Results for Beads of Rice Bracelet

New: Bell & Ross BR 03-94 Patrouille de France

Bell & Ross partners with Patrouille de France for the new BR 03-94 with the French French Air and Space Force’s official aerobatic display team.

Only Watch 2021: Bell & Ross BR 01 Cyber Skull Sapphire

Bell & Ross has long featured the skull on its watches, a motif derived from its military-inspired designs. Modelled on the skull emblem often used by airborne units, the B&R; skull watch has been refined over the years, with the latest being an all-ceramic wristwatch incorporating an automaton. For Only Watch 2021, the watchmaker has created the BR 01 Cyber Skull Sapphire, a vivid, orange-tinted crystal skull encased in clear sapphire. It’s entirely incongruent with the brand’s typical no-no-nonsense aesthetic, but strikingly upbeat. Initial thoughts The original Cyber Skull is interesting for its materials and form movement featuring an automaton, making it a good base for the Only Watch edition, which departs from the all-black look in the direction of attractive and quirky. Bell & Ross didn’t disappoint in its Only Watch endeavour. Clean, contemporary, and clear, the sapphire version is completely different from its past skull watches. The watch has a bright feel, with the orange being bringing levity (and echoing the colours of Only Watch 2021). And it’s a big plus that the watch is technically unusual. While most B&R; watches are powered by off-the-shelf ETA or Sellita movements (which, to be fair are unfailingly reliable), the Cyber Skull Sapphire is equipped with a proprietary movement in the shape of a skull. It’s always the most valuable watches offered by high horology brands that get the most attention at Only Watch, so the more affordable watches in ...

The new Bell & Ross BR 03-93 GMT

Bell & Ross releases its new BR 03-93 GMT watch with a two-tone 24 hour bezel. Borrowing soft drink nomenclature, the red and black bezel or coke bezel, is a more vibrant variant to the earlier BR 03-93 GMT.

Up Close: Bell & Ross BR 01 Cyber Skull

Bell & Ross (B&R;) got its start in 1992 with no-nonsense watches – it produced watches for French military and police units like GIGN and RAID – but has since broadened its repertoire by tapping sci-fi and military concepts and applying them in a more creative manner, resulting in watches like last year’s that had a dial resembling a fighter jet’s head-up display. The BR 01 Cyber Skull draws on a theme that’s familiar to B&R;. A recurring element in B&R;’s line up for over a decade – its first skull watch arrived in 2009, well before such watches became a fad – the skull motif was inspired by military emblems, often those of airborne units. But while the theme is similar, the Cyber Skull is in many ways a culmination of the idea, having been improved technically and refined aesthetically. Best described as a sci-fi interpretation of the vanitas, the Cyber Skull has both its case and dial in black ceramic, while being powered by a proprietary movement featuring an automation that opens and closes the skull’s jaws when the movement is wound. Initial thoughts A complete package in terms of construction and technical finesse at its price point, the Cyber Skull is more accomplished than the typical B&R; watch (though it does cost more than the typical B&R;). Almost all components were developed for the watch, from the case to the dial to the movement. The Cyber Skull’s design is original, despite the skull being somewhat fashionable in watches today. Essential...

The Rise And Fall Of Fine Watchmaking At Cartier: It’s Been Surprisingly Complicated – Reprise

While the Collection Privée Cartier Paris was the definitive illustration of a time of forgotten elegance, Cartier's Fine Watch Making Collection, despite its extremely high quality and finishing, became one of the best examples of a disaster in the trend of pretentious haute horlogerie of the last decade. So what's going on with Cartier's high watchmaking division now?

Bell & Ross Introduces the BR 01 Cyber Skull

Bell & Ross’ signature BR wristwatch is essentially an aviation instrument in a square case, a style that works well as a military watch, explaining the iterations in camouflage or a fighter jet “heads-up display”. Sometimes associated with airborne troops, the skull is a recurring theme for the BR series, and one that has been continually refined over the last decade. The BR skull watch been redesigned both visually and mechanically, most notably with the proprietary, automaton-skull form movement of two years ago. With the new BR 01 Cyber Skull, the brand has taken a new aesthetic direction with a case and dial that is strikingly modern – polygonal, facetted, and very much like a sci-fi villain – making it vastly different from earlier skull watches that often seemed like nostalgic memento mori. Initial thoughts Bringing to mind Skynet and other technological villains, the Cyber Skull departs from the style of its predecessors that were characterised by an organic skull and elaborate case patterns, essentially a digitised version of the original BR Skull watch. Though simple, the design is done well, with a cohesive aesthetic with the case and dial echoing one another. The case is clearly derived from the original BR-01, but done with more facets and angles, with the polygonal surfaces continuing on the skull and crossbones. The BR 01 Laughing Skull White (left) and the BR 01 Cyber Skull Both the case and skull are made of black ceramic, while the movement ...

