Two Broke Watch Snobs
Seiko Turtle: The Perfect Affordable Diver Or Not Worth Your Time?
A detailed hands-on review of the iconic Seiko Turtle, featuring original photos, specs, pricing, and a rundown of all features.
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Two Broke Watch Snobs
A detailed hands-on review of the iconic Seiko Turtle, featuring original photos, specs, pricing, and a rundown of all features.
SJX Watches
Short for “Franc Vila Founder”, FVF is a tale of redemption. Founded by the namesake designer, FVF is the second act of the Spanish watch designer, one he embarked on after his first went off the rails as many independent watch brands tend to do. FVF’s inaugural watch is the FVF1 C2 Tourbillon Superligero. It’s an original look and at a glance there’s nothing linking it to the creations of the original Franc Vila brand – a good thing in my estimation. But look closely and hints of the earlier designs emerge. Most importantly the FVF1 reveals itself as an impressively executed watch – the movement has an interesting construction, excellent finishing, and an original aesthetic. Mr Vila has made his comeback in style. NB: The watch pictured is a prototype that’s been worn so it shows wear. The FVF1 has a flying tourbillon, roller day indicator, day and night display, and a 100-hour power reserve Rising from the ashes Born in Valencia but now a longtime resident of Switzerland, Mr Vila founded his namesake brand in 2005 and rode the wave that buoyed modern, flamboyant independent watchmaking for the next decade or so. Propelled by Mr Vila’s convivial personality, Franc Vila became one of the hot brands of the era. During those heady days, it could sell several dozen tourbillons and minute repeaters a year, making it one of the top clients of now-defunct complications specialist BNB Concept. A classic from the original Franc Vila brand, the Tourbillon Planèta...
Green, green, oh… green. In 2021, green was the undisputed colour of the year with every watch manufacture under the sun presenting a design in the hue. Sure, you can’t go wrong with a black or white dial – their versatility is unmatched. But collectors need colour to liven up their watch boxes, and even … ContinuedThe post HANDS ON: Is this green Omega Seamaster 300 the most attractive ever? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
If you spend any time reading Time+Tide, or are generally interested in the entry-level luxury end of the market, you would’ve undoubtedly come across Swatch Group’s class centurion – the Powermatic 80. Initially manufactured as an evolution of the ETA 2824, and exclusively for Tissot, it can now be found in virtually every Swatch Group … ContinuedThe post Could this be the future of the Powermatic 80? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Teddy Baldassarre
Tracing its roots to the 19th Century but bursting on the cultural scene on the cusp of the 21st, Panerai is an overnight success more than 100 years in the making. From humble and very utilitarian beginnings as a maker of tools and instruments for military divers in the 1930s, the Florentine watchmaker has become a powerhouse in the luxury sector, its unapologetically militaristic and indisputably masculine designs blurring the lines between tool watch and luxury item like few brands before or since. Here is the story of Officine Panerai and an overview of the modern Panerai watch collections. Guido Panerai and the First Radiomir Giovanni Panerai opened his watchmaking shop on Ponte Alle Grazie in Florence in 1860, and with the help of his son Leon Franceso built it into the ancestral Italian city’s first retailer of Swiss watches as well as its first watchmaking school. When Giovanni’s grandson Guido took over the business, near the turn of the century - and acquired his wife’s family business, which made tools and hardware for military use, including combat sights, compasses and depth gauges - it had become essentially two companies: Orologerie Svizzera, the shop that sold prestigious Swiss watch brands like Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, and Rolex; and Guido Panerai & Figlio, primarily a supplier of precision instruments and diving equipment to the Royal Italian Navy, or Regia Marina. As a military provider, Panerai recognized the need early on f...
Time+Tide
Parmigiani Fleurier’s approach to design has taken a minimalist turn of late, most notably with the Tonda PF collection. Nevertheless, as a maker of luxury sports watches, they’re still striving to find ways to implement that athletic aesthetic into their pieces, and the ones we had the pleasure of looking at here give a great … ContinuedThe post The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda chronograph is the essence of sporty luxury appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
A few days ago, as I sat in front of my watch box, a familiar thought crossed my mind. One I’ve already shared with you all before. And that’s the feeling that I own too many watches. Some may consider this a random thought but when 10 watches are staring back at you, it’s not … ContinuedThe post Did Grand Seiko just give us the perfect two-watch collection? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
The first Chinese watch brand to win at the GPHG is a poetic and potent example of watchmaking's continued global evolution.
