VIDEO: Is the Rolex GMT Master II 126710BLNR “Bat Girl” worth the waiting list?
The Rolex GMT Master II range is incredibly sought after. Known for their jet-setting origins, they spruced up the wrists of golden age pilots who appreciated having that extra timezone information to hand. Today, the undeniable appeal for this functional luxury asset remains. Rolex have previously injected a good bit of colour into the 24 hour bi-directional bezels of the GMT line with blue and red (Pepsi), brown and yellow or brown and black (root beer), red and black (coke), and the highly debated all blue (blueberry). But the most modern of the colour duos is found in the blue and black bezels – now limited to the Rolex GMT Master II 126710BLNR “Bat Girl”. The original reference, on a satin and polished oyster bracelet, was dubbed the “Batman” due to its bezel echoing the aesthetics of the superhero detective’s wardrobe. When discontinued, the watch was not entirely removed from the Rolex catalogue. It was instead upgraded to the new caliber 3285, with a more efficient Chronergy escapement that delivers an extended 70 hours of power reserve, and paired with a more formal appearing jubilee bracelet. Collectors didn’t exactly stretch their imaginations when they dubbed the new Rolex GMT Master…
The post VIDEO: Is the Rolex GMT Master II 126710BLNR “Bat Girl” worth the waiting list? appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Titanium: the strong, ultralight metal of the future. Once exclusive to Formula 1 cars and racing bike parts, now you can get hold of it in watch form for less than than $500 in a limited edition with a full titanium bracelet. The Boldr Venture Chaigo might be the world’s best value titanium watch at $499 on a bracelet. That’s a bold statement but, in fact, it’s no Boldr (sorry!) than the conclusion of our story on the regular Venture model here on its tough NATO strap. Now Boldr is stepping up their game with an unexpected and refreshing collaboration with Kenji Chai, the graffiti artist who’s street-art royalty in Malaysia with some big international commissions under his belt (check him on Instagram as @mr_kenjichai). This Boldr Venture is part a very limited-edition run of only 160 pieces, and it comes with a hand-painted collector’s action figure of Chaigo, Kenji Chai’s artistic alter-ego in the shape of the cheeky blue dog with spray can in hand. This streetwear conscious collab is the sort of thing you might find on Hypebeast and brightens up the sometimes rather stuffy world of horology. FUN is needed in 2021 so this is a sure-fire…
If you are a regular reader of Time+Tide you might be familiar with Australian watchmaker Reuben Schoots. Reuben and I are the same age at 27 years old, but whereas I have yet to finish my copy of Watchmaking by George Daniels, Reuben is on the precipice of finishing his very own watch – built using the Daniels method. It takes a mountain of perseverance and technical skill to build a watch, especially when its components are all built by hand. But it is that much more impressive that Reuben is able to do so in the wake of battling a life-threatening illness that he caught while travelling through South America. In this interview with ABC News Australia Reuben explains, “I went to the doctor and they found I had glandular fever, but the glandular fever was actually the result of my immune system being so suppressed as I had contracted three tropical viruses, as well as a parasite I had in my gut. I became really unwell, I lost 16 kilos, I couldn’t leave the bed, I had this huge mental depression as well.” Reuben’s condition rendered him bed-ridden at the time, and as a result he lost his…
Editor’s note: Without a doubt, one of the hottest trends of 2020 was the sheer volume of coloured watches that were released. From pretty pastels to the range of rainbows, these colours were a welcome bright spot in a grim year. A certain Le Brassus-based brand joined in on the fun introducing the CODE 11.59 by Audemars Piguet collection in a variety of smoked dial tones. If you missed these when they were first released, let’s take a closer look at what makes them exciting additions to the range. When the CODE 11.59 by Audemars Piguet was released in 2019, it marked the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the brand. Audemars Piguet CEO François-Henry Bennahmias stated the launch of the new collection was the biggest for the brand since 1972 when the iconic Royal Oak was first introduced. It was, in other words, a very big deal for AP. At launch, 13 different references were released across six different models included complications such as a minute repeater Supersonnerie, a perpetual calendar and a flying tourbillon. Despite being a new part of the AP family, the CODE 11.59 is clearly here to stay and continues to expand…
Sexy red details combined with vintage inspiration is a marriage made in horological heaven with all Big Box brands wanting in on the game. The market is chock-a-block with slim, tough divers that emulate the discrete tools of the fifties and sixties, and we can’t seem to get enough of them. Me? Guilty as charged. I love their feeling of purity and the nostalgic sense of a simpler mid-20th century life that seems so far from 2021. Admittedly, I still haven’t got the scuba gear to throw in the back of the car, but it’s more about that notion of freedom and summer vibes. The new Seiko SBDY077 Tuna x Neighboorhood inspires us to revisit the red thread that runs through so many vintage-inspired diver’s watches. Seiko SBDY077 Tuna x Neighborhood We love the evergreen Tuna with its distinctive cylindrical shape and, even after a massive Seiko Prospex launch year in 2020, this still excites as a cool, vintage take on the Tool’s Tool. Here we have a razor-sharp collaboration with the Japanese streetwear brand Neighborhood, a grey bezel, pop of red on the iconic 12 o’clock triangle, and fresh red text on the dial. It’s street-tough and still ready…
