EVERY WATCH TELLS A STORY: Hugh flips his Reverso to the family crest side on the weekends, and the reason is interesting…
Hugh has told the story of his customised Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso on Time+Tide before. The tale had such an enthusiastic response from fellow Reverso wearers keen to have their own crests engraved on their watches that we invited Hugh back to tell it again on camera. The appeal of the Reverso is manifold. There is the masculine, confident shape of the case, that made it a perfect fit for men like Don Draper in Mad Men. There is the fact that it’s a go-to dress watch weapon for connoisseurs like Jay-Z. And, practically speaking, there is the opportunity to flip it and wear the caseback on the front side, not to mention the chance to decorate that blank canvas with your own touch. Why would you do this? The original idea was that you’d protect the face from hurtling polo balls. But Hugh has his own reasons for why he opts to go family crest side up on the weekends. We won’t steal his thunder, you’ll have to watch to find out more. As for why he chose the Reverso in the first place, Hugh admits that for a guy in media, it stands out amongst all the Rolex and Omega…
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Ring the bell, Celebrity Watch Death Match is back for another round of mayhem, and this time we’re squaring off two of Tinseltown’s most talented anchors, both of whom demonstrate an aficionado’s taste in timepieces – Ellen DeGeneres and Trevor Noah. These talk show hosts are known for interviewing some of the world’s biggest celebrities each and every week, and in doing so they’ve become mega-celebrities themselves. However, for watch lovers, the real rockstars of both their shows are the ones attached to their left wrists. To make this a fair fight, we’ve designed each round to feature a single brand: Rolex, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe respectively. And we’ve limited it to a high-octane three-round battle. This could have gone deep into the twelfth, but we figured this ought to get it done. Who will win out in this war of the watches? There’s only one way to find out: Daily Beater Ellen DeGeneres – Rolex GMT-Master II Ref. 116718LN Wow, talk about a first round thwack from Ellen … it’s a green and gold gut punch. Aside from this watch looking drop-dead gorgeous thanks to its arresting combo of solid 18k yellow gold case and contrasting green…
Spousal approval for watch purchases is a thing. Plain and simple. It’s also, we should add to be responsible, the sign of a healthy and balanced relationship. You want a new watch? You’re going to draw from shared funds to buy it? It’s right and fair that you get the green light from your partner in crime. While we acknowledge and respect this process, we have also discovered, in our own experience, certain ways to stack the approval process in your favour. One of them is to buy said spouse attractive watches at any opportunity. Including but not limited to Mother’s Day. We have a suggestion that is at a price point favourable to spontaneity. The brand new Undone Urban 34 Killy, which you can buy in our shop now. This is the first ever ladies piece by Undone, the Hong Kong-based indie watchmaker. And, if you ask me, it is a breath of fresh air in the world of microbrand horology – for too long, indie brands have unashamedly geared their products towards consumers with an XY chromosome. This fetching vintage-toned watch is not just for women in size, it’s also offered with a double length “double tour” style leather…
One fact that seems to have been roundly overlooked in recent years is the slow, steady, but really quite emphatic, elevation in Hublot’s yearly releases. In terms of technical complexity, case design and overall finishing. The Hublot of 2020 is not the brand that Jean-Claude Biver re-introduced to the world 15 years ago with the Big Bang. The Big Bang took the original spirit of Hublot’s previous designs – the rubber strap, exposed bezel screws and “ears” on the case sides – and blew them up in a 44.5mm case, capitalising on the trend of large watches at the time. It was a huge success, winning design prizes and tripling the number of orders that year. But looking back, it was an entirely different proposition to the diverse, creative and high-polished collections gleaming in the windows of boutiques and retailers today. Like the Mountain, who this week deadlifted 501kgs, the brand was record-breaking and impressive, but it lacked refinement. And Hublot no longer lacks that. Hublot has, in fact, become an amalgam of that same brute power, but with Brad Pitt in black tie finesse that can see the brand hold its own when it comes to finishing and overall…
We often hear that mechanical watches last forever when given the love and attention they require. That’s part of the reason why they can command such high price tags, and even more in the long run when you factor in a service every five years, give or take. But really, we all know that a watch is subject to just as much wear and tear as anything else — metal scratches, rubber perishes, things break. Warranties can give some small peace of mind within the typical two to five year window, but what if you knew for certain that your timepiece would last a lifetime? The new Panerai Luminor Marina PAM01117 comes with just that peace of mind — a 70-year warranty to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the original luminous material dubbed Luminor. While the Luminor of old is no longer in use, the Italian designers ensure that the modern Super-LumiNova is slathered not just beneath the sandwich dial but also integrated within the bezel, crown guard, crown itself, and the thread of the blue woven-nylon strap. Even though the power reserve lasts three days, you may find yourself wearing it 24-7. At first in the day to make sure…
