EDITOR’S PICK: 6 months on, and does Felix still stand by his top 10 watches of 2017?
Editor’s note: Late last year I hung out with Andrew and some strangely undrunk drinks on a hot rooftop bar and rolled through my favourite watches of 2017. Six months and two watch fairs have passed since then, and do I still stand by my picks? Well, scroll down and find out. Legend has it those Coronas are still there … Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Master Chronometer Timeless style and a seriously impressive movement ensured the Aqua Terra won over the pragmatic side of my heart. My only dilemma is — which version? Do I still rate it? Heck yes I do! I’m leaning more towards the bracelet version these days, as well as the grey dial with light blue seconds hand. Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic I’ve loved this watch from the first time I saw it. Impressive engineering and avant-garde style makes for an irresistible combination for me. Do I still rate it? The OG version is pretty amazing, but I think I love the new gold and rhodium-plated steel versions even more. So I guess I rate it more? Apple Watch Series 3 Shock! Horror! Apple Watch! Not only am I continually impressed by how well Apple does luxury…
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It’s seven years since Chanel Horlogerie decided to start developing its own movements in-house and in the last three of those years it has launched three new calibres – or four, when counting Calibre 2.1 separately. Each is strikingly different from anything offered by other haute horlogerie brands – and all are noticeably different from each other. That’s due to Chanel’s singular approach to watchmaking, which does not follow the usual path of “making engines to then put into various cases”, says Nicolas Beau, the global head of watchmaking and fine jewellery. “We think of a collection or model at the same time as we think of a calibre because there is a very strong intimacy between the two. It’s one calibre per model. So the first thing we do is imagine a calibre that has the capacity to evolve. And that creates another difficulty, which is that we must try to envision how we want a model to evolve, and in which direction the movements can evolve for it – not just technically but aesthetically as well.” That’s because, in Chanel’s way of thinking, the aesthetic side is the leader and decision-maker. The creative team first draws the movement,…
This week our feeds have been blowing up with all the hot new lewks from Florence as the #menswear and #influencer brigade descended for Pitti Immagine Uomo 94 — a trade show that seems, from the outside at least, to be more about lounging around faux-casually, in immaculate, over-the-top outfits. These guys are known collectively as peacocks. And we thought we’d help out these Pitti Peacocks by selecting some of the finest au current timepieces for their sartorial needs. And then we thought we’d find some real world examples too … Check out this #dapper #gent in his #sartorial #tailoring. He’s got it going on. Not only is he flexing in his Redford-as-Gatsby-esque double breaster, but dude has a feather in his hat AND an earring. A style pirate if ever I saw one. And what do pirates love more than sailing boats and maritime violence? Gold, they love gold. So we found the perfect gold watch to complement — and not outshine — his look, the sandblasted Bulgari Octo Finissimo. Bonus points for being an Italian brand, because #italiansdoitbetter Next up is this fella, who I’m calling Dapper Dan the Man in Tan. He’s busy living his best safari life.…
Mark Wahlberg, eh. This guy! Actor, entrepreneur and unfettered watch lover who doesn’t care — not even a tiny bit — about what you think of his horological choices. And with his exciting combination of lack of you-know-whats to give and a surplus of funds comes the kind of freedom that allows his wrist to live its best life, just about every day. What does he wear? He’s got the right stuff, baby; often iced out, sometimes gem-set, near always gold or platinum. It’s a gangster’s paradise, and with yet more shots of his baller collection flooding the socials today, it’s time we recapped the four watches he wears that leaves steel sports watches in the dust. 1. This platinum Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 116576TBR with gem-set bezel and diamond dial Note the boss-town move of pairing a super dressy watch with a solid colour T-shirt, which gives it a black, blank canvas to shine on. Several levels above. 2. A Rolex Day-Date 40 “Green Emerald” 228396TEM with diamond dial and green gem-set bezel and feature indices The perfect St Patrick’s Day watch for this Boston native. And that’s probably what it was, too. You’re wearing a leprechaun hat. Marky Mark’s wearing this. *Commence the shame* 3. A…
