EDITOR’S PICK: The most overlooked element in watch design
Editor’s note: Someone I know is in the process of looking for a new watch – a Breitling Aerospace to be specific. Now, on first glance, this weird old ana-digi watch might not have much going for it, but, really, for a watch so light, this watch packs a big punch. And you know why? Well, I don’t want to give the game away, so read on … Case profile. There, I said it. It might not be as sexy as the movement or the dial, but in terms of real-world user-friendliness, it’s the kingmaker or deal-breaker. The problem is, watchmakers and fans are conditioned to a very top-down visual approach of watches. Look at any brand’s site, or most of the watches on Instagram, and what do you see? Dials. A whole lot of dials. And, honestly, it makes sense. The top-down dial shot encompasses most of what a watch is about. The dial is the visual star, and a typical wrist shot at least gives you some sense of what a watch looks like on the wrist, but it doesn’t really give you any sense of what it’s like to wear a watch on the wrist, because —…
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OK, here are the watches that put the HH into SIHH, the sort of timepieces that challenge and define exactly what it’s possible to do with a watch on your wrist. These sort of movements take years and years of development, so it’s unreasonable to expect a new one every year, but at this year’s instalment of SIHH, the top end of town was very well represented, with some genuine innovation, and true ingenuity on show. Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar One of the real standouts of the show was Vacheron Constantin’s innovative Twin Beat, which boasts twin balances beating at different rates. The real trick, though, is that the wearer can set which balance is in use, either an active or a passive mode. Something that, in effect, means you get up to 65 DAYS of power reserve. Handy if you don’t want to reset that perpetual calendar. Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon Westminster Perpétuel While none of the grand complications in this JLC is new per se, they’re all exceptionally well executed, the Westminster Carillon in particular. The real feat, though, is combining this much complexity in an eminently wearable package. Ressence Type 2 And, finally,…
If the over $35,000 price point is not the most crowded at SIHH, it is equal to the 20-35k bracket before it. There are a lot of watches to choose from. From Baume & Mercier, with a well-priced perpetual calendar that dropped just over 35kAUD, to Richard Mille’s sweet Bonbon confection, practically all brands were in the arena for this podium call – though only three made it. One other small note about this bracket: this year we isolated the high complications to their own category, which means that all those people listing VC and JLC in their lists on YouTube, vying to win a handmade sterling silver Time+Tide lapel pin, are technically correct as they’re over 35k, but they might just make an appearance in their own big show, coming soon. Sorry, we tweaked the rules just a little there! To watch Felix and I talk through my selections, hit the video. If you’re impatient, see below. Vacheron Constantin’s Overseas Tourbillon Really tough call here, with a strong showing from Vacheron this year (that Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin has kept me up at nights) but in the end I “ate with my eyes” and preserved the shock factor of seeing…
If my other two lists (here and here, in case you forgot) had loose themes tying them together, this one is all over the shop, covering off the serious to playful spectrum very nicely indeed. So, let’s start with the serious … A. Lange & Söhne’s Zeitwerk Date It’s larger and thinner, but the real news is the smartly executed date. You’d be forgiven for expecting a date aperture, in line with the time display, but no, Lange opted for an open-worked date disk that looks very nice indeed. Cartier Tonneau Dual Time Skeleton Cartier’s skeleton watches are well known, and typically they’re not the sort of watch I could imagine myself wearing. This guy, though, I would wear all the freaking time. Perhaps it’s the combination of the richly shaped case and skeleton movement, or maybe it’s just the smart dual dials. All I know is I love it. Richard Mille Bonbon collection Picking an entire collection is a total cheat move, but you know what, I don’t care. All these watches — indulgently artistic takes on the sweeter things in life — are great, playful and absolutely ridiculous. Richard Mille, masters of the high-end timekeeping machine, prove that things…
One of the most exciting watches of last year was the significantly revamped Omega Seamaster Diver 300M, a modern icon of the brand that managed to sneak into both Andrew’s and my own ‘best of 2018’ lists (so it must be good). Well, the SMP just got a little bit better — Omega has announced a new version, in an oh-so-sexy looking black ceramic case, topped off with a titanium bezel with a matching black ceramic insert. This is a watch case that really works with ceramic: the complex shapes (like those lyre lugs) and mix of brushed and polished surfaces really amp up the ceramic-ness. The crown, escape valve and caseback are all titanium, like the bezel, which adds a little bit of muted contrast to the affair. The strap is rubber, and the buckle ceramic. Even that glossy, wavy dial is ceramic — and — in an exciting move for the purists out there, there’s no date window, ensuring the look is as stealthy as possible. The other interesting news is that this model is a shade larger than last year’s metal offerings; it measures in at 43.5mm. As the name would suggest, it’s rated at 300 metres,…
