Results for Tantalum (Watch Cases)

The Science of Steel, The Stuff Of Cases, Mainsprings, Hairsprings, Pinions, Escapements And The Backbone Of Watchmaking - Reprise

Joshua Munchow talks about steel here, the metal that made the world! Watch cases and other movement components are commonly made from certain stainless steels, 304 and 316L being the most frequent. It also happens that some brands hold exclusive rights to use specific alloys in the production of its watches. Here's what you should know about steel.

Time+Tide Weekend Watch Crossword: #19 “Handsets”

Fully back in the saddle, after a brief vacation hiatus we are back with another crossword for you to tackle. While perhaps not among the top of the list in regard to glamorous watch components, hands are crucial for conveying various indications on a dial (even a movement in certain cases). So, let’s test your … ContinuedThe post Time+Tide Weekend Watch Crossword: #19 “Handsets” appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Ten big watch beauties under $10k for those with large wrists

As Zach Blass stated in his recent article, size does truly matter. Yet in our cases, we represent opposite sides of the spectrum. Where Zach is a staunch proponent of those with slender wrist, I represent those with large wrists who both love and appreciate a big watch. We had our moment in the early … ContinuedThe post Ten big watch beauties under $10k for those with large wrists appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Why my paranoia about toxic metals means I need a gold watch. Maybe several…

I’ve always associated gold watches with Bond villains and 1980s stockbrokers – and yet I still want to be wealthy enough to wear them. Why? Because wearing steel watches freaks me out – even if it is just a little. You see, most watch cases use 316L steel, otherwise known as surgical grade steel. It’s … ContinuedThe post Why my paranoia about toxic metals means I need a gold watch. Maybe several… appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Retro Dive Watch Specialist Squale Unveils the 1521 Montredo

Derived from Italian for “shark”, Squale was a maker of dive watches – as well as a supplier of dive watch cases to many notable brands – that had its heyday in the 1960s and 1970s. Like most of its peers, Squale went under during the Quartz Crisis, lying dormant until 2005 when it was revived by its onetime distributor in Italy. The reborn Squale is focused once again on dive watches, with its current lineup modelled on the brand’s historical products. The flagship is the 1521, an affordable, no-frills dive watch that’s been pared back even further with the limited-edition Montredo x Squale 1521. Initial thoughts Retro dive watches are common today, especially in Squale’s price segment of under US$2,000. But Squale manages to set it apart by having historical legitimacy unlike startup brands. The Montredo edition stands out for its minimalism. The outline of the watch has been retained, but the details have been reduced to the essentials, like the bezel with only five-minute markers. The result brings to mind the military-issue dive watches of the 1970s and 1980s, most notably the Fifty Fathoms “Bund” that Blancpain supplied to the German navy – which coincidentally had a case made by Squale. In fact, the Fifty Fathoms “Bund” relied on the very “50 Atmos” case Squale used for its ref. 1521 diver, making the Montredo edition a tidy historical throwback. Ref. 1521 The 50-piece run is a collaboration between Squale and Montredo, a Berlin-based ...

LVMH Watch Week: TAG Heuer Introduces the New Aquaracer Professional 200 Collection

TAG Heuer continues to dive into adventure watch territory with the ruggedly stylish Aquaracer Professional 200. With slim, refined cases, steel bezels and smoky dials there’s a lot to like about this new line.

J.N. Shapiro Infinity Tantalum: Fractals, Infinity, And Mastery Of Technique

J.N. Shapiro is the eponymous brand of Josh Shapiro, an educator turned watchmaker who specializes in guilloche. His latest watch, the Infinity Tantalum, is a classic three-hander with a small seconds dial designed in the spirit of George Daniels, Breguet, and other greats. The palladium dial is completely hand-guilloche and sports tantalum chapter rings. And, oh, that gorgeous style!

