The Modifier's Series – Artisans De Genève and their 5 best models so far
Editor’s note: ‘Modding’ a watch is not a trend in watchmaking, it is a trope. It has, and always will be, a part of the watchmaking and watch-wearing world as companies and individuals seek to personalise and individualise watches. A uniquely modified watch becomes more of a statement. And it offers an alternative to a ‘Piece Unique’, one-off watch. This story is the first in ‘The Modifier’s Series’, which looks at the main players in the modding game. Coming up, MAD, Bamford and more… For so many of us, Rolex — for all of its flaws — remains the pinnacle of the watch world. While inflated prices may be making the barrier to entry higher, the dream of slaving away for years to finally reward yourself with a hallowed five-pointed crown is still very much a thing, and a universal marker of success. To those who have already achieved this dream, maybe even multiple times, the question becomes: what next? Sure, you could go for some precious metal, haute horology, minute repeater, dual-axis tourbillon which costs as much as an average Monaco apartment. Or you could have the timepiece of your dreams personally crafted by Artisans De Genève. Since 2016, Les Artisans…
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Dive watches have come a very long way in 55 years. It was 1965 when Seiko first dipped their toe into the waters of serious dive watches when they released the Seiko automatic 6217 62MAS, water resistant to 150m. Featuring large luminous hands and hour markers, a rotating dive 60-minute bezel and a rubber strap, it already had all the ingredients of the modern-day dive watch. To pay tribute to this special watch, and the legacy of diving watches that it gave birth to, Seiko have released a collection of limited edition watches inspired by important historic references, three of which are faithful to the originals, and one, the Seiko SPB149J, is a modern interpretation of the 62MAS from 1965. As it is a modern interpretation, it is worth some closer scrutiny to see how it stacks up. The link to the original Seiko dive watch is immediately obvious, with the blocky case sides, squared-off lugs and prominent crown at 3 o’clock. While the crown was originally placed there, by 1968 Seiko had shifted the crown to the 4 o’clock position that we are used to seeing to this day. The black 60-minute bezel is also consistent with the original…
The truth is, I’m pretty easygoing. I can get along. Very few things get anywhere near grinding my gears in the watch world – I’m a fan of, and can appreciate, just about anything that’s associated with the little timekeeping marvels that we love. That is, unless you are talking about Bund straps. Because Bund straps are terrible. I don’t use the word hate very often, but when I do, it’s in reference to the Bund strap. Here’s a fun game. How many redeeming qualities do Bund straps have? Answer, none. The only man who could pull one off was the coolest man who ever lived, Paul Newman … and even he only barely got away with it. For starters, the etymology of the word “bund” is troubling, as it’s an abbreviation for Bundesrepublik Deutschland or Federal Republic of Germany. That’s right, the Bund strap was first popularised by nascent Nazi pilots in the 1930s … not a great origin story. And once the National Socialist German Workers’ Party was destroyed, the Bund strap should have gone with it, forever. Except it didn’t. The abhorrent, overtly thick and ungainly wrist-wear just went into hiding. The next time it would rear its ugly…
I expect we’ve all been there. A special occasion rolls around — Valentine’s Day, Christmas — and you buy your partner a gift. He or she does the same for you. And, shock horror. They ain’t equitable. They ain’t even close. This sets the scene for episode two of the second series of Every Watch Tells A Story, where we ask people at our events about the watch they are wearing and the story behind it. The curious thing about this gifting fail, which finds Alex at the shallower end, is that the items were both watches. It’s just that one — his beloved girlfriend’s gift — was Michael Kors. And Alex’s watch was a TAG Heuer. My first question, upon hearing this: Are you still together? As in, did she dump him? The answer: “She’s my wife now.” Which, you suspect, given her tolerance, was the right call. Alex is not the only one to recognise the Calibre 5 Carrera as an ideal daily wearer. We wrote a review recently that sung its praises. The functionality of the day and the date. The sort of handsome looks that make it win on leather and bracelet. As we said at the time, the Carrera can be perceived as…
There are many talented and passionate people in the watch industry. People whose daily work for their brand goes far beyond a job. Too many to mention. Watches, after all, attract and retain a certain type of person. And if you don’t love watches, to your very core, the daily task of singly focusing on them will certainly become dry and your position eventually untenable. Yes, there may be many passionate professionals in our midst, but there is only one Petros Protopapas, Museum Director of Omega. We have caught this rare, and extremely colourful bird in full flight on many videos (pretty much all of them are on my epic Coronavirus Lockdown YouTube Playlist, which I’m unveiling in the next few days). However, the classic performance, the Oscar Winner in this mix, is that time he brought a suitcase full of irreplaceable Omega models down to Australia in 2014 for the ‘Omega Night of Firsts’. Petros proceeded to tell stories about each and every one of the 12 watches. If you haven’t watched this video, we can highly recommend it. It is not only informative, but a perfect demonstration of how powerful a passionate presenter can be. Those who attended…
