VIDEO: 5 outstanding Montblanc watches from SIHH 2019
Since Davide Cerrato took the gig as Montblanc’s top watch guy, the brand’s timepiece offerings have been steadily ramping up, becoming more focused and more appealing. To my mind, Montblanc’s SIHH 2019 saw the brand in high gear, on the inside track and with the intensity of a winner. Two hero collections and a range of watches to appeal to a wide range of tastes. Here are our five picks. Montblanc 1858 Geosphere LE Last year’s complicated two timer was already a good-looking beast of a watch, and this year the Geosphere’s gone green, making it even more Hulk-like. Montblanc 1858 Chronograph While it might not have the same incredible engine as its Minerva brethren, the 1858 Chronograph, with its bronze case and mossy green dial, is one undeniably attractive piece of kit. Montblanc Heritage Automatic While the 1858 family was all about the green, the freshly minted Heritage line is looking dapper with its copper-y salmon colourways. Add to that the complex dial construction and you’ve got a winning proposition on your hands. Montblanc Heritage Perpetual Calendar Montblanc’s meteoric re-emergence into serious watchmaking was its aggressively priced QP. Since then, it’s become a staple of the collection, and this…
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Editor’s note: It should be noted, right up front, that the ‘petite’ in this watch’s name refers to the subsidiary seconds dial, not the overall scale of the piece, which is reasonable and substantial all at once. So, with that caveat out of the way, onto the review … In these days of the never-ending vintage revival, it seems that every brand has to have a heritage collection, regardless of whether they have any actual heritage. That’s not a problem Tissot has to deal with, as the brand dates way back to 1853, a depth of history that’s reflected in the strength of their current heritage lineup. The latest member is this handsome fella, the Tissot Heritage Petite Seconde, a hand-winding hero based on a 1943 design, which is entirely suited to the modern day. The dial There’s an interesting story about this reissue, and it centres on one word on the dial. The Heritage Petite Seconde is a tribute to an antimagnetic watch from 1943. When the watch was originally shown at Baselworld this year it featured a line of text reading ‘antimagnetique’ under the wonderfully retro, sweeping Tissot logo. As you can see, that word is no longer there, likely…
Move over Brooke Shields, the Blue Lagoon has a new star – Moser’s Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept Blue Lagoon. And, as with all of Moser’s concept line of watches, there’s almost nothing to get in the way of the typically excellent fumé dial. The Blue Lagoon takes its name from the dial colour which, like all of Moser’s watches, is rather difficult to fully capture on film. It’s iridescent, vivid and compelling. It’s also a very greenish blue, which sits in the middle of Moser’s mild-to-wild spectrum of dial colours. And that, at least to my mind, is just the right place to be. Now, this watch isn’t as wilfully obtuse as their masterful Swiss Alp Minute Repeater — here you get hands (three of them) — more than enough to let you tell the hours, minutes and seconds. This version is a white gold case (there’s also a red gold option if you’re so inclined) and clocks in at a respectable 40mm x 10.7mm, in the simple-yet-complex Endeavour case, with its fancy case profile and Moser’s typical grippy, ergonomic crown. Flip it over and you’re treated to an uninterrupted view of the HMC 200, Moser’s sturdy automatic that’s nicely finished,…
As far as international watch fairs go, SIHH is great. If highly complex, mind-blowing timepieces are your jam, it’s the one for you. After all, it’s the Haute Horlogerie fair. But things get a touch trickier if you (like I suspect many of our readers) are into simpler fare, more suitable for daily duty. Never fear though, for amidst the tourbillons and astronomical complications there’s some incredible value to be had. Like these four watches … Montblanc Heritage Automatic Montblanc’s revamped Heritage collection was one of the real winners from SIHH, a collection oozing in stylish nostalgia and charm. No small part of that charm is due to the complex, domed dials with sophisticated finishes and mix of printed and applied details. And while this collection encompasses high-end chronographs, a GMT and a Day-Date, I’m quite smitten by this 40mm time-only offering with the warm, coppery toned salmon dial. From 2150 euro. IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic Spitfire IWC’s Pilot’s line is — unsurprisingly, given its utilitarian and attractive style — one of the brand’s strongest performers, and this year saw a crop of the best high-flying releases in a good while. Amidst the bold new materials and aviation-inspired complications, it was the…
Adding variety in the world of ultra-thin watchmaking is tricky. Because in this space, additional complications typically equals extra thickness — and that defeats the aim of the exercise. So instead of working on altering the mechanics, you change the aesthetics, which is just what Piaget has done here with these new additions to the Altiplano family. Before we take a closer look at those spectacular dials, a quick recap on this particular Altiplano. At 40mm across, and with a very simple, traditional round case, this watch is dressy by design. The incredible thinness of 6.5mm makes it almost unimaginable that this watch would perform any other function. The movement is quite special, the 1203P is 3mm wide, handsome, and powered by a micro-rotor that gives it up to 44 hours of go. But back to those dials. They’re incredibly slender slices of meteorite, cut to reveal the distinctive and unique crystalline structure, formed over thousands of years of floating silently through space … which is wild, if you actually think about it. Out-of-this-world origin story aside, the physical look of these dials is strong (even taking that white date window into account). The patterns in the iron-nickel heavy material…
