Bremont show how to nail a virtual watch event with the world’s greatest mountaineer

virtual watch eventDespite a full 12 months passing since COVID began restricting the places we can go and the people we see, the watch world still hasn’t worked out how to run an interesting event online. Starved of the opportunity to present watches in the metal, the polite way to describe most virtual events is dull at best. Recently, however, Bremont took a step in the right direction by at least hosting an event with a fascinating guest. The guest in question? None other than the Gurkha and ex-member of the British Special Forces Nirmal Purja or as he likes to be called, Nims. If you’re a regular reader of Time+Tide you’ll likely be aware of the relationship that Bremont has with Nims who’s broken a number of mountaineering world records while wearing their watches. On the face of it, it’s a relationship that could look like just another watch brand ambassadorship that serves to tick a marketing box. But beneath the surface, there’s a genuine connection between Bremont and Nims. In 2018, Nims left the military to concentrate his efforts on mountaineering and. in 2019, he embarked on a journey to scale all 14 of the world’s highest peaks that are…

The post Bremont show how to nail a virtual watch event with the world’s greatest mountaineer appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

4 years ago

Rolex, Patek, Tudor and TAG plus 34 other brands to show at Watches and Wonders in April

I will be perfectly honest, ever since starting to write about watches, my sincere wish has been to meet up with the Time+Tide team at Basel, SIHH or even some far-flung Far Eastern destination. But then, KER-CLUNK! It was as if a giant hand pulled down a large POWER OFF handle, the lights dimmed and it all went eerily quiet. COVID-19 signalled the temporary end of watch fairs. Yet thanks to the determination of Jean-Christophe Babin at Bulgari and various other horological powerhouses that pulled together Geneva Watch Days, things didn’t end as glumly as they might have. The GWD sent a signal to the world that we might be looking at a new future of watch fairs that are up close and personal (well, as close and personal as you can get with a mask on ). Now Watches and Wonders have announced their 2021 dates and it’s “phygital”! Yes, Watches and Wonders, the extravagantly monikered version of SIHH, is now back according to the press release (phygital is a cross between physical and digital, apparently). Five main brands are on board for the 2021 Watches & Wonders Geneva digital show: Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe, Chopard, and Chanel. They…

The post Rolex, Patek, Tudor and TAG plus 34 other brands to show at Watches and Wonders in April appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

4 years ago

AUCTION NEWS: This Vacheron Constantin sold for just 40 per cent of its $3 million prediction. Is 2021 off to a catastrophically slow start?

Important Modern & Vintage TimepiecesI did choose to be very optimistic in my story last week about the astounding Vacheron Constantin Tour de L’Ile reaching a cool record $3 million to kick off a healthy 2021. The estimate was set at Antiquorum’s Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces in Monaco to a spread of $1.8 – $3 million. But the watch didn’t make it – far from it, in fact – ending up selling for a paltry $1.2 million plus buyer’s premium. This begs the questions: are we merely looking at early signs of a fickle market in this astronomical price range? Or does this suggest another year of tumbling auction sales? This VC sold for $2.1 million when it was produced, bearing in mind that at that time is was the most complicated men’s wristwatch ever made. Having just sold for less than $1.5 million, in the world of uber complex Haute Horlogerie this surely constitutes a bargain? Relatively speaking, of course. As in selling all the houses of my close family might make me able to afford said bargain. Yet analysing the other top lots in this Antiquorum auction, the market ultimately still seems healthy if slightly unpredictable, and maybe in a transformative phase…

The post AUCTION NEWS: This Vacheron Constantin sold for just 40 per cent of its $3 million prediction. Is 2021 off to a catastrophically slow start? appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

4 years ago

Recommended Reading: Will yet another auction record be broken this weekend? The world’s most complicated wristwatch is up for grabs…

This might be exactly what we need to start 2021 with a BANG, and signal what we all hope is a strong year of growth for both the watch industry and consumer market in general. Auction results are a very important marker of the market temperature, and as WatchPro reminded us, this weekend sees the auction of the thoroughly mind-bending form of the Vacheron Constantin Tour de L’Ile, a vastly complex and equally dazzling micro-engineered piece of horological art. Everything is in place for a new auction record and a flying start to the year. The Vacheron Constantin Tour de L’Ile boasts a frankly incomprehensible 834 components and took 10,000 hours to complete. With two dials – both front and back – and everything from a minute-repeating complication to a tourbillon and equation of perpetual time, this is one of Vacheron Constantin’s ventures into the absolute highest echelons of haute horlogerie. Utterly beguiling, this 18-carat rose-gold wristwatch (if we can even call it that) sold for an original $2.1 million in 2005, and is estimated on the block for around $3 million this weekend.   Is this the kick-off we need for a fresh 2021?, I have high hopes. Have…

The post Recommended Reading: Will yet another auction record be broken this weekend? The world’s most complicated wristwatch is up for grabs… appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

4 years ago

Why did the second Paul Newman Rolex Daytona sell at auction for the “bargain” price of $5m?

