"Even more style than the titanium" – the black ceramic Bulgari Octo Finissimo explained by its designer
There is no designer in the watch game like Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani. He is sketching, pardon the millennial turn of phrase here, literally all of the time. When he’s being interviewed. When he’s in a room by himself waiting to be interviewed (I disturbed him in the act as I was early). And, you suspect, when he’s having his breakfast at the very break of day. “Every day of my life I am drawing.” That’s all well and good, and almost certainly well known by now. But this is not the point of this story. There is another angle on the man that intrigues me, speaking personally. His style. His individuality. So, when he told me in a recent interview that he has been wearing a watch for more than six months straight, I had to better understand why? And which watch was it? Through the process, I learned that evolving the Finissimo from grey to black, and from titanium to ceramic was far more complex a process than it might appear. I was with Bulgari in Shanghai for the launch of more Serpenti Seduttori, a drop-shaped watch case with an extraordinary ‘snake scaled’ bracelet. It’s typical Bulgari watchmaking for…
The post “Even more style than the titanium” – the black ceramic Bulgari Octo Finissimo explained by its designer appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
The Chopard Alpine Eagle is a watch that has roots in the 1980s when their St. Moritz model was released. It was during a period when the stainless steel luxury sports watch boom was in full swing. Case in point, between 1980 and 1995, the St. Moritz model alone sold 50,000 pieces. Now, the St. Moritz has been reimagined with a contemporary flavour in terms of its design, as well as a number of technical developments that make the Chopard Alpine Eagle a genuine luxury wristwatch and reflect Chopard’s endeavour to “treat steel as if it were gold”. Also, the dial. We have had this bird in the hand the last few weeks, and we can confirm it really is something. More to come. As a brief history lesson on the origins of the Alpine Eagle, in 1980 the St. Moritz was released by Chopard after being envisioned by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, the son of the owner of the brand. It was the first watch that Karl-Friedrich Scheufele had ever designed, at the young age of 22, as well as the first sports watch and the first steel watch that Chopard had produced. Chopard have taken these points as inspiration for…
Editor’s note: A recent discussion in the office has brought up the rather interesting question: “What is the best watch for international travel?” LOTS of different watches were bandied about as suggestions and, of course, names like the Rolex GMT-Master II 126710BLRO and Patek Philippe 5930G were hotly debated as some of the best. And there’s no doubting that these aforementioned watches are absolutely brilliant at what they do, but — and it’s a big but — they’re also very expensive. Which got me thinking about the Montblanc Orbis Terrarum, because it’s a handsome looking watch, with a very useful world time complication and a beautiful motif dial, and it retails for around $8000 AUD. That’s quite a large amount of bang for buck when you consider that a comparable watch from Patek Philippe, for example, is going to set you back close to ten times what the Montblanc will. Anyway, our man Felix Scholz was lucky enough to go hands-on with the Limited Edition Montblanc Orbis Terrarum UNICEF, and these are his thoughts: When they’re done right, limited edition watches are great. They offer some exclusivity, membership to a special club, and that feeling of being part of something bigger…
This year, for the first time in history, the complete collection of nominees for the 2019 GPHG – the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève — were presented in Australia. All 84 of them, by a sum total of 50 brands. And this stellar mega-team, worth well over $30 million AUD, is visiting only four locations before the big show in Geneva on November 7. So, in other words, Australia is being figured into the global future of watchmaking. We matter. And we sure turned out to witness this explosion of creativity and colour in droves. The exhibition ran over last weekend in partnership with The Hour Glass in Sydney, and what we witnessed at the launch event were people five and six deep encircling each showcase, craning to see, and photograph, the crème de la crème in person. On this occasion, we sat down with Ms Carine Maillard, director of the Foundation of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, and asked the questions that have perhaps been on the tip of your tongue about the still relatively new (it started just eight years ago) landmark event for the industry. 1. What is the mission of the Foundation of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de…
While there are some enthusiasts out there who feel as though the vast majority of new watches released at this year’s Baselworld and SIHH were a bit … safe, there were still some real stunners unveiled from legacy outfits like Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet. And, because the collective products of these three aforementioned watchmakers are arguably the most desirable in the horological hemisphere right now, they’re particularly hard to actually get a hand on. So, chances are you’re not going to be able to walk into your local AD and pick up one of these wrist-worn rock stars, but here are five of the hottest and hardest watches to purchase in 2019: Rolex GMT-Master II 126710BLNR While it might have come as a surprise to some, being released so soon after its predecessor was discontinued, the new GMT-Master II ref. 126710BLNR “Batman” or, as it’s being referred to by some, “Batgirl”, caused quite the stir when it was revealed at Baselworld 2019. The black and blue GMT now features Rolex’s latest Calibre 3285 movement and, in keeping with the other steel GMT Rolex currently offers, the “Pepsi”, ditches the Oyster bracelet in favour of the prodigious Jubilee bracelet.…
