Category: *News Columns

NOTE: We understand that you’ve found a new watch to add to your collection (congratulations!). But rationalising this fact – coupled with the fact that it’ll cost a bucketload of cash – may not always sit well with the less horologically minded. That’s where we come in … Use The Enabler’s advanced levels of sophistry to validate your latest acquisition. Sadly, it’s time for The Enabler to bow out. Over the last few weeks I’ve furnished you with a stack of irrefutable reasons to justify blowing your pay-packet on yet another watch. To testify on your horological behalf we’ve called to the stand everyone from Kanye West to Mahatma Gandhi. And we’ve discussed a succession of tried-and-tested manoeuvres — The Heirloom Defence, The Milestone Celebration, The Cost Per Wear Argument, not to mention the “At Least It’s Not Coke & Hookers” Line Of Attack. Hopefully, your watch collection will already be considerably richer as a result. But I’ve saved one of the most convincing arguments until last, namely the fact that buying the right watch can prove to be a genuine investment. “You’ve just bought a watch that costs the same as a small car!?!” yells your red-faced wife as she eyes your…

The post The Enabler: How to justify buying another watch (#9. “But it’s an investment…”) appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

Editor’s note: For anyone that isn’t already a watch enthusiast, understanding the multitude of watch-specific terminology can be a bit daunting. In fact, a friend of mine, who is the definition of the horologically uninitiated, recently read one of my articles and said it was akin to hieroglyphics. So, for their benefit, and for anyone else out there that needs to brush up on the basics of watches, we’ve created this easy to understand glossary. Enjoy.  Case The modular case of the TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 01. The case is the exterior of the watch. It can be made from a range of high-tech or precious materials, but steel is most common. Typically, measurements are provided as the diameter, excluding the crown. Bezel The blue ceramic bezel of the Omega Seamaster Diver 300. The bezel is the ring that surrounds the dial of the watch (on the outside), and typically plays a role in attaching the crystal to the watch. If the dial is surrounded by a separate internal ring, that is often referred to as a chapter ring. Strap Nomos on a Time+Tide strap. The strap is a material band that attaches the wristwatch to the wrist. These are…

The post Fun with fundamentals: A watch glossary for the budding enthusiast appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

Editor’s note: Making a unique and interesting timepiece is always a hard task, especially if you’re a nascent watchmaker that doesn’t have anywhere near as many runs on the board as the stalwarts of the industry. What’s harder, still, is making an idiosyncratic timepiece that also needs to meet the demanding rigours of a fit-for-purpose dive watch. But that’s exactly what independent Canadian microbrand Halios did when they unveiled the Puck II way back in 2017. We were fortunate enough to go hands-on with the overtly round dive watch upon its unveiling, and these were our initial impressions: Over the years, I’ve worn many (many) watches for review purposes, and to be honest it’s rare that I’m still thinking about that watch months or years after the fact. The Puck, from Canadian microbrand Halios, is one of the rare exceptions. I wrote up the DLC version of the original Puck over on Hodinkee, way back in 2013 and it’s been stuck in my head ever since. So when I noticed some early renders of the Puck II on Instagram last year, I immediately contacted Jason Lim, founder of Halios, to get my hands on it ASAP (for purely impartial review purposes, obvs). Fast forward…

The post Cool as p**k: The dive watch that looks like a hockey puck appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

OK, let’s get something out of the way first, before I posit my argument and before the keyboard warriors have a chance to pipe up — I am not suggesting that wearing a Fitbit, Garmin, Apple Watch or whatever other fitness accessory you choose to wear while playing sport is a bad idea. No, I’m talking about mechanical timepieces, actual watches that have movements that don’t require software updates every fortnight, battery charges or a Bluetooth connection. Now, with that little disclaimer out of the way, let’s start with a short story about what happened to my beloved Longines HydroConquest last week on the way home from work. As I do most days, I was riding my humble push bike down one of Richmond’s main arterials, Swan Street. It had been a good day, and as a result I had what can best be described as a bit of pep in my step or, er, pedal. Yes, the watts per kilo stats were good — I was on the charge. My speed climbed to an indicated 45km/h — I was making killer time. And then it happened. I hit a manhole cover with such ferocity that my whole body was literally shaken to…

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A lot of things have been said about Dan Henry timepieces – both good and bad. But to understand the watchmaker, we first need to understand the man behind the brand. Dan Henry may well be one of the most prolific vintage watch collectors on the planet, and his personal hoard of timepieces stretches well past a thousand (it’s actually closer to 1600). Among the cornucopia of watches in Henry’s collection, you’ll find everything from humble vintage Seikos to some of the rarest and most desirable vintage Rolex watches in existence. Henry credits his gargantuan assemblage of timepieces to two things — being an avid collector of watches from a very early age, and his fascination with mechanically autonomous objects that could function without an external power source … like a watch with an automatic movement. For years, Henry bought and sold watches in his home town of São Paulo, Brazil, and when the internet became a thing in the late ’90s, he started selling timepieces via a weekly online mailing list. His profile grew rapidly in the horological hemisphere, thanks largely to his social media pages and his website, timeline.watch, which chronicles vintage watches. So, why does one of the…

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