Results for Pilot Watch

Weekend Edition: How Swatch Went From Disrupter To Iconic Brand

There's no such thing as having too many Swatches – and trust us, there are plenty to choose from.

Introducing: The Swatch Sistem51 Petite Seconde

The Sistem51 gets a small (seconds) update.

Culture Of Time: The Art Of Swatch

Remembering three highly collectible creations from the earliest days of the Swatch Art Special.

Business News: Watches & Wonders Returns to Geneva in March 2023

Having successfully pulled off the first large-scale watch fair in Switzerland since the pandemic started – and the first expanded event that included Baselworld transplants like Rolex and Patek Philippe – the organisers of Watches & Wonder will be doing it again next year. Watches & Wonders 2023 will take place in Geneva from March 27 to April 2, 2023 – though those are “provisional dates” according to the organisers. But before that the event will take place in two cities in China. First on the tropical resort island of Hainan from October to December 2022 where it will happen simultaneously in Haikou and Sanya. The CDF Mall in Sanya Last year’s W&W; at the West Bund Art Centre in Shanghai Each of these respective events will be taking place in a shopping mall operated by one of the country’s two primary duty-free retailers, China Tourism Group (CTG) in Haikou and China Duty Free Group (CDF) in Sanya. And then from November 23 to 27, W&W; will move to the West Bund Art Center in Shanghai, where it took place in previous years. Intriguingly, the announcement the 2023 event in Geneva begins with “Watches and Wonders announces… its first provisional dates for 2023”. And it omits the list of exhibiting brands. That is perhaps a hint that next year’s event will not have the same exhibitors as this year, reflecting widely discussed tensions between the various exhibiting brands and groups.  

VIDEO: Hands-on with all 11 missions of the Swatch x Omega MoonSwatch

To say that the announcement of the Swatch x Omega MoonSwatch BioCeramic was the debut of the year would be an understatement. In fact, you could even argue it was the drop of the last decade. Waitlists and queues for watches are by no means a foreign concept to collectors, but this idea is typically … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: Hands-on with all 11 missions of the Swatch x Omega MoonSwatch appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

MICRO-MONDAYS: The Audric Strider is a stylish diver with hefty wrist presence for under $600 (if you’re quick)

Audric launched their first watch in 2020, deep in the throes of the global pandemic. The SeaBorne stood out from the crowd of Kickstarter-funded dive watches due to its multicoloured flair, attention to detail and impressive bang for its buck. For their second watch, the Audric Strider, the brand has now pulled out all the stops … ContinuedThe post MICRO-MONDAYS: The Audric Strider is a stylish diver with hefty wrist presence for under $600 (if you’re quick) appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Swatch Drops the Bioceramic MoonSwatch Collab with Omega

Perhaps the most surprising launch of the year so far, the Bioceramic MoonSwatch is a collaboration between Swatch and the maker of the Speedmaster Professional. The MoonSwatch is essentially Moonwatch “lite” – it has all the key details such as lyre lugs and a Velcro strap, but a quartz movement and small price tag. And the MoonSwatch is next level in terms of range. Whereas the original Moonwatch is mostly black, Swatch offers almost dozen variants of the MoonSwatch, each dedicated to the most significant bodies of the solar system, such as the Sun, Moon, and Mars. The MoonSwatch “Mission to Mars”, a tribute to the Speedmaster “Alaska Project” but with the entire case in bright red ceramic Initial thoughts The MoonSwatch is an exemplary crossover because its encapsulates the specialties of each brand. Combining the quintessential cheerful style of Swatch with Omega’s iconic Moonwatch results in a fun, lighthearted watch that’s very affordable. But it’s also a shocking product because the two brands are poles apart in terms of positioning and pricing. Put simply, an Omega strap costs more than the average Swatch watch. Swatch is clearly the winner. It’s an especially shrewd move for the maker of plastic watches, since some of the prestige and historical significance of Omega rubs off onto Swatch. As for Omega, it’s a purposeful act of brand dilution, no doubt in the hope that it brings the brand to a new audience that will aspire to own the real d...

