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Results for Three-Quarter Plate (3/4-Platine)

2,556 articles · 41 videos found · page 57 of 87

Business News: Patek Philippe Acquires Stakes in Geneva Gem-Setting Giant SJX Watches
Patek Philippe Acquires Stakes Sep 14, 2022

Business News: Patek Philippe Acquires Stakes in Geneva Gem-Setting Giant

Little know outside the industry but a key supplier to the biggest watch brands, Salanitro S.A. is Switzerland’s biggest gem-setting and jewellery specialist catering to watchmakers. Owned by its namesake founder until now, Salanitro now counts Patek Philippe as a shareholder. Founded three decades ago by Pierre Salanitro, the company is located a Geneva suburb not far from Rolex headquarters. A discreet but well-connected individual, Mr Salanitro built his company both organically and through acquisitions, creating an enterprise that’s the preeminent jewellery and gem-setting specialist for the watch industry. Today Salanitro far exceeds the competition in scale with annual revenue in the high nine figures and over 230 employees, more than half of them gem-setters. The company covers all the bases when it comes to jewelled watches: it supplies, cuts, and sets gemstones, and also produces components with the three dozen CNC mills on its premises. Gem-setters at work in Salanitro’s facility. Image – Salanitro The art of gem-setting is a manual process that requires deft hands. Image – Salanitro Mr Salanitro’s three children have no involvement in the business, explaining his desire to seek a strategic investor.  “I am very proud and delighted that Patek Philippe has acquired a stake in my company,” says Mr Salanitro, “[The brand is] the ideal partner for securing the firm’s future… [and] continue our activities and guarantee jobs beyond generations....

Longines Introduces the Master Collection 190th Anniversary SJX Watches
Longines Introduces Sep 14, 2022

Longines Introduces the Master Collection 190th Anniversary

While it isn’t common knowledge, Longines now 190 years old, making it the longest-established of the seven biggest brands in Swiss watchmaking, besting even its sister company Omega. Historically known for its top-quality chronographs and time-only chronometers, Longines has unsurprisingly delved into its archives to mark the anniversary. The brand has just taken the wraps off the Master Collection 190th Anniversary, a three-hand wristwatch with an unusually elaborate dial for a Longines. And as expected for a commemorative model, it is available not only as a regular production model in steel, but also also a pricier limited edition in yellow or rose gold. The steel version with blued steel hands is an affordable US$2,400 Initial thoughts With compact proportions and an elegantly detailed dial, the Master 190th Anniversary blends various elements drawn from watches of the mid 20th century, giving it an easy appeal. That said, the aesthetics of the Master anniversary are not exactly original – it does bring to mind a variety of other watches. While it’s definitely a vintage-style watch, the Master anniversary is not a reissue – a feat for Longines, a brand that already has several dozen reissues in its catalogue. I find the dial of the new Master more attractive than most of the actual remakes in Longines’ Heritage collection. Those watches typically have good fit and finish, but the anniversary Master is a marked improvement and enhanced by flourishes lik...

Hands On: Greubel Forsey Double Balancier Convexe SHH Edition SJX Watches
Greubel Forsey Double Balancier Convexe SHH Sep 8, 2022

Hands On: Greubel Forsey Double Balancier Convexe SHH Edition

A “concept” store for high-end watches when it first opened in 2005, Sincere Haute Horlogerie (SHH) closed its original location in the now-closed Hilton hotel in 2019. Three years on, Singapore retailer Sincere is reviving SHH at the city state’s landmark casino resort. To commemorate the event, SHH has unveiled several limited editions created in collaboration with independent watchmakers led by the Greubel Forsey Double Balancier Convexe SHH Edition. A watch with twin balance wheels linked by a differential, the SHH edition is housed in the streamlined “Convexe” case that defines the Greubel Forsey’s sports watches. But unlike the brand’s sports watches to date, this is striking in an ultra-contemporary purple livery that’s uncommon for such a complicated watch. The rationale behind the juxtaposition of bold colours and refined complications is straightforward according to Sincere chief executive Ong Ban. “For the new generation, watches go with their dress and the younger ones want… [watches] that go with sneakers or hoodies,” explains Mr Ong, “But while the cosmetics evolve over the years, but the essence of finely executed movements remains the same.” Even the titanium main plate of the movement is finished in purple Initial thoughts The new Double Balancier is a haute horlogerie sports watch in an eye-catching colour and the requisite integrated strap that will no doubt draw a new audience to the brand. While Greubel Forsey (GF) wat...