The Franck Muller Vanguard Crazy Hours landed in Melbourne last week, and not only was I fortunate to take a closer look at it, but the kind people at Franck Muller invited me to celebrate it with them at a dining event with some of their important local clients. It was a great opportunity to view the new collection, as well as share a meal with a group of like-minded watch enthusiasts. There were some special people seated around the dining table, including Franck Muller’s global COO, Nicholas Rudaz, and Franck Muller’s General Manager of Australia, Mr Heng, both of whom enthusiastically shared their passion for mechanical watches and Franck Muller alike. Watches from the new collection were dotted around the room in display cases, as well as a number of pieces from other current collections that are available at boutiques, including the Happy Magpie from the Long Island collection, a charming rectangular watch with an immaculately hand-painted dial. Unsurprisingly, Nicholas Rudaz was carrying some serious horological heat, with a watch on each wrist. On one wrist, he wore a Franck Muller Crazy Hours, which he described as his “party watch” (and you can’t disagree with him on that), with…
Editor’s note: Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak is unquestionably one of the most important wristwatches of all time and it is steeped in history for so many reasons. For a start, the unique aesthetics of the now iconic watch and integrated bracelet were designed by the doyen of horological design, Gérald Genta, in less than 24 hours. Let that sink in: the timepiece that completely changed the game of luxury sports watches forever was conceived in less time than it would take us to fly to Geneva. What’s more, when it was released in 1972, the Royal Oak cost 3300 Swiss franc … for a steel sports watch! To put that in context, you could have bought close to a dozen Rolex Submariners for the same money at the time. Anyway, we could go on forever about this wonderful watch but, instead, we thought it would be worth drawing your attention back to the time we went hands-on with the solid yellow gold Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph. HANDS-ON: The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph in yellow gold STORY IN A SECOND: When the first Royal Oak was released in 1972 in steel it was a revelation. Now, in 2016, there’s a milder…
Hublot has teamed up with the initiative Save Our Rhino Africa/India (SORAI) to create the fetching, limited edition Hublot Big Bang Unico SORAI. Stylised to mimic the tonal colours of Africa’s vast bush land, the new Big Bang Unico SORAI’s 45mm case is finished in microblasted beige ceramic, as is the watch’s bezel. Providing a stark contrast, the chronograph pushers and the crown of the limited edition watch are finished in a black composite resin. The dial of the Unico SORAI has been given the same aesthetic treatment, and the openwork-skeletonised movement is finished in matt beige, while the running seconds sub-dial displays the distinctive SORAI logo – a white rhino. The movement itself is Hublot’s self-winding HUB1242, and in addition to featuring a flyback chronograph complication containing both a column wheel and dual clutches, the watch also features a date complication and offers customers up to 72 hours of power reserve. The Unico SORAI is paired with two different straps: a beige NATO bracelet and a camouflage rubber bracelet that features some world-first technology. Essentially, through the employment of an innovative vulcanisation technique, Hublot is able to create a distinctive camouflage theme that is drawn onto the rubber bracelet…
Paying homage to a man widely regarded as the father of modernism, Le Corbusier (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret), Rado’s stunning range of True Thinline Les Couleurs Le Corbusier could definitely be worth a look as your next summer watch. Le Corbusier, the visionary Swiss designer, architect and writer, created the concept of Architectural Polychromy – a palette that employs 63 different colours of architectural significance to assist with the portrayal of depth and space. These 63 colours are then grouped into nine different categories: vibrant, velvety, balanced, bold, powerful, expressive, luminous, impressive and pure. Rado’s new True Thinline collection wonderfully encapsulates these nine different palettes, and each of the watches distinct colours, nine in total, has an equally vibrant name to match. What’s more, when paired with Rado’s storied expertise in creating ceramic timepieces, which dates back more than 30 years, the combination makes for a compelling proposition, not least for the fact that ceramic is scratch resistant, light and hypoallergenic. The True Thinline watch itself is a very well proportioned wristwatch, thanks to a versatile 39mm case size that’s just 5mm thick. Housed inside the slim ceramic case is a 13-jewel quartz movement that powers the watch’s hour and minute hand.…
Editor’s note: Almost two years on from its release at 2018’s Baselworld, Rolex’s GMT-Master II 126710 BLRO or “Pepsi”, as it’s colloquially known across the globe, is still an incredibly desirable timepiece. And it’s pretty easy to understand why – 904L steel or “Oyster Steel” construction, Jubilee bracelet, bidirectional Cerachrom bezel, chronometer certification with an accuracy rating of +2/-2 seconds a day, waterproof to 100 metres, GMT complication – this watch has just got so much to offer. A first of its kind, Rolex’s Pepsi GMT is also steeped in an incredibly rich history, and dates back to the mid-1950s, when Rolex worked with Pan American Airways on creating a wristwatch Pan Am pilots could use to track two different time zones at once while flying intercontinentally. So it’s not hard to fathom why this fabled timepiece still commands such a high price tag in the secondhand watch market, very often achieving more than double its recommended retail price of $12,250 AUD. Anyway, we were lucky enough to go hands-on with the watch late last year, and it’s definitely worth the read. HANDS-ON: The Rolex GMT-Master II Pepsi (ref. 126710 BLRO) Anticipation was high for a GMT-Master II release at…