If you’re reading Time+Tide, then you probably already own a watch. In fact, I suspect, you’re likely to have a fair old few. There’s that slimline dress watch that nestles so comfortably beneath your shirt cuff. The rugged diver that you love in spite of the fact that you barely know how to snorkel. Perhaps you’ve got a weekend watch, too, something fun and colourful to signal to your subconscious that you’re finally off-duty. For many men (and, yes, it is usually men), that’s just the start of it. I know several guys who flatly refuse to reveal how many watches they own, whether out of bashfulness at the excessive number or because they’ve simply lost count. But whether you’re the proud owner of one or 100 watches, there’s a strong possibility that you still want another. So you ogle the big brands’ new releases, spend hours combing Chrono24 for that elusive birth-year piece and mull over buying another pilot’s watch even though the closest you’ve got to an actual cockpit was that one time you wangled a business-class upgrade. All of this is glorious madness, of course. But the good news is that it’s not entirely your fault. According…
Editor’s note: This week on Micro Mondays we focus our gaze on a British brand that has made waves in the space over the last few years, delivering affordably priced watches with ample character to make them stand out from an increasingly crowded segment of the market. Farer are not immune to taking cues from the watches of the last century, but do so in a way that pays respect to the adventurous spirit of early tool watches, while at the same time bringing them into the 21st century with playful moments of colour and reliable contemporary movements. This year the brand is celebrating its fifth birthday, no mean feat in the age of crowdfunding campaigns that sometimes cannot even make the step from render on a screen to metal on a wrist. As a result, their success cannot be viewed through the lens of chance, but is, in fact, the result of consistently making watches that an ever-growing in-the-know community of enthusiasts are excited to strap on their wrists. In specific focus is the Farer Oxley GMT, a wristwatch that breathes new life into the increasingly unaffordable category of robust travel watches, something that is particularly poignant at a…
The first rule about Schnitzel Dinner is that you don’t ask to be invited to Schnitzel Dinner. You be nice to Frank from Monochrome. You wait by the inbox. You hope like hell you’re going to be in ‘the 45’. The first part was the problem for us at Time+Tide. The Dutchies are just so fun to banter with. Over the years, wisecracking with these fellas – Brice and Frank in particular – in the press lounge has become a precious break from the intensity. Anyway, after a year on the bench (2014), we made the cut and we’ve been at every dinner since. But wait, what is this Schnitzel Dinner, and why did it matter to watchmaking at large? You may have noticed an article go up over the weekend on Monochrome mourning its passing. You may have also quickly flicked past a couple of stories we posted on our Insta showing a table of people clowning around with chip fangs and Aussie accents. It was the same thing: the dinner that happened for a small group of just 45 invitees – mostly media and independent watchmakers – at a cosy wood-panelled pub each year at the mid-point of…
Watch customisation is now a field you can get into at high and low price points, but it’s still fair to say that going bespoke with a quality watch fit for the Ministry of Defence for example, is generally reserved for the upper echelons of independent watchmaking. And up at a price point where you might be paying six figures for a watch before you can ask for a different dial colour — and only if you are seen as a very good client. Most watch brands flat-out refuse to do it, a practice that has given birth to the aftermarket customisation business (that is, a third-party jeweller or watchmaker will make your desired adjustments once you’ve bought it from the brand), which is polarising to say the least. In that context, it is a welcome surprise to learn about the new customisation service from Bremont, available on their MBII model. Using an online configurator (click here to have a go yourself), you are able to design your own Bremont MBII with different case finishing, case barrels (the flanks of the MBII), dials, casebacks and straps. All in all, there are more than 100 different designs you can create with just…
It takes an iron will to walk past an A. Lange & Söhne dealer without losing a few minutes of your day. The German masters ensure their collections soar above the competition, bewitching onlookers and dominating wish-lists around the world. If you’re lucky, dead in the centre of the captivating display will be a Zeitwerk Minute Repeater — the ‘digital’ watch that redefined the holy grail of complications. Now, to celebrate five years since its launch, A. Lange & Söhne have created a limited edition of 30 Zeitwerk Minute Repeaters with a striking blue dial and white gold case. If you’re unfamiliar with the idea behind the Zeitwerk family, don’t let the word ‘digital’ fool you. The timepieces are entirely mechanical, however they display the time with easily legible digits instead of hands. The premise is simple, having been perfected by Casio decades ago, but the execution for a machine with no LCD screens or batteries is astonishingly tough. Using a series of rings for the hours and minutes, a specialised constant-force escapement keeps the jumping lightning quick and accurate — even when the mainspring is running low on power. As if redefining mechanical watchmaking wasn’t enough, A. Lange &…