3,327 articles · 166 videos found · page 98 of 117
Quill & Pad
The last third of 2019 was a busy time for GaryG, In addition to professional activities, keeping up with other pastimes, and traveling with his wife, he had the wonderful opportunity to attend a bunch of watch-related events around the globe. Here he shares what he's dome and what he's learned along the way.
Time+Tide
Editor’s note: Hot off the heels of their latest release with the Heritage Classic Chronograph 1946, we thought we’d take a look at another smash hit from Longines’ Heritage collection – the Longines Heritage 1945. Few watches unveiled in the last couple of years have nailed the vintage aesthetic quite like the 1945, and for … ContinuedThe post This Longines Heritage 1945 oozes old school charm appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, ruler of Oman since 1970, has died at the age of 79. He had been ill with cancer for several years. Widely respected as a statesman who deftly navigated the complexities of the Middle East while turning Oman into one of the most developed countries in the region, Qaboos was also known as a music lover who set up a royal orchestra, and a collector of cars, watches, and boats – the Oman Royal Yacht Squadron is a fleet of seven yachts, including the third and seventh longest in the world. In horology, Qaboos built one of the world’s largest watch collections, including numerous royal timepieces, clocks and watches once owned by royalty. Assembled with the help of John Asprey of the famed London luxury emporium – where Qaboos was one of the top clients for many years – his diverse collection included many important historical timepieces, including examples of the Breguet Sympathique, but also modern-day creations by Francois-Paul Journe. But he is probably best known as being a generous gift giver, who often bestowed watches marked with the Omani national emblem, a khanjar over two crossed swords. Many were given to British military personnel who served in Oman, and some of these watches have gone on to become record-setters at auction. Last year, Phillips sold a Rolex Daytona gifted to a former captain in the Royal Yacht Squadron for 312,500 Swiss francs. A 1988 Sympathique clock panelled in pink chalcedony that was made by Francois-Pa...
Quill & Pad
Ken Gargett had never had a Hoyo de Monterrey Double Corona that excited him – until he tried one recently and the richness of flavor immediately flooded from the cigar, all finesse and subtlety. Mild, yet magnificent. What changed? Read on to find out.
Time+Tide
Selecting the best watches of 2019 with an unlimited budget is one thing. But those of us who aren’t hip-hop stars or oil tycoons have to comply with the tiresome reality of financial constraints. Which leads us to the challenge of selecting a $20K Fantasy Watch Collection from 2019. Here’s my hit list that sneaks … ContinuedThe post Nick’s 2019 $20K fantasy watch collection appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Great ‘Grams: Sketching, Auction Hype and Seiko Mania It’s the start of a new decade, and as we hit the Roaring ’20s, there’s no sign that anyone is spending any less time on Instagram - especially if they love watches. With that in mind, I thought I’d do my best to put all of the … ContinuedThe post Great ‘Grams: Sketching, Auction Hype and Seiko Mania appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
First of all, I think it is wonderful news for Audemars Piguet to have had such a strong run at GPHG and Only Watch, but to be completely honest, I expected it. The RD2 winning the Aiguille d’Or was no surprise to me as it is hands down one of the favourite watches in my … ContinuedThe post AP expert @horoloupe warns against writing off the Audemars Piguet CODE 11.59 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
Nancy Olson was looking forward to seeing what Montblanc had in store for its newest High Artistry collection and found that the 2019 Celebration of the Taj Mahal is lavish and artistic as the three bejeweled one-of-a-kind pieces highlighted here demonstrate.
Time+Tide
Weekends in Melbourne can mean several things: overpriced brunches with mates after a boozy night out on the town, hikes up the Dandenong Ranges’ unendingly popular “1000 steps”, day trips to the Peninsula Hot Springs and, if you’re a watch enthusiast, donning that special timepiece in your collection that wouldn’t dare see the light of … ContinuedThe post Weekend watch spotting with JR appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
Bronze, an age-old material used since antiquity, has had quite a run as a case material in the world of luxury watches in recent years. Whether its bronze case changes over time or keeps its pristine appearance, these five debutantes from 2019 each have an unmistakable charisma all their own.