New: Swatch x Centre Pompidou

Swatch collaborates with French art museum - the Centre Pompidou to create 6 new art themed watches in the Gents and New Gents collection.

Four + One: The Co-Founder Of Chromeo Makes '70s-Style Funk - And Wears Watches To Match

He's also got fabulous taste in furniture.

Interview: Timex Design Director Giorgio Galli Chats About His Time At Swatch, His Creative Process, And Gérald Genta

The design powerhouse has spent the last 30 years improving the aesthetics of entry-level watchmaking.

Rafael Nadal Wears A Richard Mille RM 27-04 As He Plays In The Australian Open 2022

If you’ve been watching the 2022 Australian Open (as Elizabeth Doerr has), you may be wondering about the prominent watch seen on Rafael Nadal’s right wrist (he’s left-handed), which has been a constant companion no matter what he’s doing – even while playing his grueling matches on court. It's a Richard Mille RM 27-04 with an innovative mesh tennis-string-style "plate" as Elizabeth explains here.

Introducing: Swatch x Supriya Lele Is All About Color, Print, and Nostalgia

The British-Indian fashion designer channels the '90s in her first Swatch collaboration.

The Swatch x Peanuts collection unveils fun range of Snoopy and Charlie Brown watches

It seems pretty ironic that Charles Monroe Schulz, the American cartoonist and creator of Peanuts – probably the most popular and influential comic strip in history – should be so indifferent to the name. You could go so far as to say he had an allergic reaction to Peanuts, once saying: “If someone asks me what … ContinuedThe post The Swatch x Peanuts collection unveils fun range of Snoopy and Charlie Brown watches appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

INTRODUCING: The Norqain Neverest Night Sight comes lumed up and ready for adventure

In my less than a decade of collecting, I’ve come to categorise watch brands into two distinct groups. The first consists of brands that simply make watches. There is no specific target audience. A little bit of everything is thrown on the plate for as many people as possible to enjoy. The second group of … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Norqain Neverest Night Sight comes lumed up and ready for adventure appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

New: Swatch X Peanuts Collection on Chillout TGIFriday!

Swatch watches introduces 6 new watches with the Peanuts theme, featuring Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Woodstock, and the rest of the Peanuts gang! Available now!

Have dive watches just received official formalwear approval?

Ever since Sean Connery’s Jame Bond emerged from the ocean in Goldfinger and peeled off his wetsuit to reveal a tuxedo beneath, the question has always been there: should you wear a diving watch with formalwear? (Bond was wearing the Rolex Submariner ref 6538 by the way.) The question arises following the recent launch of … ContinuedThe post Have dive watches just received official formalwear approval? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

VIDEO: Relive the 80s with the Swatch BIOCERAMIC 1984 Reloaded Collection

The year 1984 was full of cultural impact. Fortunately for all of us, it was by no means what George Orwell predicted in his classic dystopian novel – in fact it was actually full of bright standout moments. Musically it was the year of Prince’s Purple Rain and Madonna’s Like a Virgin and in the … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: Relive the 80s with the Swatch BIOCERAMIC 1984 Reloaded Collection appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Swatch Unveils the Halloween Capsule Collection