It’s not an easy, or necessarily wise, thing to admit, but the first ‘proper’ cologne I ever purchased (with money from my job working at the deli in Coles) was Bulgari. And the first expensive sunglasses I owned? Also Bulgari. It was natural, then, that when I entered the world of haute horology a decade or so ago, my first associations with the brand were not akin to some of the houses who have literally centuries of backstory – and a single product focus – to offer in comparison. I paint this picture, and I tell this personal story, because it shows two things: 1) How far the brand has come since the ’90s. 2) And how utterly transformed my appreciation for Bulgari is some 20-odd years since my first contact. But this newly developed appreciation (read: hot desire in the Finissimo’s case!) is because I’m pretty damn lucky. I get to hold the watches. To meet the people who designed them and feel the passion they have for their work. Attend the ceremonies where they are unveiled and then decorated with awards. So when given the chance to make a video about anything at all on a recent trip…
Editor’s note: It’s one of the watch world’s perennial favourite questions – what makes a beater? After all, those vintage steel Rolex models were designed to be worn, and worn hard. But then again, they’re very expensive. Justin delves into the issue … What can and can’t be dubbed a ‘Beater Watch’ remains a contentious issue among many. Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to let your watch suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and shelter your beloved watch from harm. The ponderings of Hamlet seemed oddly fitting one morning as I awoke to a notification and a Rolex Forum’s link, where it seemed a comment I’d made in a previous story had stirred the pot on the topic of beater/daily wear watches. While it was interesting to see the contrasting replies to the story itself, what proved more fascinating was the distinctly different ways in which people defined the criteria of a beater watch in the first place. Case in point, the words of forum member ‘Burlington’ who stated the following: Big difference to me at least between a daily wearer and an actual beater watch, which will…
As far as famous watches go, the Speedmaster is way up there. And aside from its famous extraterrestrial exploits, it’s also a real staple of the watch world, which is why a Speedy was a natural choice of wrist wear for my recent Swiss trip. The fact that this trip included spending some quality time with Omega only sealed the deal. The next question was: which Speedmaster? Well, in the end, my decision wasn’t too hard, because even though you’re spoiled for choice, I wanted a more classical iteration, and one with a mix of personality and versatility. So I plumped for the 2018 limited edition, the CK 2998. Once I put it on, it felt … pleasingly petite. It measures 39.7mm across, so it’s not really too small, but thanks to that broad black bezel, it wears smaller than you’d expect. It’s also, thanks to the manual winder inside, thinner than the automatic chronographs I typically road test. It’s a nice-feeling watch; present, but certainly not overpowering. Looks-wise … it’s vintage, but not too vintage if you take my meaning. In case you’re not familiar, the CK 2998 is based on the first Omega in space, a 2998 worn…
One of my highlights of SIHH every year is IWC – and not just because their booth is exceptional; this year it was dominated by an actual gleaming silver Spitfire. No, I like seeing IWC because the watches rarely disappoint, and this year was absolutely no exception. The Pilot’s collection is one of the brand’s iconic staples, and hugely popular in Australia (and, for that matter, around the world). And at SIHH it got some major new additions, mainly in the Spitfire and Top Gun sub families. Spitfire is the more retro of the two, and covered off the classics — a pitch-perfect 39mm automatic, a chronograph, a simpler Timezoner, a Big Pilot-cased perpetual and even a welcome return of the UTC. Now, while it’s easy to get caught up in the bronze cases and green dials on offer, for me the really big news is that the whole Spitfire family is now powered by in-house movements. Over in the Top Gun line, novel materials were the name of the game — with Ceratanium making an appearance on the Doppelchrono, and a gorgeous khaki ‘Mojave’ limited edition that I just can’t get out of my head. So, time to cue…
Few names loom larger in the collective consciousness of horological history than Gérald Genta. He’s one of the few individual designers whose name — because of the strength of his work — stands as tall as the great houses for whom he worked. But later in his career, Genta launched his own eponymous brand which demonstrated a penchant for retrograde displays and Disney characters. Eventually, the Genta brand was acquired by Bulgari, who have continued to evolve some of the great designer’s works under their own name, and to great effect. Which was why this watch, presented recently in Geneva, was such a surprise. This special edition platinum piece has been made to honour the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Gérald Genta brand, and it does so in a remarkably faithful way. The DNA of this watch, with the double retrograde movement and stylised, rounded case, is very Genta. Sure, it’s been toned down a little with a simple blue sunburst dial, the characteristic typeface (just check out that GG logo and text at the bottom of the dial — outstanding!) and a case that features Genta’s trademark crown. When I spoke to Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani – Bulgari’s…