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Quill & Pad
Oster Jewelers recently published the latest episode of its very cool 'Keeping Time' podcast featuring our very own nerdwriter, Joshua Munchow! In it, Joshua and Oster Jewelers owner Jeremy Oster explore a wide range of subjects, ranging from the history and development of hairsprings to trends in watchmaking today. And you can find out which watch Joshua can't stand if you listen.
Quill & Pad
John Howe, the Canadian-born book illustrator and conceptual artist, is best known as one of two chief conceptual designers for the 'Lord of the Rings' film trilogy by Peter Jackson as well as 'The Hobbit' trilogy. He has also illustrated other items based on the timeless story by J.R.R. Tolkien and other well-known genre classics like 'Game of Thrones' and 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.' And now Howe is working on illustrations for Jaquet Droz watches!
SJX Watches
Long focused on affordable mechanical watches, Frederique Constant continued with its specialty after its acquisition by Japanese watchmaking giant Citizen. Now the Swiss brand has just revived its bestseller from two decades ago, the Highlife collection, which has been redesigned extensively. It’s a new watch in all but name – the revamped Highlife harks back to the integrated-strap of the original, but it is a design very much catered to today’s taste. The Highlife Perpetual Calendar Manufacture The new Highlife collection debuts with three models that share the same tonneau-shaped case and integrated bracelet with quick-release pins. The most interesting watch of the trio is the Highlife Perpetual Calendar Manufacture, which is affordable despite its in-house movement and styling that’s reminiscent of more expensive watches. The other two models in the line up are simple automatics: one is time-only with an “Open Heart” dial revealing the balance wheel, and the other is a COSC-certified three-hander with date. Highlife Automatic COSC The Highlife Heart Beat Initial thoughts The Highlife manages to translate the look of high-end luxury-sports watches into an affordable watch by keeping a few design elements and simplifying everything. It is unavoidably derivative in style, but competently designed. So the 41 mm case is a simple affair with simple lines and surfaces, but dressed up with a polished, domed bezel. However, it avoids looking too plain even with t...
WatchAdvice
Oris has been coming out with some fantastic watches in 2020, including Momotaro and Hölstein Edition. Now they have unveiled another stunner, the Oris Roberto Clemente Limited Edition. Oris has partnered up with the Roberto Clemente Foundation, which is a humanitarian organisation named in honour of the great Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder; Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker. This special piece was created to honour the late Roberto Clemente and is released to the public on September 9th 2020, which is Roberto Clemente day. Roberto Clemente Oris designed the Roberto Clemente Limited Edition using the Big Crown Pointer date as the base model. Oris has been making the pointer date model since 1938, with the Big Crown Pointer Date model having deep roots in the Swiss brands history as well. The Oris Roberto Clemente Limited Edition is released in a 3000 limited run, to honour Roberto Clemente’s career hits in his Baseball career. So why did Oris create this timepiece? Roberto Clemente was more than just a Baseball player. Born in 1934, Roberto faced many battles, including discrimination because of the colour of his skin. However, this would only make him more motivated and determined to prove everyone wrong. Roberto conducting a baseball clinic for local children in his native Puerto Rico Roberto would go onto become one of the greatest Baseball players the game has seen, which saw him become a Baseball Hall of Famer. Roberto Clemente has won two Wor...
Time+Tide
Editor’s note: The closer we have come to this new collection by TAG Heuer, the more details we have noticed and begun to appreciate. For example, the very unusual radially brushed finishing of the lush dials. See in the pics below. Yet more proof that big-box brands are still very aware of the power of … ContinuedThe post IN-DEPTH: The TAG Heuer Carrera Sport Chronograph collection offer size, sportiness and a sea of details appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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Time+Tide
Well, the enthusiastic comments on the video, the site post and the socials have confirmed it – this new Raymond Weil Freelancer in a pitch perfect olive green, with that eye-catching exposed balance well and truly have your attention. Which is why we thought we’d upgrade the Hands-On review and bring it to you in … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: Oh, hello there Raymond Weil Freelancer Calibre RW1212 in Green, looking sharp in the metal appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
The wild profusion of colours in the new Rolex Oyster Perpetual collection caught many by surprise this week. And it immediately had people drawing parallels with the colour suites of other brands. It begs the question, are these new sporty and youthful lacquer dials – in candy pink, turquoise blue, yellow, coral red and green – a … ContinuedThe post Is Rolex trend-chasing with its new colourful range of Oyster Perpetual models? A look back into the brand’s colourful past… appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Sinn’s latest limited edition commemorates two events – one inextricably linked to the other. The overarching theme of the U1 DE is the 30th anniversary of the reunification of Germany, explaining the dial done in the colours of the German flag. Without German reunification, the second event would have been impossible – the partnership between Sinn and case maker SUG (short for Sächsische Uhrentechnologie GmbH Glashütte), which is based in the watchmaking town of Glashütte in the former East Germany. Headquartered in Frankfurt, Sinn first began working with SUG in 1999, before taking a majority stake after the 2002 floods inundated Europe and hit SUG hard. Initial thoughts The U1 is a likeable watch because it is affordable, incredibly robust, and solidly functional. Though it is a large 44 mm, the U1 does not feel as big as it measures. Its only downside is the Sellita SW200-1 movement within, which suffers from a short 38-hour power reserve. The U1 DE isn’t that much different from the standard all-black U1. Essentially it’s a little different on the dial and hands, along with the extra-large Sinn and SUG logos on the back – which really look too big. Ordinarily, limited edition iterations of standard watches are not interesting. But the U1 is an excellent watch, and the U1 DE doesn’t cost that much more than the standard version; the premium is about 15%. That’s a fair deal for something that looks different, while still retaining the no-nonsense st...
