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SJX Watches · Page 103

3,070 articles  ·  Page 103 of 103
Introducing the Ming 18.01 Abyss Concept Diver SJX Watches
Ming Jun 28, 2019

Introducing the Ming 18.01 Abyss Concept Diver

Ming Watches has enjoyed a cult following since its debut in 2017, thanks to its affordable, smartly designed watches. Conceived by a band of watch collectors in Malaysia and then manufactured in Switzerland, Ming made its debut with the affordable 17 Series before going upmarket with the 19 Series that includes a world time. Now the brand debuts its first dive watch – a 10-piece limited edition that boasts a depth rating of 1,250m. The 18.01 Abyss Concept was born after Ming acquired a pressure testing machine and decided to create a dive watch in the brand’s distinctive design language. It is essentially an exercise in styling a larger Ming watch and also the response to a frequent request from clients wanting a sports watch. Concise design Ming’s unique styling was borne of the collecting experience of its six founders share and their desire not to repeat common designs. That is probably more difficult on a dive watch, since the standard ingredients of a diver are well defined. The same design elements that characterised the 17 and 19 Series watches – like symmetry and clean, geometric shapes – have been employed on the 18.01 Abyss Concept, albeit with tweaks for maximum functionality underwater. The most fundamental element of a dive watch, the unidirectional, 60-click bezel, has a ceramic insert marked with an unusual redesign of the conventional, elapsed time scale. Filled with white Super-Luminova, the markings on the bezel co...

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Haven Watch Co. Introduces the Chilton Chronograph SJX Watches
Jun 28, 2019

Haven Watch Co. Introduces the Chilton Chronograph

Based in the American Midwest, Haven Watch Co. makes its debut with the Chilton, an eye-catching, hand-wound chronograph that’s a blend of retro design elements and affordably priced. The watches takes inspiration from the 1970s, perhaps the golden age of sports watches, and specifically, the funky designs and bold colours of the era’s regatta timers. Despite the incongruent combination of design features, the watch is refreshing and captures the bold, experimental spirit of the 1970s. Beyond the design, the Chilton is notable for being the first watch on the market powered by the new, hand-wound, “compax” chronograph movement from Sellita. While the movement is Swiss made, the external components like the case and dial are made in Asia, and the watches are put together in the United States. The Chilton is available on either a blue or white dial with a “compax” layout, both of which feature the same regatta-style 30-minute register that is divided into 10-minute segments. It doesn’t have an actual countdown function, of course, but vintage aesthetics, and not utility, motivate the design. The chronograph counters are small and far apart, just as it was on vintage chronographs, albeit ones that came long before the 1970s.  And if the chunky hands look familiar, they are similar to those found on the Universal Geneva Compax “Nina Rindt”. The vintage styling also explains the decimal scale on the blue dial and pulsometer scale on the white. T...

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Up Close: Rolex GMT-Master II Meteorite Ref. 126719BLRO-0002 SJX Watches
Rolex GMT-Master II Meteorite Ref Jun 28, 2019

Up Close: Rolex GMT-Master II Meteorite Ref. 126719BLRO-0002

In the Rolex sports watch hall of fame, the GMT-Master II is arguably the most practical. It is a relatively affordable, dual time zone watch; and there are, after all, more people who travel than those who dive or race or sail. At the same time, the GMT-Master has always been available in precious metal, in 18k Everose for instance, and also lavishly bejewelled like the popular sapphire and ruby “SARU”. The new meteorite dial GMT-Master II, on the other hand, is bling meets functionality without the gemstones, making it an unusual and compelling watch. And it’s also the first time Rolex has used meteorite in a watch other than the Daytona or Day-Date. In fact, the meteorite GMT-Master probably the most practical ultra-luxe travel watch out there. And it costs only about US$1600 over the standard white gold GMT-Master with a blue dial, making it a worthwhile upgrade. Maybe “Pan Am” Rolex has not revealed what inspired the meteorite GMT-Master, but the GMT-Master “Pan Am” or “Albino” is obvious. Reputedly made in small numbers for executives at Pan American Airways – the company credited for the creation of the GMT-Master – the GMT-Masters fitted with white dials are either the refs. 6542 or 1675. A handful are known and have sold for well into six figures, but the white dial examples are controversial and often accompanied by unending questions as to whether they are legit. A jewel of a watch In contrast, the modern day equivalent of...

