HANDS-ON: The Longines Record – going for gold
Last year, Longines doubled down with the release of the Record collection. Illustrating just how serious they are about creating classically handsome and highly accurate watches, with price tags that won’t break the bank. The result was their first ever COSC-certified collection that combined a variety of dial options and colours, with four different sizes of stainless-steel cases. I’ll admit that while the collection remained steady in the Longines wheelhouse, there was just that little something missing to completely draw me in. That was until this year when, at Baselworld 2018, Longines launched a decidedly luxe version with a blue dial and 18k rose gold case. Vital statistics The greatest thing about the Record collection is that each and every version is powered by a chronometer certified automatic movement, with this version using the Caliber L888.4 (ETA A31.L11). Exclusively manufactured for Longines by ETA, the COSC-certified movement uses a silicon balance spring and maintains a power reserve of 64 hours. The case is sized at 38.5mm and made of 18k rose gold with a transparent case back and a water resistance rating of 30 metres. While the sunray blue dial is kept clean and simple, with golden bar indexes marking…
The post HANDS-ON: The Longines Record – going for gold appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
While Bell & Ross are well known for their aviation-inspired designs, there’s another side to the French watch brand that takes them from the flight deck to the boat deck. A side that saw them introduce their first ever dive watch in 1997. The oil-filled, and more round than square, Hydromax — with an unbelievable water resistance of 11,100 metres. It’s also a side that last year welcomed their first ever square-cased dive watch, the BR 03-92 Diver. Beginning a collection, that for Baselworld 2018, grew by two. One of which is the brand new BR 03-92 Diver Bronze, which, as the name suggests, is all diver and all bronze. Vital statistics Updating the colour and material of last year’s BR 03-92, this new version features a black dial with gold-plated indices and hands, as well as a 42mm x 42mm square case that’s constructed from a chunk of satin-polished CuSn8 bronze. To match the case is an all bronze – without aluminium insert – unidirectional rotating bezel with 60-minute scale, and proud crown guards that flank a black rubber-coated crown. Water resistance is kept at 300m, while inside is the same BR-CAL.302 movement – based on the automatic Sellita SW300…
If you’re a relative newcomer to the whole world of watches, it’s easy to underestimate just how big Cartier is, and how important their impact on modern watchmaking is. Cartier have carved themselves an unimpeachable place as the evergreen masters of the shaped watch, and the Santos is the watch that started it all. While the origins of the Santos date back to the early 20th century, its primary stylistic association lies not with Belle Époque Europe but rather with Wall Street, circa 1980-something, as the modern Santos was launched (on that oh-so-distinctive bracelet) in 1978. The Santos was a key element in the power dresser’s uniform. The ultimate expression of this power watch has to be the full yellow gold version — the epitome of ’80s opulence, excess and awesomeness, all in a convenient, wrist-sized package. And now that the ’80s is sufficiently distant in our rear-view mirror for heartwarming nostalgia to set in, the Santos is back. It was Cartier’s hero at SIHH, with its new movement, redesigned case and exceptionally user-friendly quick change bracelet and link systems — all upgrades that make a very 2018 watch, even if the looks have barely changed in the last 30-odd years.…
There’s more to a watch than how it feels and looks on the wrist. Some watches carry a weight greater than what you can measure in grams — they also bear the weight of decades of heritage and sociocultural significance. The Monaco — a true icon of the industry — is one such watch. It’s even more true when that Monaco has a Gulf dial. Those stripes, on that dial, add up to a double hit of Steve McQueen iconography. The watch he wore in Le Mans, emblazoned with the colours of the car he drove, all in one convenient 39mm package. And while this piece of history gives you a good idea as to who this watch is pitched at, it doesn’t quite capture just how much fun it is on the wrist. The Monaco is fun in and of itself, but the popping strap and striped dial take it to the next level, as you can see. TAG Heuer Monaco Gulf 2018 Special Edition Australian pricing and availability TAG Heuer Monaco Gulf 2018 Special Edition, steel on calf, $7650
As the dust settles, we look back at the Baselworld 2018 fair with a more holistic lens. And, as the Time+Tide team saw more than 50 brands between them, we think we’re in a pretty excellent position to pull out a few common themes… Trend 1 – Two-tone First up, two-tone watches. Let me start this by saying — yes, I know two-tone watches have always been a ‘thing’, but lately we feel they’ve picked up momentum (something I put down to the fact that a lot of steel watches are hard to come by!). Tudor Black Bay S&G with champagne dial Tudor spiced up their existing Black Bay S&G model with a ‘champagne’ dial. In person, it’s much closer to gold, especially under natural light. This move from Tudor, a year after the original release of the S&G, shows that they’re backing the two-tone love. Omega Seamaster Diver 300M As part of Omega’s new 300M Diver collection, we saw several bi-metal releases. Omega backed the love for two-tone this year, releasing not one but three variations of the Diver — a Tantalum (Titanium) and Sedna (Gold), Steel and Sedna Gold, and Steel and Yellow Gold. Rolex GMT-Master II in Everose and…
