WTF is a “luxury watch NFT” and why is Jean-Claude Biver selling one of his watch?
You’ve probably heard of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) over the last month or so and for good reason. NFTs are exploding in popularity, seemingly out of nowhere. If you haven’t come across NFTs, or haven’t yet tried to wrap your head around the initially impenetrable world of cryptocurrency and blockchain as they collide with collectible markets, well, fair enough. But let me explain in simple terms what an NFT is and why it’s potentially so significant that Jean-Claude Biver is selling a luxury watch NFT. Very broadly speaking, an NFT is a piece of digital real-estate that is tracked on a blockchain, which is a record of digital transactions that can’t be tampered with. A non-fungible token is unique and isn’t interchangeable with anything else. If you trade one Bitcoin for another, you’ve got exactly the same thing that you started with. That isn’t possible with an NFT as they are all uniquely identifiable. NFTs are a part of the Ethereum blockchain – which is a cryptocurrency just like Bitcoin – and is the currency that NFTs are traded in. What does all that mean? It means that digital art, music, videos or images, basically anything digital can be defined as…
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Sustainability, veganism and organic materials may be the way forward, but they’re still a foreign language to many of the larger players in the watch industry. But microbrand Studio Underd0g is displaying a more progressive mindset after making the world’s first ever watch with a dial made from eggplant skin. Just like a bespoke wristwatch, all dials will be subtly different in look, colour and texture as no two aubergines are exactly the same. The purple dial will also gradually evolve with age as part of its wrist-worn journey of organic discovery. While we though it hard to top the bold colours of their instantly funded Kickstarter hit covered by us here, the watermelon fresh chronograph now has a bright purple stablemate. If you enjoy the way a bronze case patinates over time, this watch will take it to the next level. Starting out as a smooth, carefully applied slice of aubergine skin, this will naturally age and wrinkle over time to develop its own unique texture. With its goldilocks 38.5mm diameter and svelte design, the Studio Underd0g chronograph range now has a strong fourth reference with the imperial blush of the purple sharpened by the light green that encircles…
Not all watch brands have a community around them. In fact, most don’t, which is a huge challenge for those brands to build a loyal following who are relentlessly passionate about their product. As far as relentless passion goes, Grand Seiko is one of the most well-loved brands on the planet when it comes to the head-over-heels admiration its collectors share. As a result of this, Grand Seiko’s social-media community is particularly strong with many enthusiast-run accounts simply sharing their love of the Japanese watchmaker. We wanted to shine the spotlight on a few of these accounts, to share some of the best Grand Seiko Instagram accounts that we think might make your feed a whole lot better. @rjkama RJ is a bit of a legend in the watch collecting community, best known as a bodybuilding doctor who certainly knows his way around a camera when he’s shooting his watches. His collection is diverse, but RJ has a deep love and appreciation for Grand Seiko that quickly comes across in his feed. Check him out right here. @68molle Stefan Molin is better known in the watch world as @68molle and he’s a true dyed in the wool Seiko and Grand…
Editor’s note: If you haven’t seen City on a Hill yet then start blocking out your evenings. Imagine The Wire transplanted to the mean streets of Boston and you start to get some idea of this wildly ambitious drama. While a gritty police investigation forms the narrative spine, swirling out from that is a lurid tale of crime, politics, justice and race in the 1990s. At the heart of it are two amazing performances. Kevin Bacon (yes, really) is an absolute joy as the diabolically sleazy FBI agent Jackie Rohr. He forms an unlikely partnership with Decourcey Ward, the clean-cut District Attorney played by Aldis Hodge. The latter’s star is very much on the rise at the moment, but his ascent isn’t limited to Hollywood. Aldis is also a serious watch guy – a self-taught horologist with plans to launch his own watch brand and a member of the GPHG 2019 jury. With City on a Hill Season 2 returning, we thought we’d take another look at Andrew’s in-depth interview with the man himself. Aldis Hodge and I are in an Uber, in Sydney. I am in the front seat. Aldis is in the back, with his sketch-book out, trying…
Hublot is no stranger to artistic collaborations – this is already their third one for 2021. At LVMH Watch Week, they presented another razor-sharp ceramic collaboration with Richard Orlinski, plus the diamond-studded “smiling flower” of Takashi Murakami. Now American street artist Shepard Fairey – best known for his Obama “Hope” poster – has collaborated on the Hublot Classic Fusion Chronograph Shepard Fairey, a watch that doubles as a mandala-engraved sculpture dedicated to the cycle of life. This enigmatic piece of wrist art is based on the slender Classic Fusion range which, with a few exceptions, usually represents the more formal voice of Hublot. This time, Shepard Fairey takes us on a journey imbued by a feeling of shamanic crafts, like a talisman for the wrist to ward off evil spirits (pandemic ones?) and bring good fortune. Shepard Fairey is an artist bringing his politically influential art through everything from graphic design, painting, illustration and street art. Well known as the founder of the OBEY clothing company, it only seems fitting that he contributes to wrist-worn art, and what an introduction this titanium chronograph is. Far from the usual high-tech weapons of Hublot, Fairey brings with him a deeper sensibility with…
