5 Mount Everest watches that are literally high horology
As long as the internet and watch enthusiasts exist, there will be arguments about what the first watch on Mount Everest was. But rather than discussing semantic possibilities of the interpretation of 60-year-old advertisements, we wanted to look at a selection of Mount Everest watches (not just which was first). Smiths de Luxe The source of much argument and marketing budget, the Smiths de Luxe was taken to the summit of Mount Everest. The dispute lies in whether the watch was worn on the wrist or kept in a pocket, but, regardless, it was carried in some fashion to the highest point on earth. The watch in question now lies in the London museum of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers. Rolex Oyster Perpetual Chronometer Rolex were a sponsor of the 1953 expedition to the top of Mount Everest, with each member of the group loaned one of a batch of prototypes to wear. These watches were offered with the expectation of their return upon completion of the attempt, to allow Rolex to test how the watches were affected by the altitude. The watch now resides in the Beyer Clock and Watch Museum in Zürich, Switzerland, after being provided…
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Editor’s note: The year is 2019, and solid gold is worth less than steel. While this seems strange on the face of it, especially to those more recently in the horological hobbit hole, steel doesn’t look like it’s getting less shiny anytime soon. So taking a macro view of the watch buying landscape, gold pieces with siblings on the stainless steel hype train represent a comparatively strong value proposition. So we decided to have a look back at one of the best looking rose gold watches from 2015, the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711-1R. The story in a second: Patek Philippe have released a rose gold and dark chocolate version of the classic Nautilus 5711. Never mind the buzz-piece (hello there Pilot), it’s their best release of 2015. There was a lot of fuss about Patek Philippe’s new watches this year, with the eyebrow-raising Calatrava Pilot and their much more on-brand split-seconds chronograph. If Patek made music rather than watches, the Pilot and the split-seconds would be their latest album’s lead singles. Big, highly produced and attention-grabbing. Initially they’re the only songs getting played. After a little bit of time and reflection though, we have some important news: our favourite track…
Editor’s note: Wouldn’t it be great if you could start every day with a sunrise, without having to get out of bed early? Felix makes the case that this is possible thanks to the Halios Seaforth, featuring a dial as radiant as the morning sun, without a price tag that gives you sunstroke. The other reason it’s worth revisiting this watch is, as Type7 noticed, it seems like everyone with an Instagram account is in Greece at the moment, making all of us in the southern hemisphere very jealous. Summer watches like this one will keep us warm till November. Every November/December, like clockwork, I start pondering what constitutes the perfect summer watch, due in large part to the fact that in these months the mercury begins to rise rapidly. So what makes a summer watch? To be a contender, I think a timepiece must have three essential characteristics: water resistance, weather-suitability and a fun personality. This Halios Seaforth delivers on all fronts. Halios, if you’re not familiar, are a small Canada-based microbrand, who have risen to the top of the multitudinous mass of microbrands through their constantly strong watches, which are well built and — importantly — original when…
Here at Time+Tide, we write a lot about watches. What we don’t write about as much is what the watches are actually communicating to us — time. And while time seems fairly straightforward (or is it straightbackward?) as a concept, cultural perceptions of time are highly variable, with these differences impacting language, writing and commercial activity of different people around the world. In Australia, it’s common to talk about the past being behind us, with the future in front of us. But some people see the past as downhill and the future uphill, with others thinking about the past as being in the East with the future being in the West. So if you’re feeling like the weekend is almost done and you don’t have enough time left, have a read of this interesting article on why you do have time; you’re just thinking about it wrong.
