Culture Of Time: New York's Newest Public Clock Is A Triumph
The architect behind Penn Station's massive new timepiece had never made a major clock before. Here, he tells us how he did it – and reveals what's on his wrist.
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The architect behind Penn Station's massive new timepiece had never made a major clock before. Here, he tells us how he did it – and reveals what's on his wrist.
SJX Watches
A clock and automaton maker whose timekeepers have taken the form of a running leopard and race car, John-Mikaël Flaux has just unveiled his most complex creation to date. Hand made from brass and steel, Le Cabré is a mechanical sculpture of a rearing Arabian horse with a key-wound clock in its base that doubles as a “mysterious trigger” for the automaton. Initial thoughts Le Cabré is very much mechanical objet d’art – handmade and hand finished, while being complex and extravagant. Automaton-clocks like this have long been part of independent watchmaking, but are typically little appreciated, largely due to their cost (and the necessity of having an office or house grand enough to install one of them). But the craft that goes into creating one is easily understood. Le Cabré is made up of 450 parts, three-quarters hand made by the clockmaker himself, a process that requires 1,500 hours of work according to Mr Flaux. Priced at a little over US$160,000, Le Cabré is substantially more expensive than Mr Flaux’s prior creations, but it is also substantially more complex. At the same time, considerably more lavish automaton clocks that are made of precious metal and decked out in precious stones traditionally have price tags in the millions, making this relatively affordable. Equine ballet Standing 24 cm, or a bit under 10″, Le Cabré is made up of a horse automaton protected by a glass case, sitting on a wood base. It was conceived by Mr Flaux in collaboration...
Quill & Pad
As a discerning lover of dress watches for more than two decades, the visual impact that this new Tribute 1 had on Martin Green was profound. First and foremost, there are the proportions. And then there's the beautiful hand-finished movement, restrained design,100-hour power reserve, and superb quality.
Revolution
Hamilton deploys a new bronze Khaki Field Mechanical 38mm into action.
Time+Tide
Kim Jong Un is the leader of North Korea and understandably has a lot on his plate. From United States offers to meet and discuss his nuclear program to the issue of food running low throughout his kingdom, he doesn’t have the time to slowly and carefully select his watch every morning, so he wears … ContinuedThe post What does Kim Jong Un’s watch tell us about how his lifespan and global politics? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
Post-war United States boasted unique market conditions that allowed for diamond-set men’s watches from a variety of brands to thrive. Martin Green takes us on a journey to discover how and why diamond-set watches for men became part of the American Dream.
Time+Tide
Editor’s note: Melbourne is known for a few things. It’s been voted the Most Livable City in the World, it does a lot of great cultural events, but it’s also a serious foodie destination. One of the most popular restaurants is Chin Chin, a city joint that offers an Aussie take on bold Asian flavours. … ContinuedThe post EDITOR’S PICK: Cooking with Chin Chin and Hublot, with Head Chef Ben Cooper appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Deployant
We caught up with Reinhard Meis, the almost forgotten hero of the early Lange years, and managed to get him to talk to us about his work and philosophy.
Revolution
For Patek Philippe’s 2021 rare handcrafts exhibition, the maison has launched the Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon Ref. 6002R-001 in rose gold
Quill & Pad
Bollinger’s latest release, the 2007 R.D. or, more specifically, the 2007 “Récemment Dégorgé” (“Recently Disgorged”), is the house's flagship wine. It is still early days for the 2007 R.D., and it is perhaps not exhibiting anything like the truffle and mushroom notes that should come in the years ahead. But Ken Gargett thinks it's already great to drink now and rates it 97/100.
Deployant
Vacheron Constantin opens the new Flagship boutique in New York City. And show cases a new piece unqiue Americain 1921 to celebrate.
SJX Watches
Tudor was founded in 1946 expressly to offer good value, specifically, its founder Hans Wilsdorf (who’s better known to establish Rolex) wanted Tudor watches to offer the trademark dependability of its bigger brother, but at a more accessible price. Seventy-five years later that remains true, with watches like the Black Bay 58 being amongst the best dive watches in its price segment. When I covered the Tudor Black Bay Chrono “Panda” at its launch earlier in the year, I wrote it is “likely the best-value sports chronograph one can find under US$5,000”. So I naturally jumped at the opportunity to test drive the watch for a week. Initial thoughts The Black Bay Chrono “Panda” is, on its face, a more accessible alternative to the Rolex Daytona, now virtually impossible to get at retail. The similarities between the two are obvious: a “Panda” dial with one line of red text, screw-down pushers, and a black tachymetre bezel. Yet to simply pigeonhole the Black Bay Chrono “Panda” as a more affordable Daytona would do it a disservice. The Black Bay Chrono possesses enough character to stand on its own. It’s instantly recognisable as a Tudor with the signature “snowflake” hands matched with round indices. Though the new Black Bay Chrono is near identical visually to the first-generation model, it has been refined with a slightly thinner case. Nevertheless, the watch is still relatively thick on the wrist, slightly beefier than the Breitling Premier B01 wh...
