Is this Tudor Black Bay "Smiley" the next big collector's watch?
Editor’s note: A perennially common question in the horological hemisphere is, “What is the next BIG future collectible timepiece?” It’s a pretty loaded question, and usually one answered with, rather obviously, nothing more than conjecture and anecdotal hypothesis. But, if we’re being honest, the best indicator of the “next big thing” is when there is a constant murmur in the wristwatch community about the same watch, a constant simmering of whispers that keeps on throwing up one model. That model is this, the ETA-powered Tudor Black Bay “Smiley”. Whether it’s the simpler ETA 2824-2 movement, the slimmer case, “Rose of the Tudor” motif on the dial, or a combination of all three, there are many, many people saying this is the next watch to go pop. As a brand, Tudor is a lot like Rocky in that Rolex’s little brother is a plucky fighter come good. Unlike Rocky, Tudor’s releases just get better and better with each passing year. Baselworld 2014 saw two big crowd-pleasing releases from Tudor, and a new range that is understated in the extreme, though still enticing. We’ll talk more about the Ranger and the Style later, but for now let’s focus on the undisputed star of the…
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Martin Scorsese’s latest crime film, The Irishman, is released on Netflix in Australia on November 27. It is based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses, which chronicles the life of Frank Sheeran, a mafia hitman who claims to have killed Jimmy Hoffa, the former president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union. Playing the title character of Sheeran is Robert De Niro, the Oscar-winning actor best known for starring in Casino, Goodfellas, Heat, The Godfather Part II and Raging Bull. Two other Oscar-winning actors play important characters in the film — Al Pacino portrays Jimmy Hoffa, and Joe Pesci plays Russell Bufalino, the head of the Pennsylvania Mafia. We thought it would be a good time to reflect on some of the interesting watches De Niro has worn on screen. De Niro has a fondness for wearing Rolex watches in movies and has done so on two occasions, in addition to a couple of other interesting pieces ranging from vintage to modern. In the 1978 war drama The Deer Hunter he wore a Rolex Sea-Dweller on an Oyster bracelet. You can see it very clearly near the end of the film, when he tries to persuade his friend to…
Has any one watch had more of an immediate effect on its audience than the Omega Seamasters featured in James Bond films? Seriously … almost every single time we talk to anyone about their SMP, invariably 007 is hurled into the equation. It’s got to be one of the smartest pieces of marketing since, well, since Omega handed out their Speedmaster to Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin. Anyway, at one point or another, quite a few of the people reading this will have owned an SMP – they are just that iconic. Fewer people, however, have offloaded their Seamaster, only to be stricken by a massive case of buyer’s remorse and promptly bought another. But that’s exactly what Andreas did, and this is his story. What made you choose your watch? When I was in high school, Casino Royale had just come out and I saw the advertisement and thought, “I’m going to buy that watch.” But when I went to the Omega Boutique, they told me that Craig was wearing the new co-axial, not the old SMP, because it was being discontinued. So I said, “Can I get the old one instead?” When did you purchase it? This…
Anyone looking for a capable and exceedingly handsome dress watch on a relatively low budget needs to sit up and pay attention now, because this Baume & Mercier Clifton Baumatic is unquestionably one of the bargains of the moment. Here is a wristwatch that retails for a mere $4600 AUD, and yet it’s powered by a movement that offers a whopping five days of power reserve, is chronometer certified and made completely in-house by Baume & Mercier … for less than five grand. And if that weren’t enough, it’s all wrapped up in a handsome and elegant dress watch with both classic proportions and design elements. The sector dial is also an absolute triumph, with the gradient blue tones presenting a beautiful dégradé effect that sees the fetching navy centre of the dial bleed to an almost black around its edges. Capping off the savvy dress watch aesthetic is a chic matt black alligator leather band that features a stainless steel tri-fold clasp, ensuring comfortability and ease of use. The Baume & Mercier Clifton Baumatic ref. 10467 truly runs a clinic in blending frugality with technical accreditation and timeless elegance. Baume & Mercier Clifton Baumatic ref. 10467 pricing: The Baume…
In a city as affluent as Dubai, it isn’t a surprise to see some pretty wild watches come out to play at the city’s own Dubai Watch Week. While there are some of the usual suspects to be seen, such as Rolex and Patek Philippe, Dubai also showed its sophisticated side with some less common contemporary pieces and even rarer vintage watches. So while I wasn’t able to capture anything close to the full spectrum of interesting timepieces donning the wrists of those wandering the exhibiting booths, this is a small smattering that shows just how varied and articulate the tastes of Dubai Watch Week attendees are. A piece from independent watchmaker F.Rozon. A powerful A. Lange & Söhne duo on the wrists of @mjbiercuk. A collection of watches shown at the launch of the FERO 150 Steel Chronographs book, written by Andrea Mattioli and Franco Basile.
