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Two Broke Watch Snobs
The DW5600NASA20 is a new release from G-Shock that “pays homage to NASA” (National Aeronautics and Space Agency). Mostly pure white, the DW5600NASA20 is as clean as the Columbia Laboratory on the ISS. It features the old red NASA logo prominently above the display. There are some other interesting unique features as well...
Revolution
Vacheron Constantin finds musical inspiration from the heavens above.
![Business News: Baselworld Inches Towards Calamity [Updated]](https://watchesbysjx.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/geneva-city-lake-quai-du-mont-blanc.jpg)
SJX Watches
Writing in a manner graceful yet irate, the president of the exhibitors committee of Baselworld – mostly made up of brands that exhibit that the event – has penned a quietly scathing letter to the organisers of Baselworld. [The fair’s response to the letter can be found in the addendum at the end of the article.] The letter, which I received a copy of, expresses the exhibitors’ dissatisfaction at well, everything, from the new date for the event to the proposed refunds for the “postponed” fair, while asking for a refund of fees paid for the cancelled event. Significantly, the letter ends with: “we fear that this will be the end, pure and simple, of Baselworld…”. While on the surface this might seem to be a group of exhibitors pushing back, it is a more nuanced – and perhaps more uplifting – picture. The president of the exhibitors committee, Hubert J. du Plessix, has a day job: head of investments and logistics at Rolex, in addition to being the president of the watchmaker’s pension fund. If there was ever a sterling example of the philosophy “speak softly and carry a big stick” in watchmaking, this is it. Seen in that light, Mr du Plessix, and by extension his employer, are standing up for the little guy: defending the interests of exhibitors who can ill-afford Baselworld even in the best of times, in an attempt to help the wider watch industry that is now on the edge of the precipice. The central atrium of Messe Basel, the convention hall des...
SJX Watches
French watchmaker Cyril Brivet-Naudot made his debut two years ago with the Eccentricity, a time-only watch that’s fascinating and impressive on many fronts. Not only is it almost entirely made by hand, the Eccentricity is intriguing in design and mechanics – from the overall architecture to details like the key-winding mechanism and regulator-style time display with a twist, and above all, the proprietary escapement. Just 29 years old, Mr Brivet-Naudot began working on the Eccentricity after graduating from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), one of Switzerland’s best technical universities. Prior to that, he earned a diploma in watchmaking from the Lycée Edgar Faure in Morteau, a small town in eastern France that borders Switzerland. The school has gained a reputation for producing imaginative watchmakers, many pursuing a similar style that’s inspired by 19th century pocket watch movements, including Theo Auffret, a peer of Mr Brivet-Naudot. The result of three years of development, the Eccentricity is very much in the same vein as the watches produced by Mr Brivet-Naudot’s fellow graduates. It artfully combines a 19th century aesthetic sensibility with exotic features, including a novel, free-eccentric escapement, for which the watch was named. And it is built by hand: with the exception of the mainspring, hairspring, jewels and crystals, every component of the watch was made from scratch by Mr Brivet-Naudot, without the aid of CNC machine...
SJX Watches
One of the all-time best-selling Grand Seiko watches is the Spring Drive “Snowflake”, which gets the name from the its distinctive textured dial. And until recently, the snowflake dial was only available on models with bracelets, save for a few pricey limited editions with gold cases. That changed last year when Grand Seiko debuted the Spring Drive “Blue Snowflake” SBGA407. It combines the famous dial with a more classical case, and a good deal of practicality – date, Spring Drive accuracy, and a surprising 100 m water resistance. On the wrist While most Grand Seiko watches are pretty discreet on the wrist, the “Blue Snowflake” makes a statement due to its colour. The styling is most definitely old school, but the pale-blue dial is both modern and unusual; it’s an unorthodox colour for a man’s watch, especially one that leans towards the dress-watch category, but it works. And the “Blue Snowflake” is also a manageable but modern size. The case is a bit over 40 mm in diameter, and fairly thick, while the bezel is narrow. The result is a watch that wears well and has a good presence on the wrist (with one caveat that is common to Grand Seiko watches on straps: the band has odd proportions, with one side being unnecessarily long). The snowflake story The original “Snowflake” was the Grand Seiko Spring Drive ref. SBGA011 (now known as the SBGA211) that made its debut in 2005. While it did have a titanium case and bracelet, which was fairly uncommon a...