SJX Watches
In mid 2017, Julien Tornare, became chief executive at Zenith, maker of the famed El Primero chronograph. This came after a 17-year stint at Vacheron Constantin, where his last job was running the brand’s operations in Asia, its most important market by a large margin. At Zenith, Mr Tornare was called upon to revitalise a brand that had been drifting for some time. Zenith was clinging on too tightly to the past – namely the landmark El Primero – to the exclusion of everything else the brand had achieved. The diversification beyond the El Primero is exemplified by the Defy, a product crucial to the brand’s resurgence. The collection swiftly became a bestseller since its debut two years ago, but also boasts a milestone for the industry at large with the radical silicon oscillator in the Defy Inventor. The Defy Inventor During the El Primero 50th anniversary event that took place late last year in Singapore, I sat down with Mr Tornare to discuss his vision for Zenith, and how his start-up approach to running the brand has helped propel it into the new decade. The interview was edited for length and clarity. It has been two years since you took over at Zenith. Do you think you’re past the toughest part of the job? The toughest was probably at the beginning; getting the team on board with my vision was the most challenging. You can only develop a brand when you have everybody with you, and when you come from an entirely different brand, that takes some time. The firs...
Time+Tide
Very few watch straps are as integral to the overall look and feel of a watch as a bracelet can be. On occasions, the bracelet is as essential to the watch DNA as the watch head – a continuation of the same concept, snaking around the wrist. The most famous bracelet design of all time … ContinuedThe post Why you should always buy your watches on a bracelet when you have the chance appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
I asked Jason, Time+Tide’s resident photographer, if he could tell me his favourite watch photos from 2019 that he had captured, without quite realising the sheer scope of the work that he had done this year. I soon found out. “Hey Jason, how many photos have you taken this year?” “How many have I edited, … ContinuedThe post LIST: Time+Tide photographer Jason’s favourite watch photos from 2019 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Deployant
In this week's column of Throwback Sundays, we take a look at six definitive watches of 2019 that had shaped the horological scene this year.
Time+Tide
For lovers of Haute Horlogerie, the term “fashion watch” is often akin to a cuss word. But one doesn’t have to dig very far into the history of fine watchmaking to realise just how much we have to thank fashion labels for, and how the best fashion watch brands are serious watchmakers. In the 1980s, … ContinuedThe post 6 of the best fashion watch brands that are serious watchmakers appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
I’ve certainly had less turbulent years. In 2019, I quit a stable job, hurled myself into start-up life and lived with my in-laws for 10 months (!) before moving into a house that can euphemistically be described as “a renovator’s delight”. I changed a gazillion nappies and failed miserably to persuade my two sons - aged … ContinuedThe post Luke’s 5 favourite watches of 2019 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
One of the iconic Swatch watches from its 1980s heyday was the Jelly Fish (ref. GZ010), which was unveiled in 1983, the same year Swatch itself was launched. A quartz movement entirely exposed in a clear plastic case – accented with brightly coloured hands – the Jelly Fish was a bestseller that encapsulated what Swatch was all about: no-frills but fun watchmaking. The Jelly Fish remained in production, in one form or another – there was even a COSC-certified chronometer limited edition (GK124) in 1990 – for over two decades. Now the spirit of the Jelly Fish returns as the Big Bold Jelly, essentially the same idea but in a larger watch case. The Big Bold Jelly features a quartz movement inside a Big Bold case, just like the recent limited editions created in collaboration with fashion label A Bathing Ape (BAPE). The case is a large 47mm in diameter, with the crown unusually positioned at two o’clock. But just as with the original Jelly Fish, the case is clear plastic, while the band is translucent silicone. And the hands are rendered in bright colours – red, yellow and blue – with a bit more colour provided by the gilded wheels within the movement. Key facts and price Big Bold Jelly Ref. SO27E100 Diameter: 47mm Height: 11.75mm Material: Clear plastic Water resistance: 30m Movement: Quartz Functions: Hours, minutes, and seconds Strap: Silicone with aluminium pin buckle Availability: At Swatch stores Price: US$110 For more information, visit Swatch.co...