Editorial: The Rise of the Indian Watch Collector

Years ago, while attending a wedding in the southern Indian state of Kerala, I noticed most men in attendance were uniformly dressed – crisp, white linen shirt and matching mundu. Some milled about, some laughed over the most recent ministerial gaffe making the rounds, and others waited impatiently for the evening to end. For an outsider, the plainness of their attire seemed at odds with the occasion they were attending, except for the occasional glint of gold on their wrists, which caught my eyes more often than I’d anticipated. The heavy lustre of their Rolex watches, as most were, stood out because of the simplicity of everything else. Observing closely one could notice the subtle nods of affirmation exchanged between the men as they glanced at each other’s timepieces. For a culture obsessed with jewellery – India is the world’s second-largest consumer of the precious metal according to the World Gold Council – the country has taken predictably well to fine watches. Timepieces in precious metals form a substantial proportion of the gifts given to grooms – a practice that is, in a small but undeniable way, bringing the appeal of horology to a larger, otherwise untapped audience. A market in its infancy But the sales of luxury watches in India are far lower in proportion to its population as compared to say, China. According to trade body Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH), Switzerland exported 1.99 billion Swiss francs of watches to China in ...

Blancpain Kicks Off 2020 with Blue-dial additions to the Villeret Collection

Blancpain’s first novelties kicking 2020 off are two blue dial Villeret pieces, the Ultraplate and Quantième Complete

New: Bell & Ross BRV2: 3 New Vintage Models, 3 Universes, 3 Functions

Bell & Ross releases three new professional inspired watches for urban explorers: the BRV2-93 GMT Blue, BRV2-92 Military Green, BRV2-94 Aerovondale Bronze.

The Rise and Fall of Asprey of London (and a Personalised F.P. Journe Wristwatch)

An F.P. Journe Octa Calendrier caught my eye at Phillips’ upcoming Geneva auction, not because of the watch itself, but because of the name engraved on the movement: “John R. Asprey”. Now 82, John Rolls Asprey ran his family’s luxury emporium in its heyday, when it was a purveyor of watches, jewels, silverware, fine bookbinding and hunting accessories, with the Sultans of Brunei and Oman as its top clients. Unusually, Asprey was a prominent name in two diverse segments of watchmaking – what are now valuable vintage watches, think “Khanjar” Rolex watches, as well as modern-day independent watchmaking. How it came to be is the remarkable story of the rise and decline of a grand name in British luxury retail. A wondrous emporium Long before luxury brand names had coalesced into conglomerates like LVMH and Richemont, they were independent, family-owned enterprises that were small but globally known – at least by the right clientele. Amongst them were names that are still famous today, including Cartier, Louis Vuitton, and Tiffany & Co., but also one that is less well known now, Asprey of London. Founded in 1781 and having opened in 1847 at 167 New Bond Street – still its premises today, albeit leased – Asprey was once London’s leading luxury merchant. In some ways, it was the ultimate gift shop, where one could buy all manner of exotic and exquisite goods from all over the world, from books to watches to sceptres to crystal. Many of the elaborate objects ...

The Mysterious Rolex Daytona Zenith “Luna Rossa” at Sotheby’s

The most talked-about watch at Sotheby’s upcoming Important Watches auction in Hong Kong is lot 2300, a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona powered by a Zenith El Primero movement that’s described as “a possibly unique… chronograph wristwatch with a red dial”. And as with all high-profile watches, the auctioneers have given the watch an Italian nickname, “Luna Rossa”, which translates as “red moon”. The reason the “Luna Rossa” is controversial is because such a red dial has never ever been seen before. Usually unicorns are known and whispered about, even if seldom seen, but the “Luna Rossa” has surprised everyone. Experts and insiders I approached have neither encountered nor heard of such a dial, which makes it quite a revelation. But they all agree it is correct – in the sense that all elements are identical to known Rolex dials of the period – though of unknown origin. Sotheby’s itself hasn’t provided much background about the watch, either officially or unofficially. Unlike the unique platinum Daytona “Zenith” that Sotheby’s sold last year, setting a record price for a modern Daytona, which had a backstory that was I managed to uncover, the “Luna Rossa” remains a mystery. The dial is glossy red lacquer, with gold indices and sub-dials When such unusual dials emerge, the immediate question is one of authenticity. The “Luna Rossa” passes the test – the dial is correct in its details. The element usually regarded as crucia...

The Space Race: A Climactic Episode of the Cold War

As we wade waist-deep into Cold War 2.0, it’s time to reminisce about the original Cold War which formed the backdrop for the mother-of-all-races that landed a man on the moon.

