6 watches that show the best and the breadth of modern Hublot, all from the (open) Sydney Boutique
While it pains us as Victorians to write this, for we remain in the dark depths of our second lockdown, the Sydney Hublot boutique is open for business. And with Father’s Day just a few days away, it had us thinking we should loudly remind you of that fact, and then go virtually shopping for six of the best watches currently in stock. The challenge for this list was – like all the different dads out there – about showing diversity, which was in fact, not as difficult as it once was. The brand may have re-entered the world with the Big Bang, and one setting, which was full on, all the time. But now it’s different. There is light and shade. And there is the chance once again to gratuitously showing Andrew’s favourite bracelet of the year, the Hublot Big Bang Integral in King Gold. Hublot Big Bang Integral in King Gold The Hublot Big Bang Integral in King Gold was launched at the LVMH watch fair in Dubai earlier this year to resounding praise for its bracelet that is as innovative as it is spectacular. As the name suggests, the bracelet integrates perfectly with the case of the…
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During my visit to the Grand Seiko “Nature of Time” exhibition, in my home town of New York City, I was fortunate to learn some lesser-known facts that have whet my appetite for the brand even more. Here is Part 2. If you missed Part 1, be sure to check it out here. 4. How the hands are blued Many brands will chemically dye watch parts blue, or blue them in batches via an oven-like machine that can lack consistency. This is the reason why the craftsmen at Grand Seiko will only heat-blue the hands one hand at a time. Aside from independents, the vast majority of brands blue them in batches, whether it be 20 hands at a time or possibly more. This can lead to a high defective rate. When the specialist at Grand Seiko is blueing the hand, this is what they do all day. They stare at second hands or even smaller power reserve hands. There’s no timer. They have to tell completely by their trained eye that it’s the perfect shade of blue. Only then will they take it off the heat. With this time-consuming method, the consistency is more perfect. The blue is matching every…
While Grand Seiko has more and more collectors and watch buyers on their radar, with a community of fans growing each day, there is always more to discover when it comes to this esteemed Japanese watch manufacturer. While visiting the Nature of Time Exhibition, going through each of its eight stations and speaking with staff along the way, I was continually taken aback by the facts and tidbits I was learning. While I consider myself quite knowledgeable on the brand, I discovered just how much more there was to learn about their watches and those who craft and assemble them. Here are six things I think will be new and interesting, even to the most devoted Grand Seiko fans. 1. What makes a Grand Seiko a Grand Seiko? The design principles underpinning the brand can be boiled down to four categories/principles: accuracy, durability, legibility, and beauty. Accuracy First and foremost on the list is accuracy. Grand Seiko is not going to make a movement that does not excel in its level of precision. We see this not only in the revolutionary spring drive movements that are accurate within a second per day, but also in their traditional mechanical movements that…
Father’s Day – a 24-hour span when dads across the country are celebrated for their patriarchal guidance and then receive dreary presents like jocks, socks, gift vouchers and the best bottle of Penfolds that can be had for 20 bucks. Sounds awful, doesn’t it? And, for most men, that’s what it’s like. But, for the dad who happens to be a watch enthusiast, things can be different – you can actually buy your old man something he’ll like. Trouble is, just as every father is not the same, every horological aficionado differs, too. That’s why we’ve devised this handy list, and everything you see below can be bought right here, at the Time+Tide store. Rugged dad There’s a certain type of dad who likes to slide into those carpe diems with maximum gusto, to take it to the limit each and every day and get out amongst it. You know the ones – up at the a**crack of dawn and owns a 4WD jacked up with off-road tyres and covered with amusing and often offensive stickers. A barbecue-ruling, Bonds singlet-wearing jack-of-all-trades type, the kind of guy who would rather camp under the stars than stay in any six-star hotel. If…
Editor’s note: If you missed Part 1, make sure you check it out as it includes the likes of Moser, Chopard and Greubel Forsey. In the best dials of 2020 Part 2 we keep the eye-catching dials rolling, from affordable microbrands all the way to the most haute of horology. Enjoy! anOrdain Model 2 Time-consuming vitreous enamel with a high breakage quota, and a Scottish microbrand producing time-consuming small batches of 36mm watches. This quirky combination must have been a hard sales pitch to secure funding from the bank managers, but had they seen the end result, the arguments would be swiftly silenced. The deep lustre of the candy-coloured enamel dials of anOrdain has gained them a steady stream of followers, and it’s easy to see why their models sell out quicker than a hypothetical steel Sub in an AD’s window. Here is the purple fumé version of the Model 2 with its pebble-smooth 36mm case, a charmingly pointed crown guard of sorts, and that pretty face. Find a good macro shot or YouTube review and you’ll be spellbound by the surface depth perception; glass being the closest likeness to the vitreous enamel, also known as Grand Feu. It is a…
