8 deadly new Sinns from 2020, including dress watches (yes, really), refined pilots and divers
Sinn is a brand that is stealthily emerging from the shadows. The Frankfurt-based manufacturer favours slow incremental changes to their product line, making their watches better every year, but never reinventing the wheel as they go about it. This year, the new collection has looked to improve on a few older references, as well as introduce something a little bit different from the robust utilitarian watches we are used to seeing from Sinn. Made up of eight new watches across three different collections, it’s clear Sinn has chosen to focus their attention on quality over quantity in 2020, a decision that the cult of enthusiasts who follow the brand will no doubt be delighted by. Let’s take a closer look at what they have on offer. Sinn U series dive watches, made from submarine steel, and now in a practical smaller size If there’s one memorable quirky fact about Sinn as a brand it’s that their impressive diving watches are produced in the same special steel used in the hulls of submarines. This steel was developed by the large engineering firm ThyssenKrupp to be used in the non-nuclear submarines of the German navy, and has the material benefits of being…
The post 8 deadly new Sinns from 2020, including dress watches (yes, really), refined pilots and divers appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Baume & Mercier’s collection of timepieces has been on a discernible upward trajectory for some time now – after years lost in the woods with middling collections and co-brands, the Geneva outfit is quietly making waves. And 2020 looks like it’s going to be another level again, with B&M layering up their sensational Baumatic model with a host of poetic, aesthetically pleasing complications. In addition, we have a new version of the Art Deco-inspired Hampton collection in a manly rectangular case, with lots of considered details. We’ve had a look at all the new models, and picked the ones we think will be the biggest hits with you, the enthusiasts. Baume & Mercier Hampton The Hampton is receiving a big revamp this year, and the keen-eyed among you may recognise the new timepiece is heavily inspired by 1920s Art Deco architecture. As Baume & Mercier explain, “In the image of the great Art Deco trends of the day, the curves of the Hampton watch take precedence over right angles and give beauty to the light gliding on smooth surfaces.” In total, the watchmaker is releasing no less than eight new iterations of the Hampton – five of which are ladies…
After hours spent gazing with adoring eyes at the smooth sweep of a mechanical movement’s seconds hand, the ticking of a quartz watch can seem garish, unrefined, or almost brutish in unsophistication. Mechanical movements are accurate, visually intriguing and take an extraordinary level of skill to create. Where quartz watches are made, mechanical watches are crafted. But don’t be too quick to dismiss the ticking timepiece. Aside from the conveniences of lower ongoing maintenance, superior accuracy and no requirement to regularly wind, there are plenty of reasons that quartz watches should command our respect. The intricate devices inside many examples of modern battery-powered watches are serious and deserve serious contemplation. We need to talk about Spring Drive Grand Seiko’s Spring Drive reimagined what application quartz crystal and electrical current might have in a watch movement, aesthetically and philosophically, as much as mechanically. The perhaps blasphemous marriage of mechanical and electrical leverages the best of quartz to improve the accuracy of a traditional movement, while still being regulated by centuries-old technology. You never forget the first time you see a Spring Drive movement. They have the rare power to make the sweeping seconds hand on a standard mechanical movement look pedestrian.…
Editor’s note: For many watch enthusiasts out there, including me, one of the biggest problems we can come across is timepieces that are just too… big. I’ll freely admit it: I’ve got dainty wrists, and yes, it’s a problem. Luckily, though, watchmakers are catching on that there are more than a few individuals like me who are slight of hand. As a result, we’re seeing more and more timepieces being released that fall in the widely recognised Goldilocks zone of 36 – 40mm watches, which is a good thing. This has, however, caused a bit of an adverse problem for people with larger than average wrists, who are noting that it’s harder to find a good-looking wristwatch that actually suits them. Take Daniel, for example. He’d always wanted a Zenith El Primero, but had never been able to find one that could actually look good on his gargantuan lower left arm. Daniel thought all was lost … until a chance encounter at a local Zenith AD. When did you first see/hear about it? When I first started going down the rabbit hole about chronograph watches. The El Primero is, in my opinion, the Mac Daddy of automatic chronos, and ever…
Editor’s note: On the brink of bringing you some of Seiko’s new novelties via our second ‘Home Delivery Watch Fair – Basel Edition’ over on YouTube, we cast our mind back to two things. Firstly, the 2019 collection, which is captured here in a video, and in the pics below. What stood out to me was how each of these watches has had major line extensions in 2020. The point was made in this article that Seiko is increasingly codifying its collections year on year. There is ongoing proof of that, as just about every era and style presented here now has 2020 variants in the mix. Secondly, we cast our mind back to Basel, and what we – in the moment of filming this video – thought would continue, unabated, for the term of our natural lives. Watch fairs. We might have had an inkling Basel was evolving. But rapidly imploding was not on the horizon. What a difference 12 months makes. You can get a pretty good sense of the overarching themes of Baselworld by listening to the chatter in the halls, press centre and even the sausage cart outside. And, along with smaller crowd sizes and uncertain futures, one…