Greubel Forsey Introduces the GMT Balancier Convexe SJX Watches
Greubel Forsey Introduces Aug 29, 2022

Greubel Forsey Introduces the GMT Balancier Convexe

Having made its debut in Greubel Forsey’s watches a decade ago, the world time is one of the brand’s distinctive complications with its large titanium globe. While the original iteration of the world time wristwatch came to an end last year with the all-black final edition, Greubel Forsey has taken the covers off its successor, the GMT Balancier Convexe. The three-dimensional world time sphere has been retained, but almost all else has been redesigned on the new model. Beside adopting the streamlined aesthetics of the brand’s bestselling sports watches like the Balancier S2, the display now has local and world time arranged concentrically in a traditional, Louis Cottier-style display in a first for the brand. Initial thoughts Despite its complex looks and US$400,000 price tag, the GMT Balancier Convexe is relatively simple for a Greubel Forsey. In fact, it’s the brand’s first world time watch without a tourbillon. As a result, the new GMT is as much about design as mechanics. The GMT demonstrates how GF is implementing its sports watch styling across practically all of its line-up. The GMT has a streamlined “Convexe” case and does away with the asymmetrical bulge traditionally used to accommodate the globe. Because of its curved profile and hidden lugs, Convexe case allows the GMT to pass as a moderately sized watch despite being 46.5 mm in diameter, allowing it to wear smaller. To go along with the sporty case style, the dial has been given a new look. ...

Delma Introduces the Quattro Diver’s Watch SJX Watches
Seiko s many Prospex dive Aug 25, 2022

Delma Introduces the Quattro Diver’s Watch

A small, family-owned brand that focuses on affordable sports watches, Delma already has a half dozen-strong lineup of dive watches, but its latest is certainly the most novel. Rated to 500 m, the Quattro is a chunky dive watch with an unusual feature: the case module can be detached from the lugs and installed on a decompression plate. Initial thoughts Chunky dive watches are common across a wide range of the price spectrum, but most so at the affordable end. So the latest from Delma seems like yet another player on a crowded field. But the Quattro is interesting in a few respects. For one, the wide bezel and recessed crown give it an unusual enough look that it stands apart from the competition. Then there’s main attraction, a bayonet mechanism that allows the watch to be installed on a decompression plate. It’s questionable whether this has much functionality for a diver, but it does make the Quattro different. But detachable case notwithstanding, the Quattro is pricey for a watch powered by a Sellita movement. Seiko’s many Prospex dive watches are about a quarter less expensive, while Sinn’s ultra-robust U1 is only slight more expensive. Three ways Massive at 44 mm wide and 15.3 mm high, the case of the Quattro locks into a frame with the lugs via a bayonet-lock mechanism. A tiny sliding button on the side of the case releases the locking mechanism, while the frame is essentially a milled steel ring with the lugs at each corner. The release button is next to th...

In Depth: Louis Vuitton Tambour Spin Time Air SJX Watches
Louis Vuitton Tambour Spin Time Air Aug 15, 2022

In Depth: Louis Vuitton Tambour Spin Time Air

Since it acquired Geneva complications specialist La Fabrique du Temps in 2012 Louis Vuitton has been steadily growing and refining its complicated watch offering. Last year it debuted the Carpe Diem minute repeater with automaton, the most complex watch LDFT has developed to date. But the signature completion of Louis Vuitton (LV) is still the patented three-dimensional jumping hours known as Spin Time. The complication relies on 12 cubes to indicate the hours, rotating one by one every hour. Since its introduction in 2009, the Spin Time has been iterated into a variety of formats, including a GMT, regatta countdown chronograph, and most recently a glow-in-the-dark extravaganza. But its most refined form is arguably the Spin Time Air launched in 2019 that has a dozen “floating” cubes arrayed around a movement suspended between the front and back crystals. Initial thoughts The Spin Time Air has all the elements of an interesting watch. Both transparent and striking, the “floating” display brings to mind historical mystery timepieces, with the tall Tambour case serving as the perfect frame for the suspended display. But it is the cubic hour display sets it apart. The hour display is truly unique, even when compared against the most exotic in independent watchmaking. It brings to mind Urwerk’s cubic display found in the UR-210, but that’s a three-dimensional reinterpretation of the wandering hours, whereas the Spin Time is actually an innovative take on the jum...

Ben Affleck’s watch collection is choc-full of surprises Time+Tide
Richard Mille Aug 8, 2022

Ben Affleck’s watch collection is choc-full of surprises

Rolex, AP, Richard Mille. If you were taking a multiple choice test on which watch a celebrity was wearing, the three aforementioned brands would be your safest bets. That’s because celebrities are often fairly safe with their wristwear. Even if they stretch beyond the common three, whatever other brands we catch on their wrists tend … ContinuedThe post Ben Affleck’s watch collection is choc-full of surprises appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Ibiza! Capri! St Tropez!  The Hublot Loves Summer Collection captures the feel-good holiday spirit Time+Tide
Hublot Loves Summer Collection captures Aug 7, 2022

Ibiza! Capri! St Tropez! The Hublot Loves Summer Collection captures the feel-good holiday spirit

With record-breaking temperatures searing Europe this summer, it’s safe to say the beaches are an incredibly popular destination right now. To celebrate the launch of pop-up boutiques in three of Europe’s most beautiful coastal areas, Hublot have released a limited-edition watch for each branch. We’ve seen Hublot produce summer-loving watches before, but these new models … ContinuedThe post Ibiza! Capri! St Tropez! The Hublot Loves Summer Collection captures the feel-good holiday spirit appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Forget the dodgy moustache, Chris Evans sports an intriguing watch in The Gray Man Time+Tide
Jul 31, 2022

