The chronograph, one of our favourite features and one of the most complex types of movement around, continues to be one of the most popular and practical complications. Chronographs can be started, stopped and reset to measure short (or longer) intervals of time. Over the years, these were adapted and rethought into specialized tools. Being […]
As a journalist, you strive for a long-form commission. A piece to stretch your legs. That you can properly research. That your audience will be forced to create quality time to imbibe. I was reminded of this recently when Josh Shanks from our friends at Watchonista posted a shout-out to the greatest long-form piece of all time on his Facebook: Frank Sinatra Has a Cold by Gay Talese. I hit the link, started reading and then – lo and behold – I stopped multitasking. I sat down. Ten minutes in, I got up and fixed myself a drink. Fifteen minutes in, I actually took the time to set a fire (now that the bushfires have passed in Australia, we are being hit with sub 10-degree cold snaps, so, great). I lit it, arranged a comfortable chair nearby, set my drink next to chair. I was stalling, because this piece was so good, so utterly relishable for the reader that I didn’t want it to end. If you haven’t read this masterwork, you simply must. And after that, you can schedule in a second, or third Old Fashioned to accompany you through Wei Koh’s 8000-word dissertation on Patek Philippe chronographs. I suspect…
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Toe to tip platinum. Even the stitching.
This year might be one of the most unusual ever when it comes to new watches being released. While brands were already seeking different ways to share their new releases with the watch-loving community, the global pandemic that we are still watching unfold has put a stop to almost any plans that brands might have had for the year. That means watches are being released in slow drops at the moment, not able to capitalise on the big moments such as Watches & Wonders or Baselworld where the industry is all in one place (though we did our best to make a moment with our coverage of Watches & Wonders Online). To make sure you aren’t missing any of the new watches that are being released at the moment, we wanted to take a look at a few pieces that have been released a little more quietly over the last few weeks, including great pieces from Omega, Bulgari and Casio. Omega Aqua Terra, now in green and blue The Omega Aqua Terra is a crowd favourite for its clean design, bulletproof movement and comfort on the wrist. They have been produced in a range of metals and dial colours —…
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This year, Piaget has focused on the two strengths that most clearly define the Maison: on one hand, ultra-thin men’s watches (taken to their most technically demanding extreme) and on the other, boldly designed and extravagantly gem-set women’s watches. Altiplano Ultimate Concept Nobody could reasonably dispute that this insanely thin new watch is quite mind-blowing. But to properly understand it, a bit of context is needed. Its genesis dates back to 2014, when Piaget introduced the Altiplano 900P. At an unfeasibly skinny 3.65mm, it was the thinnest hand-wound watch ever made and it redefined our assumptions about the limits of ultra-thin watchmaking. The stroke of genius had been to reject the traditional binary notion of case plus movement, and instead to use the caseback as the baseplate. However, Piaget was already a serial record-breaker in ultra-thin watchmaking. In 1960, three years after launching the hand-wound Calibre 9P (at 2mm, it was one of the world’s slimmest movements), the 2.3mm thick Calibre 12P set a new record as the thinnest self-winding movement. Since the millennium, other records have followed: thinnest tourbillon, thinnest minute repeater, thinnest skeletonised movements – and more. Then, at SIHH 2018, Piaget introduced us to the Altiplano Ultimate…
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Grab a comic book and a spear.
This was three years ago already but what a special day… Back then, Omega had announced its Master Chronometer certification. Created in collaboration with independent Federal Institute of Metrology METAS, the Master Chronometer certification was one of the most advanced and stringent certification processes in watchmaking. Yet, no one had ever been allowed to bring […]
This was already 3 years ago but what a special day… Back then, Omega had already announced its Master Chronometer certification, created in collaboration with independent Federal Institute of Metrology METAS, being one of the most advanced and stringent certification processes in watchmaking. Yet, no one had ever been allowed to bring a camera inside […]
No surprises to see Conor McGregor, the flamboyant Irish professional mixed martial artist and boxer, mostly known for his fight against the equally flamboyant boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., in an episode of “Spotted”. His love for watches, mostly Rolex and Patek Philippe, is clearly visible on his Instagram feed, regularly showing some of his preferred […]
From Humphrey Bogart’s wide-brimmed fedora in Casablanca to Indiana Jones’ whip in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the right prop has defined many big-screen characters. Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy of Batman films contains an object deserving similar recognition. Except you don’t notice it. The reason why is that it’s so exquisitely tuned to its owner’s personality that it’s barely perceptible as a standalone item. What I’m getting at, of course, is Bruce Wayne’s Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso. After Joel Schumacher’s disastrous attempts at the superhero franchise (the director even publicly apologised for Batman & Robin), Nolan’s films were very different. Batman Begins was a grittily realistic take on the caped crusader that pointedly avoided camp flourishes. It delved into the Batman origin story and didn’t flinch from exploring the psychological angst simmering beneath. What about the watches? Well, in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne wears a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Grand Taille, while in The Dark Knight Rises he wears a JLC Reverso Grand Date. Here’s why they’re such inspired choices for the man behind the mask. A Logical Choice On the basic screen-test of horological plausibility, the Reverso ticks all the right boxes. Understated but refined, this…
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