Quill & Pad
Tutima Glashütte has launched two pretty colorful variations of the Grand Flieger Airport, one of the brand’s eight cornerstone collections. With their generous portions of pure pilot DNA, gradient dials in expressive green and blue hues and ceramic bezels, these day-date and chronograph watches are perfect for this spring's outdoor activities.
Time+Tide
It’s the Labour Day long weekend here in Victoria, which means that while the rest of the country is experiencing their weekly dose of Mondayitis, us southerners get one more day in the sun. And, in the interest of entertaining you all, I did the right honourable thing and went out in search of what … ContinuedThe post Weekend watch spotting with JR: Labour Day edition appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
When does the weekend technically start? Is it Friday arvo or does the clock have to strike 12am on Saturday morning? Reason I’m asking is because I spotted all my watches in this weekend’s instalment on Friday afternoon and, boy oh boy, were there some lookers … enjoy! John’s (@minutes_intime) Oris Big Crown Pointer Date … ContinuedThe post Weekend watch spotting with JR – Ft. Oris, Omega & Rolex appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
The date: January 13, 2012. The place: Glashütte, Germany, where one of GaryG's best friends had arranged for the two of them to visit A. Lange & Söhne. The vision: his friend extended his arm from the sleeve of his shirt, and what Gary saw left him reeling – his first view of the Lange Datograph Perpetual in white gold. He was confident from that very moment that this was a watch for him, but pursuit of the piece took four long years.
Quill & Pad
Well, here we are in February 2020: a leap year. Which means that for the first time in four years we will have a February 29. This is one of those times that has watch enthusiasts with perpetual calendars anxiously checking their watches for the leap from February 28 to 29 and then on to March 1. Here are five perpetual calendars perfect for watching the date “leap” into action.
Time+Tide
It’s a good thing that wearing a watch is something that you can do regardless of the weather, because Australia is in the midst of an absolute doozy of a summer. Over the last few months devastating fires have ravaged the countryside, and now parts of the land are completely flooded. Regardless, I went out … ContinuedThe post Weekend watch (and race car) spotting with JR appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
The highly-regarded Voutilainen Vingt-8 has a 39 mm case as standard, along with a dazzling variety of dials and additional complications, from a retrograde date to an inverted movement. But one of the more interesting variants is the simple-but-enormous oversized Vingt-8. Originally introduced in 2017, the extra-large, 44 mm Vingt-8 is available as a custom order, with the most recent example being the Vingt-8 ‘Blue Pearl’, one of the few Voutilainen watches with a mother-of-pearl dial. The 44 mm case… With an enlarged movement to fit The oversized Vingt-8 has been produced in a range of case metals, including steel, but this example has a platinum case, which means an impressive heft, the kind of weight you rarely find on highly-finished, classical wristwatches. But it also means the watch feels heavy on the wrist, which can be good or bad depending on taste. Importantly – and this is probably the most important design change – the lug width has been widened to 22 mm, compared to just 20 mm on the very first oversized watch. This gives the watch ideal proportions – the new case design needs nothing more. Visually the watch is light and informal. The mother of pearl is a pale, even blue that is almost luminous and reveals nuances up close. It gives the watch a cool colour palette that’s more restrained than the average Voutilainen, which tends to have an elaborately decorated dial. Pearl’s progress The first watch with such a dial was the 2-Eight, the lad...
Time+Tide
This week on Great ’Grams, we’ve got a tennis superstar, a fully custom wristwatch by George Daniels, and a southpaw Rolex Day-Date, and more. The tennis superstar in question is none other than Gaël Monfils, who this week posted about a new Instagram account he has started (@myson.watches) that will focus specifically on his watch … ContinuedThe post Great ‘Grams: A tennis superstar, a unique Rolex appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
The Frederique Constant Classic Moonphase Manufacture Fratello Exclusive is produced in a limited run of 29 pieces, and are all individually numbered on the caseback. The 42mm 3 parts-case holds a convex sapphire crystal and clear caseback revealing the inner workings of the FC-712 caliber. The two counters of the moonphase and date are respectively … ContinuedThe post “Watch & Act!” Auction Item – Lot 15: A moon dance with Frederique Constant Classic Moonphase Manufacture appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Editor’s note: Oftentimes, it seems as though the annual calendar complication is all too easily overlooked in the horological hierarchy of complications. GMTs, Chronographs – these are the most popular sorts of watches at the moment. But the annual calendar shouldn’t be discounted … because it’s wonderful. A while ago, we went HANDS-ON with Longines’ … ContinuedThe post Why is this Longines Master Collection Annual Calendar so awesome? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
Martin Green thinks that the El Primero A384 Revival is a powerful thing on the wrist. With a diameter of 37 mm it is small by today's standards, but compensates well with its cushion-shaped case. Its particular brand of cool makes him want to get a leather jacket and a muscle car. How about you?
