Nick Jonas shows he’s a serious watch guy with this Omega Speedmaster in Canopus Gold on Saturday Night Live
As a watch enthusiast and journalist, I get excited when I see celebrities sporting coveted timepieces on their wrists. More often than not we see the greatest hits from the usual suspects, but on the most recent episode of Saturday Night Live, Nick Jonas made #watchfam really proud. Nick has a clear appreciation for watchmaking. His Instagram feed is full of a variety of watches from a wide spectrum of manufacturers. Sure he has the more clear-cut celebrity choices in his collection, which we will explore below, but the watch Nick opted to wear during his monologue is a true flex that conveys he is not only a fan of watches as an accessory, but also for their horological merit. While he is certainly not the first famous figure to sport an Omega Speedmaster, he may very well be the first spotted wearing one of the new 3861 powered Speedys in Canopus gold – Omega’s proprietary blend of white gold. While a beautiful watch, it is definitely not a reference you would immediately guess would find its way onto the wrist of a celebrity. To choose this Speedmaster over another Rolex or Richard Mille, you would need an appreciation for…
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Each of the models in the Rolex Professional series is a tool watch made for a man on a mission. While the Submariner and Sea-Dweller are diving watches, the Rolex Explorer II was originally built in 1971 for speleologists or cave explorers who required a sturdy, functional and highly legible watch while working in almost total darkness. Fortunately, it’s proven to be sufficiently versatile for other pursuits. The Rolex Explorer II Ref. 216570 is the model’s most recent incarnation and, if you know Rolex by their divers, you’ll be surprised by its no-nonsense toughness, instrument-like dial, and crisp black and white hand set. My favourite detail? That would have to be the big orange GMT arrow. The 42mm case is true to its size and, while the black dial version might slim it down a tad, the polar white dial here is intensely legible and perfectly balanced. There’s something alluring about the perfect whiteness of the dial surface which, with its chunky indices framed in black, works so well with the black Mercedes hands. It might all have been a bit too perfect and monochrome had it not been for the zingy EXPLORER II wording and GMT hand that are…
As the 2021 season of Formula 1 revs up to get started, the drama and speculation around the 10 teams continues to grow with each passing day. With a newly introduced cost cap regulation, the way in which F1 teams spend their fat stacks of cash is under a harsh spotlight. But the way they earn their money has always been a backdoor affair. Sponsorship is perhaps the greatest guessing game of all and Richard Mille are no strangers at stirring that pot. With gargantuan names like Aston Martin joining the grid and Honda leaving at the end of the year, little attention has been paid to some of the subtler changes to the 2021 livery launches so far – namely, the watch companies. It has recently been announced that Richard Mille are partnering with Scuderia Ferrari on a multi-year deal, to both bear the watchmaker’s name on the SF21 racecar, and further develop wristwatch technology in the same cutting-edge manner as a premiere motorsport squad. As exciting as that news may be, it does raise a lot of questions. Richard Mille are surely one of the most prolific F1 watch sponsors, having now sponsored 40% of the current F1…
William Wood is known for their well built and accessibly priced timepieces, all of which are inspired by fire rescue and the brave people who put their lives on the line every day. We’ve covered the full backstory of the brand and its name before, but just to recap: William Wood was the name of brand founder Jonny Garrett’s late grandfather. For more than 25 years, William Wood served in the British Fire Service, winning commendations for his acts of bravery. Sadly, he passed away in 2009, but his legacy lives on through Jonny and the William Wood watch manufacture that upcycles rescue service materials into beautiful timepieces while donating to international firefighting charities. Today the William Wood collection expands further, introducing their first ever Swiss chronograph watches with the William Wood Triumph collection. Each of the new trio are inspired by the three elements required to start a fire: fuel, oxygen, and heat (seen below from left to right). The 316L stainless-steel case of each Triumph watch is 40.5mm in diameter, 15.5mm thick, and 100 metres water-resistant (admirable for a chronograph watch). The watch has a common lug width of 20mm, which means if for any reason you…
Your first good watch is an important step in your watch collecting journey. It represents your first serious commitment to the hobby and probably the first time you spend an amount of money that most people would consider completely preposterous on a wristwatch. But because of that commitment, inevitably your first good watch will always be a memorable one in your collecting journey and represents the beginning of what is likely to be a headfirst dive into the weird and wonderful world of watch fanaticism. What was my first good watch? It was a choice that was off the beaten path, not because it wasn’t a great watch, but because it was quartz. That’s right, my first good watch was the Grand Seiko SBGN007. Why did I choose this instead of something that might have cost a similar amount, but was more traditional in the fact that it was a mechanical watch? Well, I knew at that point a decent proportion of the watches I’d bought were vintage Seikos, many of which were quartz, so I wasn’t starting from a position of only appreciating mechanical watches from Switzerland. The other reason was that for the cost of the Grand Seiko…
