This collector has a different Omega Speedmaster for every day of the year, and has even made ‘Speedy Suspenders’…
Editor’s note: This is a story that focuses on two things, being the collection and story of the man that almost certainly owns more Speedmasters than any other collector on earth, Mr Bhaskar Eswaran. It also leads into a description of the new Omega Authentication service for watches more than 30 years old. I am lucky to have had my beloved Omega Ranchero authenticated by Omega, and can say the service is exceptional, and the cherished red envelope that the official information arrives in is akin to receiving a Top Secret dossier from James Bond. More on that in another story. Each day when a watch collector wakes up, they have the first-world problem of having to decide which lovely timepiece to strap to their wrist. For all watch owners, there’s usually some sort of system or method when picking the watch of the day. What clothes am I wearing? What have I already worn this week? Now imagine you had enough watches, where theoretically, you could wear a different timepiece every day without wearing the same watch twice for an entire year. Bhaskar Eswaran does not have to imagine this conundrum, he lives it every day with likely the…
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It is no secret that a lot has happened this year – lockdown insanity, pre and post election anxiety, and oh-so much more. So let’s take a second to find Zen with a visual reminder of time beating forward. If you haven’t already, observing a watch tick away in slow motion is an extraordinarily relaxing thing to do. Often it is referred to as the heartbeat of a watch, but if you think about it, watching the hairspring expand and contract (at least in slow motion) is akin to taking a nice deep breath. With the MB&F Legacy Machine 101 we literally find balance at its centre. Thanks to Mr Macro @horomariobro, we explore this large and exquisitely finished central balance wheel and reflect on the artistry of its composition. Andrew McUtchen: So the next video is the MB&F. Tell me what is happening here. You’ve got reflection love, don’t you? @Horomariobro: Sure. So this video is of the balance wheel of the MB&F Legacy Machine 101. The balance wheel is all the way on the top and placed visibly on the dial side. What is really intriguing here is that it’s set up really tall. Usually in the world…
Within the watch community, you will hear the phrase “in the metal” a fair bit. With some watches it is as simple as paying a quick visit to an authorised dealer to become more acclimated with a watch. However, not all watches are available to view in-store – and no, this is not a conversation about Rolex. The Eichi II, from Credor, is a watch most people do not have an option of seeing on-demand. It typically hits stores for showings for special events put together in honour of trade fairs or VIP customer gatherings. Thankfully, for those who have not had the fortune of seeing one in person, we have the next best thing: photos and videos from macro maestro @horomariobro. Andrew McUtchen: Now this one is a very simple one and a very beautiful one. Or seemingly simple, I should say … @Horomariobro: Definitely. With the Eichi II, I am trying to show three things. One is the dial — I want to show how smooth and white the dial is. The dial is not made of enamel. A lot of people will think it’s an enamel dial, but it’s not, it’s made of porcelain. It’s extremely white. I actually had…
Editor’s note: If I had to list my most motivational interview of the year, it would be easy. It would be Paul de Gelder. Paul is a former navy clearance diver, turned TV show host and now Seiko ambassador. Paul is an Aussie based in L.A – and his claims to fame are more than just being the last shark attack victim in Sydney Harbour. He has also taught Mike Tyson how to dive. And he is the creator of a COVID-19 lockdown in-house fitness routine involving a broom, shopping bags and lots of canned goods. If you’re looking for a non-standard watch-related video to watch today, you have found it. We hope you enjoy the video, and also this first-person minute-by-minute recap of the day that changed his career, and changed his life. That morning, it was February 11, 2009, 6 in the morning. Overcast, and the water in Sydney Harbour is quite murky, which always makes it a bit nerve-racking. I was swimming near HMAS Kuttabul, which is where we’ve spent thousands of hours working on the warships. I had sharks on the brain. I always have sharks on the brain! I was in the water doing what we…
