HANDS-ON: The audacious Hublot Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph Orlinski Blue Ceramic
When it was announced last year, I thought Hublot’s Orlinski case was one of the freshest, coolest new shapes I’d seen in quite some time. And then they went and released it in blue ceramic and I quietly lost my mind. But before we dive into the blue, let’s have a quick refresher on just what — or who — an Orlinski is. Richard Orlinski is a French contemporary artist, known for his bright, poppy, faceted sculptures. In this partnership, Orlinski has brought his geometric approach to Hublot. Fundamentally, the Orlinski Hublot is a classic fusion — a two register chronograph with a heavily skeletonised dial that’s well-worn territory for the brand. It’s big — 45mm across and 13.40mm high, and powered by the non-Unico HUB1155. From a distance, the case still has that classic Hublot look — brawny shoulders and big bezel. But upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that while the fundamental clay that forms the watch is the same, it’s been remoulded into something entirely new. The clay metaphor is a (not so clever) play on the fact that Orlinski is a sculptor, but it also works on a more literal level. The incredibly vibrant blue ceramic…
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The story in a second: It’s big. It’s red. It’s Hublot. Red is a colour with some pretty specific cultural meaning — danger, passion, excitement and love. And most of these emotions or associations are pretty applicable (danger, not so much) to Hublot’s latest hot piece, the Big Bang Unico Red Magic, a statement piece par excellence that impresses on so many levels. The case Yeah. We’ve got to start with the case. There’s just no avoiding it. This is an incredible watch case on many levels, including sheer brightness. This is a case that definitely lives up to the Big Bang name. And for all that this incredibly vivid, bright watch is as eye-catching as a red fire engine barrelling down main street with sirens and lights blaring, there’s more to this 45mm watch than ‘mere’ surface appeal. For starters, ceramic isn’t the easiest material to work with, and regardless of colour, the highly polished ceramic front and back plates, as well as bezel, is achievement enough. But the real party trick is just how Hublot has managed to achieve such a bright colour on ceramic, which is a tricky material. But Hublot are no slouches with material innovation…
It’s fair to say that there’s a fresh new breeze blowing in Ulysse Nardin’s sails these days. There’s a new energy, which has resulted in some great new designs, and refreshed takes on old classics. Case in point is the Torpilleur, a marine chronometer styled watch, which takes its name — appropriately enough — from agile torpedo boats. It’s a watch we’ve looked at before, but the latest configuration is, if you’ll pardon my colloquialism, freaking hot. The blue dial is rich and satiny thanks to the starburst finish, crisply painted with white Roman numerals. The dial layout is neat, with power reserve up top, and seconds (with a smoothly integrated date) at the bottom. The notched bezel adds some texture and dynamism to an otherwise pretty classic 42mm case. Some of the other interesting design elements are the numbered plate on the left-hand flank of the watch, as well as the trademark metal link in the sporty rubber strap. A strap that, it must be said, completely changes the mood of the watch, which I’ve previously seen only on croc. The movement is about as in-house as it gets, all the way down to the silicon hairspring and escapement,…
The story in a second: It’s big, it’s complicated, it’s bloody clever. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: I’ve got a real soft spot for German watchmaking, but especially for Glashütte Original. Underappreciated, and painfully under-marketed anywhere outside of Europe, they are one of VERY few brands that manufacture their own dials and cases (in a separate facility in Pforzheim, not in Glashütte proper). Over the years, things like the ’60s and ’70s collections have consistently grabbed my attention, as did last year’s steel versions of the Senator Chronograph Panorama Date, but in 2018 something slightly outside my usual lines of watch attraction caught my eye — the large, somewhat traditionally styled, yet uniquely configured Senator Cosmopolite in steel. This steel version arrives three years after its initial launch in gold, and cuts its retail price down a fair bit (20,700 euros versus 38,000). As a world timer of immensely practical design from a technical standpoint (more on that later), there’s an appreciable shift towards functionality with the inclusion of a steel case that just makes sense with this watch, which is precisely why I was eager to give it some wrist time for a more in-depth…
If you take the term ‘game changer’ at its most literal, it is a development, a breakthrough that changes the game. No matter how you interpret the term, it’s a big call. And the watch world in particular is a big game to have any meaningful impact on, given the vastness of its history and the giants in its immediate and distant past. At a recent event in Shanghai, Bulgari unveiled their most complicated watch ever, the Octo Grande Sonnerie Perpetual Calendar, which combines grand strike and perpetual complications – no mean feat, and an achievement appreciated by an Asian collector who bought it within a month of its first release in Rome in July at a price that we cannot disclose (but was more than $1 million AUD). But this new pinnacle for Bulgari is not the subject of today’s interview. It is a forthright challenge to the Bulgari Managing Director Guido Terreni about the ongoing — some might argue increasing — association of the term ‘game changer’ with the Octo Finissimo collection. I asked him for three reasons it’s justified. 1. Because it makes ultra-thin watches contemporary “To me, Finissimo is a game changer because it takes the tradition of ultra-thin…