“Thanks for the emails Andrew,” the email from Steve begins. “All watch info is appreciated in these boring times.” And these boring times are certainly reaching peak levels for poor Steve. The email continues: “I recently spent a couple of days spreadsheeting my watches. I thought there might be a template on the net somewhere to help, but if there is I couldn’t find it. I know it’s a bit OCD, but I suspect a lot of watch collectors are too.” Necessity is the mother of invention, and Steve soldiered on. “I finished with a spreadsheet that features a photo of the watch along with details such as: Brand, Model, Gender, Type, Serial Number, Dial, Movement, Year of Manufacture, Strap Type, Water Resistance. Date and Place Purchased, Cost, Miscellaneous Info and Web Link. I could have added more, but didn’t want it to become too unwieldy. I even ended up adding my wife’s watches too.” Steve says life is better now his watches are catalogued, and he recommends it as an activity to kill time for collectors with many watches. “It not only kept me busy for a while, but I now have the details of all of my watches in one place and an…
Alec Baldwin is an American actor and comedian, best known for his roles in television and film. Baldwin starred as Jack Donaghy in the sitcom 30 Rock, for which he won two Emmys and three Golden Globes. He has starred in notable films, including Glengarry Glen Ross, Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation, The Departed and The Hunt for Red October. When it comes to timepieces, Baldwin has an eclectic collection from a few different brands. The first timepiece is a Bulgari Octo, in stainless steel, with a black dial on matching leather strap. Its distinctive octagonal-shaped case is instantly recognisable on the wrist and is a fantastic looking timepiece that goes well with casual and formal attire. The next watch is from Breitling and is completely different to the Bulgari. The Breitling that Baldwin owns is a 42mm stainless steel Superocean Heritage dive watch with mesh bracelet. The bracelet gives the watch a vintage retro vibe. This model pays tribute to the original model from 1957. Baldwin owns a chronograph from IWC. More specifically, the Aquatimer Chronograph Edition Galapagos Islands. It has a 45mm stainless case with a rubber coating and matching rubber strap. You can tell it is the Galapagos…
I must have written and rewritten this yarn half a dozen times. Every single moment I think I’ve cracked it, something in watch world happens that completely changes the narrative and content. First, everything got cancelled because of the pandemic we’re all sick of talking about. Then Patek and Rolex said no new watches this year. Then Baselworld became extinct. And then Watches & Wonders, which wasn’t happening, suddenly was, and a plethora of novelties were released. And now there’s a worrying nagging feeling in the back of my head that says if this story isn’t published soon, all hell will break loose again and it’ll be back to the drawing board. So, before we are hit with any more crises, here are my five favourite watches of 2020 so far: Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic in Satin Polished Steel This list may have been in constant flux, but the number one spot has been locked in since January. This is easily my favourite new release of 2020 so far. Actually, you know what? I really don’t foresee anything else knocking this watch off the top step of my novelty podium this year. Make no mistake, the significance of the Bulgari…
As the world begins to re-emerge from lockdown, so does our awareness of the days. Where in past weeks, Friday has come and gone in a haze of homeschooling and housebound weekends that blur into weekdays, suddenly there’s an ever-so-slight sense of TGIF. And that’s a pretty sweet feeling for us. So, as we do return to a new normal, blinking in the glare of office lights after so many work from home days, and having to remember to top up long expired public transport cards, the question is: what kind of world are we returning to? We can say, for example, that it’s one with 12 fewer Swiss Made watch brands in it, with a projected 50 more Swiss Made brands to declare bankruptcy in the coming weeks and months. It is a world where retailers are open, but, in Australia anyway, the CBD streets are still largely deserted, so the five customers in the shop rule at one time is not exactly being challenged by hordes at the door. And it’s a world where, thanks to the lack of SIHH/Watches & Wonders and Baselworld, it feels like just a smattering of watches have been released. Which is why,…
“The least believable part of Extraction is that at no point do any of the 183 people that Chris Hemsworth kills mention how ridiculously good looking he is…” That’s what Netflix said in a recent tweet about their new balls-to-the-wall action extravaganza that’s set to become their biggest movie ever (90 million households watched the film in the first four weeks). The pleasantly ludicrous shoot-em-up finds Hemsworth weaving through a barrage of bullets in his role as Tyler Rake, a mercenary tasked with recovering the son of an Indian drug lord. Suffice to say, he doesn’t take a softly-softly approach to his mission. The body-count is truly apocalyptic. Consequently, there’s some pretty stiff competition when it comes to the “least believable” elements of the film (one single-take action scene includes a car chase, a dramatic rooftop escape, another car chase, hails of bullets, a knife-fight and a crazy number of explosions…). Yet one area that requires no willing suspension of disbelief is Hemsworth’s wristwear. Throughout Extraction, Australia’s favourite action-hero wears a Casio G-Shock Rangeman GW-9400. From a functional perspective this is a spot-on choice. The Rangeman series is billed by Casio as being able “to stand up to the most…