Editor’s note: Jaeger-LeCoultre is widely regarded as one of the best watchmakers on the planet … and for good reason. The Swiss outfit has been responsible for more advancements and complications in the mechanical watchmaking world than pretty much any other manufacturer. And what’s more, JLC has made movements for some of the top marques in the horological industry — name a Swiss watchmaker and chances are JLC has made a movement for them. There’s a reason they’re called “The watchmaker’s watchmaker”. Most of the Jaeger-LeCoultre collection is made up of svelte, sophisticated dress watches, so it’s pretty easy to overlook the Polaris Date if you’re in the market for a steel sports watch, but you really shouldn’t, because it represents excellent value when you take into account what it has to offer. There’s a lot of options in Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Polaris collection. But I think this one might be my favourite — the Polaris Date. It’s a choice purists might find a little weird. After all, this is an uncomplicated watch, lacking either the classic alarm or the more impressive chronograph/world timer functionality. And while it’s not particularly complicated, it’s not entirely uncomplicated. I’m committing that most cardinal of watch nerd sins…
Here’s a question for you: Who is the greatest male style icon of the 20th century? Is it Paul Newman? No. Is it Elvis Presley? Absolutely not. Is it James Dean? No, but getting closer. OK, as the title rather obviously suggests, the greatest male style icon of the 20th century was, by some margin, Steve McQueen. Here was a man who set the tone for what was considered cool in just about every facet of what men cared about, whether it be what cars to drive, what clothes to wear and, most importantly, what watches to have attached to your wrist. In fact, McQueen’s influence was such that, to this day, the Rolex Explorer II ref. 1655 is known as the “Steve McQueen Explorer”. Now, McQueen had quite a few timepieces in his own personal collection besides the 1655, but the prolific actor also wore some iconic timepieces on the silver screen from watchmakers like Heuer, Rolex and Jaeger-LeCoultre. Rather luckily for us, Jared Paul Stern, writing for Maxim magazine, has studied some of McQueen’s most iconic roles to see what timepieces he wore. Whether you’re a fan of McQueen’s style, or just want to know what watch he…
This has unquestionably been the year of the contentious steel sports watch, with just about every watchmaker and their Bernese entering the fray in what has to be the most hotly contested genre of timepieces in the current watch market. Chief among these new steely provocateurs is Chopard’s Alpine Eagle. We’ve been fortunate enough to spend a fair amount of time with the spiritual birth child of the Chopard St. Moritz and Time+Tide founder, Andrew McUtchen, even got the opportunity to spend a week with the dazzling timepiece on his wrist. That weeklong experience was with the 41mm steel Aletsch Blue dial example, which we suspected would have been the most popular iteration of the integrated upstart, what with blue dials and luxury steel sports watches going together like 5711s and waiting lists. Although now that we’ve had a chance to spend a bit of time with the other dial option of the 41mm steel Alpine Eagle, the “Bernina Grey” number, we’re not so sure. There’s an iridescent quality to this dial and its heavily textured galvanic finish. And the way it complements the rest of the watch with aplomb shouldn’t be discounted – it makes for a very cohesive…
While wandering the booths of Dubai Watch Week, any enthusiastic eye can spot Rolex, Patek Philippe and the rest of the usual suspects on the wrists of other attendees, but it was a surprise to see a flash of orange pass by one afternoon. Sure enough, after stopping and speaking with Julian briefly, I confirmed it was indeed a Doxa SUB 300, and that not only was it one of four in his collection but he was also a diver who happily used it while exploring the murky depths. When did you first see/hear about it? I first came across Doxa as a watch brand shortly after I decided to focus my small watch collection predominantly on dive watches. This made sense to me as I’m a scuba diver and this “DNA” for a collection had an authenticity that I liked. When reading up on the topic I discovered the very long and significant history of Doxa with dive watches. The fact that Doxa had both real credibility in the dive watch field (akin to Blancpain & Rolex) together with relative anonymity, even with “watch guys”, was an irresistible combination. Any story behind the purchase, and the deciding factor? I…