Wow, so that was an experience I didn’t expect to have in 2020. A few days in Geneva, yes. But in August, with the sun out and zero time spent in Palexpo halls? Nonetheless, wherever there are new watch releases, Time+Tide is always on the ground. In no particular order, here are what I thought were five of the best watches at the Geneva Watch Days exhibition. Girard-Perregaux Laureato Infinity 42mm The new Laureato Infinity 42mm really floated my boat this week. GP’s Laureato sports watch is probably my favourite line out there, so I always get a buzz seeing a new iteration. And 2020, for all its other misgivings, didn’t disappoint. I like the Laureato for its no-nonsense dial and sleek hexagonal bezel, and to have it in black onyx with rose gold markings is a winning evolution. Not many luxury sports watches can be dressy but, once again, the Laureato has proved it can. Bulgari Aluminium Chronograph Few chronographs have taken my fancy this much of late, but it’s the combination of the playful spin on a late ’90s piece and the sexy rubber strap with aluminium links that’s done it for me. At a significantly lower price point…
The beads-of-rice bracelet, a bracelet design only a few years ago lost to the winds of time — a memory of stretched-out and rattly bracelets on a well-worn 35mm vintage gents watch. Or the mythical Gay Frères kind, one of the most sought-after. I’m embarrassed to admit that I once threw one in the trash, short of knowledge. As with many details of horological nature, the BOR bracelet has again come full circle, but tighter of tolerance, with a solid feel and on the cusp of becoming ubiquitous. If your memory is of the charmingly loose and jangly feeling of your granddad’s 1965 watch, you will not be ready for the solidity of BOR, version 2020. But what are the best beads-of-rice bracelets? We rate three of the best, from popular to quirky, with the most hi-tech version not on the watch you’d expect, proving that there are beads-of-rice for every taste. The bold beads – DOXA SUB 200 DOXA, for many is The Dive Watch, forever associated with the books of Clive Cussler, the iconic Jacques-Yves Cousteau and the huge popularity of scuba diving in the ’60s and ’70s. DOXA have a strong following in the watch community with their…
Me, I’m a dial man. Don’t get me wrong, I love a sharp bevelled case and intricate movements, but what gets me first is the face of the watch. Here we’ll look at 10 examples – over two stories, the second of which to follow in the coming days – of dial faces that could launch a thousand watch enthusiasts. Into bliss. From minimalist craftsmanship in precious metals to microbrand vitreous enamel, these are the best of the best. There’s no need to underline the fact that 2020 has been a dramatic year, with a sharp downturn for the Swiss watch industry as a whole, not to mention the dreaded C-word. In spite of this, we have had a plethora of brilliant, and wholly unexpected, releases from brands both large and small. The best thing of all? Not all of the brands that make the list are the usual suspects. It has taken a crisis for several of the lesser knows to truly shine and show their stripes. And fumé and sunray, and vertical brushwork, and… Chopard Alpine Eagle two-tone I was lucky enough last year to have the Chopard Alpine Eagle as a weekend guest, and I’ll happily admit…
Although I have not been collecting for decades, over the past five years or so I have definitely gained a lot of insight, through trial and error, on some best practices if one is going to go down the rabbit hole of watch collecting. As John Mayer points out in the first-ever Talking Watches with Hodinkee, the first watches (in his case, 10-12) one buys will not reflect your collecting values as you progress in the hobby, and it’s inevitable to have regrets and make mistakes along the way. Here are five lessons I’ve learned during my own watch-collecting journey … 1. You get what you pay for … Don’t pick your watch dealer, whether new or second hand, based on the cost, but rather the capacity to service. It is best to try to have the brand service your watch for you in their factory for a “factory service”, but sometimes you may need to enlist a local watchmaker. As my trusted watch repairer (shout out to Grand Central Watch!) would say, you don’t want a quick “fake” service. You want a service done right, especially for something as precious as your wristwatches. I am not referring to how…
The Arctic is a tough environment with long dark winters, where the isolation breeds creativity and a certain strict code of design, whether they be the toughest tool watches or classic dress pieces in a Scandinavian pared-down aesthetic. Regardless of the style of watch, there is a design language that defines the Nordic region. Here are five of the best Scandinavian watch brands out there, and some of their best known models. 5 of the best Scandinavian watch brands Linde Werdelin Oktopus MoonLite – a tough tool with an astronomic twist The masters of Nordic tools, Linde Werdelin, originate from Denmark, the southernmost country in this group of sub-arctic horology, well known for watches always shaped by function – and with a sharp eye for cutting-edge design and material quality. Never a classic shape or a cream-coloured lume plot, and all the better for it. Their brutalist chunk of a diver, the Oktopus has here been reimagined in their own alloy, ALW, which is half the weight of titanium, yet twice the strength of steel, due to an innovative surface treatment, making it large but feeling svelte. It is no small watch, at 44mm x 46mm with a 15mm height,…