Forget the dodgy moustache, Chris Evans sports an intriguing watch in The Gray Man

It’s been more than three years since Chris Evans ended his time as Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic universe. The character, considered a moral compass in the movies, has become the highlight of the actor’s career. So much so that he has become synonymous with the good-guy image. Yet, in the years since, Evans … ContinuedThe post Forget the dodgy moustache, Chris Evans sports an intriguing watch in The Gray Man appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Inside the Patek Philippe Service Centre in Singapore SJX Watches
Patek Philippe Service Centre Jul 28, 2022

Inside the Patek Philippe Service Centre in Singapore

Patek Philippe is one of the most revered watch brands but an outlier amongst its peers in relying almost entirely on independent retailers to sell its watches. Of the hundreds of Patek Philippe points-of-sale around the world, the brand owns just three. But the converse is true for its after-sales service where the brand is almost entirely vertically integrated. Patek Philippe will soon own and operate ten service centres in key cities around the world, backed up with four of its own watchmaking institutes. The Geneva watchmaker does this to fulfil its pledge of being able to repair and maintain “all timepieces ever made by Patek Philippe since production began in 1839”. Consolidation and consistency In pursuit of a uniformly high standard of service across the world, Patek Philippe is in the process of consolidating its service network from a peak of 59 service centres worldwide, some of which were run by independent retailers, to just ten key locations. Amongst the regional centres are one each in Germany, France, and the United States, but most will be located in Asia – the brand’s biggest market – in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore. All of the ten will be run by Patek Philippe itself, or more specifically, its regional subsidiaries. The Singapore service centre, for instance, is run by Geneva Master Time (GMT), Patek Philippe’s subsidiary for Southeast Asia. GMT also has a smaller service centre in Bangkok, a necessity given that Thailand i...

OPINION: Violence at Bamford G-Shock launch in Carnaby Street boutique must be turning point for limited edition releases Time+Tide
Jul 19, 2022

OPINION: Violence at Bamford G-Shock launch in Carnaby Street boutique must be turning point for limited edition releases

When George Bamford launched his first G-Shock Limited Edition in September 2020, it was a “super, super nice” experience, according to the man himself. People queued in an orderly fashion. Collectors asked him for an autograph. The event at the Carnaby Street G-Shock boutique had a festive atmosphere. The watch sold out “in three minutes”, … ContinuedThe post OPINION: Violence at Bamford G-Shock launch in Carnaby Street boutique must be turning point for limited edition releases appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Hands On: IWC Portugieser Automatic 40 SJX Watches
IWC Portugieser Automatic 40 Launched Jul 17, 2022

Hands On: IWC Portugieser Automatic 40

Launched in 2020 as a more wearable version of IWC’s signature large-format dress watch, the Portugieser Automatic 40 is a no-frills three-hander executed in a solid, workmanlike manner that is typical of the brand. Though novel for the current Portugieser line – it’s the smallest model in the lineup – the new automatic isn’t a wholly new idea. IWC did offer a “small” Portugieser some two decades ago, but Portugieser watches since then have been well over 40 mm in diameter. The large size of the various Portugieser models result from the movements, which either have a seven-day power reserve or chronograph, plus a few others that are even more complicated. That left a gap for a “small”, uncomplicated Portugieser. And so it has returned, combining the typical restrained aesthetics of the Portugieser line and the technical quality expected of IWC. Initial thoughts The Portugieser Automatic 40 is a wearable watch with a distinctive but classical aesthetic. Unlike its larger and more complicated counterparts in the Portugieser line, the 40 mm automatic is simple but still has the same recognisable aesthetic as well as a solidly engineered movement. It’s moderately sized, though a little thick due to the movement inside. The movement is a good one, which makes the case height acceptable, though a slimmer case would certainly be more appealing and also echo the vintage original more closely. The cal. 82200 Importantly, it is also eminently affordable. Con...

The link between crypto and collectible watches is becoming clearer Time+Tide
Jul 6, 2022

The link between crypto and collectible watches is becoming clearer

For years, in the circles I’m a part of, watch collectors have been asking a simple question. As watch prices continue to skyrocket, who in the bloody hell is buying pieces at these premiums? Premiums that are two, three, sometimes four times the original retail price. We all agree that there are ridiculously wealthy people … ContinuedThe post The link between crypto and collectible watches is becoming clearer appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

HANDS-ON: The Seiko 5 SKX Sports Style GMT delivers an automatic GMT for under $1000 Time+Tide
Seiko 5 SKX Sports Style Jun 18, 2022

HANDS-ON: The Seiko 5 SKX Sports Style GMT delivers an automatic GMT for under $1000

Here’s something I didn’t see coming: an entry-level automatic GMT watch from Seiko has just dropped, and it’s packing some serious GMT-Master vibes. The three colourways remind me of the modding community from the SKX message boards back in the day, where home tinkerers would modify their Seiko divers with aftermarket two-tone bezel inserts and … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The Seiko 5 SKX Sports Style GMT delivers an automatic GMT for under $1000 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.