It used to be that a bottle of Tanqueray 10, Bombay Sapphire or Plymouth Dry London Gin marked the pinnacle of class and sophistication at your local bottle shop. Now, if you stumble into any national, mega-mart boozer, it’s the Aussie gins that receive top nods. So when did Australian gins become so cool and are they going to stay that way? We’d say it’s around the time vodka was out. That would be when the internet became an everyman’s amenity and bartenders no longer had to scrimp and save for an educational pilgrimage to New York anymore. They could download interviews, cocktail bar manifestos and even menus from America, during which they would learn that anyone worth an accolade had declared vodka a waste of shelf space. Vodka was touted as the easy option, encouraging guests to habitually “drink without thinking”, and its popularity was an impediment to the evolution of taste. We arguably have America to thank for the rise of Australian gin, as this more versatile and sophisticated spirit became the next best option for consumers, while vodka casually disappeared from Australian shelves. It also helps that gin is a very quick alcohol to produce. Unlike wine,…
Over the last few weeks we’ve written three (count them, one, two and three) pieces explaining the what of watches. Thus far we’ve been pretty general, but today we get a lot more particular. Today we’re talking chronograph scales — those numbers at the edge of the dial that we’re pretty sure no one really uses. But they do have a function. And here are three of the more common variants you’ll see … Tachymeter scale The tachymeter is far and away the most common scale printed on the bezel or the dial of a chronograph. Often associated with racing watches, due to its ability to measure speed over a known distance, a tachymeter is an incredibly esoteric complication that will barely, if ever, see practical use in the real world. It does, however, look cool, and certainly succeeds in evoking a sense of speed, thanks in part to its visual similarity to a speedometer. How does it work? The tachymeter is printed around the edge of the dial or, more commonly, either printed or engraved on a fixed external bezel that encircles the dial. Tachymeter scales tend to start around the 7-second mark, but can start as late as…
Editor’s note: Yesterday, Dan Henry teased us with the news of a new watch to be released on July 8. The only real clues on what the watch is going to be is the name, the Dan Henry 1962, and that it will be a racing chronograph (confirmed in the comments of the post). The brand has a trend of releasing themed watches tied to quintessential designs of the year in their name (as well as the number of units per edition being the same number as the year), meaning we can look at vintage watches from the likes of Breitling, Heuer and Enicar for cues on what it might look like. With the anticipation of this new release building, we thought we’d look back at a review we did of the Dan Henry 1970 Diver Compressor (now sold out), one of the best hands-down value watches out there. If you’re here, then I can safely assume that you own a few watches, or at least that you’re into them. I’m also willing to bet that you have, at least once, fantasised about designing your own. A pipe dream for most, but not for Dan Henry. Over the course of…
Despite what many may think, the birth of the watch internet happened a long time before Instagram was around. Back in those days (in an almost Grecian purity), the forum was king, with moderators wielding the sword of truth, slaying inaccurate idiots with all of the mercy Zeus was known for. These forums, most popularly TimeZone and WatchUSeek, were where WIS from around the world would congregate to politely* discuss watches in all shapes and forms. It was a mandatory introduction to the watch internet for any enthusiast. A few folk rose to notoriety in these online communities, including the American polymath Walt Odets, a clinical psychologist and author, who was known for his love of haute horology, disdain for tool watches, and savant-like ability to tinker with complicated watch movements. If you aren’t convinced, collector Jeff Kingston mentioned him when interviewed once, describing Walt as “simply one of the most brilliant people I’ve ever met”. “I remember the first time I met Jean-Claude Biver when he was running Blancpain. He knew I was from the Bay Area and he said as soon as we met, ‘Who is this Walt Odets? Who is this person? He is the only person…
Editor’s note: The Rolex Air-King ref. 116900 is the brand’s entry into their world of professional watches, but it’s also a piece that stands out in the line-up, thanks to its unusual dial layout and colourful logo. We take another look at this now three-year-old watch, below. Rolex famously espouses a philosophy of evolution, not revolution – and its product releases are so reliably incremental that you could, well, set your watch by them. Except when they’re not. Every so often, Rolex does something that breaks from its evolutionary mantra. Witness the Sky-Dweller, the platinum Daytona and now, the latest generation of the Air-King. There’s so much new about this watch that the only real link to the Air-Kings of yore is the name, so it genuinely shocked people when it was unveiled at Baselworld, and has polarised opinion since. But now that the watch has started arriving with retailers and making its way onto wrists, even the most vocal of naysayers are beginning to mellow. But is that really so astonishing ? This is Rolex, remember? The dial For a time-only Rolex, there’s a lot going on with this dial. To start, there’s the text, all five lines of it – two at the top…
These are the conversations we all keep having lately. Much like our beloved Sandra Lane, I’m equally sick of the steel Rolex and Patek hype that refuses to die off (at least for now), and every time I hear of the obscene premium that people are still willing to pay for either the Nautilus 5711 (upwards of $70K) and the new GMT-Master II 126710BLRO Pepsi-bezel, I can’t help but think of the countless alternatives that I’d rather have in my collection than these two poster girls. The point of this story is precisely that –where would my hard-earned dollars go if the retail price of either or both pieces was within my grasp here and now; specifically looking at pieces you can actually go out and buy today. Not the Nautilus – 3 other options for around $70K USD Conservative – Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin When I was thinking of alternatives to the Genta-designed Nautilus, the Overseas was one of the first contenders that came to mind as a piece that’s equally sporty, and comes from a manufacture with a serious reputation for quality. What surprised me was how far up the food chain the Nautilus’ street price…