INTRODUCING: The Baltic Aquascaphe Bronze
As far as micro brands go, Baltic is one of the most popular. We got our own taste of the hype around this brand during this year’s Time+Tide “Watch & Act” Auction, when the founder Etienne donated a prototype Aquascaphe to the cause. We knew it had been a successfully released debut dive watch from Baltic, but we never expected the prototype to hammer for more than six times the retail price of a regular production Aquascaphe, selling for USD $4100. Today, another member is being added to the tool watch family of the French brand, the Baltic Aquascaphe Bronze. When the Aquascaphe collection was first launched, it was available in three different steel references: black with white details, black with cream details, and blue with cream details. In the Aquascaphe Bronze we see a merging of different elements of each piece, including the prototype we sold at auction, to create a quite charming looking blue dial watch cased in bronze. And while you might think, “Not another bronze watch, hasn’t that trend died yet?”, the bronze in this watch is not your typical affordable coloured metal. The bronze used in the 39mm Aquascaphe case is an aluminium copper alloy,…
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Coronavirus has surpassed all previous crisis’ in terms of its negative impact on the Swiss watchmaking industry, with a 25 per cent downturn anticipated for 2020, according to a report by Bank Vontobel. This is worse than the Quartz Crisis, which saw a 15 per cent decline, and the 22 per cent downturn in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis, notes this article in Watchpro. “In terms of volumes, we’re going to fall back to levels seen in 1945, with probably fewer than 16 million watches sold,” said Oliver Müller, the founder of watch industry consulting firm LuxeConsult, in an interview with swissinfo.ch. He went further, saying there would be businesses within the industry that would not survive the crisis. “Between 30 and 60 ‘Swiss Made’ watch brands – of a total 350 – will not survive,” said Müller. “A dozen watchmaking companies have already filed for bankruptcy since the beginning of the crisis.” This paints a grim picture as the Rolex factories and offices remain closed, with Patek Philippe returning to work only recently, and other groups operating in a severely limited capacity. While most, if not all, of the larger brands will survive with their cash reserves, the…
Editor’s note: For a tiny bit of context … NOT ON MY WATCH is about the things we don’t like on a watch. It’s pretty self-explanatory as a column, but the reason we’re indulging our gripes on Time+Tide is that this is a safe place to do so. In the wider world, explaining that asymmetrical sub-dials, or bund straps cause you great distress can sometimes come off as trivial or trite. Of all the issues in the world to complain about, you’re choosing cabochon crowns? Especially during a pandemic! But not here. We understand. And, regardless of what else is happening in the world, Nick will still loathe date windows on dress watches. So, over to you Nick… Mechanical watches today are largely pointless. Anyone who tells you different simply isn’t telling the whole Babe Ruth. We no longer need them for telling the time, thanks to the omnipresent digital displays of our smartphones and laptops. We hardly use our chronograph functions or that second time zone (let’s face it: most of us only leave the country once or twice a year, at most). Yet once we accept this reality that our watches are of limited functional use, we begin to…
To recap: Zenith’s latest release, the uber stealthy Chronomaster Revival ‘Shadow’, has had us thinking about all the other great all-black timepieces that have been released in recent memory. The blacklist is an ever updating thing. So, we ran through some of our favourite models from the last little while. And after going through the list, we’re firmly of the opinion that blacked-out watches are just plain cooler. But in case you’re still not convinced, here are some more surreptitious stunners that have got the ninja aesthetic down pat. Luminox Bear Grylls Survival 3780 LAND Series Watch Bear Grylls is a certifiable wild man – the daredevil, survivalist and former British Special Forces soldier has done some of the craziest things ever captured on camera. So, when Grylls and American watchmaker Luminox teamed up for a collaborative series of timepieces, you just knew they were going to release something special. This particular model, the Survival 3780, looks positively menacing with its darkened CARBONOX case and dial, and if you’re after a tactical timepiece for rugged weekends, it doesn’t get much better than this. $1490 AUD. Tudor Black Bay Chrono Dark Made to celebrate Tudor’s partnership with New Zealand’s national rugby…
A helium release valve will never stop confusing people. What does it do? How does it work? Do I need one when snorkelling, or free-diving on holiday? The answer to that last question is a firm no, and, to prove it, DOXA have reinvented their own 1969 SUB 300T — the first consumer-grade dive watch to include the famous HRV — without one. DOXA use this iconic model to celebrate 50 years of technological advancement by showcasing what breathtaking depths a standard screw-down watch case can achieve. Purists can relax, though. In nearly every other way an authentic reproduction of the original cult classic. The dial Some brands tend to overdo the retro style, but as a faithful re-creation of the first 300T Conquistador, DOXA’s reissue is just a timeless classic. A multitude of colours are available, which change the character of the watch significantly — from the vibrant orange ‘Professional’ to the subtle silver of the ‘Searambler’. All sport the functionally oversized minute hand and buckets of luminous paint on the hands and hour markers. The asymmetrical text placement of the DOXA logo and model information creates larger areas of negative space, allowing the dial colour to come through…
