Category: Interview

Editor’s note: A few months back, we announced that former Editor of GQ Australia, Mike Christensen, was to be our first European Editor. In this series ’11 Days of Londoners’, Mike will be sharing the stories of a few notable local collectors, starting on Day 1 with King Nerd, and with a stellar lineup still to come. Lastly, you might ask, why 11 days? That, friends, will become clearer over time …  David de Rothschild is an adventurer and environmentalist, who has a laundry list of feats to his name. Born into the English banking dynasty, he was a top-ranked horse rider as a child, trekked to both geographical poles before the age of 30, and sailed across the Pacific Ocean on a boat made from recycled plastic bottles only a few years later. He hasn’t slowed down in recent years, though, continuing to work on different environmental conservation projects around the world, aimed at protecting different ecosystems and building awareness about climate change. What’s your watch of choice on any given day, David?  I’ve always been drawn to the ocean [understatement — he’s sailed from San Fran to Sydney on a boat made of plastic bottles], so for me it’s Breitling’s Superocean…

The post 11 DAYS OF LONDONERS: Day 3 – David de Rothschild, British adventurer and climate change activist (also has quite the collection of Breitling timepieces) appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

Editor’s note: A few months back, we announced that former Editor of GQ Australia, Mike Christensen, was to be our first European Editor. In this series, ‘11 Days of Londoners’, Mike will be sharing the stories of a few notable local collectors, starting on Day 1 with King Nerd, and with a stellar lineup still to come. Lastly, you might ask, why 11 days? That, friends, will become clearer over time …  James Marks is a “horological globe trotter” for Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo, who spends his time hunting down the finest watches from around the globe to offer for sale. With more than a decade and a half of experience in finance, working as a hedge fund portfolio manager, he brought his eye for detail and analytical skillset with him when he joined the auction house in the middle of 2018. In the relatively short time since, he’s shaken up the game, opening a bricks and mortar store in London called Phillips Perpetual, where the auction house can offer watches between sales, and he encourages collectors not to think of “investment watches” as a dirty phrase. Tell us about the watch you’re wearing today I am wearing…

The post 11 DAYS OF LONDONERS: Day 2 – James Marks, International Watch Specialist at Phillips Gallery London appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

Limited-edition collaborations in the watch industry are growing in popularity in 2020. We wanted to dig a bit deeper and get some behind-the-scenes insight on the sumptuous new hook-up between Fratello Watches and Oris. We can really only liken this combination to a glass of Bordeaux in a rich golden goblet for the wrist. I mean, look at it. Here, Fratello founder Robert-Jan Broer reveals how the partnership started and the hidden details that make this 300-piece run feel so distinct and fresh. How did this partnership and collaboration come about? What is the origin story here? We had a meeting with Oris in 2018 at Baselworld. They had just released the first bronze model with a green dial, and our editor Michael Stockton was enamoured with the watch and bought one. A year later, at Baselworld 2019, they came with a steel watch with an oxblood red dial – which Michael thought was absolutely stunning. He began to think about how it would look in the bronze case, so he managed to track down a separate oxblood red dial and have our watchmaker install it into his bronze watch. He then showed it to me, and we both agreed…

The post How a DIY custom-job inspired Fratello’s detail-rich new collaboration with Oris (and why it’s not a Speedmaster) appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

Editor’s note: A few months back, we announced that former Editor of GQ Australia, Mike Christensen, was to be our first European Editor. Based in London, Mike – who, confusingly, is actually English – has since been beavering away on an opening salvo of stories to properly introduce him, and his fine city, to you, dear readers. And, without further ado, here they are! We’ve named the series ’11 Days of Londoners’, and it does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a chance for Mike to share the fine wristwear of some notable and notorious locals that he happens to knock around with. We won’t give away the full list yet, but let’s just say it includes possibly the most handsome man on the planet, the most nimble-fingered engraver (come on down @kingnerd), and the maddest watch modder to ever take the controls of a PVD machine. Lastly, you might ask, why 11? That, friends, will become clearer over time …  Better known as King Nerd, Johnny Dowell is an example of how far the watch industry has evolved when it comes to embracing change. An engraver by trade – he was an apprentice at James Purdey & Sons, the 205-year-old…

The post 11 DAYS OF LONDONERS: Day 1 – Johnny Dowell aka King Nerd and his Bamford G-Shock, vintage Omega and more appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

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…

The post This collector has a different Omega Speedmaster for every day of the year, and has even made ‘Speedy Suspenders’… appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

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…

The post Getting some Eichi, or Wisdom, from macro monster @horomariobro appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

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…

The post The shark attack victim, who has become a Seiko ambassador, relives that fateful day in Sydney Harbour when he lost two limbs… appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.