Hublot's Sang Bleu II, as explained by the man who designed it
When it comes to creative collaborations, few brands have the level of panache or skill that Hublot does. They have a few on the burner at the moment: their Orlinski watches and the one we’re looking at today – the Sang Bleu. To be a little more specific, we’re looking at the Hublot Sang Bleu II in titanium. Now, you might be wondering who (or what) a Sang Bleu is — if your French is good, you’ll have worked out that it means blue blood, which gives you a bit of a hint. Sang Bleu is a tattoo studio, with notable clients including Kanye West and FKA Twigs. But it’s 2019, so tattoo studio doesn’t quite cover all of what Sang Bleu is or does — it’s also a fully fledged design agency, magazine and media platform. Sang Bleu has worked with heavy-hitters like Balenciaga and Rick Owens. The man who drives much of this, and who’s behind the Hublot collaboration, is Maxime Büchi. I sat down with him at Baselworld earlier this year and had a very enjoyable, to-the-point interview. Unlike many interviews that take place under the rubric of the Swiss watch industry, this one was refreshingly free of…
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On this day, 50 years ago Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. An incredible achievement in the history of humanity. What’s even more incredible is that this occurred less than seven years after President John F. Kennedy declared: “We choose to go to the Moon.” Of course, along for the ride was a humble steel chronograph from Omega – the Speedmaster. In the 50 years since that decade, the Speedy has become (and remained) one of watchmaking’s most enduring icons. And, inevitably, this is something that Omega wanted to celebrate — and celebrate in style. At the start of the year, they released a solid gold tribute, but the low production and higher price tag of this piece made it unobtainable to many. So it was that fans waited with bated breath for Omega’s 2019 collection announcement in May, and they were not disappointed. The Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary in steel and Moonshine gold is a tribute to the history of Apollo 11, and jam-packed with details that speak to both the mission and the history of the watch. Most obviously there’s the medallion of Buzz Aldrin descending from the landing module in the running…
A decade ago, overtly feminine watches that combined beauty and proper horology were a rare thing indeed. (There are more of them today – although still far from enough.) And when Jaeger-LeCoultre launched the Rendez-Vous collection in 2012 it really struck a chord. Here was a watchmaker taking women seriously, with good mechanical movements, elegant, grown-up designs and a load of refined detail. A little wink in the form of a tiny star on the dial perimeter that can be set to mark an appointment (rendez-vous in French), which gave the collection its name. And a confident, 36mm case diameter. Watches with brains as well as beauty. The line quickly became a pillar of the brand. Although some elaborately beautiful artistic editions and complications have been added over the years, the core of the Rendez-Vous collection hits that aesthetic sweet spot: feminine but not fluffy; decorative but not elaborate; simple yet full of details; great for daily wear and dressy enough for evening. A fine balancing act. And then, this year, Jaeger-LeCoultre went large with diamonds. Literally large. With an extra ring of brilliant-cut stones set around the outside of the bezel. Dazzling Rendez-Vous, it’s called. And dazzle it does.…
In a world overflowing with safe-and-similar watch designs, Franck Muller is a breath of fresh air. As in this ladies tourbillon (a recent addition to the Cintrée Curvex Collection), the confident use of colour, the beautiful balance of traditional and avant-garde, the refined details on the dial, and the voluptuous curves of the case have been signatures of the brand since it was founded by the eponymous Mr Muller 28 years ago. For anyone whose interest in watches didn’t begin until after the millennium, it’s hard to understand how much impact Muller has had on the modern watch industry, both technically and aesthetically. In 1984, as a 26-year-old upstart, he produced his first tourbillon watch – at a time when hardly anyone knew what a tourbillon was and you could count the people capable of making one on the fingers of one hand. He tossed 1930s–inspired forms, classical details and traditional finishing into a blender and came out with an exciting, avant-garde aesthetic that broke all the prevailing rules (namely: staid, safe, unimaginative). In short, Franck Muller showed the world that watches could be technically fascinating, great fun and very beautiful – things that we now take for granted. Another…
