OPINION: Why I lie about the number of watches I own
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 supposed to divide or multiply the actual number by three. Well, just like me in that situation, there’s really no correct answer. But I always try my best to gauge the type of response my interrogator wants…
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Few topics are as likely to induce eye-twitching spasms in horology’s true believers than the the old chestnut, “Is the Apple Watch a watch?” Well, with the announcement of the Apple Watch Series 4, it seems like Apple might be answering that question in a pretty declarative way. Sure, it’s got watch-like functions, but really — really — it’s a health device. Early generations of the Apple Watch seemed to be a little vague in their purpose, almost like they were working out what this cool thing was for as they were going along. The future got a bit clearer with the Series 3, as Apple added heart rate monitoring, and other fitness functionality. Series 4 dials that functionality up to 11. The Watch, thanks in no small part to its FDA-certified status, can now record electrocardiograms in 30 seconds, with only a touch of the crown. On top of this, it can detect if there are signs of atrial fibrillation — all this data is stored in Apple’s health app. On top of that, this new Apple Watch can also detect if you’ve had a sudden, hard fall, and will automatically notify emergency services and your emergency contacts if…
I have been collecting for many years now and I have learned to be patient. It must be said, though, that my patience has often cost me a few pieces, as I felt they were too expensive, or not good enough, and another would be found for a better price or in better condition (read, every Paul Newman I have ever been offered and turned down, but that’s another story). Take, for example, this watch. I first learned about it about 10 years ago when the owner proudly disclosed that he had a pristine Daytona with box and papers in his safe. He was not sure of the reference number, but it had a black dial and TWO bezels. One black acrylic on the watch, and the original stainless steel one. My interest was piqued and I enquired further. Are you interested in selling? Maybe? Make me an offer? I hate these conversations … make me an offer is an open invitation to paying premium prices. So, I made him an offer (a very generous one for 2008). He said he’d think about it, and I never heard back. I dropped it, until we caught up a few years later.…
Raymond Weil’s latest take on their sporty Freelancer Chronograph is – to be blunt – really good-looking. Fundamentally, it’s the same as Freelancer chronos we’ve seen before: 42mm steel case, bulletproof RW500 movement, 12,6,9 subdial layout, day/date and screw-down crown and pushers. It’s a solid piece of kit. What’s new, though, is the colour way. Silver and blue, and plenty of texture to tempt the eye. The panda-esque dial is predominantly silver, with a bright starburst centre and circular grained outer sections, contrasting beautifully with the recessed subdials (including that characteristic frame and single screw around the running seconds at nine). Add to this the blue tachymeter bezel and you’ve got a watch that offers a modern take on a classic, sporty chronograph design. Even the strap – blue calf with a little padding and contrasting white stitching, curved to fit the case – is a great fit, though I would have been just as happy with a tang buckle rather than the single-fold deployant that comes as stock. On the wrist, this watch is everything you’d expect. Large, but not aggressively so — the diameter is fine, but it’s the height (just shy of 15mm by my measurements) that you…
Like for so many other people, Robin Williams was, and still is, a hero of mine. Growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, his movies and brand of wacky comedy taught me that life doesn’t always have to be so serious, that growing old was inevitable but growing up was optional. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve watched Mrs. Doubtfire or Hook. So it came as a huge surprise when news of his sudden suicide came through on August 11, 2014. It seemed as though everyone and everything came to a standstill, while the world mourned the loss of a man who was always seemingly filled with a constant buzzing energy. An energy that he carried through to his various collections of art, furniture, video games and watches. On October 4, Sotheby’s will be auctioning off some of the collections that he shared with his second wife Marsha Williams. And looking through the lots, which include street art by Banksy, and a blue two-metre-tall statue of a cowboy toy figurine, we can see that the larger-than-life actor/comedian – who was often seen wearing an IWC Doppelchronograph Top Gun Edition – not only owned quite the collection of…
