INTRODUCING: The Omega Seamaster Diver 300M “Beijing 2022” ushers in the Winter Olympics
Now that 2021 has arrived, a return to normality seems to be lurking on the horizon (fingers crossed). We still have some work to do around the world, but with a vaccine in circulation it is fortunately no longer a matter of “if” but “when”. In anticipation of these brighter days, Omega is getting a jump-start on the fun to come when the Beijing Winter Olympics arrives next year. To celebrate the 30th year of being official timekeeper of the games, Omega is introducing their Omega Seamaster Diver 300M “Beijing 2022” Special Edition. The watch is every bit the modern Seamaster watch we have come to know and love, but with a few subtle twists that really tie the watch to the Winter Olympics. The stainless-steel case is still 42mm in diameter, 50mm lug-to-lug, and 13.7mm thick. It maintains the 300 metre water resistance expected of the collection, with a screw-down crown and Reese’s peanut-butter cup style helium-escape valve. Interestingly though, like the Nekton Seamaster released last year, Omega has opted to pair the Special Edition watch with a grade 5 titanium bezel with a 60-minute diving scale in positive relief. The sun-brushed blue ceramic dial features the same laser-engraved…
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Digital watches are generally overlooked by the tastemakers of the horological elite, but we don’t think that’s really fair. Not only do they provide an interesting way of communicating the time that is easier to read (just ask your child), but they’re also a little more unusual and cut through the sea of analogue watches that we are used to seeing everyday. Because while you obviously have a range of digital watches that tell the time via an LED screen, there are also some seriously cool mechanical digital watches. So with that in mind, we thought we’d take a look at some of the best digital watches of 2020, which range from a few hundred dollars to a few hundred thousand dollars. CASIO G-SHOCK DW5600 NASA LIMITED EDITION There’s no shortage of watches clinging onto a legacy of space travel, but if any of them would be relevant in a modern world, then it would be a G-Shock. This limited edition DW5600 is clinically eye-catching, with its pure-white case and integrated rubber strap, smoothing over the usual bulk of G-Shocks. Pops of colour with the NASA logo and US flag complete a package fit for any space cowboy. Ref No.…
At a time when there is limited opportunity for travellers to jet around the world, there is a perverse brilliance in the timing of the British designed, Swiss-made Christopher Ward C1 Worldglow – a source of much-needed light at the end of the tunnel, and that’s before we even mention the lume factor. The genesis of Christopher Ward’s latest brainchild comes from its sister watch, the C1 Moonglow, which landed in July 2019. That was released to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the landing of the first Apollo that landed on the moon and was a roaring success for the British brand that only formed in 2005 (from a chicken shed in Berkshire I might add). It is now one of several brands driving a burgeoning UK market forward, thanks in part to co-founder and CEO Mike France (no, he’s not French). “Building on the success of the C1 Moonglow, we are out to establish an even stronger foothold and put our own flag, if you like, into glow watches that are part of the dress category,” France tells us. “Nobody’s really ever done anything in terms of lume on dress watches. But we thought, ‘How do you spark something…
Forget Swiss neutrality, Moser are not a brand afraid to court controversy. This was made abundantly clear in January 2016, when they revealed a new watch in response to the launch of the Apple Watch from the previous year. The Moser Swiss Alp Watch was born as a satirical take on the watch industry’s mad rush to make connected watches. It borrowed distinct visual cues from Jony Ive’s Apple Watch with its round-edged rectangular case but housed one of Moser’s in-house mechanical movements rather than any touch-screen tech. Now the brand introduces the last chapter in this delightfully subversive exercise in the form of the all new Moser Swiss Alp Watch Final Upgrade. When first launched in a 50 piece limited edition in 2016, Moser were bullish about the need for a proactive response to the smartwatch’s inroads into the industry. In their original press release for the Swiss Alp Watch launch they pulled no punches. “As the challenge of the smartwatch emerged, it threw Swiss watchmaking into turmoil. However, the complete lack of a response from most market players is remarkable in itself. Doing nothing and waiting for the threat to pass is certainly a dangerous course, but it…
The Rolex Explorer ref. 214270 is considered the Rolex model for true watch enthusiasts, or enthusiasts of the brand. By no means basic in the millennial sense of the word, the Explorer is less attention grabbing with its boiled-down to the essentials design. While less iconic to mainstream consumers than say the Submariner or Daytona, the Explorer watch presents owners with an all-in-one package extremely versatile in wear. It can be worn with formal attire, without raising a debate if sport watches should be paired with a suit, or be right at home on the wrist while summiting a mountain. The sole survivor of the line, the Rolex Explorer ref. 214270, is the brand’s most robust and modern take on the watch – delivering a blend of classic and current aesthetics and technologies. Rolex Explorer ref. 214270 price and availability: The Rolex Explorer ref. 214270 has an RRP of $9150 AUD and is currently available, though you may need to wait on a waitlist. For more details, visit Bob’s Watches right here. Made in partnership with Bob’s Watches. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own in accordance with our Editorial Policy.