You’ll notice I wrote “tool watch” in the headline and will undoubtedly be challenged on this on two counts, so I’ll address them before the temperature rises. Because the Rolex Professional range does indeed consist of archetypal tool watches, no matter their value and luxurious status. We all know the other two greats, but both the Submariner and Sea-Dweller’s impressive tool-stats are often forgotten due to the brand’s high-end standing. The fact that they also fit very well under a suit jacket doesn’t help, but they are still rugged tool watches at heart, believe me. The Explorer II on the other hand, is refreshingly simple and a tad more casual. With it’s brushed case and no nonsense steel bezel, it’s unashamed of its purpose, and that is one of Exploration. If you don’t know Rolex that well you might be a little surprised by its no-nonsense austere look, detailed instrument-like dial, and very un-premium white tool hand set. And, of course, my favourite detail, that massive orange arrow the size of a racket. What’s behind that gigantic GMT arrow? It’s there because the original Explorer II, released in 1971, was aimed specifically for speleologists or cave divers, so maybe it…
Two-tone watches were all the rage in the 90s, but today many collectors have shunned the configuration out of fear they will look like Jordan Belfort. But not all two-tone is created equal, and Rolex has came up with a more youthful interpretation. The Rolex GMT Master II 126711CHNR Rootbeer is a modern take on two-tone, blending Everose gold and 904L stainless steel to create something you would have never seen in two-tone’s hey-day. The black and brown ceramic bezel creates a really interesting tone, the brown ceramic akin to a cup of coffee with a touch of milk. The 40mm case is still of the maxi era, which benefits its design as the modern lug stance distances the watch from two-tone creations of yesteryear. While it incorporates precious metal into its build, the Rolex GMT Master II 126711CHNR Rootbeer is every bit as robust as its full steel brethren. It is Trip-Lock secured with 100 metres water resistance and an Everose screw-down crown. As its proprietary blend name suggests, the rose gold is created never to lose its luster and shine – even over the course of active wear. While not as scratch-resistant as rhodium flashed white gold, rose…
A few years ago Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe caught the attention of the watch world. Why? He was selling most of his impressive watch collection in a sale titled, Russell Crowe: The Art of Divorce, through Sotheby’s Australia. While the circumstances of the sale were unfortunate, it was an interesting opportunity to hear straight from Crowe about the watches that he owned and the stories behind them. And not only were the watches exciting in their own right, but the stories that surrounded the watches were even better. When the auction was announced, Time+Tide immediately flew to Sydney to see the watches up close and in the metal. While we were there, we produced a video that looked at all of the watch lots, and then heard straight from Crowe about each of the pieces and what they meant to him in his life. That video was first published back in early 2018, and recently it became the first T+T video to hit 1m views on YouTube. So we wanted to take the opportunity to look back on that important event in the Australian watch-collecting landscape and remember a few key lots in the sale. Andrew has picked his five…
As a hobby, watch collecting is often full of little surprises. When it comes to the resale value of a watch, I can get a little obsessed. Part of the fun for me is chasing down the best bargain, trying to figure out what it’s worth, and wondering whether or not I’d be able to make my money back if I end up selling something down the line. While most people, correctly, say that watch collecting should never be about monetary investment, I can’t help but get a little spark of joy when I see the value of something I own creeping up over time. This story was originally going to be about “one that got away” — a watch I sold too soon — but a quick bit of research actually revealed that I got quite lucky in the case of a King Seiko 5626-7000. Now, to be clear, I have never bought a watch purely to sell it. As much as I get excited by the money aspect, I’ve only ever bought them because I’ve wanted to wear them, and selling them on only happens when I feel like that initial attachment has worn off. I don’t have…
Monarchists in Britain have endured a tough time of late. Just before coronavirus went literally viral, there was a right royal rumble as Prince Harry and Meghan quit the royal family. As if that wasn’t bad enough, 2021 now sees the royal family in danger of losing another of its crown jewels, the King George pocket watch. It may not be as princely as Harry, but it’s arguably of far more material value, at least in the eyes of watch lovers around the world. Indeed, the UK Government has announced that King George’s pocket watch – an exceptionally rare example of a Breguet Four Minute Tourbillon valued at more than £2 million – is at risk of leaving the country unless a UK buyer can be found to stump up for it and save the work for the nation. Designed by Abraham-Louis Breguet, the one-of-a-kind watch belonged to King George III in the early 19th century. “This watch is a tour-de-force of the art of horology,” said Pippa Shirley, a member of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest in an interview with europastar.com. “At the very cutting edge of technology, the…