Materials innovation is looking like quite a thing in 2019 and for you, the watch buyers, that has to be good news: more aesthetic choices and (hopefully) better performance. Which brings us to IWC’s new Top Gun Double Chronograph Ceratanium. Ceratanium? It’s a naturally matt-black finish, but differs from PVD/DLC in one crucial respect: rather than a coating, it’s integral to the base material (its name being a contraction of ceramised and titanium). It’s the product of five years R&D within IWC, and is made by first milling the parts (case, pushers and crown) from a titanium alloy, then subjecting them to intense heat. The composition of the alloy triggers what IWC calls a “diffusion” process, which transforms the structure of the alloy’s surface into ceramic. The result is a best-of-both worlds material – as light and unbreakable as titanium, and as hard and scratch-resistant as ceramic. What’s more, being part of the material itself, the finish cannot chip or wear off as a coating might. To the eye it looks deeply black, with neither sheen nor texture, but seeming to absorb every last suggestion of light. In the hand, the watch feels light yet very substantial. Although Ceratanium isn’t…
This price bracket is a sweet spot for SIHH and the going gets tough when it comes to picking the standouts. One of the benefits of Felix and I splitting our picks this year is that we can cover more ground. That said, we still maintain our habit of not sharing our choices before we go to air. Sometimes there are brand double-ups, more often not. Regular viewers will know that we take spontaneity very seriously. Collusion is just not an option if it’s at the expense of an authentic moment of shock and/or awe. So, to my choices … Panerai Submersible Carbotech 42mm PAM 000960 The pricing has raised eyebrows, but there have been zero complaints about the imaginative styling and colourway chosen for the next gen of the Carbotech, which expresses itself here with an entirely new handset. The 42mm case size will open this stealthy, stylish watch to a new audience. The IWC Spitfire Timezoner The ingenious ‘timezoner’ complication, which allows you to change time zones with a twist of the bezel, is so simple to read and to use that it’s little wonder IWC purchased another brand — Vogard — to acquire it. The Ulysse Nardin Freak X A…
When Hublot announced its partnership with French contemporary artist Richard Orlinski back in 2017, I guess you could say I was intrigued. Until then, I hadn’t heard of Orlinski or his Pop Art-style beasts. But after seeing his brightly coloured “Wild Kong” gorilla sculpture, with its multiple diamond-like facets, I knew that a Hublot and Orlinski partnership would be a match made in heaven. And it seems the rest of the world thought so too, because following the success of what is now a full-blown collection, Hublot and Richard Orlinski have teamed up once again. This time Orlinski’s trademark multiple facets have gone green. With the 12 facets of the 45mm case and bezel of the Hublot Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph Orlinski now crafted in microblasted green ceramic, and created by the French artist using a three-dimensional cambering technique. The green ceramic is rich and dark, not as vibrant as red and blue versions. Like most other models in the Hublot Orlinski collection, visible through the display caseback is the HUB1155 skeleton self-winding chronograph movement, with a Hublot signed rotor maintaining a 42-hour power reserve. And a black, smooth rubber strap holds it to the wrist. This latest Hublot and…
Few sports so frequently, and so intensely, show the individual under pressure as Grand Slam tennis singles. Take the case of Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece, who just two days ago defeated the GOAT (fact), Roger Federer. At the end of the first set, a grimly fought 13-11 tiebreak that went against him, he looked gone. Statisticians reeled off the odds from a first-set deficit against the Fed and they all looked beyond bleak. The GOAT doesn’t tend to look back from an early lead. But the young Greek gun had other ideas. He won in four, and won again today, through to a semis berth. For Alex de Minaur, the second youngest player inside the top 100 (at No. 29) and the highest ranked male Australian player, that win is a sign of things to come from the vanguard of young players on the rise. They are hungry. They are committed. And they “wake up every day” wanting to push the top guys, to take it up to them. “They’ve been at the top for long enough,” de Minaur, 19, says. And when he falls short, like de Minaur did recently against Alexander Zverev in an Australia vs Germany Davis…
The day after SIHH, I found myself walking around the cobbled streets of Geneva’s old town. It’s a very different Geneva to the vast, softly furnished halls of the Palexpo, or even the squat monoliths of the famed manufactures, with their clean rooms and airlocks. No, this street was winding, cobbled and, even though the day was sunny, cold. It was a street filled with art galleries and antique stores and, as I was to discover, one of the most exciting watchmakers in the business right now. In many ways, watchmaking is all about light. It’s something that’s incredibly important both in design and construction, and it’s apparent at Akrivia. For one, the facade of Akrivia is dominated by large, wide windows allowing natural light (and more than one curious onlooker) unfettered access to the open workshop, where red-coated watchmakers quietly and intensely work. Before the workshop though, there’s a reception area, and it’s here where I sat down with the prodigy and passionate founder of the brand, Rexhep Rexhepi (Su Jia Xian from WatchesbySJX was also there, but that’s just a coincidence). Initially our conversation was focused on the watches on the trays. The quality of all the pieces…