Editor’s note: When this landed in our inbox with imagery of surgical scrubs, a soapy petri dish and a headline along the lines of ‘finally, a super-hygienic watch for medical personnel’, we recoiled. It seemed opportunistic, given the obsession the world currently has with personal — and professional — hygiene. So I called a few friends who work at a hospital. An orderly, a doctor, a surgeon. I asked them what they thought. They all wanted to know more. What makes the watch less prone to contamination? I realised quickly that this was a review worth sharing. There was no sense from them that it was a marketing stunt from Sinn, especially considering the many and material ways that it will appeal to the sanitary conscious. German powerhouse Sinn have a surprisingly recent history of making watches for those who need them. Founded in 1961, an absolute baby in horological terms, their tool-oriented high-contrast watches for pilots and divers have gained a significant following and, like some other well-known German brands, they have managed to eke out a place of their own at the top among the Swiss. Now, with more focus than ever on the medical professionals who are saving lives…
Last week’s Celebrity Death Match was an absolute juggernaut, as we pitted Jay–Z’s watch collection against Drake’s in a hip-hop heavyweight showdown. And while Hova clearly decimated Champagne Papi’s collection, this week’s fight to the death is set to be one for the ages. We’re really ramping it up a notch, swapping out spitting bars for picks and guitars, facing off two of the foremost collectors in the world – John Mayer and Ed Sheeran. I should preface this bout of CDM by saying that both Mayer and Sheeran are the real MVPs of the watch world – both their collections are powerful enough to give you a figurative black eye. But there can only be one winner in this death match, so like last week, we’ve split the main card into four categories. Let the games begin. Dress watch to die for: John Mayer – Patek Philippe Ref.5971P-001 You knew Mayer was going to come correct in this category … the man has always been about the unparalleled classicism of Patek, and this watch exemplifies why. Not only is the 5970 widely regarded as one of the best watches ever made, but by adding a full baguette diamond bezel…
DOXA’s revival is something easily missed if you’re not paying close attention. Vintage-inspired or re-issued dive watches aren’t exactly selling for double the retail price due to lack of supply, but this DOXA SUB 200 isn’t just another trendy microbrand with an aesthetic and a good marketing team. When determining the legacy of a watchmaker, the first place to look is their innovations. With DOXA, you don’t need to look far. For instance, the first unidirectional diving bezel in 1957, already a home run for the brand without taking into account their collaboration with Rolex in developing the first ever helium escape valve in a wristwatch. Quality, pedigree and affordability seem to be the key themes for DOXA still to this day. At Baselword 2019, the DOXA SUB 200 was released as a modern interpretation of the DOXA of old, trading its dive-professional focus (features of which are still available on other models) for a modern crowd who crave to feel as adventurous as Jacques Cousteau. The dial Though DOXA’s vintage flair is anything but subtle, the dial comes across as strikingly modern in comparison to its 1950s counterparts. The applied indices are restrained and clean, while the matching-width hands…
I don’t know how many times I’ve introduced a new segment, column or series on Time+Tide over the last six years. But I’d be prepared to bet that at least half the time, I’ve opened the post about it with these words: “Sorry, this took a long while to get to you. Good things take time.” Good things take time, and also the time for that thing has to be right. Time+Tide has primarily dealt with well-established brands as our daily remit. But little by little — and with two editions of NOW Magazine under our belt, with both bursting at the seams with smaller brands — our eyes have been opened to the creativity, the ingenuity and the excitement building in the independent and microbrand space. If there’s such a thing as a punk rock attitude in watchmaking, it lives here. And, it turns out, punk music is pretty damned popular. This was proved beyond any doubt with our recent ‘Watch & Act!’ World Watch Auction in aid of the Australian bushfire crisis. We had microbrands like Baltic, Farer, Bausele, Lebois & Co and our very own Nicholas Hacko pulling winning bids that were two, three, six-and-a-half times their RRP. It…
A crisis can often prove the catalyst for change. Amid the chaos, we’re forced to rethink how we do things — often with positive results. The First World War, for example, had a radical impact in redefining civil liberties, race relations and women’s rights. It’s way too early to untangle the full impact of the coronavirus on the watch industry. But there are signs the pandemic could push certain brands to reconsider their stiff resistance to e-commerce. Watch brands have always maintained a heavy reliance on selling through bricks and mortar stores. Morgan Stanley analysts estimate that third-party retailers account for some 90 per cent of Swiss watch sales. Direct online sales offer the alternative approach. Yet while some watch groups — notably Richemont and LVMH — have embraced online retail, most have only taken tentative steps into the virtual world. A report last year from the online marketing consultancy Digital Luxury Group found that only 40 per cent of luxury watch brands are presently offering direct-to-consumer e-commerce. In fact, online sales of luxury watches account for less than 5 per cent of all sales, according to The Mercury Project, a data-driven consulting company focused on the watch and jewellery industry. Three conspicuous…