"As swimmers, everything we do revolves around time" Olympic champ Kyle Chalmers teams up with TAG Heuer
The worst brand associations feel like they’ve been hatched in drunken brainstorms at the end of a very long day. There seems zero reason to attach the celebrity to the product, beyond a marketing budget that urgently needs to be spent. Thankfully, TAG Heuer’s decision to partner up with Kyle Chalmers isn’t like that at all. In fact, it seems less like a marketing decision than intuitive common sense. Think about it, for a second. You’ve got a watch called the Aquaracer, so it’s logical you buddy up with an Olympic gold-winning swimmer. And that’s exactly what TAG Heuer have done with today’s news that Kyle Chalmers has become a “friend of the brand”. Chalmers stunned the world at Rio 2016 when he seemed to come out of nowhere to win the 100m Freestyle as a fresh-faced 18-year-old. Four years on, he’s now got his eyes fixed on this year’s Tokyo Games and the chance to consolidate his legacy as an Australian Olympic hero. TIME+TIDE: As an Olympic swimmer, it’s not just a question of every second counts, it’s every 100th of a second. Are you constantly aware of the clock in the pool? KYLE CHALMERS: Obviously, swimming is a…
The post “As swimmers, everything we do revolves around time” Olympic champ Kyle Chalmers teams up with TAG Heuer appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
We’re very proud to announce that the ‘Watch & Act!’ World Watch Auction in aid of the Australian bushfire crisis has raised more than $200,000 Australian dollars, with 100 per cent of the funds going directly to the charities that need it most. This has been a monumental effort from everyone involved and we’re incredibly moved, humbled and thankful to have had the global watch community rally behind and support this incredibly important cause. In the end 24 watches were generously donated by some of the biggest players in the horological hemisphere, and all were bid on in earnest by people across the globe who were eager to help out. Below, in totality, are the results of all 24 watches. And again, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Lot 1: H. Moser & Cie – Pioneer Centre Seconds Limited Edition #1 of 3, Personal Watch of U2 Bass Player, Adam Clayton – $27,200 USD Lot 2: Hodinkee – Oris Divers Sixty-Five Limited Edition #2 of 250, for Hodinkee – $6400 USD Lot 3: Bulgari – Serpenti, Tubogas, 18k Yellow Gold – $15,600 USD Lot 4: Longines – Heritage Diver 1967 – $3600 USD Lot 5: Hublot – Unique…
I am excited – after a couple of furiously busy weeks of behind-the-scenes planning – to announce the launch of the ‘Watch & Act!’ World Watch Auction in aid of the Australian bushfire crisis. The auction, launched today on the Invaluable online auction platform at 9am AEST, will run for 10 days, until 9am AEST on Friday the 31st January. Invaluable.com is the world’s premier online auction platform and is used by such esteemed houses as Sotheby’s and Phillips. The team at Invaluable.com, like so many generous donors, have offered the platform and their support services at no charge. The auction features 16 watches from 14 brands. All items are listed with no reserve. It includes two unique pieces that have been created especially for the auction; the Zenith Pilot Rescue, ‘Australian Rescue’ Edition Unique Piece with custom case back. And the Hublot Classic Fusion ‘Watch & Act’ Edition Unique Piece, also with engraved case back. In addition to these one-of-one pieces, there are no less than nine other Limited Edition models on offer. One is the personal H.Moser & Cie Pioneer Centre Seconds watch of U2 bass player Adam Clayton, offered by the brand with Adam’s blessing. It is…
There are myriad impressive things about Seiko’s Presage collection. But if we had to single out one overriding thing that the Japanese watchmaker’s dress watches do better than almost anyone else, rather predictably, it would be their dials. Pound for pound, the Presage dress watches and their rapturous range of dials represent amazing value for money. It’s not just the design that marks these dials out as instant winners either, it’s the finishing, intricacy and attention to detail. These two new examples, SRPD36J1 and SSA392J1, are no exception. The lustrous chocolate brown dials these watches possess are sumptuous, and as Nick Kenyon pointed out, they almost mimic that of a horse’s radiant flank. Complemented by gold coloured hour indices and Seiko’s signature dauphine handset, these Presages are downright handsome, especially when you take in to account the stainless steel cases with gold coloured finishing. The Seiko Presage SRPD36J1 and SSA392J1 prices and availability: The Seiko Presage SRPD36J1 has a recommended retail of $995 AUD. The Seiko Presage SSA392J1 has a recommended retail of $1250AUD. Both of these watches are currently available in boutiques across Australia. Made in partnership with Seiko. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own…
There have only ever been three smart watch reviews in the three thousand review history of Time+Tide. Which makes this review special. The reason we wanted to get our hands on one of the latest Apple Watch Series 5 models was the host of new features, including some new and luxurious materials, many of which approximate the luxury watch world we live in – full ceramic? Full titanium? Don’t mind if we do. After spending some time with it on the wrist (including running a marathon with it on), I found that there were some things to report (other than Apple selling 6.8 million watch units in Q3 of this year), even if it doesn’t get your heart rate up in exactly the same way that a mechanical watch does. Or does it? I look forward to your thoughts in the comments section.
