INSIGHT: Frank Castronovo and his IWC Mark XV
Editor’s note: Matt Hranek’s now sold-out book, A Man and His Watch, is one of the real standouts of the watch year, a beautiful and thoughtful text, packed with 76 stories of watches and the people who wear them. So taken were we by this book, we asked Matt if it would be possible to republish a few of his interviews. He kindly said yes. FRANK CASTRONOVO Chef & co-owner, Frankies Spuntino Group IWC Mark XV My grandfather was an amazing guy, a working-class kid made good. He grew up in Brooklyn during the Depression. It was a tough life. He hustled, dropped out of high school, and enlisted in the army. He fought in the war, got a lot of commendations, and came out a lieutenant. He stayed in the reserves and rose all the way up to colonel. A natural leader. And he was a collector — cars, watches, guns from the Civil and Revolutionary wars. He believed that those things stayed with you. They retained value; they were collectibles. My daughter was born in 2000 while I was living in Germany, and my grandfather came to see us. The trip was twofold: he wanted to visit our family,…
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Since 2014, New York-based Martenero have been quietly making a name for themselves amongst the enthusiasts of the microbrand watch community. Their formula is of simple dials with bright pops of colour, paired with a twisted lug case – with the exception of their straight-edged Edgemere – brought to life by a desire to create classically-styled watches with a clean and modern look. This year they’ve taken a far-reaching approach to expand their five-watch catalogue, with their sixth release launched via crowdfunding website Kickstarter. The Kerrison more than tripled its pledge goal and I expect we’ll see it become a regular part of the stable next year. If you’re already familiar with Martenero, you might recognise the Kerrison’s basic design and silhouette. It’s a reimagining of one of their earlier models, the Marquis. The brand’s dressiest option and their most traditional. However, the Kerrison takes on a more casual everyday vibe that, in a pinch, can also answer the call up to suit duty. Some fine-tuning and a selection of brighter colourways. And it’s their most versatile watch to date. Spanning the line between dressy and sporty. Starting with a face that’s largely unchanged. The Kerrison uses the same dial…
Editor’s note: Matt Hranek’s now sold-out book, A Man and His Watch, is one of the real standouts of the watch year, a beautiful and thoughtful text, packed with 76 stories of watches and the people who wear them. So taken were we by this book, we asked Matt if it would be possible to republish a few of his interviews. He kindly said yes. JAMES H. RAGAN former aerospace engineer, NASA Omega Speedmaster Moonwatches I didn’t get to NASA until the start of the Gemini days, and watches were just one of many, many pieces I tested and procured as part of the flight equipment. It was crucial for each astronaut to have a flight watch to time an event or experiment. Mission control did the critical timing, but if they lost communication with the astronauts — like when they were out on the lunar surface — the astronauts needed watches as a backup. Otherwise, they wouldn’t know how much time was left on their suits before they ran out of oxygen. As a government entity, you can’t just go out and buy pieces of hardware and look at them — you have to do a competitive government procurement,…
If you’re a regular reader of Time+Tide there’s a chance you’ve noticed my name, along with those of Andrew McUtchen, Andy Green, Sandra Lane, Cameron Wong and Melissa Pearce. After all, we’re the people writing the stories and voicing the videos that we publish. But beyond the byline there’s a small host of people who make the magic happen: videographers, editors and photographers. Jason Reekie is one such magician. He’s been our photographer for a few years now, and is responsible for making some of the nicest watches in the world look even nicer. Now, one thing that’s important to know about Jason is that he’s not what you’d call a ‘watch guy’. When we started working together he didn’t know his loupe from his lugs, but that’s OK, because luckily he’s a dab hand at lenses and lightboxes. And while we’ve been busy cobbling together ‘best of’ lists like it’s the end of the year, we thought it would be a good idea for Jason to show us his favourite pics of 2017, and tell us why. Over to you, Jason … Franck Muller Cintrée Curvex Skeleton Tourbillon I really like the depth of this Franck Muller, the depth…
