INTRODUCING: The Bulgari Octo Finissimo S Chronograph GMT is sportier and tougher with a panda dial
Last year, the time-only Octo Finissimo watches received a major upgrade in the form of a screw-down crown and improved depth rating of 100 metres. They also received contrasting finishes to the highly faceted surfaces of the case and bracelet. This resulted in a greater play with light and a watch that became both more elegant and sporty – two traits that are often mutually exclusive. In short, it was a real triumph with many lauding the fact that the specifications were much more in line with its original billing as a sports watch. Today, the Chronograph GMT finally joins in on the fun with the new Bulgari Octo Finissimo S Chronograph GMT, which features a blue lacquered dial with silver registers. The striking sunburst blue dial is dispersed with silver concentric textured chronograph and GMT sub dials. The panda-like aesthetic definitely pairs well with the sporty design of the watch, which makes sense considering this is the most robust Chronograph GMT yet. While its tougher than ever, it is equally supercharged in elegance. The radially brushed bezel and contrasting finishes to the facets of the case and bracelet are a masterclass in design. To join the “S” series of…
The post INTRODUCING: The Bulgari Octo Finissimo S Chronograph GMT is sportier and tougher with a panda dial appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Within the world of sports watch manufacturers, TAG Heuer has carved its place in history as one of the leading brands. Best known for its racing chronographs, today the brand combines the best of both worlds, creating timepieces inspired by its rich heritage while incorporating the latest movement and manufacturing technologies. TAG Heuer has always had a strong presence in the minds of buyers (particularly in Australia), but 2020 presented some of their strongest releases of the recent era. Here are my top five TAG Heuer releases of 2020. TAG Heuer X Grand Prix de Monaco Historique Limited Edition Last year saw a lot of blue dial watches being released, undoubtedly establishing blue as the colour of the year. But TAG Heuer has been there, done that with their iconic Monaco chronograph. Instead, the Monaco received a refreshing makeover in the form of a limited edition for the Monaco Grand Prix. The TAG Heuer X Grand Prix de Monaco Historique Limited Edition is the Monaco watch we know and love, but with a red dial housed in its 39mm case that makes it stands out from the crowd. The bold red really catches the eye and freshens up the classic…
Editor’s note: Nearly three years ago, although it seems like a lifetime, Andrew was able to visit the Complications Department of the Hublot Manufacture, and get up close and personal with a Hublot tourbillon. He admitted his terror of the mind-bending complexity involved in assembling the 69 different components that make up the tourbillon cage, and honestly, who wouldn’t have been? It demands at least eight hours of work just on that part of the movement, offering a testament to Hublot’s commitment to traditional and complex watchmaking. This video from 2018 also just clicked over 200k views, so if you haven’t seen it get, give it a watch and get a better understanding of why the tourbillon is such a coveted area of horology. Hublot have made big strides in recent years to establish watchmaking credibility as a counterweight to its heavy-hitting celebrity power. Regular nominations in various GPHG categories – across women’s and men’s watches – have been a meaningful benchmark for progress, and new crowd-pleasers, such as the delightful movement architecture of the Meca-10, have opened up a fresh conversation with watch lovers about what wearing a Hublot actually means in the modern day. To this end, when…
This might be exactly what we need to start 2021 with a BANG, and signal what we all hope is a strong year of growth for both the watch industry and consumer market in general. Auction results are a very important marker of the market temperature, and as WatchPro reminded us, this weekend sees the auction of the thoroughly mind-bending form of the Vacheron Constantin Tour de L’Ile, a vastly complex and equally dazzling micro-engineered piece of horological art. Everything is in place for a new auction record and a flying start to the year. The Vacheron Constantin Tour de L’Ile boasts a frankly incomprehensible 834 components and took 10,000 hours to complete. With two dials – both front and back – and everything from a minute-repeating complication to a tourbillon and equation of perpetual time, this is one of Vacheron Constantin’s ventures into the absolute highest echelons of haute horlogerie. Utterly beguiling, this 18-carat rose-gold wristwatch (if we can even call it that) sold for an original $2.1 million in 2005, and is estimated on the block for around $3 million this weekend. Is this the kick-off we need for a fresh 2021?, I have high hopes. Have…
Grand Seiko and their meticulous artistry never cease to amaze me. Each watch has a rich back story with every dial tone, texture, case form and finish carefully selected in order to best convey the brand’s grammar of design. Their relationship with Japanese culture and the nature that surrounds their workshops really shines through in each reference – nothing they produce is ever random. Due to this thoughtful curation of design, the catalogue of Grand Seiko watches announced each year are anything but stale and continue to elevate and evolve the brand’s standing worldwide. Here are three of the most surprising Grand Seiko releases of 2020. 1. The 9SA5 debuting in steel with the Grand Seiko SLGH003 Limited Edition The SLGH003 was an incredibly welcome surprise back in October. The 9SA5 caliber is a new and revolutionary movement designed by Grand Seiko, introducing a full balance bridge, over-coiled hairspring, and most notably: a dual-impulse escapement and free-sprung balance. With the sixth and final chapter of the Grand Seiko 60th Anniversary Limited Editions, I do not think anyone expected yet another limited edition with a gorgeous blue dial – but boy were we all happy when we found out. Previously the…