Regular readers will register precisely zero surprise when I state that the entirety of Time+Tide are raging fans of Bulgari’s distinctive Octo — but, if we’re being completely real (and when are we not?), then it’s the Octo Finissimo that attracts the lion’s share of our ardour. But it’s not the only arrow in that particular octagonal quiver. There’s the chronograph, the Roma (kind of), and this guy here — the Bulgari Octo L’Originale. While the Octo L’Originale isn’t a new model this year, this latest version has been given a look that is, as the kids say, fresh. The 41mm case, with its 110 facets, is dark and deadly thanks to a black DLC coating, except for the crown and the octagonal bezel that sits beneath the blackened, round bezel. The effect is more subtle than we’re used to with black and gold watches, and gives the effect of the occasional flash of gold, rather than a full-on flash. The black is the perfect foil for the rose gold. High-contrast, sporty and luxe, all in one package. The dial is also a winner: minimal text, grained matt finish and rose gold text and applied numerals — with the trademark…
Louis Vuitton, the watchmaker. As time goes on, this statement is gaining credibility and intrigue. And intrigue is certainly the word I would use to describe this shoot, which involved the Time+Tide team flying to Queenstown in New Zealand with Louis Vuitton to explore the brand’s high watch collection 2019. The setting was, sparing all cliches, akin to a natural paradise. The experience also included an interview with one of the world’s master watchmakers, Michel Navas. But back to Louis Vuitton, and their selling proposition. It’s important from the outset to put things in perspective in terms of the rarefied air — much like Queenstown — that Louis Vuitton breathes. Just a handful of brands are authorised to put the Geneva Seal on their watches, and LV sits alongside some of the greatest: Cartier, Vacheron Constantin, Louis Vuitton. But perhaps best of all, Louis Vuitton has what you can credibly argue is an iconic watch — the Spin Time, which is a jumping hours complication with a difference. The jump involves a practically instantaneous flip of a cube, giving the function a dash of dynamism and fun. Let me go off script right at the start and say Felix and I think this…
A few weeks ago we spent some quality time with a few friends and Jaeger-LeCoultre’s latest Master Ultra Thin pieces, with eye-catching guilloché enamel dials. Well, before the watches were locked away for the evening in their display cases, we took the opportunity to get up close and personal with these beauties. Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Moon Enamel When Sandra first looked at the white gold JLC Master Ultra Thin Moon back at SIHH, she commented that its big trick was to transform a discreetly elegant design into a breathtaking showstopper. A few months on and that statement is, if anything, even truer. The lustre of this dial is next-level, and on its own it would be enough. For me, though, the contrast provided by the matt finish of the laser-etched date display around the moon phase display makes it. $55,500 AUD Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar Enamel If you need more complexity in your life than the moon can provide — how about the perpetual calendar version? An elegant 39mm across, this 10.44mm tall watch is packed with complication, classically displayed on the dial. Like all these three watches, the movement has been upgraded, with the power reserve…
Architectural is a word that gets thrown around a lot in watch writing, and when you look at a watch like this Franck Muller Gravity Skeleton you can see why. The clear, expansive view provided allows the wearer to look down at a tiny, and industrious city, busily whirring away. And if we continue the architecture metaphor, this watch is a far cry from your day-to-day office block — this is more along the lines of monumental, futuristic architecture. Full of sweeping bridges and curves. It’s a watch with nowhere to hide — the wheels and gears, along with the large, oversized tourbillon cage at the bottom. The manually wound movement offers five days of power reserve, and is chock-full of 237 tiny, tiny pieces and is cased in a large case, 44mm wide by 53.7mm long. The case is clad in black, giving a stealthy, urban look. The Gravity is a stylish take on Franck Muller’s classic Curvex, a fresh update that certainly stands out. Franck Muller Gravity Skeleton price Franck Muller Gravity Skeleton, (V 45 T GRAVITY CS SQT), $227,600 Made in partnership with Franck Muller. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own in accordance…