Time+Tide
Editor’s note: The last couple of years have seen a very distinct trend with the majority of Swiss watchmakers - the rise of the re-edition. You know what I’m talking about: re-edition, re-creation, reinterpretation … whatever you want to call it, vintage-inspired watches are the vogue right now. And I get it, a watchmaker looking … ContinuedThe post This Oris Aquis Depth Gauge isn’t trying to be a vintage dive watch appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
This weekend, I wore my DOXA SUB 200 130th Anniversary and went out in search of what other like-minded individuals had decided to attach to their wrist, and this is what I found out in the wild: Kosta’s Grand Seiko 9F quartz GMT SBGN005 Kosta’s passion for timepieces is still very much in its infancy … ContinuedThe post Weekend watch spotting with JR: #3 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Outfits change when the clock strikes five on Friday afternoon - suits, shirts, ties, leather shoes … all of it makes way for weekend savoir-faire. And if you’re the type of person who likes to get out amongst it at the weekend, whether it be hiking, mountain biking, 4WD … you name it, what you want … ContinuedThe post Marvellous mil-specs: 3 great military-spec watches appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Up until a month ago, if you’d asked me whether or not it was appropriate for a man to have diamonds adorning his timepiece, my response would’ve gone something like, “Only if he’s a vapid member of the glitterati, or his vocation is spitting bars”. Bedazzled, iced-out, frosty … whatever you want to call a … ContinuedThe post OPINION: Diamonds are a man’s best friend appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Since Edouard Meylan took the top job at H Moser & Cie. in 2013, after his family acquired the struggling brand a year earlier, he righted the ship and the brand is now forging ahead with technical ambition and a surprising degree of commercial nous. Wielding a Wharton MBA, Mr Meylan devised creative, and at times, controversial marketing campaigns – from the “Frankenstein” watch to one covered in grass – that have allowed Moser to punch above its weight as a maker of just 1,500 watches a year. Yet Moser has retained its technical know-how that has allowed it to refine its signature perpetual calendar, amongst other things. That’s aided by the fact that besides Moser, the Meylan family interests also control its sister company Precision Engineering, via a 90% ownership of the holding company Moser Watch Holding. The component specialist produces hairsprings, as well as other key movement components like escape wheels, pallet forks, and balance wheels, supplying Moser as well as a host of the independent brands. The ingenious Moser perpetual calendar movement During his recent visit to Singapore to inaugurate the newly inked partnership with retailer Cortina Watch, we sat down with Mr Meylan to discuss a spectrum of topics, from his mischief-making promotional activities to the firm’s manufacturing, as well as the soon-to-be-launched chronograph. The interview was edited for clarity and length. When you took over the company seven years ago, it was struggling ...
SJX Watches
After several weeks of negotiations, LVMH has sealed the deal to buy Tiffany & Co. in a US$16.2 billion, all-cash deal. Despite several years of listless growth and a declining share price – though its current management was in a midst of engineering a turnaround – Tiffany & Co. is the biggest acquisition ever in the luxury goods industry. The French luxury conglomerate, which owns Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, is paying US$135 a share, about 35% above the last traded price before news of the takeover broke. With the acquisition of the storied American jeweller, LVMH strengthens its presence in the “hard” luxury business of jewellery and watches, a segment traditionally dominated by its Swiss rival Richemont, the owner of Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and most recently, Buccellati. The addition of Tiffany’s to its 75-strong stable of brands, which includes watchmakers like Hublot and TAG Heuer, will also help LVMH grow its presence in China and the United States, where the jeweller’s baubles are popular. And the deal also means Tiffany’s well regarded chief executive, Alessandro Bogliolo, returns to LVMH, where he was once the chief operating officer at Bulgari.