Thematic capsule collections are a Swatch favourite, with recent launches including watches dedicated to the latest James Bond film and NASA. With hyper-efficient, automated manufacturing and simply constructed watches, Swatch is able to keep current with its thematic collections. And now with Halloween around the corner, Swatch has just taken the covers off the line up dedicated to the ghoulish celebration – the Halloween Capsule Collection, made up of a pair of watches that are glow-in-the-dark and appear entirely different from day to night. Your Time is Coming (left), and Run But You Can’t Hide Initial thoughts Glow-in-the-dark watches are cool because they light up in the dark. Swatch takes the concept and goes big with the Halloween pair – the watches are a bold 47 mm in diameter and matched with straps that are entirely “lumed”. The Halloween pair also stand out for the contrast between their day and night looks, a characteristic that makes them all the more striking and attractive. During the day, the dials are surprisingly low-key, with the faces barely visible. The faces on the dials only reveal themselves at night And both watches are clearly all about design. The dials are both smartly streamlined, with as few time-telling elements as possible – there are neither hours markers nor a date, or even a seconds hand Even the hands are thin and skeletonised. The hands do the job, but are not quite as inventive as the floating, “ghost” hands found i...

Weekend Rewind: Omega Isn't The Only Swatch Group Brand To Boast A Bond Watch

And it's not who you might expect.

Audemars Piguet Introduces the Royal Oak Supersonnerie in Titanium

First introduced as a handful of limited editions (including for Japanese retailer Yoshida), the minute repeating, luxury-sports watch has finally become a permanent addition to the Audemars Piguet catalogue with the Royal Oak Minute Repeater Supersonnerie in Titanium. Despite its low-key looks, a tone-on-tone palette of a smoked, grey dial and brushed titanium case, the Royal Oak repeater  is loud – literally – thanks to the patented Supersonnerie system within, which produces chimes that are clearer and louder than those of a traditional striking wristwatch. Initial thoughts The superb acoustics are unquestionably the focal point of the latest from Audemars Piguet (AP) – it is undeniably a successful striking complication thanks to the clever case (we explained the Supersonnerie in an earlier story). But the design of the Royal Oak repeater is arguably near perfect and worth a leading mention. At a glance the repeater looks very much like a typical Royal Oak, but the dial layout gives it perhaps the most classical face amongst its siblings. It has no date, and instead a small seconds at six to replace the central seconds found on most Royal Oak models. The seconds-at-six layout is typical of a dress watch, and it isn’t special per se, but it is unique for a Royal Oak, which was after all designed as a sports watch. By way of its thinness (at least in its original ref. 5402 “Jumbo” guise), the Royal Oak has always retained an elegant air that resonates wit...

New: Swatch injects more colour into their Big Bold collection with the Planets line

Swatch makes a colourful extension to their popular Big Bold Collection with four funky colours with cryptic names to make up the new Planets line.

IWC to Keep Time on First All-Civilian Space Flight

Slated to be the first space flight with an entirely civilian crew, Inspiration4 take off in September 2021 for a three-day orbit of Earth. Operated by SpaceX, the space travel company founded by Elon Musk, the mission will keep time with the help of IWC, which has created the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition “Inspiration4” for the four-person crew. Featuring white ceramic cases and blue-lacquered dials, the four watches will be sold at auction after the space flight, with proceeds going to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a paediatric hospital funded by donations that treats severely ill children and teenagers for free. Initial thoughts Being four watches that will be sold to benefit a good cause, the Inspiration4 chronographs are certainly a good thing. It helps that the design is appealing. Though the overarching elements of the watch are familiar – white ceramic and blue – they are combined in a novel manner for IWC. Both the star-speckled dial and white ceramic case are unique in the IWC line up. But the fact that these four are the first-ever Pilot’s watches in white ceramic (aside from prototypes from two decades ago) probably hints at something similar in the pipeline. If, and when, such a watch does emerge, I hope the production version will be smaller than the 44.5 mm that the Inspiration4 is, though that’s unlikely since the ceramic chronographs are all that size. Four travellers The four watches have been made for the crew of Inspiratio...

How Swatch Group quietly developed a gamechanger for affordable GMTs

Last year, Mido, one of the brands under the Swatch Group umbrella, released the affordable Ocean Star GMT.The post How Swatch Group quietly developed a gamechanger for affordable GMTs appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Hublot’s Colour Theory

All watch brands use colour on occasion - after all, there’s only so many times you can make a black, blue or white dial - but few deploy as varied a palette, and to as great an effect, as Hublot.

