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Rebecca Struthers: “Hands of Time. A Watchmaker´s History of Time” is a journey through history, a comprehensive compendium, a rich historical reference book about time, clocks, movements, craft, material, significant inventions, and the people who made them.

The manufacturer opens the archives to highlight its golden age of watchmaking, and maybe start a new one.

The Vintage collection has been home to Glashütte Original’s modern re-interpretations of their past catalogues, and the Sixties collection a spitting image of the watches produced under the GUB/Glashütte Original brands during the `60s. The latest in this Spezimatic-numeralled line-up is the Glashütte Original Sixties Small Second. Until now, we’ve seen the Sixties reproduced with … ContinuedThe post Glashütte Original’s Sixties gets a period-appropriate Small Second variant appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Celebrating 100 years of Le Mans with a limited edition flyback chronograph.

Watches have been a significant part of the endurance racing culture since the moment each of the teams’ tires hit the grid for the very first time. Still to this day, time keeping plays an intricate role with strategy and making in-race adjustments. From tracking lap times to driver stints, these decisions based on time ultimately decide whether a team finishes at the top of the podium, or dead last. Once Hollywood got a hold of endurance racing’s crown jewel, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, arguably one of the most iconic and dangerous races known to man, popularity both within the sport and racing chronograph watches, exploded. Built on the foundation of the Tag Heuer Monaco and Rolex Daytona, a wide array of watch brand partnerships are currently found throughout the grid evidenced by brand names on body panels, team shirts and occasionally, a watch on a driver’s wrist. The latest to join this prestigious group of endurance racing watch sponsors is YEMA after inking a deal with the Alpine Endurance Team, making them Alpine’s official timekeeper for the next three World Endurance Championship (WEC) seasons. For those unfamiliar with the FIA WEC, here’s a quick primer. In a span of a 9 month long season, 24 teams will compete in 7 (8 races next season) grueling, high-intensity races on some of the most world renowned tracks around the globe including Spa, Monza and of course, Le Mans. The Alpine Endurance Team has found success in the past several years with their A47...

What does it mean to be "Original"? Glashütte has some ideas.

A GMT watch is more of a function than a style, yet I expect your mind goes straight to a red and blue ‘Pepsi’ bezel, or perhaps a red and black ‘Coke’. It’s now 10 years since Rolex first launched the 116710BLNR, so maybe the ‘Batman’ is more your style. Whichever is your favourite, a bi-color bezel is a common sight on a GMT watch. A couple of months back, Bell & Ross added another iteration to their GMT lineup. This one uses the BR 03 outline as its base, and combines it with a sharp blue and gray colorway. The blue isn’t restricted to one half of the bezel only though, which results in a vibrant looking watch. On paper, there’s a lot to like about the BR 03-93 GMT Blue, but how good is it on the wrist? With Bell & Ross’s more typical square cased watches, the dial is relatively simple. Often a black dial, large indices, bold sword hands and plenty of lume. A real utilitarian look. There are some BR 03 models which are altogether more lavish. This is one. The blue dial is bright, with a sunburst finish, and is as vibrant in real life as you’d expect. What’s especially nice to see is that although Bell & Ross’s familiar design language is present in the large numerals at the cardinal points, they are applied indices rising above the dial with superb vertical brushing on the top surfaces. The other indices are also applied, with a generous amount of lume in each. Bell & Ross have taken the familiar, and elevated it into something more elegant. Th...

The two new chronos tap into the love of motorcycle culture alongside two notable brands.

It’s a grey August morning in Sydney and the city centre is quieter than normal due to the winter rain bouncing off the streets. Hardier shoppers cower beneath umbrellas as they scurry between stores, half-bent and grimacing at the weather. Yet inside the TAG Heuer Boutique on the corner of Pitt and Market Streets, there’s … ContinuedThe post How Australia fell in love with TAG Heuer appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Timex brings back a vintage design that's from the '70s and proud of it.

