6 of the best women’s watches of 2018
Half a decade ago, Time+Tide published a story, citing that by 2020 there would be more female millionaires in Britain than male, leaving it to the brands to respond to this shift. As we also mentioned here, women’s watches are so often an afterthought from brands, typically taking a men’s model and either shrinking it down or sinking a few stones into the bezel/lugs. While this still occurs, there are a number of brands that are working hard to have an independent women’s collection under their roof, which is refreshing to see. Last year, Baselworld had a number of women’s watches on display, so we thought we’d look back at 6 of the best women’s watches of 2018. CARTIER RÉVÉLATION D’UNE PANTHÈRE As with some of life’s great wonders, only when you see can you believe. And this latest marvel from the French Maison is the perfect example. With a simple turn of the wrist, what was once a blank dial begins to fill with tiny gold beads, flowing from top to bottom and revealing a stylised panther’s face. And then almost as quickly, it disappears, the beads resting at the bottom of the dial. Ref No. HPI01259, Case size 37mm,…
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Editor’s note: If you spend more than a few minutes in that wonderful (and terrifying) thing that is the watch community, you’ll quickly become familiar with the larger-than-life figure that is Adam Craniotes. Today we found out that Adam has just become the Editor-in-Chief of Revolution USA, for which he has our heartfelt congratulations. So, we thought we would celebrate by digging out this video of the man himself telling tall tales about his watch, and the chicanery he went to to acquire it. If you like watches (you do) and exist in a digital age (also affirmative) there’s a good chance you’ve encountered the garrulous Adam Craniotes — heck, you might have even seen his tour of NYC. And if you’ve come across @Craniotes, you’ve probably heard the story of his IWC Perpetual Calendar, and how he had to borrow cash off his mum to get it, and the Delilah-esque toll she exacted. (We’re not going to tell you that story, but you can read up on it here if you like.) On this occasion, we asked Adam to tell us about his Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Diving Alarm Navy SEALs (the Incursion Edition, just in case you were wondering). As with all…
The eighth edition of Only Watch is underway, with the release of the unique pieces offered by the 50 brand partners. After raising 40 million Swiss francs in the last seven editions, Only Watch is one of the most important charity auctions on the calendar, with Only Watch raising money for research into muscular dystrophy. The watches are set to depart on a global tour of Christie’s salesrooms, starting in Monaco, under the patronage of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, who is a strong supporter of the auction. With more than four-dozen brands offering unique watches for the charitable cause, it was tough to pick our favourite watches of Only Watch 2019, but here they are. Felix Scholz — Akrivia Chronomètre Contemporain Rexhep Rexhepi Blue Dial It’s one of the hottest watches at the moment, and this textural update gives it even more spice. Those who know me will understand I find this very caliente. Andrew McUtchen — Hermès Arceau L’Heure de la Lune Only Watch An admission. This one passed me by at SIHH and, honestly, I don’t know how. Add the cool blue lume on the time and date dials to the already complex and creative equation…
As we naturally personify the objects we come into contact with, the hour and minute indicators on a watch become articulating hands, and the dial becomes a face. Just as we will closely study the faces of the people around us, we search for meaning in the faces of our watches as we read the time, giving watchmakers huge incentive to design the most interesting dials for our viewing pleasure. With this in mind, it wasn’t hard to find a good-looking dial, making it a challenge to narrow down the 10 most interesting watch dials of 2018. Keep reading for some stellar horological handiwork. LONGINES MILITARY WATCH With a history that stretches back over 185 years, it should come as no surprise that Longines has some solid historical designs to draw from. Their latest takes its vintage inspiration to a whole new level. Tracing its roots to a watch that was supplied to the British RAF during WWII, each cream-coloured dial is randomly speckled with spots of faux patina, with no two dials looking alike. Ref No. L2.819.4.93.2, Case size 38.5mm, Case material Steel, Movement L888.2, Price $2775 MING 17.03 The brainchild of international photographer and watch collector Ming…
Editor’s note: Trust Breguet to take the comparatively uncomplicated act of adding a second time zone into something extra. Rather than your typical GMT hand scenario, the Breguet Classique Hora Mundi ref. 5717 demonstrates a very cool, very technical twist on the complication. Read on for Sandra’s review … The remarkable Hora Mundi ref. 5717 made its first appearance in 2011, to an enthusiastic reception. Then, in 2016, when Breguet launched an updated version (ref. 5727) they spoke of it as a replacement for the original. But some things are simply too special to discontinue. Thank goodness – for we rarely encounter a watch that combines technical genius, great beauty and immense charm in the way that this version of Hora Mundi does. For those of us who are constantly on the move, a multiple-time-zone complication is one of the most useful things to have in a watch – and, unsurprisingly, it’s offered by almost all of the top makers. More surprising, though, is how little variety there is in the style of display: a pointer hand or a sub-dial and that’s pretty much where the choice ends. Breguet, however, chose to give a highly original visual expression to its…
