CHAMPAGNE: It’s our 2000th post and all you get is this list of our hottest hits…
I’d like to say I remember the first post we ever published on Time+Tide. But I have no idea. Was it a ‘hello world’ that spelled out our sparkling vision? A watch review of something released early in 2014? Your guess really is as good as mine. That seems pretty average on my part — and easily remedied with a quick search — but today is our 2000th post, so we’re looking to the future with amnesia fully intact. There are, I should point out, lots of stories I will never forget among the 360-odd of mine that have been published over the years. If that sounds like a lot, spare a thought for our warrior editor Felix. He’s 1200-deep and still rolling with fierce momentum. On the occasion of our own personal Y2K I wanted to ask our core team of writers a question: what story stands out the most? Which one are you proudest of? Let’s go… Felix and his Basel flashbacks… When Andrew posed this question, I groaned a little inside. If he had asked me to pick my favourite T+T story in general it would have been easy. I could have picked one of our early ‘big’ reviews, such as…
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Anyone with an eye on horological news has seen their fair share of “Value Propositions” and other notes and recommendations about watches delivering varying shades of bang for your buck. Hell, we know we’ve made our own recommendations as we’ve seen fit over the years. That said, this isn’t often the kind of topic that reflects outwards — until now. I know what criteria I look for in a watch when it comes to value, but with different priorities and interests come different results, so I reached out to a network of contacts in varying facets of the industry to see what interesting answers would surface. To keep things interesting, the doors were left open to both modern and vintage watches, leading to some unique and sometimes surprising answers from our impromptu panel. The question was simple: What watches out there (vintage or modern) do you think are either currently undervalued, or simply deliver significant value for their retail price? Here’s what our experts came up with. Note, unless otherwise specified all prices referenced are in USD. William Rohr – Managing Director, TimeZone.com Managing Director of the famed TimeZone.com forums, ex-Director and COO of Antiquorum, and Fondation de la Haute…
For me, the appeal of a watch’s dial is perhaps its biggest selling point. Too bland and I’m not interested, too busy and it’s not for me. There’s a fine line between pleasure and pain. Luckily for me, though, it’s always a pleasure when I get a chance to spend some time with the Seiko Presage collection, which combines the Japanese brand’s love of traditional craftsmanship and their mechanical know-how with an affordable price tag. Once available only in Japan, the collection was finally made available to the rest of the world in 2016. And let me tell you, this year’s addition had me at its dial. Crafted using Shippo enamel – a method developed in 17th century Japan – each engraved dial measures no more than 1mm thick and is made by craftsmen at the Japanese specialist manufacturer Ando Cloisonné, which was founded in the 19th century. First hand-painted with a lead-free glaze, and then fired at 800 degrees Celsius. The entire process must be repeated several times to ensure an evenness of the enamel, before finally being polished to reveal the delicate radiating pattern below. The finished product is a sight to behold, and one that, frankly, shows…
There’s a revolution afoot! And it’s taking place on British shores. While the world – admittedly, us included – tends to focus a lot more on watchmaking of the continental kind, the wonderful world of modern watches mightn’t be where it is today without the innovations and inventions brought to us by the British watchmaking industry. In 1755, Thomas Mudge invented the lever escapement; John Harwood introduced automatic winding in 1924, and let’s not forget George Daniels’ invention and 1980 patent of the ingenious co-axial escapement. Well, British watchmaking is back. Thanks largely to bespoke manufacturers, tea-loving microbrands, and the re-emergence of some of the great British brands of days gone by. We’ve put together a list of eight of the best offerings from the land of hope and glory. Keep calm and carry on. Bremont U-2/51-JET Henley-on-Thames-based watch brand Bremont are well regarded for aeronautical designs and their strong ties to the various armed forces and squadrons of the British military. This latest addition to the spy plane-inspired U-2 collection sees its blacked-out regalia taking its design cues from the Hawk T1 Jet aircraft. With a DLC-coated Trip-Tick case and a chronometer rated automatic movement. RRP $6800 Farer Lander…