In 2020, everything was different. The way we worked. The way we socialised. And even the way we wore watches. If you only ever got your dress watch out of the safe for a black tie event, it’s likely you didn’t touch it at all last year. I heard stories of people who used to wear a watch everyday in the office, who simply stopped wearing them when they started working from home. On the flip-side, I heard of people wearing three or four different watches a day, simply because they could just grab one from their case whenever they liked. It was probably the strangest year of most people’s lives. Personally, I still wore my watches while working from home if, for nothing else, the enjoyment I got out of them and the loose way that putting on a watch can inform your daily routine. But I did notice my habits changing a little. I wore less of a range of watches, gravitating instead to a few staples that I would return to each day. Maybe it was because the range of ways I could spend my time had shrunk so much during the lockdowns, the watches I wore…
DLC, or diamond-like carbon, is a great tool for watch manufacturers to leverage. It’s capable of not only changing the aesthetics, but also the durability of a timepiece. To get an idea of how tough DLC is, the material typically measures at 5000-9000HV on the Vickers hardness test. Essentially, this means that DLC is as hard, and possibly even harder, than a diamond. That these coatings can be applied to cases and bracelets therefore results in some serious added benefits for the consumer. To explore DLC further, we have put together a list of four great watches that use DLC coatings. Bamford x Time+Tide GMT2 Yep, I know, shameless self-promotion alert. But let’s be clear: of all the watches on this list, this is the most affordable. What’s more, it was made in collaboration with George Bamford who pretty much made black DLC coatings the hot commodity for modification. With 100 metres of water-resistance, the GMT2 features a 40mm DLC-treated 316L stainless-steel case and a matching DLC-coated steel bracelet (along with a black Cordura Strap with blue stitching). At just 11.7mm thick, the Sellita SW330-1 powered watch will also slide under practically any shirt cuff, it’s all-black look ripe for…
Sydney’s New Year fireworks were more symbolic than ever this year, hopefully distancing us from so many of 2020’s bleak memories including lockdown and Trump. And what about online shopping? Clicking is easy don’t get me wrong, but go through your watch drawer and do the maths: how many pieces have you actually bought online and how many have turned out to be a slightly different colour or size on your wrist than you imagined? My bet is there’s a fair few. That’s why we still need the reassurance of walking through the front doors of a boutique, having that friendly chat and maybe an espresso, and walking out with what? Something that fits you, suits you and stays with you through a more normal year (knock on wood). With that in mind, we visited the Sydney Hublot boutique that we published a story on last year. In store, you receive that feeling of reassurance that you just don’t get by stroking the mouse or scrolling through the online shopping basket. Here are three Hublot watches we were tempted by, all exclusively available at the King Street boutique. Hublot Classic Fusion Gold Crystal Nothing will prepare you for the deeply…
Some chapters of our sexual lives are best left behind – so why aren’t erotic watches dead and buried? This question sprung to mind last week after reports of Conor McGregor’s latest watch purchase that we wrote about here. In case you missed it, one of the pieces the UFC fighter bought was the Jacob & Co Rasputin Diamond Erotic Minute Repeater Watch, a $1.5m USD timepiece smothered with nearly 30 carats worth of sparklers over the case and dial. Above the blue skeltonised hands, two swans gaze lovingly each other’s eyes until this innocent pastoral scene gets an X-rated twist. If you lightly press the slider protruding from the left side of the case, a secret compartment on the dial opens to offer a glimpse of a woman in black stockings being pleasured by her lover from behind. How to make sense of this baffling object? It’s hilariously tacky, of course, and about as erotic as having a migraine on a bus. But there must be something more going on here to have persuaded The Notorious to fork out over a million bucks. Maybe there’s something about the clandestine nature of the thrill? The sudden exposure of the hidden…
Editor’s note: There’s a lot to be said for collecting vintage watches. In an industry built on anachronistic foundations, going straight to the source of these cultural and historical artefacts makes a great deal of sense. And that is even before you consider the pulse-quickening elements of minutiae that you can get lost in when it comes to hunting down the vintage reference that your heart desires. But there is one downside to vintage watches. They aren’t always as robust as they once were, and you’d hate to be the person who put a scratch on a watch that’d survived decades in otherwise pristine condition. And that doesn’t seem quite right when it comes to watches that were designed with vigorous action in mind. Whether it’s a dive watch or tool watch, you want to wear them in the rugged pursuits they were intended for. This is where the beauty of the inspired reissue lies. A design that offers a nod to the past, in a package that is more than able to handle anything you can throw at it. You can have your cake and eat it too, and that’s why the Seiko SPB153 is my favourite Seiko of…