OK, so on the surface this story is nice and simple. Philip McColl, a sailor who had his engraved Rolex Submariner (a commemoration of his 1988 World Championship win) stolen in 1998 returned to him by Christie’s auction house. Good news story, right? Well, the actual story is a little more complex. Turns out that Christie’s contacted Mr McColl way back in 2016, asking if he wanted to buy his watch back. Click here for more on that. Mr McColl, presumably miffed that an auction house was trying to sell him his own stolen watch, went ahead and sued Christie’s. Fast forward to 2019 and Christie’s has returned the watch to McColl, after a court order. A happy ending for McColl, and a big ’ol caveat emptor for everyone else. Read the full story here. Our biggest takeaway, though? Get your watch engraved. Just in case … 
When you are first getting into watches, spending a thousand dollars seems like a ridiculous thing to do. Hell, even when you have started your journey into the rabbit hole, $1000 is still a lot of money for the vast majority of people living on planet earth. So with that in mind, I wanted to have a look at some of the best watches under $1K. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and I would love to hear what you would add in the comments, but these were some pieces that stood out to me (I even bought one of them). TIMEX MARLIN BLACKOUT TODD SNYDER Have you ever tried looking for a manually wound dress watch for under $200 US? The options are pretty scarce. This year the search got a whole lot easier with the release of the Timex Marlin Blackout. Made exclusively for American fashion designer Todd Snyder – and sold exclusively through his website – the Blackout follows the winning blueprint of 2017’s smash hit version of the Timex Marlin. This version sports an elegant black sunburst dial. Case size 34mm, Case material Steel, Movement MOVT CHINA, Price $199 USD DAN HENRY 1970…
Editor’s note: If you want to impress someone with how cool your watch is, it’s hard to beat the Breitling Emergency. We revisit Ben’s story from a few years back to find out why … There are few watches that live up to their marketing hype, and even fewer that can claim to have genuinely saved lives. Breitling has long been considered the pilot’s watch of choice, but it was the Breitling Emergency that solidified the company’s commitment to aviators and adventurers around the world with one truly unique complication — the personal locator beacon. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, we explore one of the most unique watches ever made. The story began with Ernest Schneider, the man who acquired Breitling in 1979 when it was on the verge of collapse, and kept it afloat during the quartz crisis, thanks to a new generation of iconic Breitling models. An officer with the Swiss Army signal corps during World War II as well as a passionate pilot and engineer, he was involved in discussions at a NATO conference in the mid-1980s about emergency beacons and the high incidence of false activations that cost the relevant authorities significant time and money.…
Editor’s note: Cam wrote this snappy little opinion piece for us last year, and you know what — we still don’t know how many watches he owns. More than two, and less than 20 … we think. I think we’ve all found ourselves in a similar situation. You’re at a BBQ, surrounded by friends and family, and everything is going great. The food is good, the drinks are cold, and the stereo is pumping out banger after banger, like it was playing straight from your Spotify playlist. While all around you the conversations are flowing and everyone is happily mingling. Next thing you find yourself chatting to a friend of a friend who you’ve heard of but never actually met. And they’ve just found out that you’re a watch guy. “So, you’re into watches, huh … how many do you have?” And that instant feeling rushes over you. You know the one. It’s kind of like when you’re on a date and they ask that other inevitable “number of” question. And even though you knew it would come eventually, you’re still put on the spot and have to suddenly do the quick math in your head and remember if you’re…
Two years can be a long time in the life of a product – long enough for it to go from controversial to comfortably accepted, or even loved, as its challenging elements become softened by familiarity. That’s certainly true for two of the watches introduced by Tudor in 2017, which attracted attention and controversy in equal measure. For the Black Bay Heritage S&G, it was a matter of aesthetics: the (then) courageous reintroduction of two-tone – a stylistic blast from the past that was either cool or cringe-making, depending on where you were during its previous heyday, the 1980s. The other was more than skin-deep: the Black Bay Chronograph [read Felix’s review here] is a mash-up of diver’s watch and chronograph – and purists don’t like hybrids (remember the howling that greeted the Porsche Cayenne when it made its debut in 2002?). The rotating bezel of the dive watch became a fixed bezel with a tachymeter scale and the square tip of the snowflake hour hand – so great for underwater visibility – conceals part of the chronograph minutes register between 2 and 4 o’clock (shock!). Skip ahead to 2019 (a world where genre-fluid watches have become almost as familiar…