IN-DEPTH: The Hublot Big Bang Integral Blue Ceramic shows the evolution of the sports watch

The domination of blue-dialled steel sports watches has been slowly diminishing in the public eye lately, as waves of innovation are beginning to overtake the appeal of what’s familiar. Bronze cases, green dials - these trends aren’t just popular because they look fantastic, but because they’re refreshing. The Hublot Big Bang Integral in deep blue … ContinuedThe post IN-DEPTH: The Hublot Big Bang Integral Blue Ceramic shows the evolution of the sports watch appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Only Watch 2021: F.P. Journe FFC Blue “Francis Ford Coppola”

F.P. Journe’s creation for Only Watch 2021 is an interesting one – the FFC Blue, characterised by a hand on the dial that displays the hours. Like F.P. Journe’s past contributions to Only Watch, the FFC Blue is powered by a prototype movement – rough around the edges and lots of character – and features a case of tantalum, the grey-blue metal synonymous with the bestselling Chronometre Bleu. Named after the initials of Francis Ford Coppola, the film director best known for The Godfather, the FFC Blue originated in a 2012 visit to Mr Coppola’s residence. The director asked Mr Journe a seemingly innocuous question over dinner, wondering whether it was possible to tell the time with a human hand. Mr Journe mulled it over and over several years devised a mechanism with the help of Mr Coppola, who sent sketches of the desired finger positions for each hour. The unveiling of the FFC Blue also marks the 20th anniversary of the F.P. Journe Octa and its automatic cal. 1300 (it’s the second watch to mark the occasion in fact), which is the base movement of the FFC Blue. Initial Impressions At first glance, the FFC Blue is bizarre for F.P. Journe. The hand sculpture on the dial is unlike most of the brand’s other designs, which are mostly conservative and often Breguet-inspired. Upon closer examination, indeed a bizarre watch it is – in a good way. The mechanism is an impressive example of an automaton, a complex answer to a simple question: how can the human hand...

The Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical Bronze is the best value bronze watch around

Bronze is all the rage right now. The metal ticks a lot of boxes, offering a precious metal tone without a precious metal price premium. The cases typically generate a patina and, as we all know, vintage aesthetics are very on trend. Plus, it’s an alternative to the ever ubiquitous stainless steel and allows collectors … ContinuedThe post The Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical Bronze is the best value bronze watch around appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

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...

Omega Introduces the Seamaster Diver 300 M Chronograph Gold Titanium Tantalum

Best known as the watch worn by Pierce Brosnan playing James Bond, the Omega Seamaster Diver 300 M made its debut in 1993. But the blue-on-blue “Bond” model was not the flagship of the line. That distinction went to a chronograph composed of three metals – gold, titanium, and tantalum – an exotic and expensive combination two decades ago. The tri-metal combination (the original was the ref. 2296.80 for anyone curious) made a comeback as a time-only watch for the 25th anniversary of the Seamaster 300 M two years ago. Now, Omega has finally revealed a truer homage to the original, the Seamaster Diver 300 M Chronograph Gold Titanium Tantalum, which stays to the aesthetics of its inspiration but refined to be more contemporary and technically advanced. Initial thoughts The original version of the tri-metal chronograph isn’t the best known variant of the Seamaster – because it was extremely expensive for the period and sold poorly – so when the time-only variant debuted in 2018, the combination of metal was rather novel. The new chronograph feels exactly like that – it is handsome and modern, but like the 1993 original, it is very expensive. In fact, it is a lot more expensive, all things considered. Priced at a little under US$20,000, the new chronograph is significantly more expensive than its steel-and-gold counterparts – by a factor of 50%. While the price tag partially justified by the unusual material combination and good looks, the new Seamaster Chr...

Focus On Materials: Primer On The Science of Steel, The Stuff Of Cases, Mainsprings, Hairsprings, Pinions, Escapements And The Backbone Of Watchmaking - Reprise

Joshua Munchow talks about steel here, the metal that made the world! Watch cases and other movement components are commonly made from certain stainless steels, 304 and 316L being the most frequent. It also happens that some brands hold exclusive rights to use specific alloys in the production of its watches. Here's what you should know about steel.