OK, I am not going to pretend this show was part of my television diet, but Keeping up with the Kardashians has undoubtedly been a world phenomenon over the past 15 years it has aired. The Kardashian family is practically royalty in the United States with many devoted fans supporting their respective businesses and endeavours. Kylie Jenner, for example, was declared by Forbes to be the world’s youngest self-made billionaire at the age of 21. In part, the engagement with Kardashian products is the result of viewers feeling like part of the family and living in their limelight through vicarious viewing. So it’s nice to see that, upon wrapping the final episode of the final season of KUWTK, the Kardashian family recognised the role of the TV show in their success by presenting each crew member with a Rolex watch to commemorate the time they spent together filming the hit reality series. That amounted to a total of $300,000 in Rolex watches. It is not clear what references were purchased for the gifts to crew members, but according to TMZ after the crew each reflected on their favourite moments filming the series and working with the family, the Kardashians surprised…
Seiko didn’t exactly have a slow 2020, but they might just have saved one of the best for last. Or did they drop the ball in the final yard? In their final release of last year, we saw the all new King Seiko KSK SJE083, a reissue of a watch from 1965 that is highly collectible – the King Seiko ref. 44-9990. The 1960s is a decade of the Japanese watchmaker’s history that isn’t as widely known as it should be, and that is one of the things that makes this release compelling. Because while you almost certainly know the present day behemoth that Grand Seiko is, you might not have heard of King Seiko before. King Seiko was established in 1961, the year after Grand Seiko, to create competition within Seiko as they pursued mechanical watchmaking perfection. That’s right, King Seiko and Grand Seiko competed against each other within the organisation, as well as on the world stage at various chronometry competitions. After the advent of the first quartz watch, however, (also a Seiko achievement), both King Seiko and Grand Seiko were put on hold as the firm focused its attention on the new technology they had pioneered. This…
Orient is a strong value-based Japanese brand beloved of watch forum and vintage fanatics. The most well-known references are bold ’70s forays into the colourful world of degrade and multi-year calendar dials. While merging with Epson in the early 70s brought Orient watches under the strong wings of the Seiko corporation, they have stayed true to their own path of Japanese design and great value cementing their position in the Asian market. But in the west they remain something of a secret that’s well worth discovering. Orient enjoyed an upsurge in the 2000s with the classic shape and mechanical calibers of the Bambino range, while the Mako divers are seen as a strong value alternative to the ubiquitous Seiko SKX’s in the US. Like Seiko, the brand’s calling-card is strong divers with solid mechanical movements. With a 70-year history under their belt, Orient Watches is a force to be reckoned with, and here are five strong cards of a winning hand, all with a distinct flavour of Japanese individuality. Orient Kamasu The Kamasu is exactly what it seems, a great everyday tough diver’s watch with a classic dark blue dial and a grip-friendly bezel. Quite similar in look to the…
So we’re staying at my in-laws and my two-year-old is lying in his cot stubbornly refusing to go to sleep. Presently, I’m summoned to his room (again) by a frenzy of yells. “Daaad!” he says pointing to the mantelpiece. “That clock is scary!” “How so? I enquire. “IT’S GOT GOOGLY EYES!!!” Peering at the table clock, I grudgingly admit the two winding holes for the chimes and pendulum embedded in the stepped dial do look a bit like eyes. So I cover the clock’s fearsome visage with a blanket. All seems to be well and, after the customary round of delaying tactics (demands for milk / an apple / a cuddle / fewer blankets / a plastic dinosaur…), my son eventually surrenders to sleep. But several hours later, I hear an ear-splitting scream. When I go into Marc’s room, he’s standing up in his cot pointing to the clock on the mantelpiece. “Daaad!” he wails. “That clock is trying to eat me!” I remove the clock from the room, calm my son and go back to bed. So what was going on here? Well, a quick diagnosis by Dr Google – the logical place to go when confronted by googly-eyed…
Why does this seem like a natural combination, while all my logical senses tell me it’s wrong in so many ways? The Rolex Sea-Dweller ref. 126603 is methodically over-engineered in every functional capacity and yet, if we compare it to the similarly butch Omega Ploprof, it feels like the polar opposite, somehow managing to still exude an elegant, raffish air. With this Rolesor yellow gold version, make that an air of caddish insouciance, as it flaunts its capabilities as a tool watch by bringing the gold. To be honest, as a two-tone watch Rolex does the best job in the business imbuing the models (Rolesor? Not a proprietary alloy, it simply means two-tone) with an added zest of colour. It somehow feels completely natural, and more of a celebratory colour for their tool watch prowess. It may look like a watch designed for pure business attire and party flexing, but the Sea-Dweller is still very much a tool watch ready for action. While personally I do feel that 43mm is on the large side – its mere presence puts me one the edge of nervousness – I love the juxtaposition of badass tool with the polished silky smooth centre links…