In this instalment of our discussion with the King of the Close-Up, Mr @horomariobro (you can find the first part right here), we take a deep dive into a brand that has a well-established reputation for getting the details right – Grand Seiko. Specifically, we take an extremely close look at his own Grand Seiko SBGY003, a watch that was released in 2019 to mark the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Spring Drive movement. Here’s what he had to say. Andrew McUtchen: Your video of the Grand Seiko SBGY003 is pretty remarkable..! @Horomariobro: Yes, here I try to show a couple of things. One is how smooth the Spring Drive moves the second hand. It’s really smooth. And then the other one, I’m just trying to show how well polished the index marker is. It’s the mirror polish, the famous Zaratsu polish, and then using the mirror polish to show the underside of the moving second hand. View this post on Instagram We recently spoke to @horomariobro about why he loves @grandseikoofficial so much, and what sets them apart from similar watches. The answer? You're going to need to look very, very closely. Head to the site for the full…
Most of us probably haven’t tried to draw anything since high school, and those high school drawings are unlikely to be works of art. Even to the encouraging eyes of our parents. But don’t worry, because it’s never too late to learn a new skill, especially when you’ve got the best teachers, and you’re learning about a subject you’re passionate about – a subject like watches. Earlier this year, Andrew McUtchen had the pleasure of speaking with Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, the head watch designer at Bulgari and the man behind the Bulgari Octo Finissimo, and Fabrizio was generous enough to offer a quick lesson on how to sketch our own Bulgari Octo Finissimo drawing. That’s right, a five-minute lesson on how to draw one of the hottest up-and-coming sports watches of the last few decades, from the man who brought it to life. Like I said, when you’ve got the best teachers it’s easy to learn a new skill, and it’s safe to say that Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani is the best person for the job when it comes to sketching the Octo Finissimo. The Bulgari Octo Finissimo case shape in its current form was first released in 2014, housing a…
There is an endless succession of fads, curiosities and sensations on social media. @horomariobro is not one of them. And if you need to stop now and follow him, we’ll forgive you. His extraordinary macro photography and videography, coupled with insightful commentary on what his lens has captured, has hit Instagram with the force of a revelation. When it comes to dropping the knowledge, Mr Mario speaks in frank layman’s terms that any fan can understand. Sometimes he’s awed. Sometimes he’s disappointed. But always, he’s interesting beyond belief. Every single post is a must-read. It’s not over the top to say he’s become a conscience for the industry, seeing through the hype to the #details that reveal which of your most revered brands are truly obsessive about perfection. Therefore, in a few short months, he has become legend. And he is in a company of one when it comes to posting eagle-eyed, truth telling vignettes that will make you feel differently about all kinds of brands. Want to know if your Grand Seiko polishes the underside of its hands? Want to watch ultra slo-mo of your flyback chrono returning to zero? @horomariobro is here to help. And sometimes, to harm the reputations of generally unimpeachable brands. Patek? Lange? Journe?…
The notion that “knowledge is power” has arguably become the guiding principle of our professional lives. Organisations are more reliant than ever on numerical evidence to gauge how they’re shaping up. Businesses study balance sheets, governments scrutinise trade figures, media networks analyse traffic growth and revenue streams. Sport, too, has become ever more data-obsessed after the so-called “Moneyball effect” saw the Oakland A’s baseball team thrive after they started basing their decisions on statistical analysis, rather than the hunches of ageing scouts. As a result, the corporate maxim, “If it’s not measurable, it’s not manageable” has become universally accepted. The reason is simple: numbers deliver an objective yardstick to determine your rate of progress or decline. That philosophy is now also becoming increasingly applied to our personal lives. Built on the promise of “self-knowledge through numbers”, the “quantified self” movement is based on collecting data on a specific area of your life with a long-term view to improving it. Your focus could be anything you’re looking to work on: weight loss, mood swings, cholesterol levels, productivity, too much booze … To the self-tracker they’re all made to measure. Once you’ve accumulated a reasonable wodge of data, you can then analyse…