SJX Watches
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...
SJX Watches
A watch designer by profession, Richard Benc started Studio Underd0g in early 2020 during the lockdown in London, having previously designed watches for Braun, the German consumer goods maker famed for its shavers and industrial design. His brand got its start with a series of affordable mechanical chronographs defined by a quirky aesthetic, including examples modelled on the colours of watermelon and mint-chocolate chip ice cream. Now Studio Underd0g has taken the covers off its latest two-counter chronograph, Strawberries & Cream. Inspired by the colours of the eponymous desert, the watch was born from chance meeting from Miguel Seabra, a Portuguese journalist specialising in tennis and watches. A fan of Studio Underd0g from its inception, Mr Seabra and the brand’s founder shared a joke last year about the perfect dessert while watching tennis in summer, resulting in this edition. Initial thoughts While salmon is a fad, mechanical watches for men in bright pink are uncommon, which immediately sets Strawberries & Cream apart from its competitors. Admittedly this not the first pink dial from Studio Underd0g – the first was the Watermelon watch in bright green and pink – but this is arguably the more appealing since the colours simple go better together while being more wearable. The price-to-quality ratio of the Strawberries & Cream is good. The watch gets most things right. Both the case and dial are basic but interesting nonetheless, while the movement is a gentl...
Time+Tide
The watch space has arguably never been more exciting and this is largely due to the rise of independents and microbrands. To permeate through so many established brands, these smaller players know they need to deliver standout timepieces – whether through distinct aesthetics or exceptional value propositions. One independent that has definitely caught the attention of … ContinuedThe post HANDS ON: The Horage Supersede is an indy GMT that overdelivers on expectations appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Social media has long overtaken our lives, but no platform today draws more eyeballs than Tik Tok. A Gen Z minefield of dances, duets, thirst traps, sketches, “stitches”, and shenanigans, Tik Tok racks up more views than any of its competitors. During the pandemic, one gentleman who became internationally viral was Khaby Lame. The Senegalese-Italian … ContinuedThe post The world’s most followed Tik Tok superstar Khaby Lame fittingly wears the lamest watch… appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
German brand Slow wants you to look at your wrist and wonder "what is time anyway?"
Time+Tide
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when golfing and broadcast legend Sir Nick Faldo recently ended his final broadcast as CBS’ golf analyst for the past 16 years. With a career that includes 41 tournament wins, including three British Open and three Masters victories, as well as captaining the European Ryder Cup team, … ContinuedThe post Evolution of a collection: Nick Faldo’s watch box steers well clear of the rough appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
Not one to shy away from wild watches and unique combinations, in late 2021 Urwerk debuted a special tenth-anniversary UR-110 to commemorate the launch of the original UR-110 in 2011: the UR-100 Bakelite.
Deployant
The new release marks Kurono's success once again in textbook execution of a product launch. It begins with a great design, good pricing and finishes with great marketing. Riding on Hajime's popularity, the brand story benefits from the watchmaker's credibility. The design is classic and accessible, with finishing that is a bar above most in its segment. It also benefits from finding a niche in the USD1-4k segment, in a non-mass production vertical. Its limited production possibly limited by assembly and manufacturing capacity works ironically in its favor, to create scarcity.
Time+Tide
For the last month every publication under the sun has seen a traffic gold-mine in the purported “collapse” in secondary pricing for “hype” watches from Rolex, Audemars Piguet, and Patek Philippe among others. Even we tackled the subject with our own reader-alluring doom and gloom headline. But, after fully digesting the situation, I am beginning … ContinuedThe post OPINION: Are publications hyping up “collapsing” watch prices? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Responding to the admittedly fair criticism of offering a sports watch with just 30-metre water-resistance , Bulgari created the S line, with a slightly thicker steel case and screw-down crown, upping the water resistance to 100 metres. The Bulgari Octo Finissimo S Silvered opts for an exercise in supreme subtlety, as the dials adopt the sublime … ContinuedThe post The Bulgari Octo Finissimo S Silvered is the watch designer’s favourite version of this modern classic. Here’s why… appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
Graham's releases a trio of Single Harvest Tawny Ports called the Cellar Master’s Trilogy comprising The Apprentice, The Artisan, and The Master. Ken Gargett gives us the lowdown on how it's made and how it tastes.