Get ready, one more sleep till you can order the ultimate unisex summer watch, the Unimatic x Mihara Yasuhiro U1-MY2

Unimatic’s tough Italian exterior gets the touch of Japanese designer Mihara Yasuhiro in a marriage of crisp white Cerakote™ and extreme minimalism. Unimatic, based in Milan, has a strong reputation for their no-nonsense tough 40mm tool watches, with their bold cases and stubby-perfect 49mm lug-to-lug length. With the Unimatic x Mihara Yasuhiro they have managed … ContinuedThe post Get ready, one more sleep till you can order the ultimate unisex summer watch, the Unimatic x Mihara Yasuhiro U1-MY2 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Geneva Watch Days 2020 Round Table Discussion: What We Liked, What We Didn’t Like, And What We’d Buy From The Watches Presented At This COVID-19-Friendly Fair (Warning: Photo Fest!)

Watching the news for spiking virus cases, with Geneva rapidly becoming Switzerland’s new hotspot, and deciding by the minute whether we would attend, three of our team members took the plunge and traveled to Geneva to experience the new watches first-hand. Here are our thoughts on the busy, “socially distanced” Geneva Watch Days, including our favorites, the watch we disliked the most, and what we would buy!

Who wore it better: Batman or Batgirl? The cases for and against Gotham’s power couple

Few acronyms in the watch world are as recognisable, or as likely to trigger emotions than the BLNR. Rolex’s steely professional model GMT-Master II Ref.116710BLNR and subsequent Ref.126710BLNR have been unendingly popular ever since the former was unveiled way back in 2013 at Baselworld. What might have seemed like a hype watch has well and truly … ContinuedThe post Who wore it better: Batman or Batgirl? The cases for and against Gotham’s power couple appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Watches, Stories, & Gear: A Foldable iPhone, Nathan Fielder’s Latest Project, and a Football-Inspired Watch

“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. You Can See Everything Trailer Next to my wedding day and the birth of my niece, I can’t think of anything else that I’ve been this eager for in my entire life. This week, the trailer for You Can See Everything, the latest project by Nathan Fielder, dropped. For those unaware of Fielder’s work, there is no way to explain it properly without it sounding absolutely insane. His early hit Nathan for You followed the comedian giving bizarre business advice to real people, which led to, among other things: a fake Starbucks, a gas rebate that required hiking up a mountain, and an escape stunt where failure meant exposing himself to a group of children. His HBO series The Rehearsal brought on something of a Fielder renaissance, with the latest season culminating in Fielder flying a plane of paid actors in a Boeing 737. Just pure insanity. For You Can See Everything, Fielder’s latest subject is Elizabeth Holmes, the Theranos founder convicted of fraud after the collapse of her blood-testing company. Co-directed with Lance Oppenheim, the documentary follows Holmes in the 34 days before she reported to prison (and features an unsettling interaction between Fielder and Hol...

Watches, Stories, & Gear: The Pitt Season 3, Mr Jones Watch Contest, and Remembering Dolly Parton & Tim Curry

“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. The Pitt Season 3 Trailer As many of you may know, I live in the Pittsburgh area, and while I wouldn’t say I have any hometown pride –  I’ve been trying to leave this place for the better part of a decade – it’s always funny to see the Steel City onscreen. Sure, we have Flashdance, The Deer Hunter, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, but Pittsburgh also remains a reliable stand-in for Middle America and salt-of-the-earth people. And no show on TV right now exemplifies that more than The Pitt which has become, somewhat inexplicably to me, one of HBO’s breakout dramas. While I don’t really like medical shows (I’m squeamish) it is fun to hear the local references scattered throughout the series, with even more likely now that the season 3 trailer has just dropped. The new season picks up a few months later, with Noah Wyle’s Dr. Robby returning to the emergency department after some time away. We’re also likely to see more of the hospital’s ongoing fallout from the previous season, including the staff’s changing dynamics, emergency psychiatry, and the policy changes affecting day-to-day care.  The new season of The Pitt is set to premiere on HBO ...

Farer Belzoni 35mm Review: A Microbrand Watch That Makes the Case for Going Smaller

Farer Belzoni 35mm Cushion Case review covering its teal dial, wrist presence, hand-wound Sellita movement, finishing, and wearability.

