The top 5 Omega James Bond watches of all time as chosen by you
Editor’s note: Earlier this week, we asked a question on Instagram stories, what is your favourite Omega Bond watch from the last 25 years? Imma jump in here just to say, uh, wut? Where is the Spectre Seamaster 300 Limited Edition (my clear favourite Bond watch)? Where is Pierce’s watches? Any of them! It seems you either have short memories, or a serious penchant for the Planet Ocean. Or, more broadly speaking, a preference for the new, because these were the top 5, including a Number 1 that hasn’t even been seen on the screen yet! Really? OK, OK. Hey, we don’t stack these things, we just report the news. Over to you, James – Andrew It’s Bond Week here at T+T, and I’ve been shaking, not stirring, my martinis for the last few days – partly to celebrate the British super spy, and partly because Melburnians have once again been relegated to the confines of our stately homesteads (one bedroom apartment for me) … thanks ISO. I took a short break from stockpiling Four Pillars, vodka, Kina Lillet and all the lemons I could carry, to ask you lovely people: What are the best limited edition Omega Bond watches ever made?…
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Happy International Women’s Day to everyone out there. This past year has seen the unveiling of some of the best new ladies watches that we’ve seen in a very long time. In fact, if you’re a female watch enthusiast, there’s never been a better time to be invested in horology – the offerings from watchmakers are getting so good. With that in mind, we thought we’d share with you some of the best women’s watches money can buy. Enjoy. BULGARI SERPENTI SEDUTTORI While the Octo has perhaps become the male staple in the Bulgari collection, the Serpenti is just as recognisable amongst female fans of the brand. A striking, jewellery-first wristwatch, the Serpenti’s horological heart benefits from the brand’s growing reputation as a creator of serious watches. While it may be quartz, there is no question that the manufacturing quality of each component is superb. With a lot of variants to choose from, the black dial and rose gold-cased version presents this model in its finest form. Ref No: 101814 / Case size: 35mm / Case material: Rose Gold / Movement: Quartz / Price: $55,200 BREGUET MARINE DAME 9518 It is quite rare to see brands with such a…
Let’s get this straight at the outset: you should go easy on the watch shots full-stop. Unless you’re taking a pic to share with a fellow watch lover, snapping close-ups of your shiny new wrist-wear is rarely necessary or wise. But there are scenarios where it is expressly forbidden. At a wedding It’s the happy couple’s special day! A bold leap of faith that represents the symbolic union of two people standing together until the dawn of time (or at least until one of them gets caught banging the cleaning lady). What it’s not is a novel photographic backdrop for your next wrist-shot. We get that the flowers in the church might complement the metallic sheen of your ceramic bezel. But we’re putting our foot down here — it’s still a firm “no”. In the vicinity of a supercar steering wheel So you’ve got a Rolex and a Porsche. All power to you, my man. But if you’ve managed to amass such glorious trophies and still feel the compulsive urge to highlight the fact, then something is definitely up. For one thing, it looks awfully like gloating (never an attractive habit at the best of times). Secondly, appearing that desperate…
If you missed out on the first instalment of us rating Post Malone’s watch collection, stop reading and hit this link right here. And, if you haven’t seen GQ’s latest On The Rocks video featuring Posty and his multimillion dollar assortment of timepieces, you can click here. Done that? OK great … let’s, as Malone would say, “get after it”. Patek Philippe Nautilus 5719/10G Rockstar Rating: 11/10 If the previous watches in his collection haven’t convinced you that Malone is getting serious about collecting timepieces, then take a look at his factory diamond-clad Patek Nautilus 5719/10G. This is, undeniably, one of the most baller watches on the planet. We’re talking solid 18k white gold case, full diamond pavé dial with baguette numerals, diamond baguette bezel and pavé bracelet with baguette centre links. This watch has a total of 1343 diamonds that equate to 18.73 carats … oh my goodness! Talk about going hard in the paint … this thing is pure, undiluted flex, and worth well over $600,000 AUD. Richard Mille RM27-01 Tourbillon “Rafael Nadal” Rockstar Rating: 12/10 If the Nautilus above wasn’t absurd enough, how about this incredibly rare Richard Mille RM27-01 “Rafael Nadal”? This isn’t any old Rafa…
Recently, Time+Tide put out an Instagram survey asking you, the reader, to express your opinion about wearing a smartwatch on one wrist and a mechanical watch on the other. I was really surprised to see the survey turn out heavily against this practice and here’s why … I like tech just as much as the next person. I’ve got an iPhone, an iPad, a laptop, a connected smart home theatre set-up, and my car can keep me from cutting someone off. I think technology has vastly improved the way we get things done and the speed at which we can accomplish communication. In defence of technology, it’s by and large pretty great. One tech item I don’t possess is a smartwatch. Like many Time+Tide readers, I’ve been resistant to the trend, much in the same vein as a lot of auto enthusiasts are to electric cars. My partner, on the other hand, has wholeheartedly embraced an Apple Watch Series 5 since Christmas. When I asked what she was going to do with the beautiful vintage linen-dial Omega she had been wearing for the last year, she simply replied, “Well, I’ll wear that too!” At first, I was quite sceptical about…
It’s lovely and ironic. We work with time every day, and yet we are no closer to mastering it. Here we are at the first major watch fair of the year, early in 2019, filming our personal favourites from the year before. While we are clearly late, the extra distance has provided more clarity. I am pretty sure about this elite group of 10; in various ways they have already stood the test of time, and when I think about them, they still come in hot. Often we are compiling lists – as we will do this afternoon, summing up the best of SIHH 2019 in different price points – practically with the new watches in our hands for the first time. There is no time for emotion recollected in tranquility as Wordsworth would say. I do hope you enjoy, please let me know your thoughts in the YouTube comments!