Baselworld is over for another year and while we take a deep breath to compose ourselves and remind our respective families we still exist, it’s time to mentally unpack our time in Basel and compose the chaos into a list. Not just any list, but a Baselworld Top 10 List. Here we go. Hublot Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph Orlinski All Black This updated Aerofusion ‘Orlinski’ — named for the French sculptor Richard Orlinski, who collaborated on the design — is all about the angles; the muted tones of the micro-blasted black ceramic catches all the light. With a self-winding skeleton chronograph movement and limited to 200 pieces, this model will quickly become a collectable. Rolex GMT-Master II ‘Root Beer” The early hype at the fair was the release of the first stainless steel GMT-Master II since the ‘Batman’ in 2014. While everyone was in a frenzy to get a glimpse of the ‘Pepsi’ on jubilee bracelet, Rolex had another GMT flying a little lower under the radar. The soft tones of the Everose gold is soft enough in colour to play off the stainless steel, and with the ceramic ‘root beer’ bezel, this one is a winner. Longines Legend Diver Black Just when…
Bulgari blew us away last year with their Octo Finissimo Automatic – that mind-boggling thinness; the incredible lightness of being at one with its titanium case and bracelet, feeling it drape around the wrist. For Baselworld 2018, it’s back – this time in full gold. And if you think “solid gold bracelet watch” means 1980s-style bling, think again. Vital statistics In all respects, except the case and bracelet material, the new model is the same watch as before – equipped with that super-skinny (briefly record-breaking) manufacture self-winding calibre BVL 138. At only 2.23mm thick with a single barrel, it packs in a power reserve of 60 hours. The 5.15mm thick, pink gold case has a matching crown with a ceramic inlay and it’s water-resistant to 30m. The dial has a gold finish that exactly matches the case material, with printed black numerals and faceted black hands. On the wrist Having briefly worn the first, titanium version last year and marvelled at its almost unworldly lightness on the wrist, the relatively hefty weight of the gold feels almost strange for such a super-slim watch. But after that momentary surprise, it feels very good indeed. The bracelet has the same fluid-as-a-ribbon feel…
One of the more entertaining games to play at Baselworld 2018 is: “Who is Brand X after with this watch?” In some cases the answer can be as clear as mud, but in the case of the new Patek Philippe Aquanaut Chronograph it’s a bit of a no-brainer. Bright orange accents on its dial, and sold with both black and bright orange straps, this is the new king-casual Patek for a new generation. With the steel Nautilus in brutally short supply these days, this new Aquanaut is expected to be the new entry point into the Patek Philippe universe. Having taken a closer look at the new reference 5968A, we don’t doubt it’ll hook its fair share of new Patek fans. Vital statistics Transferred over from the Nautilus chronograph, the automatic flyback chronograph Caliber CH 28-520 C powers the new Aquanaut, featuring central chronograph seconds and a large 60-minute chronograph counter at 6 o’clock. Unlike current versions of the Nautilus Chronograph, the Aquanaut’s subdial does not include the 12-h totaliser within said subdial, giving the dial a slightly cleaner look. The case size is also increased on this latest Aquanaut, coming in at 42mm in diameter. This is now the largest Aquanaut on…
Since the launch of the Defy 21 last year, and the shockingly innovative Defy Lab later in 2017, it wasn’t a matter of speculation that more releases for the new collection were coming to Baselworld in 2018. The new Zero G is this year’s Halo watch from the brand as we wait for the groundbreaking new escapement to trickle down to series production. Though this is a new execution, the Zero G’s clever gyroscopic escapement — said to have been based on the concept of the gimbals used in old marine chronometers — is nothing new. Oddly enough, the first execution of the Zero-G was also a Defy, known as the Defy Xtreme Zero-G Tourbillon. Since that massive half-million dollar beast’s launch, Zenith have further refined the mechanism, scaling it down to a more modest size that no longer requires a large dome in the crystal to accommodate its freewheeling functionality. Vital statistics Regardless of how new the innovation is, there’s much to love about the new Zero G. At its heart, a high-beat El Primero caliber delivers a 50-hour power reserve to its indication of time and running seconds, with a subtle power reserve display to the right of…
There was a lot of mystery surrounding this piece when it was pulled out of a large green box during our appointment with Rolex at Baselworld. And, to be honest, we were too caught up in the moment, too dazzled by the gemstones, to take it all in at the time. It’s formally known as the Submariner Date ref. 116659 SABR, a variant on the white gold, blue-dialled ‘Smurf’ (ref. 116659 LB), but while at first glance it might look like the stones are the only addition, the dial is completely different. Not only is it darker, and has a sunray effect, but there’s a notable omission. Look closer. Have you spotted it yet? That’s right, there’s no depth rating. On a typical sub, there’s a line underneath the ‘Submariner’ text that says the watch is good to ‘1000ft = 300m’; not so here. And there’s also no specific mention of depth rating on the press release, though it does specify an Oyster case and Triplock crown. But it bears the Submariner name, so you’d expect it to be 300m, though it’s not made explicit, perhaps something to do with all those diamonds. Speaking of stones, the bezel is set, in Rolex’s…