VIDEO: The Seiko SPB149J is a 2020 reimagining of the brand's first-ever dive watch
We’ve become accustomed to the sight of a vintage reissue in the watch world. Some are good, some are just plain opportunistic and unimaginative, and some miss the mark completely. And the reason many miss the mark is an awkward straddling of the fence between the past and the present. The question boils down to the level of historical accuracy that is being attempted, and whether or not the watch pulls it off. The Seiko SPB149J is a modern reissue of the 62MAS, which was Seiko’s first ever dive watch and it opts to proffer a modern interpretation of the OG, rather than a slavish 1:1 reproduction. This is a modern Seiko dive watch that employs some design cues from the original. The case has a similar shape. The dial layout is also clearly inspired by the 62MAS. But it is a thoroughly modern watch in the movement, bracelet (the original was sold on a rubber strap), and proportions of many other elements of the watch. As a result, we aren’t presented with a watch that looks too vintage for the modern enthusiast, or misses the details that would upset the vintage collector. The result is a watch that feels…
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Let’s not mince words. Watch and carmakers have been jointly responsible for some very, very lazy collaborative timepieces. I won’t pick on too many examples … but to say that some of Ferrari’s early efforts with Panerai and Girard-Perregaux lacked imagination would be a gross understatement. The Prancing Horse turned it around though – Maranello’s latest limited edition timepieces made in conjunction with Hublot have been wonderful. In fact, it could be argued that Ferrari and Hublot’s collaborative efforts have set a new benchmark for what the automotive and horological industry needs to create moving forward. The key, it turns out, is good old elbow grease. The Hublot Ferrari Classic Fusion GT designed by the “Centro Stile Ferrari”, which sounds so much sexier than the “Ferrari Design Centre”, visibly draws inspiration from the GT and was designed and crafted in the Maranello workshops. It’s not just PR hype. You can see the work. It’s a huge leap forward for the Big Bang, and we are on record as loving it since the day we laid eyes on it. And now Zenith has entered the fray with Land Rover to create a new, limited edition timepiece that honours JLR’s latest off-roader, the all-new Defender.…
TAG Heuer has beefed up its popular Aquaracer GMT lineup with their latest release – the TAG Heuer Aquaracer GMT Ref. WAY201T.BA0927. And is it just us or is that ‘WAY’ in the title sent to trigger a subtle reference to you know who? If that’s the intention, there are many interesting details this Aquaracer brings to Wayne Manor. Similar to its red and blue brethren, which was unveiled in 2017, this new Aquaracer has got a lot going for it, so let’s walk you through the salient specs. The size of the stainless steel case, which features both brushed and polished elements, has remained unchanged at a beefy 43mm across, making it substantially bigger on the wrist – 3mm to be exact – than the obvious comparison watch in the same colour way, the Rolex GMT-Master II BLNR. Sitting atop the case is the watch’s new aluminium unidirectional rotating bezel, which sees the top half painted a deep black, to indicate nighttime, and the bottom half painted a handsome blue, which represents daytime. Just as before, this Aquaracer features an impressive 300 metres of water resistance, thanks largely to a screw-down crown and screw-down caseback. The dial of the watch has come…
Editor’s note: This is part 2 of a long read from the second edition of NOW Magazine, which you can pick up here. If you missed Part 1, you can find it right here. The story so far is a space race between America, Switzerland and Japan as they sought to manufacture battery powered quartz watches at scale. On Christmas Day in 1969, Seiko beat both the Americans and the Swiss to the quartz punch when they released the gold-cased Astron. But while quartz was now on the scene, digital watches were en vogue, even gracing the wrist of James Bond when Roger Moore wore a Hamilton Pulsar P2 in the 1973 film Live And Let Die. Digital watches with either LED (Light Emitting Diode) or later LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) time displays also opened the doors for electronics companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Motorola and Texas Instruments to make watches, further squeezing the Swiss watchmaking companies. By 1978, it was all biting. The Swiss watch industry was in very serious trouble, and the move was made to restructure the industry, creating a scenario straight out of a Management Consulting textbook. This environment of necessarily aggressive mergers and acquisitions saw the rise of…
Last week’s Celebrity Watch Death Match pushed it to the limit, as John Mayer and Ed Sheeran, according to you guys, ended in a white-knuckle draw. I called it 3-1 for Mayer, but you begged to differ. We had ourselves a 2-2 deadlock. So we were forced to clarify the rules. What happens when it’s a hung jury? In this case, given the depths of both gents’ collections, the answer was simple. We go deeper into their catalogue, find some contenders and get the show back on the road for round two. So buckle up, because we’re hurling the watches of these two titans of folk and pop rock back into the amphitheatre of mayhem, and only one will emerge victorious. There are three new categories, so as to ensure there will be no pesky deadlocks … let the onslaught begin. Dangerous Divers John Mayer – IWC Aquatimer Jacques Cousteau “One of the coolest dials I’ve ever seen” … that’s what Mayer said about his IWC Aquatimer Jacques Cousteau in the first-ever episode of Talking Watches. Now, while Mayer is probably a touch biased with that superlative statement, there’s no denying that the dial of this watch is mesmerising. And it’s also one…