The second Paul Newman Rolex Daytona auctionNothing over $1 million can really be called a bargain. Particularly when it’s a mere wristwatch from the Swinging Sixties. Yet we all know the stratospheric values paid for Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona 6241. The first one went for a mind-boggling and (then) world record $17.8 million USD back in 2017. Fast forward to the here and now. We are at the end of 2020, a year of slow turnover sure, but not across the board – the huge Chinese market has already picked up with YOY sales considerably up from 2019.  But earlier this month, Racing Pulse – a New York auction by Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo – sold Paul Newman’s other Daytona. This one had a dark reverse panda dial and was still delightfully clean and crisp after half a century. Being a significant Rolex, this was snapped up for $5,475,000 US – a considerable sum, of course, but a relative bargain compared to Newman’s previous Daytona, given that it sold for 70 per cent less. The Phillips/Bacs & Russo auction still achieved some phenomenal results. It included a record sale for any Heuer, the iconic Heuer Monaco ref. 1133 owned by Steve McQueen –…

The post Why did the second Paul Newman Rolex Daytona sell at auction for the “bargain” price of $5m? appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

4 years ago

3 watches you can get from the brand new Jaeger-LeCoultre Melbourne boutique right now

Jaeger-LeCoultre Melbourne boutiqueThe lockdown in Melbourne has made us miss a lot of things. An avocado-heavy brunch with friends. A cocktail at Eau-de-Vie. And also the opening of the brand new Jaeger-LeCoultre Melbourne boutique. You heard me correctly, Jaeger-LeCoultre has a new home in Melbourne at the Paris end of Collins Street, right next to its Richemont stablemates, Vacheron Constantin and Cartier. This is the second part of an Australian expansion by the brand, with the first-ever boutique in the country opening in Sydney last year. At the time, Justin Devaux, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Country Manager of Australia and New Zealand, explained the decision behind the expansion as a part of a longer-term strategy to “immerse the customer in the brand universe”. Mr Devaux went on to add, “I think overall that everybody is looking quite optimistically at the market in Australia. On our side we definitely expect to have a bright future in Australia, but Jaeger-LeCoultre is not an easy brand to understand, and is one that has mastered so many different areas of craftsmanship that you need to have a specific boutique to be able to have the time and expertise to explain the range of the skills we are offering with…

The post 3 watches you can get from the brand new Jaeger-LeCoultre Melbourne boutique right now appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

4 years ago

Live Stream – Watch the GPHG 2020 Ceremony

This is it, the 2020 Oscars of the Watchmaking industry, the so-called Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève or GPHG 2020, is about to begin and the best watches introduced during the year are about to be awarded. From ladies’ watches to chronographs and exceptional mechanical proposals, the entire spectrum of watch production is covered. For […]

4 years ago

Announcing – Watch the GPHG 2020 Tonight, Live on MONOCHROME

Tonight, as every year, is the celebration of watchmaking, watchmakers and watches in general… It is the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (or GPHG 2020) – the Oscars of the watchmaking industry. Several categories are represented (ladies, men, complicated and even affordable watches) and the best watches of the year will be awarded the coveted […]

4 years ago

Phillips auction battle of Swiss vs. Japanese handmade haute horology – which is better value?

Swiss vs. Japanese handmade haute horologyLast night saw the Phillips’ and Blackbird thematic auction Retrospective: 2000 – 2020 play out, with some truly incredible watches reaching truly incredible prices. Two that I wanted to focus on were a pair of watches that are at the same time very similar and very different. Both are handmade. Both are three-handed dress watches in precious metal. Both could be argued as examples of the finest watchmaking from their respective countries. However one is from Switzerland, and the other is from Japan. I am of course talking about the Philippe Dufour Simplicity 20th Anniversary No. 00/20 and the Seiko Credor Eichi II in platinum. Despite being produced on different sides of the globe, both of these watches have a story that is more intertwined than you might expect. It is well documented that Mr. Dufour himself was a teacher to the master watchmakers at the Micro Artist Studio at Seiko’s factory in Shiojiri. Specifically sharing his knowledge of movement decoration and how to make watches that would have longer lives on the wrists of their owners. In this sense, it is a story that is already set up with Philippe Dufour as the master, and the watchmakers of the Micro Artist…

The post Phillips auction battle of Swiss vs. Japanese handmade haute horology – which is better value? appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

4 years ago

“The grey market is a creation of the brands, and they need to address it.” The virtual Horology Forum 2020, brought to you by Dubai Watch Week, kicks off with a bang

Horology Forum 2020It feels like a lifetime ago that I was heading home from the DOXA Australia Launch Event to pack my bags for Dubai Watch Week 2019. Since then, the global pandemic put a stop to any in-person watch events (with the exception of the LVMH Watch Week and more recently at a socially distanced Geneva Watch Days), which included the demise of the longest-running watch event in the world – Baselworld. But the youth of Dubai Watch Week gives it an advantage against the traditional trade show. Flexibility. And this year the organisers of Dubai Watch Week are demonstrating their dynamism with the Horology Forum 2020 to be held virtually. The Horology Forum 2020 began last night in earnest, with a panel debating the nature of the grey market. RedBar founder Adam Craniotes said in the session, which can be viewed at the link below, that “the grey market is a creation of the brands, and they need to address it, instead of kicking the can down the road.” The final session is to be held on November 9. Last year’s speakers included Jean-Claude Biver, Mohammed Abdulmagied Seddiqi, Aldis Hodge, Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani and even @shameonwrist, and this year the line-up…

The post “The grey market is a creation of the brands, and they need to address it.” The virtual Horology Forum 2020, brought to you by Dubai Watch Week, kicks off with a bang appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

4 years ago