Created to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Grand Seiko’s prolific Spring Drive movement, SBGY002 is a limited edition dress watch for discerning fans of the Japanese watchmaker’s signature snowflake dial. Hewn from solid 18k yellow gold, the case of the rarified timepiece is signature SBGY and, as a result, measures in at just 38.5mm and 10.2mm, ensuring that it will more than comfortably fit under even the tightest of cuffs. The dial is nothing short of mesmerising, with the famed textured snowflake aesthetic doing what it does best — leaving the wearer in complete awe regarding the level of intricacy and detail. The dial is complemented by a solid 18k yellow gold implementation of Grand Seiko’s classic dauphine hour and minute hands, while, perhaps strangely, the seconds hand is blued steel. And while I admit there was a hint of trepidation about the almost jarring contrast between yellow and blue when I first saw images of the SBGY002, the dichotomy of colours works wonders in the flesh. Powering the dress watch is the Japanese firm’s Calibre 9R31, which is skilfully crafted by hand in the watchmaker’s Shinshu watch studio, which, incidentally, is where the first-ever spring drive movement was created.…
USP – the acronym for “unique selling point”. A watchmaker’s USP is paramount to their success, and if you look at the general consensus of what’s considered the best brands out there, they’ve all got it — they each excel at something that puts them a cut above the rest. Whether it’s Rolex and their storied robustness, A. Lange & Söhne and their prolific levels of movement finishing, or Patek Philippe and their ability to make a steel sports watch so damned hard to purchase. What these USPs translate to, most importantly, is sales – if a brand is considered to be the pinnacle in a discipline of watchmaking, they will always be desirable. Grand Seiko’s USP is their dials – in the eyes of many, including my own, they represent the zenith of the horological industry in both design and finishing. No word of a lie, you need to look at their dials through a loupe to properly appreciate the aesthetic, craftsmanship and attention to detail on offer with these timepieces. Made to mimic the snow that falls around Grand Seiko’s Shinshu watch studio –the birthplace of the marque’s fabled Spring Drive movement – the Grand Seiko SBGA407 Snowflake Blue…
Of the hundreds of thousands of wristwatches that have been created over the last century, how many are truly iconic? The answer: honestly, not many … not many at all. Candidly, there are probably fewer than 50 timepieces of the last 100 years that can claim to have had an impact on the zeitgeist of the horological industry. TAG Heuer’s Monaco is one of those watches – it captured a time and place in history so resolutely (think Steve McQueen and Le Mans) that it continues to be lauded to this day. However, this icon is in the midst of a pivotal transition. You see, it’s the Monaco’s 50 birthday this year, and just like you and I will experience a mid-life crisis, it too is going through some serious changes. It hasn’t gone out and bought itself a Porsche and eloped with its secretary for pastures new, but it has acquired something shiny and expensive, and it’s causing quite the stir. Housed inside its familiar square case that we all know and love, the Monaco is, for the first time since 1969, being powered by an in-house movement, the Calibre 02. First released in TAG’s storied Autavia back in…
Owning a watch that has been given to you as a gift has a sentimental element that can get even more meaningful over time. Anyone who has been fortunate enough to have received a watch as a gift, a milestone or something to mark an achievement, will know what I’m on about – it’s an emotional thing, it becomes more than ‘just a watch’. …if you’re contemplating buying a watch for someone you care about, you should abide by one simple rule: keep it classic. But not all watch gifts are equal. What can make the experience slightly less nostalgic as the years go on is if the watch in question was made with a particular aesthetic or trend that is no longer en vogue … think the vast majority of fashion watches from the ’90s, for example. That’s why, if you’re contemplating buying a watch for someone you care about, you should abide by one simple rule: keep it classic. And the parameters set by Longines’ range of heritage timepieces are some very safe guide-rails indeed. Why? Because they offer tried and tested watch designs with a high level of refinement that’s verging on unparalleled in the price bracket. And,…
The latest young star to join the ranks of Rado is the Australian tennis player Ash Barty, who despite being only 23 has already reached the position of women’s world No. 1. What is most exciting for us, and her fans around the world, is that she has collaborated with Rado to release a watch this year, bringing us the Rado HyperChrome Ashleigh Barty Limited Edition, a white-hot watch that matches perfectly with the uniform of Wimbledon, which was her first junior Grand Slam win. While we obviously love Ash Barty because she’s an Aussie, we also love that she represents what an Australian sports person should be, with her humble nature and hardworking attitude. Ash’s career has been one of meteoric rise, and of a multifaceted athlete very rarely seen today, as she reached a ranking of junior No. 2 in the world at the age of 15 in 2011. It was only three years later that she decided to take an indefinite break from the sport, shocking the tennis world and the Australian sporting community. Reaching such heights at such an early age can often see young athletes taking a break from their sport, or retiring, thanks to…