The Piaget Polo was first introduced in 1979, inspired by the jet-setting lifestyle and where luxury met sport. Its release coincided with Piaget becoming a sponsor for Polo tournaments around the world. Yves Piaget personally loved to attend these events, their glamour, sport, and spontaneity inspiring the Polo watch design. The Piaget Polo watch has changed a great deal since its release over 4 decades ago, the 2016 Piaget Polo S bringing the watch into a more price approachable metal and modern format. It was a tad controversial at the time, with some drawing comparisons to the integrated designs of Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe. Regardless of where you stand in that conversation, today the collection introduces a watch irrefutably tied to Piaget’s identity: the Piaget Polo Skeleton. When discussing the art of ultra-thin watchmaking, Piaget is invariably part of the conversation. Other manufacturers produce super thin watches, sure, but the pursuit for the ultimate in thin ultra-thin watchmaking is a core component of Piaget’s heritage. In 1957, Piaget introduced their renowned ultra thin caliber 9P which was only 2mm thick. Three years later, they introduced the 12P movement – the world’s thinnest self winding movement at the time with…
The term “luxury sports watch” is often an overused clichè. But the Louis Vuitton Tambour Damier Graphite Race Chronograph leaves you in no doubt of its intentions. A bold case combined with serious swagger and eye-popping green accents makes it a bright spark of contemporary design in a world of homage watches. Shy it ain’t. This watch is neither small nor particularly quiet, but maybe it’s exactly what we need? Not everyone wants a softly spoken 38mm skindiver, and this is nothing of the sort. The first time I lay my hands on it I notice that in this rather large 46mm case, LV has managed to create a very comfortable wearing sports chronograph. The round Tambour case is a veritable silky smooth pebble of comfort in black PVD-treated smooth steel. It sits just-so on the wrist and gives you a perfectly rounded background, while distracting you through the lively use of B.R.I.G.H.T green accents. The feeling on the wrist is sublime with the black and green logoed rubber strap, temptingly quick-released from the slender, downturned lugs can be swapped perhaps to an alligator strap for that Saturday night cocktail party. Though you’ll probably want to keep it on as…
Chamath Palihapitiya is a name you might not have heard of a week ago but, thanks to his very public support of the GameStop share trading controversy, it’s now significantly more recognisable. He began his career as an early senior executive at Facebook, before beginning his current venture as the billionaire founder of Social Capital, a venture capital firm established to “advance humanity by solving the world’s hardest problems”. If that wasn’t enough to be getting on with, Palihapitiya is also a part owner of the Golden State Warriors basketball team. But as his wrist game clearly demonstrates, the man knows his horological hardware too. Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Open Worked Rose Gold 41mm When you enter the world of Audemars Piguet, it makes sense to start with the Royal Oak family. Maybe something time-only in steel or a more technical option if you’re attracted to the Off Shore arm of the collection. A reference that certainly isn’t your entry point to the brand is the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Open Worked Rose Gold 41mm, a skeletonised tour de force hewn from a very attractive shade of precious metal. Palihapitiya was spotted wearing this…
Watch manufacturers usually get it right when it comes to their factory configurations. But people’s tastes vary a lot. Sometimes you might feel a design could use a touch more flair or may even need to be scaled back a bit. Buyers normally have to rely on their imaginations to play dress up with their strap monsters, often buying straps online and hoping when they arrive they live up to whatever they’d pictured in their mind. But Hublot is making this experience easier and a whole lot more fun. Through their Hublot Strap Customiser Tool, visitors to the Hublot site can now play watch designer and, if they like what they see, even purchase the configuration for themselves. I decided to try it out for myself, and here are three configurations I think really work (or at least make a great second option to the original configuration). Hublot Classic Fusion Titanium ref. 542.NX.1171.RX The Hublot Classic Fusion Titanium ref. 542.NX.1171.RX is 42mm in diameter, 50 metres water-resistant and runs on the HUB1110 self-winding movement with 42 hours of power reserve. The Classic Fusion is a nice daily wearer that works well for both casual and formal settings. It comes on…
Fast-forward 30 years into the future. You’re being chauffeured by your robot valet in your flying car on a trip to buy another pair of underpants made from laser-beam holograms (you’re not entirely convinced by them, but your cyborg wife thinks they look sexy). But when you glance at the watch on your wrist – yes, you will still be wearing one – what will it look like? Going by the vast bulk of watch releases over the last decade, the answer to that question is probably not that different. Not only does watch design move at a truly glacial pace, but vintage reissues and throwback homages have become ever more prevalent. In fact, if you try to think of a truly contemporary mechanical watch then it’s surprisingly hard. I was reminded of this fact recently speaking to Bani McSpedden, the venerable Watch Editor of The Australian Financial Review. “Nostalgia has been increasingly keeping the traditional watch industry alive,” he pointed out. “If you took away nostalgia, there are not a lot of people making a thoroughly modern product.” Bani conceded that some brands – Rolex and Omega, for example – remain tremendously progressive in terms of their horological engineering…