SJX Watches
A year after the debut of the Erwin LAB01 in bronze, which sold out swiftly, Massena Lab has discreetly launched the followup. Announced only to “friends and family” via email, the Erwin LAB02 retains the familiar “sector” dial, but in a two-tone rose gold and silver finish. As with the first instalment, the LAB02 is made by Habring2 and designed by Massena Lab, a watch-creation studio founded by industry insider William Rohr. Initial thoughts Habring2 are always excellent value, and the Erwin LAB02 has the added appeal of having been designed by Mr Rohr, a veteran watch collector. Though the design is not novel – it is based on a vintage Patek Philippe – the look is extremely appealing, and it has been executed with a careful attention to detail, as evidenced by the textures of the dial for instance. While the original edition sold out in an instant, the LAB02 is a low-key launch, with the watches being delivered over a period of months, which makes it easier to land one. So it is accessible not just in price – a bit under US$6,500 – but availability, a useful thing when it comes to small-run limited editions. Vintage inspiration The new Erwin models itself on a 1930s Patek Philippe Calatrava ref. 96 that had a similar, dual-colour dial. Illustrated Mr Rohr’s well-honed eye for detail, the dial of the Erwin is not just made up of twin colours, but also two surface finishes. The rose gold-plated chapter ring has a fine, concentric pattern, while the si...
Time+Tide
Vintage field watches can be a minefield, full of mechanical issues, aftermarket parts, or just a victim of horrendous overvaluing on the likes of eBay. All of this seems to go against their original ethos, which was to be legible, reliable and able to take a beating in the outside world. Of course, as watches … ContinuedThe post MICRO MONDAYS: The Mitch Mason Chronicle appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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SJX Watches
I love the Tank Cintrée, and that was the starting point for the Tank Cintrée “Eminence Grise” NSO. Cartier’s simple, unchanging designs are unique in watchmaking, despite being made up of classical elements like Breguet hands and Roman numerals. In fact, the Cartier can be distilled into a few key elements iterated across different case forms, which together make up a family of distinctive designs. My favourite Cartier design has long been the Tank Asymetrique – which Cartier just reissued this year – but it is not an especially ergonomic watch due to the case shape and the fact that the crown sits fairly low such that it touches the wrist. Though known as a Tank today, the Asymetrique is not strictly a Tank, since the vintage originals were a distinct model sometimes known as the Parallélogramme. A 1927 Tank Cintrée that sold for US$350,000 at Phillips in 2017 The Tank Cintrée, on the other hand, is an eminently wearable watch that is wonderfully elegant on the wrist. It just wears well. And the Cintrée is also an important design. Though it was not the first Tank design, the Cintrée – the word is French for “curved” – is perhaps the quintessential case shape. And partly for those reasons, it is arguable the most desirable, going by the six-figure results at auction for vintage specimens. Familiar yet different The Eminence Grise was my third special-dial Cartier, sometimes known as NSO, short for “new special order”. The first was also a Ta...
Quill & Pad
In this installment of Behind the Lens, GaryG shares a series of photographs of one of the great watches of our time, the Philippe Dufour Duality. The Duality, with its linked twin escapements, was originally planned for production in a series of 25 watches. In a turn of events that seems almost unbelievable today, a lack of initial demand eventually led Dufour to limit production to just nine pieces, one of which is owned by a good friend of Gary's.