There are watches that are tough, and then there are watches so tough that they’re guaranteed to survive in even the most extreme environments, even if you wouldn’t. We’re talking over-engineering to the point where no man has been before. Watches that can take on the most dangerous of adventures, that push far beyond the limits of the human body’s capabilities, and yet come out the other side completely intact. Here are six over-designed watches that were built for the extremes. Note: This list is not exhaustive. I could have included multiple watches from a handful of brands – special mention to the Omega Speedmaster Alaska Project – or filled it full of G-Shocks and Sinns. But instead I chose to list away in the name of diversity. Now back to your scheduled reading. Rolex Deepsea D-Blue Dial Rolex actually call the Deepsea their most over-engineered diver’s watch. And they’ve got a point. Featuring the Ringlock system – made out of high-performance nitrogen-alloyed steel (BioDur 108) – the deeper you go, the better the case seals. The system also prevents the case from deforming under the immense pressures of the deep. Modified versions of the Deepsea have reached the bottom…
Editor’s note: The Santos has come a long way since it was first wrapped around the wrist of famed pioneering pilot Alberto Santos-Dumont. What was first a small piece of mechanical genius attached to his wrist by a sliver of soft leather is now a complete collection that features an amazing QuickSwitch strap-changing system, as well as a very clever SmartLink bracelet resizing technique. What forever remains, however, is the powerful appeal of the Santos — as strong today as when those magnificent men in their flying machines first took to the skies. It’s a tricky task upgrading a storied and legendary watch such as the Santos — you must innovate while appearing to be unchanging. It’s a job that Cartier have pulled off with aplomb at SIHH 2018. The new Santos is the star in their masculine line-up, a sensitive update that brings the design very much up to date. But first, a quick origin story. The Santos claims the enviable title of the first modern wristwatch, made by Louis Cartier in 1904 for Brazilian aviator, bon vivant and (apparently) all-round cool guy Alberto Santos-Dumont. The watch quickly caught on and has had pride of place in Cartier’s line-up ever since. So…
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 be treated roughly, bounced around, mis-thrown into gym bags, scraped and scratched and used for ANY task or circumstance where loss or catastrophic damage are of a high likelihood. I think we need to start by clearing the air on what we mean…
If anyone was ever to charge me with a unreasonable love of extravagant, gem-set statement watches, the evidence would be easy to find, and damning (Your Honour, I would point to evidence here, here and here, the prosecutor might say). And if I were to continue using the courtroom metaphor, and was allowed to call a key witness in my defence, I’d be calling this watch. The case, a well-sized 42mm tonneau, is in sapphire, already an attention-seeker. Add to that the 54 baguette-cut stones (including sapphires, rubies, amethysts, topazes and tsavorites) in rainbow hues on the bezel and you’ve got a watch that owns any room it’s in. Subtle – no. Awesome – heck yes! Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Sapphire Rainbow Australian pricing and availability Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Sapphire Rainbow, limited to 50 pieces, $148,000.
If we’re completely honest, it’s hard to make quartz technology sexy. Which makes the achievement of Longines’ V.H.P. technology even more remarkable. Not only do these quartz Conquests look the part, with clean, slightly sporty style and some very nice dials, the movement ticking away inside has a host of features dedicated to improving accuracy — which, at +5/-5 seconds a year, is pretty hard to beat, outside of an atomic clock. The latest member of the family has just been unveiled in Rome — the Longines Conquest V.H.P. GMT Flash Setting. As you might expect, it adds a second time zone to the equation, but has a few tricks up its sleeve. First of all, you can use the crown to quickly switch which time zone is displayed on the ‘primary’ hours and minutes hands, meaning that if I was taking off from Melbourne, I’d show local Melbourne time on the main hands, and Rome time on the GMT hand. When I land, a quick press of the crown means that the main hands switch to Roman time, while Melbourne time is there on the GMT. But the handy tricks don’t stop there. The real star of the show…