Yes, I know it’s mid Jan, and the traditional time for a summary top ten listicle is late December. But you know what I’ve always said? Better late than never. So, here we are, knee-deep in the best watches of SIHH and Andrew and I are engaging in some 2018 reflection. But really, though, these watches are so good that they manage to transcend the amorphous concept of short-lived “novelty” and deserve to be celebrated beyond their initial marketing period. At least that’s how I’m justifying it to myself. So, from Chanel to Omega, sit back and enjoy the ride …
Being in the watch writing line of work it’s no great surprise that friends and acquaintances often ask me for watch-buying advice. Call it an occupational hazard, call it a compliment that they should consider my advice worth seeking but (unlike a doctor friend, who gets irritated by being asked for free clinical advice at dinner parties) I never tire of talking about watches. But something has changed: as watch auction prices have gone relentlessly up over the past few years (not to mention the retail prices of many brands), the two questions I’m most often asked are: “I’m tossing up between an X and a Y [pick any two modern watch brands]. Which one is going to hold its value better?” And: “I’d like to buy vintage and I can’t afford a Daytona or a Patek, so which other brands would make the best investment?” (To clarify: these are people with around $10,000 to $30,000 to spend. Not $100,000 plus – that’s a different planet.) Those two questions are essentially the same one in different clothes – and my answer to both is: “Stop. You’re asking the wrong question.” Not because I don’t have a crystal ball (I don’t)…
For much of the industry, the motto when it comes to designing watches for women appears to be: “Make it sparkle so brightly they won’t notice there’s a battery inside.” Happily, that’s not the case here, because the Oris Artelier Skeleton Diamonds is one of an all-too-rare breed: a ladies’ watch that’s impressive both as a timepiece and as a piece of jewellery. Take a good look. Yes, there are diamonds – 72 of the little fellas doing their thing on the bezel, and another 12 acting as indices on the dial ring. There’s also some lovely texture thanks to the silver guilloche at play, as well as the mix of brushed and polished steel in the bracelet’s links, giving the watch a very fresh feel, like the breeze coming off a glacier. But at the same time your eye can’t help but be drawn to the skeletonised movement that you can see working away through the cut-out dial – and you get an even better look through the clear caseback. It’s that combination that makes this watch noteworthy. It’s pretty, while also being openly technical – something which clearly isn’t a contradiction in terms, but which is one of those things that society…
In the last few years, storm clouds have formed over the Helvetic Republic, where, for years, there has been nothing but blue sky and crisp alpine air. First they were mere zephyrs, barely rippling the surface of our collective consciousness, hardly worthy of mention in those glorious, post-GFC days. More recently we’ve noticed an increasing number of these squalls, and exchanged worried glances with our fellow travellers, but tacitly agreeing to collectively write them off as temporary aberrations due to external factors like currency fluctuation or political instability. But now there’s no ignoring it. The gale is blowing hard, and all around us the watch industry is battening down the hatches and cutting loose the dead wood. Some of these new drifters will ride the storm out, but many will succumb to the forces and become tomorrow’s flotsam and jetsam in an industry that has known smooth sailing for too long. I’ll do you all a favour and stop with the meteorological/nautical allusions now. The coming year will be a pivotal one for the watch industry. Despite the positivity projected by the Swiss hegemony it’s becoming clear that the watch industry is in crisis. But how big? Is it a temporary dip, or is it a massive, once-in-a-generation…