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Hands-On: Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver SJX Watches
Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver Launched Jun 27, 2019

Hands-On: Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver

Launched two years ago with a steel case, the BR 03-92 Diver took the signature aviation inspired design of Bell & Ross (B&R;) into the sea. It was a proper dive watch that combined the iconic square case with a 300m depth rating and a rotating bezel. At Baselworld this year, B&R; unveiled two new iterations of the BR 03-92 Diver, with cases in bronze and matte black ceramic respectively. Though fundamentally identical, each is drastically different from the other in look and feel. The road to the deep But first a quick recap of B&R;’s past dive watches. Though the brand is today best known for its military aviation watches, B&R; got its start making watches (which were essentially rebadged Sinn timepieces) for professionals in various spheres, from bomb disposal engineers to deep sea divers. One of its earliest dive watches was the Hydromax (also known as the Hydro Challenger) of 1997. It was a compact, round watch with a quartz movement boasting a ludicrous depth rating of 11,100m, thanks to a case filled with transparent fluorinated oil that was incompressible. A decade later, the brand was producing its own watches and unveiled the BR 02, a tonneau-shaped dive watch with a 1000m depth rating, internal rotating bezel and helium escape valve. Then came the BR 03-92 in 2017, the most logical expression of a dive watch for a brand driven largely by military-inspired design. Crucially, bona fide square watch cases are inherently more difficult to seal against ...

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Introducing the Longines Legend Diver Watch 36mm “Tropical” SJX Watches
Longines Legend Diver Watch 36mm Jun 26, 2019

Introducing the Longines Legend Diver Watch 36mm “Tropical”

Longines rolled out a smaller version of its popular Legend Diver last year, one that is just 36mm in diameter and catered to ladies. Now it’s added a “tropical” dial model to the line-up, creating a dive watch for ladies with serious retro style. The first Legend Diver, which was made for men, was based on the twin-crown dive watches of the 1960s, specifically the refs. 7042, 7150 and 7594. The lower crown was for winding and setting, while the upper crown rotated the elapsed time bezel, a feature that has been reproduced in the modern day remake. Sometimes nicknamed “Super Compressor” after the type of water-resistant case made by case maker E. Piquerez (which also supplied other brands), the originals were notably large for watches of the era, measuring 42mm in diameter. The men’s Legend Diver is exactly the same size, but the mini Legend Diver is substantially smaller, just 36mm in diameter. Despite its reduced size, the Legend Diver 36mm manages to retain the look and proportions of its bigger brother. And with the new “tropical” dial, it also replicates the highly desirable discoloured dials of some vintage “Super Compressor” divers. The original watches all had glossy black dials, but exposure to sunlight over the decades caused some dials to fade, resulting in varied shades of brown. The new Legend Diver “tropical” replicates the aged dials found on some vintage examples, with a tobacco coloured centre that darkens towards the edges. T...

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Up Close: Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Manual-winding ‘Collection Excellence Platine’ SJX Watches
Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Manual-winding ‘Coll... Jun 26, 2019

Up Close: Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Manual-winding ‘Collection Excellence Platine’

Every couple of years Vacheron Constantin gives one of its watches the ‘Collection Excellence Platine’ treatment, constructing the watch entirely in platinum, from case to the stitching on the leather strap. First introduced in 2006, the ‘Collection Excellence Platine’ range now consists of nine models, including the Traditionnelle World Time, Patrimony Traditionnelle 14-Day Tourbillon as well as Traditionnelle Complete Calendar that was launched last year. Now the line is joined by the hand-wound Traditionnelle, a simple, time-only watch executed in the most precious way possible. Small, heavy and monochromatic A focused exercise in classic dress watch design, the Traditionnelle Manual-winding is among the leading candidates in the category of hand-wound, time-only dress watches. It is arguably the quintessential Vacheron Constantin formal watch, being free of complications and superfluous elements. And though it faces strong competition from the likes of the A. Lange & Söhne 1815 and Patek Philippe Calatrava, the Traditionnelle ‘Collection Excellence Platine’ (CEP) is unique in being all-platinum, end to end. With the CEP treatment, the watch has evolved to its ultimate form. The dimensions of the case remain unchanged – 38mm wide and just 7.77mm high. It features discreet decorative details like a fluted case back and straight, angular lugs that incorporate the form of a Maltese cross. But in the area where most time-only dress wat...

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Artisans de Genève Introduces the Daytona “La Barrichello” SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet ambassador Jun 25, 2019

Artisans de Genève Introduces the Daytona “La Barrichello”

Anyone who followed Formula 1 in the 1990s to the early 2000s would remember Rubens Barrichello as effective driver. Though the Brazilian did not win any championships, he notched up 11 wins and 68 podium finishes. Like many fellow Formula 1 drivers, Mr Barrichello likes watches and was once an Audemars Piguet ambassador; the Royal Oak Offshore Rubens Barrichello II of 2006 was one of the hottest watches of the era.  Unsurprisingly, Mr Barrichello is apparently a fan of the Rolex Daytona – arguably the auto racing watch – explaining his collaboration with Artisans de Genève, a Swiss outfit that specialises in customising Rolex watches. They gave his Rolex Daytona a makeover to create “La Barrichello”, a strikingly and heavily modified Cosmograph Daytona with an open-worked movement. Notably, Artisans de Genève just last year performed a similar custom job on a Daytona belonging to Juan-Pablo Montoya, another F1 driver who was active in the sport at the same time as Mr Barrichello. Both drivers’ skeletonised watches are novel in a good way; much of Artisans de Genève’s other creations are modern Daytonas modified to look like vintage “Paul Newman” Daytonas, which is arguably less interesting. Creative differences “La Barrichello” started out as the all-steel Daytona ref. 116520, which is the preceding generation of Daytona that was first introduced in 2000 before being replaced by the ref. 116500LN (distinguished by its ceramic bezel) in 2...