Quill & Pad
Stainless steel case, integrated bracelet in the same material, manufacture movement, and a blue dial: these are the ingredients for today's watches that people are willing to spend a significant premium to obtain. For many, this was also the first thought that went through heads when Chopard recently launched its new blue-dial, stainless steel, sporty watch, the Alpine Eagle. Martin Green looks beyond that pretty blue face after wearing it for a week and gives us his thoughts.
Time+Tide
$16,450 – that’s the Australian recommended retail price of the Oystersteel Rolex Daytona ref. 116500LN. But, as I’m sure 99 per cent of people reading this are already patently aware, if you actually want to own one of these fabled watches, you can’t merely walk into an AD and pick one up. No, if you … ContinuedThe post Hype dodger: 3 steel Professional Rolex watches you can actually buy appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
With the Double Signed theme auction out of the way, here are a few highlights from Phillips’ Geneva watch auction, including a Lange Zeitwerk that might be a value buy, and a steel Rolex Day-Date prototype. Lot 145 – Lange Zeitwerk in rose gold The Zeitwerk is unquestionably a modern classic – notably, it is probably the most reliable digital display watch on the market – and is relatively good value on the secondary market, selling for a chunk off retail. This example is in rose gold, and is complete with all boxes and paperwork. It was first sold in 2011, and obviously wasn’t worn much sine then. The estimate is just 20,000-40,000 Swiss francs. Lot 179 – Patek Philippe ref. 1463 in steel One of the top lots in the sale, this is a ref. 1463 “Tasti Tondi”, an early water-resistant chronograph by Patek Philippe. But this is in steel, of which only 67 are known, with a two-tone dial, furthering reducing the number known to just 17. The watch is in excellent condition, with a sharply preserved case and original dial, although the dial might have been cleaned in the distant past. The estimate is 300,000-600,000 francs. Lot 209 – Patek Philippe ref. 1518 in yellow gold The ref. 1518 is a landmark, being the first serially produced chronograph with perpetual calendar. This is a good example of the ref. 1518, almost the quintessential version of the model with a yellow gold case. It is clean and in good condition, albeit showing a little bit of age on the dial,...
Quill & Pad
With his long-running issue with alarm clocks, Joshua Munchow is the perfect potential customer (his wallet not withstanding) for the RM 62-01 Tourbillon Vibrating Alarm ACJ, the most complicated Richard Mille watch to date and one that features the first purposefully silent mechanical alarm in a wristwatch.
Time+Tide
It has been a stellar year for Grand Seiko, with the Japanese watchmaker releasing not only a bevy of new iterations of some of their most popular models, but also a completely new manual-wind dress watch, the SBGK series. And, as is always the case with Grand Seiko, the arresting dials adorning these new timepieces … ContinuedThe post Top 5 Grand Seiko dials of 2019 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Breguet’s contribution to the most recent Only Watch auction in 2017 was a unique, enlarged version of its inventive in-line perpetual calendar that had the calendar indications arranged in a column vertically across the dial. Though clever and unusual, the watch was probably too esoteric and classical for current tastes, and it sold for 110,000 Swiss francs, just 10% above the high estimate, reputedly to a discerning collector in Australia. This year’s upcoming Only Watch, however, includes a very different Breguet that should sell for a multiple of its estimate. The Type 20 for Only Watch 2019 is essentially a spot-on replica of the two-register aviator’s chronograph Breguet supplied to the French military from the mid 1950s – exactly the type of watch that is desirable now. Specifically, it’s a remake of the first generation Type 20, which was marked “5101/54” on the case back, denoting the order number, “5101”, and the year of 1954. More specifically, it’s based on the Type 20 made for the French air force, distinguished by equal-sized sub-dials; watches for the naval air arm had oversized minute counters. Named after the French military specification for pilot’s chronographs, itself derived from the Second World War German air force chronograph design, the original Type 20s were produced by a variety of watchmakers, including Vixa, Dodane, and Auricoste. Breguet examples, however, are the most valuable. Note that “Type XX” refers to the same...
Time+Tide
Whether watch enthusiasts want to admit it or not, there is definitely a curiosity when it comes to celebrity watch spotting. It’s a guilty pleasure for most of us, and I have no shame admitting that I will regularly spend hours going down the virtual rabbit hole on Instagram, scoping what iced-out timepiece Mark Wahlberg has … ContinuedThe post Best of British – 4 celebs who rock Bremont watches appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
All but one variant of the 1970 is currently sold out with one, the 40mm orange, often asking significant markups above retail in the secondary market. This review will focus on that particular model.
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