Road to Recovery: Richemont, Swatch Rebound to Pre-COVID Sales

How To Wear It: Should You Match Your Watch To Your Clothes - Or Your Clothes To Your Watch?

In his HODINKEE debut, former Ralph Lauren designer (and current Atlanta menswear impresario) Sid Mashburn addresses the eternal conundrum.

G-Shock And Swatch: The Two Most '80s Watches Of The '80s Came Out The Very Same Year

Over the past few decades, the G-Shock and the Swatch have gone from cult to classic – and cast an unexpectedly long shadow in high end-watchmaking.

Cheap Bastard: The Swatch Bioceramic C-White is an oversized bargain that’s eco-friendly, too

If you’ve already turned your horological nose up at the S word in the headline above, please remind yourself of the title of this column. T&T; teems with timepieces that will set back four, five and even six figures – if that’s you, congrats on the start-up/inheritance/proceeds of crime. If, however, you feel like adding … ContinuedThe post Cheap Bastard: The Swatch Bioceramic C-White is an oversized bargain that’s eco-friendly, too appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Swatch Introduces the NASA Space Collection

Shortly after launching the Earth-friendly Big Bold Bioceramic made of plant-based plastic, Swatch is venturing off the planet and towards the stars with the Space Collection. A line of five watches conceived in collaboration with American space agency NASA, the Space Collection is inspired by NASA’s colours and spacesuits. It is made up of a trio of extra-large Big Bold watches with Bioceramic cases, along with a pair of more classical Gent models in regular plastic. Old school Swatch: Space Race (left) and Take Me to the Moon. Initial thoughts I’m a big fan of Swatch and own several, including the MoMA “Starry Night” launched last month. The brand is often neglected by enthusiasts because of its fun and low-cost watches, despite Swatch having played a pivotal role in keeping Swiss watchmaking going during the Quartz Crisis. In fact, Swatch was crucial enough that its parent company renamed itself Swatch Group, despite owning brands like Omega and Breguet. It comes as no surprise that I like the new Space Collection, especially the Big Bold models. The Space Collection represents Swatch doing what it does best – offering fun, interesting timepieces at an accessible price point. In fact, the Space Collection models are likely the most affordable NASA-endorsed watches on the market. To put things in perspective, even the top-of-the-line Big Bold Chrono is cheaper than Omega’s NASA velcro straps. Starting at US$125 for the time-only version – the line up in...

Urwerk Debuts the Tantalum Swansong for the UR-105

Launched in 2014 as a successor to the foundational UR-103, the UR-105 was a more elaborate version of Urwerk’s satellite-disc, wandering-hours watch. After a seven-year run – it’s been replaced by the entry-level UR-100 – the UR-105 series will now be retired. Urwerk is giving the model a grand send-off with the UR-105 TTH, which has the front plate and lid of its case made of tantalum, the bluish-grey metal that Urwerk has only used in one other instance with the UR-110 TTH. Based the UR-105 CT Streamliner with its characteristic hinged lid, the UR-105 TTH is all about its case material. A dense metal with a distinctive colour that’s used for surgical implants, turbine blades, and even artillery shells, tantalum is difficult to machine and finish due to its hardness. Consequently, while tantalum has been used for watch cases since the 1990s, but it is uncommon. Urwerk is one of a handful of brands, alongside Omega and F.P. Journe, to use the metal for a watch case. Initial thoughts All good things must come to an end, and Urwerk is closing the chapter with aplomb. With the distinctive hue of tantalum, the case fits the sci-fi industrial spirit of the brand well. Striking and futuristic, the UR-105 is sleek in tantalum. The metal will make it substantially heavier than the standard steel version of the UR-105, which would make it less easily wearable. Priced at CHF77,000, or about US$86,000, the UR-105 TTH is 20% more expensive the base-model UR-105 CT i...