Rediscovering the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Chronograph
Editor’s note: If you’re in the market for a steel sports watch with a chronograph complication, you really are spoilt for choice. Rolex’s Daytona, Omega’s Speedmaster, Tudor’s Black Bay Chronograph … the list goes on. However, if you’re looking for a timepiece that meets all of the aforementioned criteria, while still possessing a real and genuine point of difference, then the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Chronograph is a great option. JLC, known colloquially as the “watchmaker’s watchmaker”, have made movements for just abut every watchmaker in the game at some time or another. And this technical innovation and knowhow is really showcased in the Polaris chronograph. Late last year, we were fortunate enough to go hands-on with the grade-A chrono, and these were our initial thoughts. It’s hard to overstate the significance of the Polaris collection for Jaeger-LeCoultre. In a world dominated by the round steel sports watch, JLC’s line-up has leaned heavily towards the dressy and rectangular. The Polaris, a fully evolved collection, changed that landscape overnight, and did it in style. One of the strongest offerings is the chronograph. It’s a watch that does a lot of things right, many of which should be immediately apparent. First of all, there’s the size —…
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Most of the hype around the results of Only Watch 2019 has been wholly and solely squared at the monumental, record-breaking price achieved by the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime ref. 6300A, and it’s pretty easy to understand why … it sold for $31 million CHF (roughly $52 million AUD)! However, away from the white noise of the staggering price of the stainless steel Grandmaster Chime ref. 6300A, there were actually a fair few bargains (relative term) to be had at this year’s Only Watch. In fact, some pièce unique examples actually sold for less than the regular variants of the watches they were based off, which is pretty absurd when you think about it. Anyway, here are the five biggest bargains from Only Watch 2019: Lot 2 – H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept Only Watch – $48,000 CHF ($70,300 AUD) I think this one took quite a few people by surprise. Here is a one-of-a-kind timepiece that features a truly unique dial that’s been created by one of the best dial makers in the horological game … and it sold for a mere 15 grand more than its regular steel counterpart. Someone out there did very well…
Patek Philippe’s entry into Only Watch 2019, the one-of-a-kind stainless steel Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime ref. 6300A, has just smashed, in fact obliterated, the record for the most expensive watch ever sold at auction. But it wasn’t just the Patek that stretched into the seven-figure stratosphere at the charitable auction last night, as two other pièce unique watches garnered tremendous amounts of attention and, more importantly, bids. Keep in mind, if like us at times, you feel despair at the runaway nature of high-end auctions, that this is for the good of the world. They are going to be able to research the heck out of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy after 2019. Here are the three watches we have to thank for that: Lot 28 – Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime ref. 6300A – $31 million CHF (roughly $52 million AUD) Let’s just let that number sink in for a moment … $52 million Aussie dollars, for a steel wristwatch. Ever heard of the saying, “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry”? It’s far and away the most expensive timepiece in the world, easily eclipsing the previous record holder, another Patek Philippe, the Henry Graves Jr. Supercomplication pocket watch, which sold…
How did I accidentally become a vintage watch guy? Partly, I blame the fact that I’ve got the spindly wrists of a teenage girl. That meant I naturally gravitated towards smaller dials. But I also put it down to the tawdry state of my finances. When I first started to get into watches — before the retro boom really started to kick — you could pick up an Omega Speedmaster in decent nick for $600. Given my financial reality, vintage watches made a lot of sense. I quickly became a sucker for their personal histories, too. Take the 1950s Zenith dress watch I bought online from a woman in Rome. Uneasy that I was about to wire cash to a total stranger (in a foreign country), I attempted to strike up a connection, hoping it’d reduce my chance of being swindled. In the correspondence that ensued, Paola explained the Zenith in question had belonged to her late grandfather, a general in the Italian army. She even shared this photo of him. Admittedly, if this straight-backed man on a white stallion knew that his watch would one day hang off the wrist of a feckless media twat like me, he would surely be turning…
Watch Disasters is a new series on Time+Tide that describes, in chilling detail, incidences when owning an expensive watch goes wrong. This is not going to be comfortable reading, so prepare for the pain. Admittedly, this is a bit of a soft start. The ‘prodigal’ in the title gives it away. If you have a watch disaster with less of a happy ending, feel free to tell us about it at nicholas@timeandtidewatches.com I actually lost this watch. I have a collection of watches, and I hide them in different places. This watch, I forgot where it was for a good three years. I turned my house upside down, and I couldn’t find it. I reached a point where I had to emotionally detach and move on from it. But because I didn’t realise it was lost for a few months, that somehow made it better when the realisation came that I couldn’t find it. That’s fine, I thought, I’ve lost it. OK. Then I had a brainwave. Before I hid it, I was going away on a trip. It will be in my travel bag! I ransacked the bag, but no watch. Some time later I was actually going on…
