The clairvoyant watch collector – which brand will establish itself as a big player in the next decade?
In 2009, Rolex performed a miracle. Necromancy. A resurrection. Back from the dead was the oft-maligned sister brand of the Crown: Tudor watches. What followed in the seven years since was the most startling and effective rebrand the world of watches has ever seen. And thanks to an immense financial investment and influential vocal advocacy, underpinned by an excellent product, it looks likely Tudor’s star will continue to burn brighter still over the years to come. Watch collecting is not what it was. How could it be? Until 30 years ago the notion of “collecting” watches was as odd a pastime as collecting spanners – objects designed to be used, not fawned over. Now, everyone is looking for “the next big thing”, the double-red Submariner at a garage sale, the box-fresh Rolex Explorer II original stuffed in the back of your grandfather’s sock drawer. The problem is, it isn’t going to happen as often as it did, because we are, as a group of informed collectors, simply too aware to allow the collectibility of modern pieces to ever reach that of their forebears. Why? Because watches never used to be collectible. Sought-after models are sought after because they are scarce.…
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Yes, the technology almost single-handedly destroyed the Swiss watch industry, but whether you want to admit it or not, quartz watches are brilliantly impressive, and they have been the main proponents in democratising timepieces as we know them today. Ever since the ingenious battery-powered Seiko Astron first burst onto the scene on December 25, 1969, the Japanese watchmaker has been at the forefront of the uber-accurate mechanisms. But, crucially, many watchmakers now employ the use of quartz power, and we thought we’d take a look at four of the best quartz watches of 2019. GRAND SEIKO SBGN009 Released to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first quartz watch, the SBGN009’s luscious blue dial has the kind of repeating pattern in the background that very few brands can pull off without it looking chintzy. Cue Grand Seiko, whose reputation for remarkable dial designs is now well entrenched. The colour-matched seconds hand, GMT hand, logo, and chapter ring provide true chromatic harmony with the two shades of blue on show. Limited to 2,019 pieces. Ref No: SBGN009 / Case size: 40mm / Case material: Steel / Movement: 9F86 / Price: $4000 UNIMATIC MODELLO TRE Every watch collector should make space for a…
I asked Jason, Time+Tide’s resident photographer, if he could tell me his favourite watch photos from 2019 that he had captured, without quite realising the sheer scope of the work that he had done this year. I soon found out. “Hey Jason, how many photos have you taken this year?” “How many have I edited, or how many have been published?” “No, how many times have you pressed the button on your camera?” “Oh, that’s a big number. Tens of thousands, easy.” So out of the tens of thousands of shutter clicks that happened since we last lapped the sun (these were my favourites), these are Jason’s favourites, in no particular order, for reasons he articulates below. Franck Muller Double Mystery Symmetry, colour and diamonds. So many diamonds. And such cute jewelled indices. Girard-Perregaux Laureato Chronograph I spent time over this shot (I hope it shows). Itʼs crisp where it should be crisp, smooth where it should be smooth. The light shines beautifully off the brushed metal. Itʼs everything I like in a watch shot. Seiko Prospex SRPD50K Black on black is one of my favourite styles of shooting: just catching edges, reflections and highlights to bring the watch out…
2019 has seen the rise of many, many trends in watchmaking — steel sports watches with integrated bracelets, bronze cases, limited editions … you get the drift. Another incredibly vogue tendency has been watch manufacturers introducing homage models or watches that aesthetically borrow heavily from vintage timepieces. And, unquestionably, the genre of watches that has most felt the effects of this yesteryear savoir faire is pilot’s watches. Don’t get us wrong, though, that’s not a bad thing … not at all. In fact, this year has given birth to some of the most arresting examples of pilot’s watches that we’ve seen in quite some time, and here are three of our favourites: BLANCPAIN AIR COMMAND While most would think of diving watches (specifically the Fifty Fathoms and the Bathyscaphe) or dress watches when the name Blancpain pops up in conversation, the oldest surviving watchmaker in the world (founded in 1735) is also a dab hand at producing watches for the skies. The Blancpain Air Command is a particularly retro pilot’s flyback chronograph brought up to date by modern manufacturing techniques. Limited to 500 pieces, this one is unlikely to hang around in the hangar for long. Ref No: AC01-1130-63A / Case…
Some boardroom discussions would be fascinating to observe. The brand decisions presumably make sense at the time, but can appear a little odd to the rest of us. Every so often, however, a brand makes a bold play to distinguish itself from its price-point competitors and it kind of works. Sometimes because the brand chose credibility and congruity over celebrity status, and other times because it’s so wacky, it’s hard to forget (and thus achieving its objective). So, let’s get to know a few watchmaking ambassadors from lesser followed sports. How good a fit do you think these men and woman are for the brands they represent? Breitling: Luke Bannister – Drone pilot It would be easy to treat this appointment cynically, but it seems likely that as little as drone racing had to do with watchmaking’s past, it may well have a fair bit to do with its future. As aviation evolves, so too must aviators. Luke is Breitling’s spokesperson for the next generation. Chamberlain: Stuart Bingham – Snooker This partnership is enough to put Chamberlain on the map (even if it is just for Bingham’s adorable mug shot on the website). The 2015 World Champion may not have…