Time+Tide
This week involved not one, but two Time+Tide events and, of course, a very significant one for the industry, which was Geneva Watch Days. We were there, with Marcus, our Creative Director, and a good friend, Mike Christensen, running the show - there are some delicious, funny and quirky videos in production from the event that … ContinuedThe post FRIDAY WIND DOWN: The return of the event and the revenge of the nerds appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Longines’ momentum with retro timepieces continues with the new Heritage Military Marine Nationale. The new remake is clean and legible, just like its inspiration, which was made for the French Navy in 1947. The vintage original, the ref. 5774, was an instrument for shallow diving – albeit one without the familiar rotating bezel of a diver’s watch that wouldn’t be invented until the 1950s. Consequently, it was a clean and legible watch, and so does the vintage reissue. Initial thoughts The Marine Nationale recreates the feel of the original quite well, despite being substantially larger. That’s accomplished by retaining the proportions of the original, as well as smaller but important details, like the shape of the seconds hand and the vintage logo on the dial. And thankfully there is no date to ruin the symmetrical dial. Like most of Longines’ other remakes, the appeal of the Marine Nationale lies in its affordable price of US$2,000, which is strong value especially given the upgraded ETA movement within. The only weakness of the Marine Nationale – especially given it is a remake of a dive watch – is the minimal water resistance of just 30 m. Subtle reworking At 38.5 mm wide, the Marine Nationale is relatively small by modern standards, even though it has been significantly enlarged from its original’s 33 mm diameter. That said, the size of the remake is good, especially coupled with the relatively thick case, which preserves the proportions of the ori...
SJX Watches
A member of the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI) since its founding in 1985, Bernhard Lederer is a veteran of independent watchmaking. Though known amongst collectors for having founded the brand BLU in 2002, Mr Lederer is more of a watchmaker’s watchmaker, supplying movements and complications via his company MHM (short for “Manufacture de Haute Horlogerie et Micromécanique”). Born in Germany but based in Switzerland for decades, Mr Lederer’s technical prowess is on full view with his latest creation – the Central Impulse Chronometer (CIC). Seemingly a mere three-hand wristwatch on the front, the CIC is a actually a significant accomplishment – and undoubtedly one of the most notable watches of 2020 from a technical perspective. The movement is equipped with a natural escapements as well as dual gear trains. The construction is familiar – Mr Lederer describes it as a tribute to the late George Daniels and his landmark Space Traveller pocket watch – but improved and refined with the addition a remontoir d’egalité constant force mechanism for each going train. Initial thoughts With seemingly everything already having been done in watchmaking, it is not often that we encounter a genuinely interesting – and improved – twist to an already uncommon escapement. Here Mr Lederer rejuvenates the centuries-old idea of the natural escapement, but elevated by the added complexity and performance gains of twin remontoir going tr...
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Hodinkee
The invention of time zones gave us multi-time-zone watches. But which works best when you're on the road?
Time+Tide
If you were to pick Girard-Perregaux’s Jekyll & Hyde, this would be the pair of watches that fit the bill; the Laureato 38mm and the Laureato Absolute Chronograph. Girard-Perregaux is a distinguished but quiet presence on the horological scene, and have a history whose shadow and depth extends well beyond the brand’s current day reputation. … ContinuedThe post IN-DEPTH: Girard-Perregaux Laureato Vs. the Laureato Absolute Chronograph – the Beauty and The Beast appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
A fountain-pen maker for most of its history, Montblanc ventured into watchmaking and found success with its entry-level watches produced in its Le Locle factory. But the brand’s high horology watches are made at the former Minerva manufacture in Villeret – Montblanc acquired the brand in 2007 – which produces only a few hundred timepieces each year. The latest model to emerge from Villeret is the Star Legacy Exo Tourbillon Skeleton, which boasts a skeleton movement that’s been hand-finished the traditional way. Though there is little movement left after the open working, there’s much left to decorate. According to Montblanc, the bridges include 420 inwards angles on their bevelled edges. Initial thoughts Measuring 44.8 mm by 15.01 mm, the Star Legacy Exo Tourbillion Skeleton is a surprisingly massive watch – a characteristic of many Montblanc watches powered by Minerva-derived movements. That’s because most of the calibres are descended from Minerva movements of the early 20th century that were originally built for pocket watches. The advantage is an appealing, old-school layout and aesthetic, but accompanied by the downside of extremely large size, making it impractical as an everyday watch. Priced at about US$160,000, the Exo Tourbillon Skeleton is priced similarly to comparable watches. In fact, it arguably has a finer movement finish than the competition, going by the average standard of movement decoration at Villeret. But at the same time, it is ext...