Editor’s note: The Octo is so hot right now, which is kind of odd considering that the design is decades old, and has been in Bulgari’s stable since 2010. And while much of the glory has (deservedly) been laid at the slender feet of the Octo Finissimo, the ‘regular’ Octo is no slouch in the looks department either. Just take this inky black and blood red stunner as an example … Bulgari has unveiled some of their latest collection in advance of Baselworld, and we were lucky enough to get our hands on a few key pieces. One model that particularly took our fancy was this crimson and black take on the Octo Ultranero. The changes on this latest version of the Octo are purely cosmetic — it’s still a 41mm black DLC-treated steel case rated to 100m, powered by Bulgari’s in-house BVL 193, mounted on a sporty black rubber strap — but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a different story to tell. The dial is black lacquer, polished to a gloss black finish. On top of this, Bulgari has added blood-red indices and hands to the mix. The result is impressively moody, adding a touch of drama to the typically stealthy Ultranero.…
Blancpain’s Bathyscaphe is one of those rare, chameleonic watch designs. A watch that, broadly speaking, owes great fidelity to its primogenitor, but a watch that doesn’t look dated. It’s a neutral watch — something that gives the Bathyscaphe broad appeal and great versatility. In steel, it’s a classic, traditional dive watch, but here, in black ceramic, it’s something much more modern in style. And the execution of the ceramic really is gorgeous. Crisp lines, even brushed finishes, really lovely stuff — the material is finished like metal, but with ceramic’s advantages of light weight and scratch resistance. No matter how you slice it, the case of this watch is cool. The dial isn’t half bad either, and I quite like how reserved Blancpain has been, keeping the hour markers quite small, when it must have been tempting to scale them up. The result is, to my eye, a more subtle, versatile watch dial, which doesn’t scream ‘diver!’ at the top of its lungs. This is a watch you could definitely wear daily, with a suit (especially in the smaller case size), or for any Cousteau-esque underwater adventures you might have planned. Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe black ceramic Australian pricing Blancpain Fifty…
They say legends aren’t born, they’re made. And the immortal story of the archetypal diver’s watch, Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms, is as legendary as they come. Beginning with tales of clandestine underwater missions and Oscar-winning performances. Following a long and ultimately unsuccessful search for a watch that would suit all their aquatic espionage needs, in 1952, Captain Robert “Bob” Maloubier and Lieutenant Claude Riffaud – two commanding officers from the then recently established French combat diving corps – sat down with a drawing pad and pencil, and set out to design a watch that would not only play an instrumental role in the military unit’s covert undertakings, but could also survive the immense pressures found at the murky depths of their usual field of operations. Essentially, what they were after was a water-resistant watch with a black dial, large numerals and clear indications using triangles, circles and squares, that used an external rotating bezel for measuring elapsed time, and had markings that could be easily read in both light and under the discreet cover of darkness. With a sketch in hand, the pair then approached a small Villeret watch manufacturer by the name of Blancpain, and then-CEO, Jean-Jacques Fiechter, who was…
Take two parts dial, one part case, one part movement and two dashes of typical Seiko value and you have a recipe for a particularly tasty cocktail; in this case, the Seiko Presage Cocktail Time ‘Fuyugeshiki’ limited edition, specifically the 40.5mm SRPC97J1, and the 33.8mm SRP843J1. We are pleased to offer limited numbers of both models for sale within Australia in our shop, buy them here. Also included in the sale is a copy of NOW – THE WATCH BUYING GUIDE, Time+Tide’s first publication. These limited edition watches are inspired by cocktails created by Hisashi Kishi, the head bartender at Tokyo’s Star Bar, with the case design and hour markers inspired by the shape of a cocktail glass. Mr Kishi created a paired drink, with a cool, pure appearance and, if it tastes anything like the dial looks, it must be delicious. Fuyugeshiki literally translates as ‘winter scene’, and the dial certainly delivers on that promise — it’s rich, crisp and white. Like previous versions of the Cocktail Time, the dial is pressed, but instead of the radial pattern we’ve seen before, the pattern here is very delicate, a repeating, naturalistic vertical pattern that resembles fine brushwork or — if you’re feeling poetic…
The other day we showed you the very heritage-inspired Captain Cook Mark II from Rado. Well, now it’s time for the other side of the coin, the modern take on an old classic. Meet the Rado Tradition Captain Cook Mark III. On paper, it’s a titanium-cased diver with an internal bezel. On the wrist, it’s so much more. The titanium case is large (46mm large), but not overwhelmingly so, thanks to a curvy, lugless case design. And while the Mark II is reflection city, this guy sucks up the light like nobody’s business, thanks to the super-hard matt finish. The domed sapphire crystal is something else, showing every tiny popping yellow detail on the dial below. And while all the individual elements are pretty good, what I appreciate the most about this watch is the whole picture — it’s a modern dive watch that’s fit for purpose, and one that manages to be its own creation rather than an homage (knowing or otherwise) to other designs. Bravo Rado! Rado Tradition Captain Cook Mark III Australian pricing and availability Rado Tradition Captain Cook Mark III, $3450