Quill & Pad
Colin was wearing a steel watch with blue dial when the receptionist at the trading company he was working for, a chirpy lass straight out of the BBC’s 'Eastenders' soap opera, looked down disdainfully and said, “I hate watches with blue dials. They remind me of old men in pubs.” What happened after that can only be described as a case of gerontohorologyphobia: fear of inadvertently wearing an old man's watch.
Time+Tide
There are myriad impressive things about Seiko’s Presage collection. But if we had to single out one overriding thing that the Japanese watchmaker’s dress watches do better than almost anyone else, rather predictably, it would be their dials. Pound for pound, the Presage dress watches and their rapturous range of dials represent amazing value for … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: The beautifully brown Seiko Presage SRPD36J1 and SSA392J1 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
Whimsy, frivolity, playfulness: these are not adjectives one often hears used to describe haute horlogerie. And yet these words accurately describe many watches or clocks built over the centuries. Take a journey with Joshua Munchow to discover his favorite modern whimsical masterpieces.
WatchAdvice
The fifth rendition of the Zenith Defy El Primero 21 sees the brand giving the model a complete carbon look. After the black ceramic and rose gold versions were released in 2018 along with the titanium and black ceramic in 2017, Zenith introduced the Defy El Primero 21 Carbon edition during this year’s Baselworld. The Defy collection is leading Zenith into the future with the brand’s innovative watchmaking being utilized in their latest models. We had a chance to review the Inventor and Classic models from the Defy collection, which were surely eye-catching pieces, to say the least. (You can find the reviews to Inventor and Defy Classic here ). Make no mistake, however; the Defy El Primero 21 Carbon is just as pleasing to look at, even if everything seems as if it’s trying to blend in with its camo-style appearance. The beauty of using carbon fibre is that due to the nature of the material and how the alternating layers of carbon fibres are always randomly arranged, each individual piece will be unique. As carbon fibre is used for the faceted case, round bezel, crown, chronograph pushers and buckle head, each of these pieces will vary in aesthetic appearance from one watch to another. This makes the watch that you buy a truly unique piece. The carbon fibre case and the round bezel is what gets your attention first in this piece. As said earlier, the way the carbon fibre is patterned gives off a subtle camouflage appearance. After wearing the Defy El Primer...
Deployant
In the second installment of Dear Santa, Robin shares with us some of the watches that he had chosen for his Christmas wishlist.
SJX Watches
An educator by profession, Josh Shapiro had a longtime interest in watchmaking, which sharpened into a pursuit of traditional engine turning in 2013. After several years of practice – and a roomful of guilloche machines – the self-taught guillocheur and watchmaker produced a handful of dials for American watchmaker David Walter in 2016. And last year Josh launched his own brand, J.N. Shapiro, which he now pursues full-time, while remaining a part-time vice principal at a high school in Los Angeles. His debut watch was the Infinity Series, named after the Infinity Weave, a proprietary guilloche pattern he invented. The first J.N. Shapiro Infinity Series delivered, the watch pictured here, was finished earlier this year – and is numbered “N.01”. Though Josh offers a variety of options for the case and dial colours, this watch hews closely to the prototype, with a rose gold case, silver dial, and blue hands. It’s important to note this is actually the first watch Josh sold, and consequently shows some of the inevitable inconsistencies of a watchmaker’s early work. There are a couple of stray marks and burrs on the dial, and a bit of lint, but the early work of independent watchmakers is usually inconsistent, which is part of the hand-finished charm, and also proof of how artisans evolve. Josh’s subsequent dials have improved tremendously. Josh Shapiro with one of his straight-line machines. Photo – J.N. Shapiro The Infinity Series has a simple but effect...