Quill & Pad
The tiny, delicate, nearly impossible-to-create hairspring is the one of the biggest advances for modern scientific technology there is. Here Joshua Munchow takes a dive into the muscle of the beating heart of most mechanical watches: the hairspring.
Deployant
This article was published in Japanese by Chronos Japan No.95, July 2021 Edition. Our take for the top 10 watches and the other on major trends for 2021.
Quill & Pad
With auction prices soaring, it’s a good time for an auction house to be offering rare timepieces by the world’s best independent watchmakers. George Daniels and Roger Smith made a series of 50 Millennium wristwatches back in 1999, and Bonhams is now offering one in its sale on June 16, 2021 with a high estimate of £300,000. Don't be surprised if it goes for much more than that, though.
SJX Watches
Amongst the projects to tackle climate change that’s being supported by Rolex was the successful scientific expedition to Tupungato, a dormant volcano that’s one of the highest mountains in Americas that sits on the border of Chile and Argentina. Led by National Geographic and backed by the Chilean government, the expedition team embarked on a 15-day trek up Tupungato in early April to install a weather station just below the summit – 6,505 m above sea level – that’s the highest weather installation in the Southern and Western Hemispheres. The purpose of the expedition was, of course, not to explore the uncharted; such endeavours had their heyday in the postwar era, with Rolex keeping time for many of them. Instead the watchmaker supports scientists and conservationists on expeditions that aid understanding of climate change and its effects – all of which are part of the Perpetual Planet initative. Tupungato National Geographic A pillar of Perpetual Planet is Rolex’s partnership with National Geographic, the iconic, yellow-bordered magazine of the National Geographic Society. The partnership seeks to understand and address the impact of climate change, through expeditions and field research that harness data taken at crucial locations that are often harsh and inaccessible. The partnership’s first expedition took place in 2019, when a team travelled up Mount Everest to set up the highest-altitude weather station in the world – 8,430 m above sea level ...
Quill & Pad
The components of a mechanical watch movement are little more than a series of springs and wheels held together by plates and/or bridges. No matter the configuration, complication or finish, the ensemble is secured by the humble movement screw. So it's a pleasant surprise that several watchmakers have boldly ventured beyond the thread and slot to reimagine the movement screw as Ryan Schmidt notes.
Quill & Pad
GaryG's first rule when it comes to collecting is to avoid setting too many exclusionary rules. With watches, he believes that it's the passion that separates collectors from investors and accumulators. Which brings him to another rule: deriving the full enjoyment from the things you own.
SJX Watches
One of Seiko’s pioneering dive watches, the “Tuna” ref. 6159-7010 was launched in 1975 as an automatic, titanium-case diver with the greatest depth rating Seiko could muster at the time, an impressive 600 m. And in 1986, Seiko upped its game with the 1000 m “Golden Tuna” ref. 7C46-7009/7010, a quartz watch that got its nickname from the gold-coated titanium inner case. With this year being the 35th anniversary of the “Golden Tuna” 1000 m, Seiko has announced a commemorative model that’s an essentially a dressed up version of the vintage original. The Seiko Prospex 1986 Quartz Diver’s 35th Anniversary Limited Edition retains the iconic shrouded case in titanium and ceramic and the same, exceptionally robust quartz movement found in the original. The key design feature of the anniversary model, however, is the gradient blue dial that’s dark blue on the upper half of the dial and fades downwards into black, evoking the depths of the sea. At the same time, the gilded details of the original have been reduced, leaving the gold plating for just screws that secure the shroud as well as the buckle. Initial thoughts The “Tuna” – in all its myriad variations – is an attractive, both for its distinctive style and its legit professional-diver heritage. More notable is the fact that the most basic “Tuna” starts at just a few hundred dollars – though the entry-level models are not true dive instruments – making the design relatively wallet-friendl...
Time+Tide
Most watch collectors know, down to the dollar, how much each of their watches are worth. But there’s an even bigger number of watch owners who have no idea of their watches’ true value. In fact, new data from a Watchfinder & Co report, suggests that $60 billion of watches could be gathering dust in … ContinuedThe post Do you secretly have a fortune worth of watches sitting in your drawer? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Revolution
Wei unboxes the new IWC Big Pilot 43mm, and also walks us through their patented quick change system that makes changing straps hassle-free.