While you can make an argument for one-watch-per-purpose (a watch for work, weekend, formal occasions, etc), I personally think that versatility is the key to a good watch. Luckily, versatility is something the Santos has in spades, which you might find surprising given that, on the face of it, the Santos de Cartier is a rectangular watch with a white, Roman-numeralled dial. But this latest watch has been designed with maximum user-friendliness in mind. Not only does the watch come equipped with QuickSwitch and SmartLink systems for changing your strap and resizing your bracelet on the go, each watch also comes with two straps, and is offered in a range of sizes and plenty of case variants. So whether it’s work or play, there’s a Santos for you. In case you still don’t believe us, here’s how to break the Santos de Cartier down, for four dress codes. The formal Santos Let’s start at the top. Dressing formally can cover a lot of stylistic ground: it could be a wedding (royal or otherwise), or perhaps some sort of grandiose gala (Met or otherwise). And while the finer points of the dress code might vary, the purpose of your watch remains…
Editor’s note: One of the questions we constantly get asked is about watches as investments. And while there’s no doubt that watches are being increasingly seen as a viable category for investment, In this piece originally written last year Sandra argues that it’s not a path you should go down — especially with new watches. Read on. Being in the watch writing line of work, it’s no great surprise that friends and acquaintances often ask me for watch-buying advice. Call it an occupational hazard, call it a compliment that they should consider my advice worth seeking, but (unlike a doctor friend, who gets irritated by being asked for free clinical advice at dinner parties) I never tire of talking about watches. But something has changed: as watch auction prices have gone relentlessly up over the past few years (not to mention the retail prices of many brands), the two questions I’m most often asked are: “I’m tossing up between an X and a Y [pick any two modern watch brands]. Which one is going to hold its value better?” And: “I’d like to buy vintage and I can’t afford a Daytona or a Patek, so which other brands would make…
It’s little wonder that when Seiko released its Presage Cocktail Time watch to the international market last year (until then it was available only to the Japanese domestic market) it was an immediate hit. The gorgeous, sunray-patterned dial, the chic colours, the tremendous value for money … Although pitched as a men’s watch, it gained legions of female fans – although for many it provoked a severe case of FOMO or, more accurately, KIMO (know I’m missing out). That’s because although the watch is perfectly proportioned, its 40.5mm diameter is just too big for women with tiny wrists. Seiko must have been listening because – hurrah! – we have a new collection, identical to the original Cocktail Time except for its 33.8mm diameter. Now, I’m no fan of the “shrink it for the ladies” school of watch design (or, rather, failure-to-design), but here’s a notable exception: It Totally Works. There’s no compromise on the details, no gratuitous adding of diamonds (“Because that’s what the ladies like”, supposedly); the movement is the same super-reliable and robust self-winding calibre 4R35 as the men’s; and the scaled-down proportions are spot-on. The size hits that Goldilocks spot for a modern woman’s watch — not too…
If watch brands were Facebook relationship statuses, Franck Muller would be “It’s complicated”. Not because the Swiss-based manufacturer has commitment problems but, rather, quite the opposite. Since its beginnings in Genthod – located in the countryside of Geneva – the innovative brand has been committed to upholding its reputation as the “Master of Complications”. And the latest addition to the enduring Master Banker collection shows off its inner intricacies with a fully skeletonised dial and movement. Vital statistics The perfect picture inside the elegant curves of the trademark Vanguard case. The open-worked dial not only gives view through to the skilfully skeletonised automatic calibre inside but also displays three separate time zones. The central hour, minutes, and seconds hands tell the local time and are synchronised to the date aperture at 9 o’clock. While sitting above and below are two sub-dials, which along with the central time are adjusted via the same crown. The real kicker, however, is that both the hour hand and the minute hand of these sub-dials can be independently adjusted. The wonderfully tonneau-shaped rose gold case measures 44mm wide by 53.7mm long. And a rubber-lined leather strap holds it close to the wrist. Initial thoughts While…
Editor’s note: To misquote the late US founding father Mr Benjamin Franklin, there are only three absolute certainties in life: death, taxes, and the incredibly high quality-to-value ratio of the Seiko Prospex collection. Had Seiko been around during his time I’m sure my version of his famous words wouldn’t be too far off the mark. But I digress. This year at Baselworld the Japanese brand expanded the ever-popular Prospex range, calling on one of their most important historical designs and revamping it for the modern wrist. It’s safe to say that I may fear death and the tax office, but I’ll always have a soft spot for Seiko. Seiko have again released a duo of modern re-interpretations of one of their OG dive watches – the Seiko 6159. Sitting alongside the modern re-creation – the newly released SLA025, which was also just revealed here at Baselworld 2018 – the pair echo the original design of Seiko’s first hi-beat diver but wrap it up in a slightly more contemporary package. Vital statistics Available in two variants, the cases are thinner and hark back to the design of the original, except now they have a screw-in case-back and measure 44mm across and 13.1mm thick. They’re…