HANDS-ON: The Seiko SPB161, an entirely new Presage dial design inspired by a clock from the '70s
The Seiko Presage collection has long been a popular part of the brand’s lineup thanks to the well-tuned value proposition, and the amount of watch you get for your money. The Seiko SPB161 is another fine example. Featuring a crisp enamel dial and powered by the automatic Seiko caliber 6R27, you are once again gaining access to a complicated model with a hand-fired dial at a great price, especially when compared to enamel dial watches from practically all other brands. Beyond its functionality laid bare, the Seiko SPB161 offers a minimalist design with its two complications, the power reserve indicator and date sub-dial, very restrained in their presentation. This specific design language has been inspired by Japanese designer Riki Watanabe and his distinctive “RIKI STEEL CLOCK” from 1977, a design that was focused on high legibility and something that has been successfully translated here. Both in materials and inspiration, this addition to the Presage collection is a finely blended example of Japanese design expressed through watchmaking. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen enamel dials in this collection; the starkness of the black on the white of this dial makes it stand out. The printed black batons that serve as…
The post HANDS-ON: The Seiko SPB161, an entirely new Presage dial design inspired by a clock from the ’70s appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
When the price tag of a wristwatch is more akin to a house or a McLaren supercar, there are a certain amount of bells and whistles you want to see. With A. Lange & Söhne’s Zeitwerk Minute Repeater in white gold, there may not be bells, but you can see the aggressively sculpted hammers striking the snaking gongs in an ingeniously simple way. Instead of ringing the hours, quarters, and minutes like a ‘regular’ minute repeater, A. Lange & Söhne replicate the numerically digital time display with a low gong for hours, followed by double strikes for every ten minutes, and then single high gongs for the minutes. Although the Zeitwerk collection has existed for some time now, this limited edition of 30 pieces is a celebration and affirmation of how revolution can still be found in luxury watchmaking. This model was also reviewed in a little more depth here. The second surprise of Lange’s 2020 releases was an adjustment to the controversial Odysseus — their answer to the blue-dialled steel sports watches that have been running away with the ultra-luxury market for decades. It seems that they’ve broken the modern rules and read the comments though, as the new version…
Watch press releases are guilty of purple prose on a daily basis. But you can forgive Zenith a poetic, purple turn of phrase or two here, because what they have brought together in the Defy 21 Ultraviolet – which is the highest frequency colour with a high frequency chronograph, able to measure time to 1/100th of a second. Touché Zenith’s storytelling department. The Defy 21 Ultraviolet is the first standalone Defy 21 with a skeletonised dial paired with closed chronograph counters. The Defy 21 El Primero 50th Anniversary edition is the other option, but it was only available as a box-set with two other watches, Zenith Defy 21 Ultraviolet continues a streak of skeletonisation and innovation This continues the Defy 21’s trailblazing catalogue, which is a counterpoint to the brand’s recent deluge of revival models off the back of the 50th Anniversary of the El Primero movement, which wrapped up just a few weeks back with the Manufacture Edition. Where the heritage collections are alive and very well at Zenith, in that they are increasingly faithful renditions (CEO Julien Tornare saw it fit to re-release the A384 in 1:1 as opposed to previous models which enlarged it for modern tastes),…
It’s Monday, baby! June. The. First. I’ll skip the “pinch and a punch” nonsense – the first half of this year has been a dystopian nightmare … we can only hope things get better from today. Luckily, there are indeed slivers of hope that our fortunes are on the rise, even if our thermostats aren’t (damn you, winter!). For example, from this evening here in Victoria’s capital city, Melbourne, we’re allowed to go to the pub, have up to 20 mates ’round for a bevvy and, crucially for me, indulge in regional travel. Why is that last point so important? Well, aside from watches, my other great passion is cars. I love cars. And I love driving them around some of Victoria’s best twisty roads that, unsurprisingly, are not located in the CBD. No, to get to the asphalt spaghetti that all us motoring enthusiasts adore, you’ve got to head to the country … and now I can! All these thoughts of automobiles, burning rubber and the great open road also, rather handily, lead me to introducing the other big topic here at T+T each and every Monday. That’s right, it’s Micro Monday, and this week we’re taking a closer…
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s 2020 Collection is their best in years Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Master Control collection has long been a benchmark for subtlety in the execution of style, with each movement, from simple three handers to chronograph calendars, being the definition of art meets mechanics. In 2020’s online edition of the Watches & Wonders fair, the Swiss maestros unveiled their updated collection, heightening their already lofty charm and value for money with contemporary touches. Combing finely through that detail is phenom Sandra Lane, who called into our Watch Fair & Chill breakdown from her leafy lockdown in New Zealand to explain exactly why these timepieces are so deserving of our attention. The watch that dominates conversation is the Master Control Calendar, which packs in a tiny, but eminently rewarding party trick. The action doesn’t stop there, though. The other star of the show is the new Reverso One, blasting onto the scene with its vivacious wine-red dial and strap, so potent it could smell of raspberries. With a case size emulating the original 1931 release of the women’s Reverso, the slimmer profile matched with vintage-indulgent Arabic numerals instantly equals the impact of the men’s red Reverso Tribute from last year’s collection. So, if you’re…