Review: Bell & Ross BR-X1 goes military (hands-on, original photos, specs and price)

Bell and Ross unveils the new BR-X1 Military. Signature square case in high resistance titanium and a skeletonized sapphire glass dial. Hands-on review.

New Release: Bell & Ross Vintage BR V2-94 R.S.18 edition for the French Grand Prix

New Release: in time for the French Grand Prix: Bell & Ross, as the official watch partner to the Renault Sport F1 Team releases the Vintage BR V2-94 R.S.18

New release and hands-on review: Bell & Ross BR-X1 White Hawk

Introducing the Bell & Ross BR-X1 White Hawk. Our hands-on review with commentary, analysis and specifications and price.

VIDEO: Behind the scenes with Longines and the owners of Winx, who just won her 17th straight race

The ‘Longines Time Machine’ is a series of videos exploring the Swiss watchmaker’s 185-year-old history. The Longines Time Machine has also proven itself to be quite erratic, because in Episode 2, we find ourselves landed in the present year; January 2017 to be exact, in London, at the World’s Best Racehorse Awards. Everybody knows that Longines and … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: Behind the scenes with Longines and the owners of Winx, who just won her 17th straight race appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

An Open Letter to the Swiss National Bank from H. Moser and Cie on the Sudden Rise of the Swiss Franc

A dramatic event occurred in the financial markets yesterday that will certainly affect many of the Swiss watch brands that we love and follow. The SNB (Swiss National Bank) made the sudden announcement of its decision to scrap its cap on the Swiss Franc against the Euro (at 1.20CHF per Euro). This news sparked a […]

Jean Rousseau And The Art Of The Bespoke (watch) Strap

Straps are often a point of discussion when it comes to watches and especially when it is about vintage time pieces. A good strap and then I do not mean, well made, but good from a style point of view, can add só much to the presence of the watch. Nowadays almost any brand presents […]

The Rise of Frederique Constant (VIDEO)

REVOLUTION had the pleasure of chatting with the CEO of Frédérique Constant, Peter Stas, while he was in Kuala Lumpur recently to launch a new subsidiary office in Southeast Asia as a firm commitment to the Asian markets. Mr. Stas shared with us the company’s unique market position of affordable luxury and in-house manufacture pieces, […]

MICRO MONDAYS: The Albany Watches AMA Diver – a mother of pearl dial diver, with a $300USD price tag

Divers, the tough tool watches that become our best buddies on adventures, strapped on with a wetsuit as backup to a dive computer. All this sounds wonderful, though for those of you in lockdown they have an even more important task, which is to remind us of what will come, as well as adventures spent; … ContinuedThe post MICRO MONDAYS: The Albany Watches AMA Diver – a mother of pearl dial diver, with a $300USD price tag appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Tudor and Audemars Piguet formally kick off summer, Time+Tide joined Oris at Yankee Stadium

Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Only a month ago in this very column, we had just about got over the new release season, but I alerted you all to the fact that we were far from done. Technically, we’re halfway through 2026 now, and it feels like every week there’s been at least one … Continued

Bremont shows off its playful side with the Altitude MB Meteor Felix the Cat

Zenith Adds a Rose Gold Version of the Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar to the Collection

In the year and three months since they reintroduced the El Primero Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar, Zenith has been cooking up new references and colorways for the crowd-favorite complication. Next in this wave is the new 18k Rose Gold & Black model, wrapped in the ever-popular material and boasting the same sportiness mixed with refinement that the Triple Calendar has become known for.  Housed in a 38mm case (46mm lug-to-lug) and sharing proportions with previous stainless steel models, the new Rose Gold variant also features hour markers, subdials, and hands in the material-and coated in SuperLuminova SLN C1- to contrast the sleek black of the dial. A matching black calfskin leather strap with a rose gold folding clasp completes the look, giving the Chronomaster a profile that oscillates between elegant and intimidating.  Inside, the new Chronomaster features the same El Primero 3610 movement with automatic column-wheel chronograph functionality. The complete calendar and moonphase indications both lend the dial a swath of functionality and add aesthetic flavor. Also carried over from previous models is the 60-hour power reserve and 50 meters of water resistance, placing the Chronomaster solidly in the dress-to-sport watch camp.  A new colorway and case material for an iconic and consistently popular line of watches is always exciting, and Zenith has delivered with this new (and familiar) Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar reference. Whether or not rose ...

Introducing: A Special Rolex Daytona For The 100th Running Of The 24 Hours Of Le Mans (With Live Pics From The Race)

Paul Newman vibes from a new white gold Cosmograph with a race-specific movement.

The Breguet Type XX takes off with two new models