Over the last few years, the popularity of vintage watches has had some ups and downs, to say the least. It was only about five or six years ago that vintage was all anyone in our community seemed to be talking about. Rare references from Rolex and Patek were setting auction records, and enthusiasts who got into the hobby before the vintage boom suddenly found themselves with collections of real and surprising value on their hands. Things have calmed down a bit recently, and while I certainly wouldn’t say vintage is over by any means, it’s become a tougher nut to crack. Consumers are, correctly, more concerned with authenticity and originality than they ever have been, which has changed the landscape considerably. Among other things, it’s opened the door for brands to get into the vintage game, making rare references from their back catalogs available to the public with the promise of proper and careful restorations, ensuring the value and history of these watches haven’t been neglected by an inexperienced watchmaker or service center. Jaeger-LeCoultre is perhaps the highest profile brand to enter this market, and they’ve just unveiled their second capsule collection in their ongoing series, The Collectibles.  A pair of Memovoxes from The Collectibles collection Last week, at the Jaeger-LeCoultre boutique in Beverly Hills, collectors gathered for the big unveiling of the new eleven piece collection. Spanning periods of the brand’s history from the 1920s to the...

The collaboration between Breitling and Deus Ex Machina gets an update with two new watches sporting the Breitling Manufacture B01 chronograph movement.

Tissot’s PRX Powermatic 80 has quickly gained popularity since its introduction more than three years ago as it offers the popular integrated-bracelet aesthetic at an affordable price point.  In March, the brand added new dial options to the collection, and now it has added more horological power to the smallest model that’s 35 mm in diameter and was previously only available with a quartz movement. Initial thoughts A slightly disappointing aspect of the PRX collection was the fact that the 35 mm model only had a quartz movement, until now. Now anyone who wants a mechanical movement in a more wearable size is catered for.  The overall design of the watch, including its waffle-pattern dial and brushed steel case, remains largely unchanged – a good thing since it is precisely these elements that first captured people’s attention in the first place. The green version stands out as a personal favourite among the new models and I expect it will be a strong seller overall given the popularity of the colour now. Starting at US$695 and going up to US$750 for the mother-of-pearl dial, the new 35 mm models are slightly pricier than the original. While the increase in price is perhaps linked to inflation, compared to many of the other integrated bracelet sports watches on the market, it still offers great value for the overall feel it gives. Now at 35 mm The latest version of the PRX collection introduces a remarkable decrease in size when compared to the original model whi...

Alpina celebrate their 140th anniversary this year. The Alpina Heritage Carrée Mechanical 140 Years is powered by a Calibre 490 from 1938. 28 of the Calibre 490s were restored for two limited editions of 14 pieces each. A trend that has been swirling in the background of watchmaking for a number of years is starting … ContinuedThe post The Alpina Heritage Carrée Mechanical 140 Years is a retro throwback loaded with Art Deco charm appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

The latest watchmaker to launch a time-only watch with a finely finished movement is Hervé Schlüchter, who makes his debut with the L’Essentiel. A watchmaker who spent most of his recent career as a movement constructor at Bovet, Mr Schlüchter’s entry into the progressively more crowded segment features a regulator-style display with a day-and-night indicator and on the reverse, a hand-finished movement. Initial thoughts Having worked at Bovet and then spent time studying with Philippe Dufour, Mr Schlüchter has the background for a fine watch. Notably, Mr Schlüchter is an actual watchmaker, having trained as a watchmaker and repairer. As a result, the L’Essentiel is arguably purer in concept since it was developed and then produced by a watch-maker, rather than being drawn by a designer or engineer and then outsourced to specialists. The L’Essentiel lives up to expectations in terms of decoration and construction. It has impressively high quality in most respects: the dial is engine turned by hand, and includes fired enamel, and aventurine. The movement shows off lots of black-polished steel, chamfered edges, and polished countersinks. At CHF78,000 before taxes, the L’Essentiel has a decent price-to-quality ratio. But while watch is titled “The Essential”, it is ironically a lot, maybe too much, both stylistically and tangibly. As is increasingly the case with independent watchmaking, the product feels contrived because it wants to be everything that is ...

The Punch ManTua cigar has serious oomph throughout. Some find a slight sweetness, but Ken Gargett's had no evidence of it. This cigar has considerable complexity and there is no hint of anything out of place or any of the awkwardness that sometimes afflicts younger cigars.