The development of quartz technology essentially removed the need for the Swiss mechanical watchmaking industry. And yet, both the Swiss and quartz watches are still around. More than that, they’re sharing the bed. And getting more adventurous. Half a century ago, a watch was released that was powered by a battery, and cost the equivalent of a family car. The Seiko Astron spelled the dawn of a new age in watchmaking, one that was moving the industry out of the hands of the solitary craftsman and onto the factory floor. In any industry that has operated the same way for generations, abrupt changes in technology always have winners and losers. While the Swiss and Japanese watch industries were neck and neck in their development of quartz technology towards the end of the 1960s, Seiko was the first to market with their Astron. Regardless of which team you were rooting for, it was a turning point in the history of timekeeping: “the single most important development of the 20th century in horology”, according to renowned collector and author James Dowling. Over the following decades, it would plunge the Swiss watch industry into turmoil. The automated global marketplace forced many companies involved…![Audemars Piguet [Re]master01 Selfwinding Chronograph](https://timeandtidewatches.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ap4-845x563.jpg)
In what we hope will be the first of many watches to be unveiled in these dark times, Audemars Piguet has recently released their latest model. Called the Audemars Piguet [Re]master01 Selfwinding Chronograph, this new piece is actually a reinterpretation of one of the Le Brassus firm’s early 20th-century watches. In no way is this a reissue, in the vein of many other note-perfect renditions of old models by older brands. It is a true remaster, in the audio sense. It is cleaner. Bigger. And crystal clear both in its looks and in its contemporary intentions to sit comfortably among watches from the current era. It is also – notably – unscarred, pocked or creamed by faux patina. It is loudly, and proudly, a new watch. And evidently the result of cutting edge modern manufacturing techniques as well as the highest quality materials. Based on a 1943 chronograph wristwatch that Audemars Piguet themselves acquired from Phillips Auctions way back in 2014, there’s a curious nexus of antiquated aesthetics with modern manufacturing. The post-deco vibes are strong, with the case blending both polished steel and 18k pink gold into its design – the case being steel, but the bezel, chronograph pushers…
It’s the clash of the titans that every boxing fan wants to see: Tyson “the Gypsy King” Fury, the WBC champion, taking on Anthony Joshua, the WBA, WBO and IBF title holder. The super-fight would be a historic decider to confirm who really is the undisputed world heavyweight champ. Will it ever happen? Unfortunately, given the tawdry machinations of the boxing world, nothing is certain. But to boost the chances of “the Battle of Britain” actually taking place, Time+Tide suggests the eventual promoter sticks some wristwear on the line for the winner. That’s because Joshua recently told Sky Sports that he has, in fact, once squared up to Fury before. His motivation for stepping into the ring? The chance of pocketing Fury’s Rolex. “This was early on when I was an amateur and I didn’t know who Tyson was,” Joshua told Sky. “I was reading in Boxing News he was going around London gyms asking if anyone knocks him out they get to keep his Rolex. “Me and him had a straight war. We both have heart. I didn’t get to knock him out. He said afterwards: ‘Watch out for this kid, he will be champion of the world one…
Undone are a brand whose ubiquity on social media is so successful as to be counterproductive. The sheer unavoidability of their ads – once you click on one, which I must have done at some point – trigger in me a sceptical reaction. And it’s not just the persistence of the ads. It’s the price. Surely these watches must be very poor quality given the ask – $500AUD? Seriously? The automatic movements that power them are just about bulletproof: the Seiko Mecha-Quartz Flyback Chrono in their chronographs and the NH35A in the time only. So no issues there. Perhaps, though, the devil is in the tinny cases and unpolished finishing? Whatever the case, beautifully polished and satin-brushed or not, like many, I hovered over the Add to Cart button long enough to forget about Undone. A few Basecamps and Vintage Killys started turning up on Instagram. But then, a writer I know and trust, Gerard Nijenbrinks from the one and only Fratello, wrote a review. Gerard and I go a little way back, and we shared one very memorable night together. I spoke after Gerard at the ‘Night at the Omega Museum’ event, which was a Time+Tide creation, supported by Omega.…
Anyone remember H. Moser & Cie.’s “April Fools” prank from last year? We just revisited it on our Instagram stories. If you missed it, allow me to explain. The @moserwatches Insta post from April 1, 2019, displayed what looked like a brand new model of the Swiss watchmaker’s popular Venturer range. But it was immediately apparent that there was something off about this watch … its handset appeared to be missing, just a deep black Vantablack dial. Look ma, no hands. Moser explained in the caption of the post, “Something new and unprecedented for #MoserMonday: meet the Venturer Concept Vantablack in a 39mm steel case, the first watch to feature a Vantablack dial paired with Vantablack hour and minute hands. Limited to 20 pieces.” Well, that started a joke that started the whole world wanting. The reception to the Instagram post was such that a year later we now bear witness to three completely new models from the watchmaking provocateur that stay almost completely true to that original jape. And best of all, they can be purchased online now, from anywhere in the world. The first is the Venturer Vantablack Black Hand 39mm in solid 18k white gold. This would…