doubt pose the question as to why this has a crown and a hand-sewn alligator strap, only to be silenced by … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Moser Swiss Alp Watch is less a clever gimmick than it is just great appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

One of TAG Heuer’s most distinctive watches because of its angular, square case, the Monaco turned 50 last year and the brand marked the occasion with a variety of limited edition watches as well as a hand-finished, one-off watch that was sold to benefit charity. At the same time, the regular-production Monaco in blue – arguably the quintessential Monaco design – received a substantial upgrade, with the ETA movement replaced with the in-house cal. Heuer 02. The Monaco Calibre Heuer 02 is now also available with a black dial, and a new, retro-inspired Monaco bracelet is also making its debut. Initial thoughts The Monaco is an intrinsically interesting watch because of its case. But TAG Heuer has produced many iterations that unfortunately look similar – despite having different movements – making it difficult to distinguish between them. The latest variant still looks similar, but manages to stand out from the crowd thanks to the bracelet, which has not been part of TAG Heuer’s offerings in a long time. The new bracelet is modelled on the 1970s original, but has been made more robust while being finished better. The result is a bracelet looks original and sporty. There have been numerous Monaco variations, but most were solidly constructed and well priced. The same appears to be true here. While the Monaco Heuer 02 has a new movement and bracelet, it retains the well finished case that’s a wearable 39 mm, along with the symmetrical, “Compax” dial layou...

TAG Heuer introduces the Monaco Chronograph 39mm Calibre Heuer 02 Automatic with a brand-new bracelet designed for the watch.

The Omega Speedmaster is one of the most popular chronographs and has been made in many different iterations. We have selected a few of them worth adding to a collection.

If Cohiba is the king of cigars then the Espléndido is the ultimate Cohiba. Ken Gargett does find a little inconsistency with them – a never-ending issue for Cuban cigars – but if given some age, this tends to resolve itself. What else is remarkable about them?

If it’s the rugged tool watch charm of the Captain Cook or the historically energised dimensions of the Golden Horse, Rado is probably best remembered in recent years for the watches inspired by the archives of the brand. But there’s a part of the Rado family that watch enthusiasts might be less familiar with, a … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The liquid ceramic of the Rado True Square collection is something only this brand can do appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

"Ever bought a fake picture? The more you paid for it, the less inclined you are to doubt it. Silly, but there we are." – George Smiley, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Five video stories from HODINKEE readers.

Back in February this year, Breitling released the stunning re-edition to one of the much-loved aviation models from the past. The reference 765 AVI chronograph, born in 1953, was a popular piece among enthusiasts and is as much of a collectable now as it was back then. In 2020, Breitling decided to bring back the 765 AVI chronograph with almost the same design as the original, only this time with their modern in-house movement. Dubbed the AVI ref. 765 1953 Re-edition, this new model brings the same stylish flair as the original, but now is offered in stainless steel, 18k rose gold or 950 platinum.  We at Watchadvice got our hands on the stainless steel model (reference AB0920131B1X1), as we think the black dial with steel casing is the most versatile out of the three. Before we dive into this latest re-edition, it’s good to look at the original piece’s history, to do the new one justice.  Reference AB0920131B1X1 Although the Breitling AVI Ref. 765 was created in 1953, the creation of the Ref. 765 AVI started back in 1930. In 1930, Breitling released two pilot watches named the Premier ref. 765 and Ref. 734. These Ref. timepieces were more compact in design, with the tri counter layout cutting into the hour indexes. The 1930’s models were still elegant in design and would pave the future for the iconic Ref 765 Avi that would be born some 23 years later.  The second world war had quite an impact on timepieces throughout the world, with many new watches coming into ...