Hodinkee
Vintage watches and superheroes come together in our watch-related movie of the week.
Revolution
Wei and Jeremiah geek out over the different approaches taken by two independent watchmakers in their pursuit of chronometric perfection: Montres KF’s Karsten Frässdorf and De Bethune’s Denis Flageollet. Frässdorf’s EI8HT Evolution Meteorite is the latest iteration of the bespoke only EI8HT released in 2020 – a modern interpretation of centuries old inventions. Flageollet’s approach […]
Time+Tide
When car manufacturers and watch brands team up, the word ‘heritage’ gets thrown around a lot. It’s true that watchmaking and motorsport have gone hand in hand for decades and they have a lot of shared history to pull from, but it may also be that mechanical watches just can’t escape that rose-tinted prison of … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The TAG Heuer Connected Porsche Edition can talk to your car (assuming it’s a Porsche) appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Seiko is launching a new Australasian Limited Edition from the Prospex range that is inspired by one of the most stunning holiday destinations in Australia – Noosa in Queensland. The colourway for this timepiece is the seemingly always on-trend black and blue but adds popping bright yellow accents. The dial has a very subtle texture … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Seiko Prospex SPB347J “Noosa” appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Seiko has gone beyond the green and gold to release two watches inspired by Australia’s natural environment that will be limited to the Australasian market. We’ll tackle the first of these now: the Prospex SRPJ35K “Eucalyptus”, but you can read our first impressions of the Prospex SBP347J “Noosa” right here. Both watches are released along … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Seiko Prospex SRPJ53K “Eucalyptus” appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Deployant
Vacheron Constantin created a unique space for collectors to connect and share watchmaking passion. Here is our pictorial report of our visit to Villa 1755.
SJX Watches
Continuing the brand’s well-known intentions to liven up the Calatrava, Patek Philippe unveiled a brand-new take on its quintessential dress watch at Watches & Wonders earlier this year, the Calatrava ref. 5226G-01. The ref. 5226G indicates where the Calatrava line is going – more contemporary design, albeit still informed by vintage models hence the faux vintage lume, which is enhanced with sharper and higher quality detailing. Despite an entry-level watch of sorts (despite a substantial price tag), the ref. 5226G is nonetheless elaborately executed. The hobnail decoration found on last year’s ref. 6119 “Clous de Paris”, for instance, has been repurposed and applied to the case band. The dial gets a pronounced grained finish And the case a clous de Paris decoration Initial thoughts I first encountered the ref. 5226G in larger-than-life format when it appeared on the floor-to-ceiling display on the side of Patek Philippe at Watches & Wonders. The scale of the projection meant the patterned dial and hobnail case were instantly obvious. Though unexpected elements in an entry-level Patek Philippe, they work well together, both on screen and in real life. Patek Philippe at Watches & Wonders 2022 with its oversized digital display. Image – Watches & Wonders When I tried on the watch during the fair, my positive impression was reinforced. Even though the ref. 5226G is a combination of elements not usually put together, it is compelling and appealing in the metal. ...
Hodinkee
Yes, it can be hard to let one go. But you'll see it in a whole new light. And you'll give someone else a genuine thrill.
Time+Tide
Watches have always been much more than tellers of time. They hold memories and are one of the most personal items someone can own. With that in mind, it shouldn’t be surprising when more is added to the equation by getting a watch engraved. Whether through a message or symbol etched on the back, it’s … ContinuedThe post Scratching beneath the surface – should you engrave your watch? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Deployant
Introducing the new re-interpretations of the legendary Grand Seiko 44GS - the new SBGW291 and SBGW293, both 36.5mm case size with hand wound 9S64.
Time+Tide
Editor’s Note: Serena Williams is one of the greatest athletes of all time – she has 23 grand slam singles titles to prove it. But last night, she announced that she is retiring from professional tennis and (probably) stepping away after the upcoming US Open. In a column for Vogue, the 40-year-old wrote: “Maybe the best … ContinuedThe post As Serena Williams retires, we remember how she wore the hell out of an Audemars Piguet Black Panther appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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