Editor’s note: Seiko’s Prospex series of professional dive watches is renowned for two things: its exceptionally high quality-to-value ratio and its large number of passionate fans. And while there are a few perennial standouts in the Prospex family, some parts of the collection ebb and flow based on style and popularity… One such model is the so-called ‘Samurai’, a contemporarily styled 200m diver produced for a few years from 2004. Released in a range of dials variants, and in steel or titanium cases, the watch earned its moniker because the handset reminded wearers of the distinctive angles of the aforementioned warriors’ swords. Also, it’s an unwritten rule that wherever possible, Seiko model nicknames need to explicitly evoke their Japanese origins. As is so often the case with discontinued models, the Samurai developed something of a cult following, and prices for pre-owned models started, slowly but surely, to rise. So when Seiko announced at Baselworld 2017 that the Samurai was back as a complete collection, it’s only slightly hyperbolic to say that the people rejoiced. Certainly people who care about well-priced, no-nonsense watches (which it turns out is quite a few) were pretty happy. That’s the backstory, so how about the watch? I…
Watches belonging to Melvin (Mel) Blanc, the American voice actor famous for bringing to life nearly 400 characters in the Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera cartoons, went under the hammer at Christie’s New York in their “An evening of exceptional watches” auction. Mel Blanc brought delight to generations of children and adults alike as the voice of classic childhood favourites such as Bugs Bunny, Sylvester the Cat, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn and Barney Rubble, among many, many others. Less well known, but no less delightful, was Mel’s collection of more than 500 watches and clocks, which he proudly displayed in his Californian home up until his death in 1989. Sold at the auction were his rare 1982 Patek Philippe 18K Gold perpetual calendar chronograph with moonphase (Ref 2499/100), which went for US$552,500, as well as a 1940s Zenith 18K pink-gold chronograph, once owned by Mario Lanza, Blanc’s neighbour and family friend, which achieved US$20,000. While Blanc was a keen watch enthusiast, it was his wife Estelle who first noticed his fascination with watches, and in 1946 bought Mel a birthday gift — his first Patek Philippe, a minute repeating pocket watch, for $375. Shocked by how much his wife had spent…
Last week we had a look at the ‘regular’ version of Cartier’s updated Santos, and today the less-is-more Skeleton is under our lens. To be specific, we’re talking about the large steel model (though there’s a pink gold version as well), which comes on the QuickSwitch and SmartLink equipped steel bracelet, replete with those prominent screws — you also get an additional alligator strap, allowing you to change your look should the fancy take you. So far, so standard for the new Santos. But what’s special here is the dial, or lack thereof, as you would expect. The manually wound 9611MC movement has been designed from the ground up as a skeleton movement, a process that means the architecture has been designed for maximum visual impact — the bridges have taken the form of Cartier’s iconic exploding Roman numerals; a pleasing blend of negative space and mechanics. And while the stripped-back style of the skeletonised Santos might not be to all tastes, it’s an important skill in Cartier’s history, and there’s no faulting the execution here. 
It’s a paradox that a luxury house as conspicuously feminine as Chanel should always have had a gender-bending streak. So here comes a quick bit of fashion history – and before you watch geeks roll your eyes and change the channel, let me say that this will help explain everything about Chanel’s watches. Including why they are not to be dismissed as mere “fashion watches”. I’ll be brief. By the simple fact of launching herself into business (as a milliner) in 1910, Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel flew in the face of expected gender roles. As she added clothes to her repertoire, she appropriated masculine elements: using jersey fabrics (previously reserved strictly for men’s underwear); putting chic women into trousers, and into the striped jumpers of Breton sailors; turning masculine tweeds into feminine jackets; and making suntans fashionable (previously, only outdoor labourers got tanned). The perfumes, too, always had an air of not-quite-conventional femininity; since the beginning (No.5 was launched in 1921) masculine notes – wood, leather, smoke – have been blended with feminine florals. Blurring the gender lines So when Chanel introduced the Boy.Friend watch collection in 2015, it was simply business as usual, playing on the idea that women borrow…