Watch Dandy

Editor’s note: There’s a risk with dress watches that they become overly simple. Boring even. That’s not what’s going on with the Breguet Classique 7147, which manages to balance clean design, fine detail and Breguet’s storied design codes in one neat golden package … The story in a second: Breguet’s updated Classique 7147 offers traditional style, modern convenience and just the right amount of playfulness. The Classique 7147 is the definition of a quiet achiever. It’s a simple, sturdy watch that does everything asked of it with style, and it does so with a sense of reserved assurance that only a watch with ‘Breguet’ on the dial can adequately muster. The purpose of this Breguet is to be a dress watch without equal. If you need a black-tie timepiece that speaks to tradition and classical style, without being yet another ho-hum exercise in derivative design, we suggest you make a beeline for the Classique 7147. The case The first thing you need to know about the 7147 is that it’s not a completely new design. Rather, it’s an update of the Classique 5140. From a distance these two timepieces look indistinguishable, but up close the 7147’s new body-work stands out. At…

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Editor’s note: Timekeeping standards are suddenly cool again. Omega has been steadily touting the benefits of their Master Chronometer certification, Patek has their own standards, and Rolex recently upped their game with the Superlative Chronometer Standard. But what is it? This article from a while back explains everything you need to know. Since 1951, nearly every watch leaving Rolex’s Geneva facility has been a certified Chronometer, and from 1957 onwards, Rolex has been using the term ‘Superlative’ on their dials to describe that their watches don’t just meet Chronometer standards, but exceed them. Design purists might bemoan the resulting text-heavy dials that declare an Oyster to be ‘Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified’, but Rolex’s nigh-unimpeachable reputation for quality and accuracy has a lot invested in these words. In fact, in late 2015, the brand quietly updated their Superlative Chronometer Standards to make them even more stringent. Design purists might bemoan the resulting text-heavy dials that declare an Oyster to be ‘Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified’, but Rolex’s nigh-unimpeachable reputation for quality and accuracy has a lot invested in these words. If you were lucky enough to get your hands on a steel Daytona or a recent Datejust 41, Rolex guarantee your watch is accurate to -2/+2…

Editor’s note: There’s real weight behind the phrase “Swiss Made”, which is, in many ways, synonymous with quality. Oftentimes it’s also synonymous with expensive. But that doesn’t need to be the case, as these six watches, all of which were released in 2018, come in under $1500. Bonus, they all come from well-known, respected brands.  A Swiss watch is a near-universally recognised symbol for quality, precision and tradition. And while that’s all well and good, there’s another thing that fine Swiss watches tend to be synonymous with — and that’s high sticker prices. And broadly speaking, that perception is true — I constantly find myself uttering phrases like “this $60,000 watch offers tremendous value”, and Justin recently went into a little bit of detail as to why that’s the case. But, let’s be real here, that sort of watch is for the very few. But you know what? Just because the median price of a Swiss mechanical watch is the equivalent of a decent car, that doesn’t mean there aren’t outliers. So, we’ve rounded up six quality mechanical offerings, mostly from large, established brands with storied histories, all offering watches at under $1500. So if you’re looking for your first…

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Man, Tissot has a great back catalogue. That’s a fact that’s easy to forget sometimes, especially as the Swatch Group brand is a big player in a more modern, sporty space.  But they’ve certainly got some great heritage pieces (like the OG Visodate) in their lineup, and this on point ’70s wonder, the Tissot Heritage 1973 Chronograph, inspired by a chronograph from (you guessed it) 1973. I mean, just look at those orange details, that rally strap, the wide-bezelled cushion case. This is ’70s funk on point. Love it.  Head over to Gear Patrol for the specs. 

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