SJX Watches
Vacheron Constantin’s annual collection of one-off and custom haute horlogerie watches was titled La Musique du Temps this year, being most made up of minute repeaters. They ranged from the strikingly simple to exceedingly ornate, with one of the prime examples of simplicity being the Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Ultra-Thin ‘Romantic Note’. Being one of two time-only minute repeaters in the collection – the other is ‘Dance of the Gemstones’ – the Romantic Note is essentially a variant of the regular-production Calibre 1731 repeater. It’s a large but elegantly proportioned watch, measuring 41mm by 8.5mm, so it sits wide but flat on the wrist. Though not overly large, the watch would be a bit more elegant if it were smaller. On a small wrist the wide-but-flat proportions can resemble a dinner plate. The smallest case size possible, given the diameter of the movement, is about 39mm, which would have given the watch a more tangible vintage feel. Design-wise the case is simple, which suits the watch well. The styling is taken from the Traditionnelle line, meaning it is relatively angular, with lots of flat surfaces when viewed from the front, which is deceptively simple. Much of the case detail lies in its profile – the case band has a single, lengthwise step, along with lugs inspired by the Maltese cross, the company’s logo. And the case back has a fluted edge as a design feature, being a snap-on, rather than screw-down back. Though the case design is fo...
Time+Tide
Much as it pains me to admit it, these days, haute horology is usually reserved for the rarified and uber-expensive micro-brands of the Swiss watchmaking world. It’s not that the heavyweights of the industry have completely given up on the idea of innovation – far from it – but it does seem as though there’s … ContinuedThe post 3 reasons why the TAG Heuer Monaco V4 Platinum is still amazing appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
As promised in the article on Robert De Niro and his watches in film, we are following up with watches worn by Al Pacino. Pacino is best known for his roles as Detective Vincent Hanna in Heat, Cuban gangster Tony Montana in Scarface, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman, and Mafia don Michael Corleone … ContinuedThe post Watches worn by Al Pacino on the big screen appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Of the hundreds of thousands of wristwatches that have been created over the last century, how many are truly iconic? The answer: honestly, not many … not many at all. Candidly, there are probably fewer than 50 timepieces of the last 100 years that can claim to have had an impact on the zeitgeist of … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre Heuer 02 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
In terms of press, Breguet’s most significant watch of the year is a relatively simple one, the Type 20 for Only Watch, which sold for 210,000 Swiss francs at the charity auction, or just over four times the high estimate. But the most significant watch in terms of haute horlogerie is the Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Squelette 5395. The ref. 5395 a large, thin, and ornate watch that’s actually a variant of the large, thin, and simple ref. 5367 introduced two years ago. More elaborate than the typical Breguet, the ref. 5395 is beautifully executed, down to the smallest elements, like the blued-gold hobnail hour markers or mirror-polished countersinks. But most importantly, the movement within is finished exceedingly well – by hand – to a level that’s a cut above the average Breguet complication. Most of that is obvious in the photos below. Graceful proportions At 41mm and just 7.7mm high – thinner than the 8.1mm Royal Oak “Jumbo” – the ref. 5395 sits elegant and flat on the wrist. Compared to larger, and usually more complicated, Breguet watches, this feels like what a classical Breguet should be. Because of its diameter, however, it can look like a dinner plate on smaller wrists. And the ref. 5395 doesn’t work on hairy wrists either, because the skeletonisation leaves a wide gap in between the bridges. That’s because the skeletonisation of the cal. 581SQ inside is extreme; according to Breguet some 50% of the movement’s mass was removed. And th...
Time+Tide
Few watches released in 2019 have had the ability to garner nothing but praise. There are, of course, certain timepieces that are highly revered - think the new Rolex GMT-Master II ref.126710BLNR, for example. But that watch brings with it a sizeable amount of polarity. No, for the entire horological community to get behind a new … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The Longines Heritage Classic appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Deployant
Photographs from the Fujifilm GFX50R system which we had for three weeks as a daily camera. With some remarks on the conditions they were taken.
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