Ever since our story on the inner workings of COSC here, via an in-depth article by The Naked Watchmaker, our thirst for horological knowledge remain. More specifically, what it takes to make a movement a COSC-certified Chronometer? And what is the intrinsic value of the certification? We caught up with Peter Speake the co-founder of The Naked Watchmaker, a website with a weekly newsletter that analyses, dissects and disseminates everything from Breguet to Bulgari to satisfy your inner watchmaker. An important note from Peter Speake: There are exceptions to every rule in watchmaking, our answers are generalisations based on what we have both observed and lived in this industry. Each point merits a thesis rather than a paragraph and even then would still not be complete. Time+Tide: Right now there seem to be more discussions than ever on in-house versus modified ebauches. What is your point of view? Peter Speake: There is a possible misunderstanding as to what in-house represents. It’s a term that is understood by different people in different ways. There is no set definition, does it mean that the IP is owned by the brand that sells it, what percentage of components produced by a brand represents…
Grand Seiko has been around for over 60 years, but within the last decade the brand is slowly (yet exponentially) growing its presence throughout the watch community and the world. The brand is known by enthusiasts for their high-value craftsmanship, offering more black polished components than most Swiss brands – and at a fraction of the price. Their Zaratsu finishing method results in some of the most aesthetically pleasing cases and their nature-inspired dials immediately catch the eye. This year, the new 9SA5 powered SLGH005 White Birch has taken the watch world by storm, its textured white dial and dual impulse movement leading some to believe it will overthrow the renowned SBGA211 Snowflake as the iconic white-dialled design of the catalogue. With the debate hot and raging, I’ve decided to throw my hat into the ring: Snowflake versus White Birch, the battle between the classic and the contender. To be clear, both are excellent watches neither of which you could go wrong with in your collection. So my breakdown will be a bit nit-picky, as well as subjective to my tastes and perspective. The dials While both watches have white dials, their textures and tones vary quite a bit –…
Around Christmas time when I dug into the archives of Orient Watch, the lesser known sister company in the Seiko family, our story resounded with our readers in a big way. Personally, since my early days of vintage obsession, through to a brief flirtation with a Mako diver, I have nurtured a secret love for the quirky nature and superb value of Orient. Like that holiday destination you don’t want anyone else to find (it’s in the South of France, that’s all I’m telling you), I have been persuaded to share more of their horological offerings with you, and what better way to start than their best new releases of 2021? M-Force AC0L Don’t be shy, here is a tough as nails alternative to other deep ocean dwellers, be that Tunas or Turtles, in a brand new version of the distinctive M-Force series. It’s a bullet-proof diver’s watch with a heritage that stretches back to its initial run from 1997-2002. Admittedly, it isn’t a 38mm svelte vintage dressy diver, but a pure tool that might look intimidating enough to be refused access to a respectable club. With a spot-on petrol blue fume dial, this 45mm diver is a colourful beast…
The Iridium Torpedo arrives to offer a different take on the budget-friendly dive watch with monster specifications for minimum spending. With looks that stray closer to glamour than “tool watch”, it doesn’t shy away from being highly capable and seriously tough. The Torpedo is available with a black, blue, grey, or green dial, and the green is the variety I got to spend some time with. The sunburst texture is extreme, creating lush, undulating flashes between shades of teal and emerald, honing in on the aquatic themes of the watch in general. The applied diamond indices at the quarters are glamorous with their polished-steel surrounds complimenting the large handset, while the circular indices are stretched and pulled by the sapphire crystal’s distortion to create all manner of interesting shapes. The date window is nicely integrated with a steel frame and does well not to interrupt any symmetry on the 42mm dial. The bright orange seconds hand is attention-grabbing no matter which dial colour it appears over, and its length reaches far into the printed minute track for easy time-setting. While it is an impressive thing to look at during the day, the Iridium Torpedo really comes alive when the lights…
It’s fair to say that most people hate spinach. Generally with good reason too. But if there was ever anyone to convince you that eating spinach was a good idea, it would be the one and only Popeye. He’s a character who loves his pipe nearly as much as he loves his leafy greens and, for the second time in recent years, is gracing the dial of a watch in the Bamford London GMT Popeye Limited Edition. The first time Popeye and Bamford collaborated was for the 90th anniversary of the American sailor’s earliest public appearance way back in 1929, producing another nautically themed limited edition of 50 pieces that also used the Bamford GMT as a template. This year we get another edition, this time with a black coating over the 40mm stainless-steel case with Popeye now running across the dial. Just like the first edition, this second Bamford London GMT Popeye Limited Edition uses Popeyes arms as the hour and minute hands, with a white and red GMT hand cutting a contrasting line over the dial. The Bamford GMT is a watch we are familiar with at Time+Tide after launching our own limited edition watch at the end…