Editor’s note: Omega’s Seamaster collection is vast and varied, and the Swiss watchmaking powerhouse isn’t shy when it comes to creating new and innovative variants of its iconic diving watch. A classic example of this explorative ethos is this — the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean “Big Blue”. The gorgeous and amply proportioned 45.5mm case is hewn from solid ceramic, and finished in a gorgeous shade of blue, and contrasted by bright bursts of orange. It’s a compelling proposition for a great summer watch, especially when paired with its complementing navy blue and orange rubber strap with deployant clasp. What’s more, the Seamaster Planet Ocean “Big Blue” is actually an homage to the Omega Seamaster Automatic 120m Chronograph Ref.176.004, which was produced in the ’70s. Anyway, we were lucky enough to go hands-on with the “Big Blue” a little while ago, and these were our initial impressions. While one of the key trends of Basel 2017 was a move towards more wrist-friendly dive watches (see exhibits A and B), there’s no doubt that big and bold is still the name of the game. Omega’s latest PO, the “Big Blue”, delivers on both fronts, thanks to its whopping 45.5mm wide by 17.8mm high case made from…
Unless you’ve been in hibernation for the last five years, or you’ve had a complete moratorium on any type of connection to the Internet, chances are you’ve heard about Joe Rogan and his podcast. In fact, the comedian and former host of Fear Factor has such a large reach on the interwebs that his podcast has been listened to by hundreds of millions of people across the globe – it is unquestionably one of the most successful podcasts of all time. And Rogan will talk about literally anything, and host guests from all walks of life, whether they be other comedians, celebrities, authors, journalists, professors, doctors … you name it, chances are he’s had them on the show. Which brings me to why I’m writing this; you see, Rogan loves to talk about cars, and he’s had a fair few car journalists on his show in the past, one of whom is Matt Farah. And in addition to being a car journo, Farah is also a complete watch fanatic, and he even hosted his own podcast about watches called Watch and Listen. So, of course, when Farah appeared on Rogan’s podcast, the topic of watches inevitably came up, and the…
More than 200 years ago, Abraham-Louis Breguet was appointed as an official chronometer maker of the French Navy, and the tradition lives on today in the Breguet Marine 5517. The 5517 is a robust sports watch, machined in a lightweight titanium that almost perfectly matches the deep-grey dial tone, and offers a host of details that any discerning eye should appreciate. You could talk about the radially brushed dial that explodes from the Breguet logo rather than the typical centre, the flowing wave-like crown guards, or the classic Breguet hands that have been contemporarily reimagined to bring both traditional form and luminous function, and still have minutia to obsess over. This watch gives us the sports watch package we know and love, but offers a little extra that is indisputably Breguet. It’s a compelling blend of heritage and modern horology that is hard to argue with. Breguet Marine 5517 price The Breguet Marine 5517 has an RRP of AUD $26,800 For more details, visit Breguet online here. Made in partnership with Breguet. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own in accordance with our Editorial Policy.
Well, it’s been another successful year for what many in the horological world refer to as (much to the chagrin of Time+Tide’s Nicholas Kenyon) the “Oscars of the watchmaking industry”. And, much like Hollywood’s most revered awards ceremony, there’s been more than a few upsets at this year’s Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, across quite a few different categories. Now we understand that GPHG is an awards ceremony, so the ability to please everyone is nigh on impossible. However, these three watches represent the biggest shocks from the famed awards night: Tudor P01 Yeah, I don’t think anyone saw this one coming, but somehow, against the misshapen odds, the Tudor P01 has gone and won the hotly contested “Challenge” category at this year’s GPHG. Quite how this … inimitable-looking timepiece managed to upend a field that consisted of watches like Ming’s gorgeous 17.06 Copper and Doxa’s excellent new SUB 200 is beyond me, but GPHG’s expert judges obviously saw something in P01 that this mere mortal did not. Anyway, while the Tudor P01 is a contentious timepiece, it does at least present consumers with an unquestionably unique design language that you won’t find anywhere else. Kudos to Tudor for…
Only Watch 2019 is now less than 24 hours away from kicking off, and Breguet has really knocked it out of the park with their entry in this year’s charitable auction. The Breguet Type XX Only Watch 2019 is, I think we can all agree, a handsome timepiece, and that’s largely because the pièce unique is a faithful re-creation that aims to pay homage to a very early variant of the original Type XX. As a result, the aesthetics offer a charismatically vintage ’50s appearance and, as is the case with any homage piece made today, you’re getting old world charm with new world practicality, or in other words, the best of both worlds. The bronze dial of this Type XX is particularly arresting, and features faux-patina lumed Arabic numerals and hands, chapter ring and two simple sub-dials located at three and nine o’clock that display a 30-minute counter and running seconds, respectively. Another standout is the stainless steel case, which, true to the original Type XX, measures in at a very reasonable 38.3mm and 13.9mm thick. Featuring both polished and brushed accents, the case is also adorned with a simple bi-directional rotating bezel, and a solid case back engraved…