To recap: in Part 1 of this series, we took a look at seven of the best watches money can buy that measure between 34mm and 39mm … aka the “Goldilocks” zone. There are so many more great examples of mid-size watches, however, that we thought it only right to mention a few more. So if you’re after a timepiece that isn’t going to sit on your wrist like a Roman sundial, your search may well be over. Enjoy. Rolex Oyster Perpetual Ref.114200 Representing the very smallest of what we would consider to be a mid-size timepiece, this Rolex Oyster Perpetual with Olive Green dial is such a great timepiece. In fact, having spent some time with one of these watches in the past, we reckon this is one of the sleeper hits of Rolex’s current line-up. And trust us: when it looks this good, 34mm wears just fine. $7150 AUD. Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight Recently donned by us as the single best iteration of Tudor’s excellent Black Bay range, even a short glance should tell you why the Fifty-Eight is such a brilliant thing. The proportionality of this vintage-inspired diver is nigh on perfect, measuring in at 39mm across…
The Oris Divers Sixty-Five is hugely popular, and rightly so. Any independent brand that makes a well-designed, vintage-inspired tool watch at an affordable price will quickly gain a loyal following, something Oris has done with aplomb since the collection was first released in 2015. What some don’t know, and a key ingredient in their popularity, is the sheer depth and breadth of different offerings within the Divers Sixty-Five collection. Currently there are more than 50 different references, varying in size, dial colour, bracelet and beyond to make sure there is something for everyone. So with that in mind, let’s take a look at a few of the key references within the collection that deserve your attention. Oris Divers Sixty-Five with recycled plastic strap Oris has a long-established connection with ocean conservation, making much of their packaging out of recycled materials and supporting various initiatives including World Cleanup Day. In this Oris Divers Sixty-Five reference we have a blue dial 40mm watch cased in steel, but the strap is where things get interesting. The strap is made from a special material called r-Radyarn®, which is essentially recycled plastic that has very low impact on the environment. It looks great in…
Why are vampires invariably such jaded fellows? I reckon immortality has something to do with it. Sure, the wild hunger to feast on human blood must prove an inconvenient business at the best of times. And, yes, coffins make for uncomfortable beds. But I suspect the world-weary demeanour of the undead stems mainly from their immortality – a condition they preserve just as long as they avoid being skewered through the heart with a stake. By and large, death is viewed as a real bummer. It signals the end of joy, laughter, good times, not to mention any future instalments of Better Call Saul. Yet one undeniable benefit of mortality is that it injects a degree of urgency into proceedings. Vampires lack this motivational energy due to their infinite lifespan, hence why they mope about looking sullen and anaemic instead. The Tikker watch appeals to a very different, more mortal demographic. Essentially, it’s a wrist-bound hour-glass for your existence, highlighting that your precious time on earth is running out. Through a simple calculation it works out an estimate of your life expectancy and when your death will occur. This number is then entered into the watch and a digital countdown…
A recent encounter with Zenith’s quite brilliant Chronomaster El Primero 38mm got everyone in the office thinking about the firmly held belief in watch world that there is indeed a Goldilocks zone when it comes to watch sizes. Yes, while 40mm-plus timepieces are still the most prevalently proportioned on the market, watches that measure between 34mm and 39mm are well and truly on the rise, popularity-wise, which of course makes total sense – who wants something that could be mistaken for the wheel of a shopping cart on their wrist? So, for all you slim-wristed folks out there who don’t have a forearm that resembles an elephant’s trunk, pay attention, these are the watches you should be looking at: Rolex Datejust 36 This is the absolute mac-daddy of all 36mm-sized watches. Perhaps the ubiquitous Rolex, the Datejust has — ever since its unveiling in 1945 — been one of the most celebrated, accomplished and iconic timepieces ever created. It was the first-ever self-winding wristwatch with a date complication and its looks have remained largely unchanged since then. To this day, it offers peerless horological iconography. From $9900 AUD. Tudor Black Bay 36 The Tudor Black Bay blends archetypal Rolex and Tudor styling…
Never been to Baselworld? We can fix that. Just give us half an hour. In our first of three episodes re-creating the Baselworld experience – with all the things you expect, i.e lots and lots of watches and lots of things you don’t – we run through all the new releases from brands that show at Basel including Omega, Longines, Rado, Tissot and Glashütte Original. And we try on two brand new Longines models in the metal, including the first HydroConquest I’ve ever wanted to buy. In addition to the watches, these are three memorable moments from Part 1. 1. Re-walking into Baselworld (which is now a lost world) I always struggled to explain to people how ‘big’ Baselworld was. And that is meant in every sense of the word. Watching myself walk in, in 2017, I can understand again why. It was an absolute assault on the senses. What to look at! The staggering booths? The armada of tall women in white dresses and heels handing out newspapers? 2. Nick Kenyon’s entrance Nick, like most of the world, is working from home at the moment. That doesn’t stop his entrance being utterly spectacular. You think his debut…