Time+Tide
If you were to guess who the world’s richest men were, your mind would probably wander to tech CEOs and Russian oligarchs, all of which would be reasonable assumptions. This month, however, the tides of wealth have changed with LVMH founder, CEO, and executive chairman Bernard Arnault rising to No.1 on the rich list. Edging … ContinuedThe post LVMH founder Bernard Arnault declared world’s richest man (but what watch does he wear?) appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Launched earlier this year as the latest addition to Piaget’s compact Polo S line up, the Piaget Polo Skeleton joins a crowded field of luxury-sports watches. But it is a novel enough proposition – being a skeletonised, automatic sports watch – to make it notable. And it helps that the Polo Skeleton is exceptionally slim, thin enough that it feels similar to Piaget’s Altiplano dress watches on the wrist. Initial thoughts Piaget loaned me a Polo Skeleton in blue for a couple of days, and two features stood out: its slimness and how well it wore (save for the clasp buttons, more on that below). The Polo Skeleton is wide but flat, and sits elegantly on the wrist. Even though the bracelet is relatively thick compared to the case, that is only apparently when the watch is off the wrist. On the wrist the bracelet pairs well with the case, despite not being an integrated design. Having a skeletonised movement with coloured bridges give the Polo Skeleton a distinct look. This contrasts with the standard time-only Polo S, especially with its linear-pattern dial, that does admittedly bring to mind other luxury-sports watches. At the same time, the finishing and style of the cal. 1200S in the Polo Skeleton bring depth and texture to the face, while also injecting a bit of movement with the rotor and balance wheel. The Polo Skeleton is offered in two guises – blue or grey treatment for the movement – and the blue is the more striking by far. It is also more legible due to ...
SJX Watches
A Singaporean retailer that specialises in affordable, unconventional watches such as SevenFriday and Gorilla, Red Army Watches (RAW) now debuts its own label, KEF Elements. The brand’s maiden model is the Time & Space, a time-only wristwatch with an aventurine-glass dial bearing a glow-in-the-dark zodiac constellation. Initial thoughts Having known RAW founder Sugi Kusumadi for several years, I’ve come to admire Sugi’s passion for unusual timepieces. That’s been evident in past collaborations RAW has embarked on with a number of brands, most notably with Gorilla and Stowa. Its own brand feels like a natural next step for RAW. While the brand is brand new, KEF Elements is very much like many of the brands RAW carries, offering an intriguing aesthetic for relatively little money. Inspired by “the mystique and vastness of space”, the aventurine-glass dial lives up to the Time & Space moniker. Its sparkling surface and luminous constellation successfully evoke the cosmos. Aside from the aventurine dial, another striking aspect of the watch are the dozen dials on offer, each bearing one of the 12 zodiac constellations. An individual zodiac constellation at this price is an unusual proposition, so kudos to RAW. Celestial themes on aventurine glass have been done before, but they are usually accompanied by a hefty price tag, thus making the price of KEF Elements watch notable. With a current pre-order price of S$789, or a little bit under US$600, KEF Elements’ d...
Quill & Pad
Vacheron Constantin’s history has been filled with extraordinary, complicated, and elegant timepieces. Here are the five most complicated pocket watches the Geneva maison has produced throughout its 266-year history, beginning with the record-holding Reference 57260.
Revolution
Quill & Pad
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Small Seconds with green dial capitalizes on the 2021 green trend and is one of the special watches celebrating the 90-year anniversary of the Reverso. It’s a stunning timepiece with a vintage-inspired dial featuring a lacquered green sunray pattern, faceted hour markers, dauphine-style hands, and a large subsidiary seconds counter at 6 o’clock. Here Bhanu Chopra runs through the reasons for considering a purchase.
Time+Tide
There’s nothing worse than having something stolen. You discover your possession isn’t where you left it. Self-doubt creeps in and you feel like you’re going crazy. You search everywhere in case it’s moved, with the growing feeling that you must have forgotten where you actually put it… That’s exactly the feeling football player Jesse Lingard … ContinuedThe post Footballer Jesse Lingard had his watch stolen from locker while playing for West Ham appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Read all about how your rights to feel offended can supersede opinions here!
Time+Tide
Grand Seiko don’t make dainty dive watches. Instead, the Japanese watchmaker follows their design philosophy of blending form and function in a way that doesn’t compromise either, with large, legible underwater tool watches that can hold up against anything you’re likely to do with them. One great example is the Grand Seiko SBGX335, a quartz … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: The function forward Grand Seiko SBGX335 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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