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Ventura Returns with the V-Matic Ego SJX Watches
Nomos Zurich Jun 25, 2019

Ventura Returns with the V-Matic Ego

Watch collectors who were around in the late 1990s and early 2000s would remember Ventura. It specialised in – literally – design watches. All its timepieces were created by noted industrial designers, including Flemming Bo Hansen and more frequently, Hannes Wettstein, who also designed the Nomos Zurich. The house style was sleek, pared back, slightly Scandinavian, but also distinguished by unusual materials – Ventura made liberal use of surfaced hardened titanium (Titanox) and steel (Durinox), a great novelty at the time. The Ventura V-Matic Ego remake But the brand made a pivot into high-end, self-winding electronic watches in the early 2000s, which unsurprisingly ended in Ventura going bust. Now Ventura is being resurrected by its former owner, UK-based watch importer Zeon Ltd (that’s in turn owned by a Hong Kong watch manufacturer), in partnership with Stephan Hürlemann, the designer who took over Wettstein’s studio after his death. I liked very much what Ventura was doing back in the day – the combination of design and materials was unique – but the original watches were surprisingly expensive, particularly by the standards of the time. The new remakes manage to reproduce the original design in a similar alloy, at a notably affordable price. Designer watches for less The revived Ventura sticks to a tried and tested sales formula: direct to the consumer via crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, making the new Ventura watches notably affordable, s...

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Hands-On: Monsieur de Chanel Pocket Watch SJX Watches
Chanel Pocket Watch Every year Chanel Jun 24, 2019

Hands-On: Monsieur de Chanel Pocket Watch

Every year Chanel debuts a handful of timekeeping objects that are sleekly monochromatic yet lavishly constructed of precious materials like gold and rock crystal. They are beautiful, expensive, and the sort of object that would look at home in a US$100m penthouse. And because there are enough such penthouses to go around, these objets d’art inevitably find owners every year. Last year’s collection of objects included the Monsieur de Chanel Chronosphere, a clock within a glass globe supported by blackened-bronze lions, which was a five-piece limited edition. But the collection also included the one of a kind Monsieur de Chanel Pocket Watch suspended in a jewelled stand, an object that is simultaneously discreet and extravagant. Photo – Chanel Although the pocket watch and its stand retail for almost US$800,000, it is discreet to a fault.  All of the materials within are precious, but the entire object is almost monochromatic. The pocket watch can be removed and carried, but is more likely to function as the ultimate desk clock. Standing about 25cm, or 10in, high, the stand is polished 18k white gold and panelled in glossy obsidian, a black, volcanic rock. And while it does not look the part, the sculpted lion is also 18k gold, but coated entirely in smooth, black Hyceram, a composite of ceramic and polymer. The diamonds within the stand are substantial, but subtle – the lion’s paw rests on a 18k gold sphere covered in baguette diamonds. The big ca...

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Habring² Introduces the Perpetual Doppel SJX Watches
Jun 21, 2019

Habring² Introduces the Perpetual Doppel

Austrian watchmaker Habring² is well-regarded for its affordable, cleverly engineered watches, particularly the Doppel rattrapante. Now Habring² takes the Doppel a step further: the Perpetual Doppel combines the mono-pusher, split seconds chronograph with a perpetual calendar, while still keeping it affordable as such things go. Constructed atop its proprietary A11 movement (itself derived from the robust Valjoux 7750), the Perpetual Doppel is unusual in using a complications module not made by Habring², which typically designs its own complications. Instead, the watch uses the tried and tested perpetual calendar module produced by Dubois-Depraz, a complications specialist that also supplies the module to other makers of affordable perpetual calendars. This makes the Perpetual Doppel the most complicated serially produced Habring² watch, though the brand has produced one-off repeaters and tourbillons in the past. The Perpetual Doppel is generously sized at 43mm in diameter to spread out the calendar displays as much as possible to maximise legibility. But despite the added height of the perpetual calendar, the case manages to stay just 12mm high. Readability is also helped by the red gold-gilded hour numerals and red gold-plated hands that contrast with the brushed, silvered dial. And the chronograph has two central seconds hands for the split-seconds function, along with a 30-minute counter at 12 o’clock for elapsed minutes. The Habring² c...

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