These days it seems like brands are increasingly opting to have 4:30 positioned date windows on their watches. Just earlier today we introduced yet another watch, a new chronograph from Parmigiani Fleurier, which is the latest to present a 4:30-dated watch. This is a bit ironic considering how well-documented the polarisation of such positioning is. … ContinuedThe post 8 of the best watches with a polarising 4:30 date window appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

All eyes were on Pharrell's debut Louis Vuitton Menswear show… and then Rihanna showed up.

Nearly every luxury watchmaker is feeling the need to have a sporty collection or reference in their stable these days, much the same as some of the great sports car marques needing an SUV all of the sudden. It’s just practical. Just what makes a watch sport worthy is up for debate, but it generally comes with a bit of water resistance, the ability to absorb a shock or two, and a rubber or textile strap. Bright colors optional. In reality it means a watch that’s better suited to everyday wear, and goes with a broader selection of your wardrobe. The sporting element simply implies comfort and practicality. Parmigiani Fleurier may be known for their formal wear, but they’re no strangers to the sport watch, and this week, the Tonda line gets a completely revamped sport collection called the Tonda PF Sport.  The new Tonda PF Sport collection will be replacing the Tonda GT collection with the introduction of 4 references that span steel and rose gold within a time and date, and chronograph configuration. The new watches bring a tighter cohesion to the Tonda family overall, taking a cleaner approach to the theme. The biggest shift from the GT collection is the date migration away from the unique oversized 12 o’clock position, and into the more controversial 4:30 position on the chronograph, and the 6 o’clock position on the time and date model. The Tonda GT watches had plenty of quirks, from their date execution, to the month display of the calendar models labeled, qu...

If there was an easy knock you could make against the previous iterations of the Singer Reimagined chronographs, it’s that they were too big. At 43mm in a big cushion case, they have a ton of wrist presence to be sure, and require a larger wrist to pull off effectively. But they’re mechanically ingenious, and, in my opinion, pretty great looking from a purely aesthetic perspective, so I was always willing to forgive them for their size. Now, with a pair of watches in the brand’s new Singer 1969 collection, they’ve gone a long way toward answering doubters who made the large size of their earlier watches a dealbreaker. They’ve also incorporated new functionality, refining the mechanical piece to make their watches even more intuitive.  The 1969 Chronograph is the heavy hitter of the pair of watches announced today. This watch features an updated Agengraphe caliber that’s smaller (to fit the new 40mm case) and also includes a time display. Elapsed time is still read from the centrally mounted hands, but the current time is now displayed in an aperture at 6:00 via a pair of rotating discs. The chronograph incorporates jumping minutes and hours for precision, and the caliber is capable of timing events of up to 60 hours, which is a feat only Singer can claim.  The more modest 1969 Timer is my personal favorite of the two new watches. This is effectively an update of Singer’s Flytrack watches, which incorporate a 60 second timer via the centrally mounted running...

A new dial color is here to make us take notice of an overlooked JLC gem in pink gold.

We know just as well as you do, that the world of watches goes deep and it can be overwhelming to get into. Of course, the first step is showing interest, but even more tricky is the second step - picking out your very first mechanical timepiece. There are a few main types of movements: mechanical (automatic or hand-wound), quartz (powered by a battery) and digital (usually featuring an LCD display). While quartz and digital have their places, it’s hard to top the idea that you have a tiny precision machine strapped to your wrist that’s powered by the movement of your body. Mechanical movements are built to last a lifetime (with regular service) and can be simple as a three-handed movement (hours, minutes, seconds) or as complicated as a three register chronograph with a perpetual calendar with moon phase display. Today, we’re exploring five of our favorite picks that are ideal for your first mechanical watch - stylish, feature-packed, and sub-$500. Let’s dig in! We know just as well as you do, that the world of watches goes deep and it can be overwhelming to get into. Of course, the first step is showing interest, but even more tricky is the second step - picking out your very first mechanical timepiece. There are a few main types of movements: mechanical (automatic or hand-wound), quartz (powered by a battery) and digital (usually featuring an LCD display). While quartz and digital have their places, it’s hard to top the idea that you have a tiny precisio...

At this specific moment in my life, there’s no way I should even think about buying another watch. On the back of a series of interest rates hike and with a looming renovation for our family home, this just isn’t the right time to splash the cash. And yet… The problem with doing this job … ContinuedThe post Close but no cigar: Why I welcome horological deal breakers appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Citizen expands the considered Series 8 with a flyer GMT complication.