Black, noir, sable, stygian … whatever name you wish to call it, there can be no debate – black itself is always cooler than whatever is “the new black”. Anyone who’s seen Tarantino’s 1992 cult classic Reservoir Dogs will know what I mean. And anything that is painted black instantly becomes far, far cooler. Henry Ford famously said, “Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants, so long as it is black.” The Model T Ford only came in black. What else did you need? The man was onto something. Watch brands know this too, because black watches are above trend. They happen on the year, every year. That’s why when Zenith have just dropped their all black errything drop of the angular El Primero A384 Revival, the Chronomaster Revival ‘Shadow’, which revives a ’70s model that was onto the deadly charms of murdering a watch out wayyyyy ahead of the curve. The Shadow, however, is just the latest in an unending succession of a bunch of blacked-out timepieces released over the last couple of years that prove that watches are just better when they’re brought … Back in Black. The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic Black…
Unless you’re colour-blind, it’s patently obvious that green watches are the thing right now in watch world. It’s not just our industry that’s going through a green renaissance either – the highly versatile colour has also championed the revolution of custom, factory-painted sportscars. Don’t believe me? Check out this Insta page. See what we mean? The verde adoration is real. With this in mind, it borders on bizarre that TAG Heuer hadn’t already created a green-dialled version of their motorsport-inspired Formula 1 chronograph. If ever a watch could lay claim to ultimate automotive and motorsport inspiration, it’s the Formula 1. The La Chaux-de-Fonds firm must have been thinking the same thing, because a short while ago, they dropped this – the TAG Heuer Formula 1 Calibre 16 Racing Green Ref.CAZ2016. This could have been all about the green given the on-trend colour scheme, but it’s not. This is easily the best-looking iteration of the high-octane chrono we’ve seen in quite some time. The radially brushed, sunburst “Racing Green” dial possesses the same spirit as some of the most iconic race car liveries in history, with a metallic quality recalls a gleaming chassis. The way it can change colours depending on how much…
Editor’s note: It’s somehow Monday again, and while that would normally mean feelings of malaise and discontent, since this pandemic shifted into top gear and lockdowns now rule the lay of the land, Mondayitis isn’t really a thing anymore. Which is good, because the start of the working week also means it’s Micro Monday, and that’s always worth a smiley-faced emoji. This week we’re taking a closer look at Briston Watches, a French outfit that are looking to shake things up in the sub-$1000 watch market. Headed up by Brice Jaunet, who cut his teeth at some some of the biggest marques in the game, the Gallic watchmaker focuses on high-quality design, functionality and bang for buck. Briston make a number of exciting timepieces, but today we’re going to be examining their fit-for-purpose dive watch – the Clubmaster Diver. It’s a good-looking device, and the French brand are certainly on the up and up. Vive la Briston! There are several areas where the watch world is taking advantage of economies of scale and available synergies. Since the pace of information and collaboration has picked up in the internet age, we have seen a resurgence and proliferation of smaller brands that…
The obvious disclaimer in Celebrity Watch Death Match is that we usually choose a small slice of each celebrity’s collection to put in the ring for the matchups. The fights are as close to pound for pound as we can manage. The celebrity’s broader collection may win the war for them, but – as we have seen this week with Ellen DeGeneres vs Trevor Noah – they can lose the battle. Ellen DeGeneres, owner of one of Hollywood’s best decorated wrists, and a true collector in every sense of the word, has lost to Trevor Noah in a fairly fought, and evenly matched Celebrity Watch Death Match. The score was 3 Trevor, 0 Ellen. Number of votes counted, in excess of 6000, our biggest turnout yet. This was a fight unlike any other so far, with not just the calibre of each timepiece on a par, but a nice and straight Rolex vs Rolex, Audemars Piguet vs Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe vs Patek Philippe card. This is how it played out. Daily Beater Ellen DeGeneres – Rolex GMT-Master II Ref. 116718LN vs Trevor Noah – Rolex GMT-Master II Ref. 126715CHNR Despite the obvious Aussie-themed green and gold peacockery of the…
As a journalist, you strive for a long-form commission. A piece to stretch your legs. That you can properly research. That your audience will be forced to create quality time to imbibe. I was reminded of this recently when Josh Shanks from our friends at Watchonista posted a shout-out to the greatest long-form piece of all time on his Facebook: Frank Sinatra Has a Cold by Gay Talese. I hit the link, started reading and then – lo and behold – I stopped multitasking. I sat down. Ten minutes in, I got up and fixed myself a drink. Fifteen minutes in, I actually took the time to set a fire (now that the bushfires have passed in Australia, we are being hit with sub 10-degree cold snaps, so, great). I lit it, arranged a comfortable chair nearby, set my drink next to chair. I was stalling, because this piece was so good, so utterly relishable for the reader that I didn’t want it to end. If you haven’t read this masterwork, you simply must. And after that, you can schedule in a second, or third Old Fashioned to accompany you through Wei Koh’s 8000-word dissertation on Patek Philippe chronographs. I suspect…