Time+Tide
It was one of our most popular ‘who to follow’ posts ever. @barnfindwatches stepped up to the plate way back in 2017 to share some of his secrets as a master bargain hunter. His key takeaways are below, but before we get into them, let’s call out something important. The massive spike in traffic when … ContinuedThe post FRIDAY WIND DOWN: The barn find edition, how to hunt for valuable vintage and what to look out for appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Casio has been on a roll with the G-Shock Full Metal, which is essentially the original G-Shock DW-5000 of 1983 but reproduced in steel or titanium with a matching metal bracelet. Originally launched in gold-plated steel, the Full Metal has since been iterated endlessly – from titanium to “grid” to steel to aged gunmetal – making the concept a little less interesting because there are now so many variants. And then there is the G-Shock Dream Project “Pure Gold”, the most expensive G-Shock ever made, executed entirely in 18k gold, from screws to clasp. A watch that took over a decade to materialise, the idea for a solid-gold G-Shock originated in 2007 with the founder of Japanese watch retailer Eye Eye Isuzu, Yasuyuki Iima, who wanted “a symbolic product for the iconic digital wristwatch born in Japan”. Mr Iima’s suggestion was the genesis of the “Dream Project” of G-Shock inventor Kikuo Ibe. And when the solid-gold G-Shock was finally delivered in late 2019, Mr Iima received the very first example. One example of the Dream Project was delivered to Singapore – you’ll find the arrival and unboxing here – and I got to examine it up close. Initial thoughts The Dream Project is a magnificent and preposterous watch that costs US$70,000 – an iconic watch executed in a ridiculously over-the-top manner, akin to installing the W16 engine from the Bugatti Chiron in a Volkswagen Beetle. And that makes it cool. Dense, shiny, and very gold, the Dream Pro...
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Time+Tide
A neutron star is tiny, at an average 20km in diameter, but incredibly dense. Its mass is equivalent to 1.5 times our Sun – which has room for more than a million Earths. How does this set the backdrop to a review of the fêted Sinn U50 SDR, the first-ever Sinn with a waiting list? … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The Sinn U50 SDR is submarine tough, but mighty slim and perfectly sized at 40mm appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
One of the world’s most venerable retailers of vintage timepieces and independent watchmaking, Shellman in Ginza (pictured above) has long been a destination for horologically-inclined visitors to Tokyo. Shellman was founded in 1971 by Yoshi Isogai – the company name is a play on his last name, which loosely translates as “beach shellfish” – and is probably best known as the Japanese agent for Philippe Dufour and selling over half of the 200 first-run Simplicity watches. Two years ago Shellman was acquired by Komehyo, a publicly-listed merchant that has taken the business of selling pre-owned luxury goods to a whole new level with spacious, sharply-appointed stores offering items in stellar condition. Shellman is now the specialist-watch retail division of Komehyo, with six stores in Tokyo – including outposts in the city’s most prestigious department stores – and a diverse stable of independent watch brands, including Atelier de Chronometrie, Habring2, and Kudoke. It’s run by Yasuhiro Kojima, a 15-year veteran of Komehyo’s watch department who joined Shellman shortly after the acquisition. We caught up with Mr Kojima recently to discuss the state of the business, especially in light of the pandemic. Yasuhiro Kojima. Photo – Shellman The interview has been edited for clarity and length. What does your reopening look like? We take basic measures such as hand sanitisation before entering the store, measuring body temperature when entering the store, i...
SJX Watches
With Baselworld 2020 cancelled and then some, Patek Philippe has been progressively rolling out its new launches, including a trio of “Grand Complications” in mid July (and hints of a brand-new complication at the end of the year). All three new complications are variants of existing models, with the crowd favourite being the Ref. 5370P-011 Split-Seconds Chronograph. The new ref. 5370P-011 has a blue grand feu enamel dial and replaces the original, black-dial model that made its debut in 2015 as the ref. 5370P-001. The ref. 5370P-011 The cal. CHR 29-535 PS Initial thoughts The only thing new about this version of the ref. 5370 versus the first-generation model is the colour of the enamel dial. So everything that was good about the original model (classical design, dial and case quality, movement aesthetics), remain good. Needless to say, so do the weaknesses (mismatched finish on seconds hand, details of movement decoration). The balance assembly Though not a dress watch, the original ref. 5370 was dressed in black-tie colours of black and silver that gave it a stately bearing, but also a slightly old-fashioned feel. With the enamel dial in blue – it’s a gentle, muted blue – the new ref. 5370 looks more modern and casual, which is a good thing if you’re looking for something less formal. The outside Though a large 41 mm in diameter, the case of the ref. 5370 reproduces the proportions of the ref. 1436, a split-seconds chronograph that was in production from ...
Time+Tide
Bulgari has, for more than a century, been regarded as one of the finest luxury jewellery makers on this blue marble we call earth. Their expertise, attention to detail, passion and visionary design has resulted in some of the most stunning pieces of jewellery and objet d’art imaginable. As such, throughout the 20th century, the … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Octo Roma Tourbillon Sapphire Malachite Ref. 103231 is where Bulgari’s two worlds meet appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Legends are made quickly in the microbrand world. In the case of the Halios Seaforth Bronze, news of its popularity could barely keep up with the speed at which it sold out, and while rumours of a second production run have been teased since January, second-hand Seaforths in bronze have been selling for more than … ContinuedThe post Comparing the Halios Seaforth Bronze Vs. Baltic Aquascaphe Bronze, two giant microbrand divers for under $1000 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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