Watches, Stories, & Gear: Ideal Watch Size Survey, Matador’s Reinvention, and Myspace’s Return

“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. Mark Cho’s Ideal Watch Size Survey is Back Co-founder of The Armoury and permanent resident on my own inspiration board, Mark Cho has once again put out his Ideal Watch Size Survey to the masses. For those unfamiliar, Cho first ran the survey from 2018 to 2021, asking participants about their actual wrist size, how they perceived their wrist size, and what they considered the ideal size for a watch. From this data, Cho and others, including ourselves, were able to glean information about industry trends, but also how those trends seem to affect the way we look at our own bodies. In fact, with nearly 1,000 respondents in the original survey, a significant percentage of people viewed their wrists as smaller than average, while Cho’s findings also pointed toward a growing interest in watches around the 37 to 39mm range (keep in mind, this was a time of Big Watch Supremacy in the marketplace). As with any data set, one can’t always say, “X equals Y,” but there is an interesting correlation (or is it causation? I always forget from my Statistics class) between what the industry makes, what collectors buy, and what we eventually convince ourselves we can wear. With...

The elegant case for the modern summer watch

Watches, Stories, & Gear: Tom Cruise’s Digger Trailer, a new Topo Designs Collection, a New Watch by DOXA

“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. Digger Trailer is Here You really have to give it to Tom Cruise. Nothing – and I mean nothing – can get that man down. From teen hearthrob to divorcing Nicole Kidman to inexplicably being his own stuntman, this man has lived a lot of lives. And now, we see another side of Cruise as the trailer for his much anticipated upcoming film Digger dropped. Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Digger stars Cruise as Digger Rockwell, an oil baron trying to convince the world he can save it from a catastrophe set off by one of his own company’s projects. The film is set for release on October 2, 2026, with a truly stellar cast that includes Sandra Hüller, Jesse Plemons, John Goodman, Riz Ahmed, and Emma D’Arcy. While Cruise will undoubtedly be praised for being classically good-looking and  acting with prosthetics to look worse, make sure you don’t forget those heroes who have paved the way, like Charlize Theron in Monster and Eddy Murphy in The Nutty Professor.  Twitter Turns 20 This week marks the 20th anniversary of Twitter which, like many, I refuse to refer to as X. Undoubtedly, Twitter has shaped the course of the 21st century in a variety of ways: culturally, p...

Watches, Stories, & Gear: the New Dune Trailer, a Fiat Arrives Stateside, and a New Watch from Haim

“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. Dune: Part Three – Official Trailer The trailer for Dune: Part Three dropped this week and, brother, I am seated. With each installment of Frank Herbert’s franchise, I am reminded just how well-deserved the $1.15 billion gross at box office has been. It has been no small feat for director Denis Villeneuve to make the vast scale and lore of Herbert’s universe digestible for mass-market appeal, while also being true to the intricacies of its source material. For Part Three, the story will focus on the culmination of Paul Atreides’ story, with his holy war now in motion and political tensions ever-present and ever-threatening (and, as a little treat, we also get to see that little freak Robert Pattinson with bleached hair and eyebrows). While this film marks the end to Villeneuve’s series, the franchise only focuses on the first two novels, leaving plenty of room for future filmmakers who are up for the challenge. But I know that good things come to those who wait, so I’m hoping there’s a director out there just chomping at the bit to bring Leto II and his big, disgusting sandworm body to IMAX. Meta Now Lets Anyone Use Your Instagram Photos in AI Images—Un...

Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate 38mm: Smaller Case, Softer Dials, Better Proportions

Blancpain shrinks its ultra-thin dress watch to 38mm and debuts a first-ever sunburst salmon dial for the Villeret line

The Swatch Collaboration Effect - Here’s What Happened (This Time)

The Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal Pop watch resulted in long queues at Swatch boutiques worldwide. We witnessed the chaos and mayhem at several of them on May 16th. Police had to enforce order, stores had to close, mall owners were angry, and managers of nearby shops were pissed because they couldn’t open or had […] Visit The Swatch Collaboration Effect — Here’s What Happened (This Time) to read the full article.