Accuracy used to be a big deal in watchmaking. There were competitions to test the accuracy of wristwatches. There were complications — additional functions — and engineering improvements designed to assist the watch in keeping true time. There was a space race of sorts to be the most accurate watchmaker in the world. The exploding popularity of the quartz movement in the late ’70s and early ’80s — that uses an electronic oscillator regulated by a quartz crystal to keep time — ended most of that. It was cheap, it was battery powered, and worst of all for mechanical watches, it was so accurate it effectively dropped the mic on the entire topic. However, nearly half a century later, accuracy is once again in focus, as a marketing angle being used to sell watches. Primarily, it is a marker to separate the high-performing movements — those impervious to shock, magnetism, environmental conditions — from the everyday. Rolex have re-set their own standards, with the Superlative Chronometer certification. Omega have worked with the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology to create an industry-wide certification called METAS. Breitling continue to COSC certify all of their watches. But chronometer certifications in general, as you can tell from the roll call of brands that…
A few months ago we had a look at the Bell & Ross BR V2-94 Garde-Côtes, an orange-accented twist on their vintage chronograph. Well, today we’re going to pare it back a little further, with the time and date BR V2-92 Garde-Côtes. Looking at Jason’s excellent photos of this watch it should be quite apparent the sort of watch you’re looking at here. A no-fuss 41mm automatic, with a bright personality. That personality comes, of course, from the bright orange chapter ring and the day-glow seconds hand. But there’s more points of interest at play than just these peacock elements. There’s the dial, a functional, almost battleship grey in a matt finish — a colour picked up in the soft rubber strap. The colour scheme is inspired by the hi-vis livery of the French Garde-Côtes, or Coast Guard, in particular their distinctive Eurocopter Search and Rescue choppers. And then there’s the bezel, an aluminium insert with radial numerals that really helps the watch live up to its ‘Vintage’ name. And it’s certainly a watch that you don’t need to stress about getting wet — 100 metres of water resistance, unidirectional bezel and screw-down crown with crown guards ensure that. For me…
Whenever long-term friend (and sometime contributor) to T+T Ben Zachariah drops into the office, talk quickly turns to the fact that in every car guy there’s a watch guy waiting to get out (and vice versa). Because although Ben is very much into the horological, he’s even more into the automotive; unsurprising, given that he’s the man behind car investment firm Harris & Silverman. And with watch brands targeting their classic car tie-ins more aggressively than ever before — as well as a certain Daytona hitting the block — our chats about these two intersecting interests have taken more of a speculative edge. With the big names, like Porsche and Rolex, already commanding hefty premiums, we started thinking about the ‘next big things’. So, we set a challenge: Ben would come up with five cars, from the ’70s to today, that he believes have solid investment potential, and I’d come up with five watches to accompany them. The car — Monteverdi 375L Coupe Ben: The Monteverdi 375L is a Swiss luxury grand tourer, combining a chassis from Germany, bodywork from Italy, and a large thumping V8 from the US. Like Lamborghini, the Monteverdi brand was born from a falling out…
Famous for their formidable and over-engineered designs — which range from technically advanced mission timers to hardcore divers made of submarine steel — Sinn are arguably the most renowned tool watch manufacturer in the industry. However, the German company also hosts a suite of dressier pieces that are better suited to a boardroom than a war room. Meeting somewhere in the middle is the Sinn 104. A professionally capable pilot’s watch that is equally at home outside of the cockpit – be it in the office or on the street. And at the beginning of this year, Sinn added to the 104 collection with a revised glossy white dial. The most crucial feature of any pilot’s watch is how easy it is to read – especially in low light conditions – and the 104 is about as legible as they come. With an enamel-like finish, the dial keeps the same markings as the original. Only this time the rectangular hour markers and syringe-style hands are outlined in black, creating a sharp contrast against the white, and increasing the at-a-glance charm of the 104. Within those black outlines is a coating of slightly off-white lume. Although it won’t be winning any #lumebattles,…
Ah, the heritage reissue. AKA vintage-inspired or revival watchmaking. Whatever you call it, it’s clear that this trend is here to stay, with vintage-inspired designs running the full gamut of incredibly faithful reproductions of historic models to more modern interpretations with a retro feel. Omega Railmaster We know the Railmaster had to make this list, but the only question is — which one? Do you go for the super legit, super limited reissue of the 1957 original, or go with the vintage-esque vibes of the regular production, Master Chronometer version? Availability and a seriously smart price meant we opted for the latter. RRP from $6525 Seiko SLA017 Have you ever wondered what sells quicker than hotcakes? The answer — Seiko’s SLA017, a reissue of their first ever dive watch, the 62MAS. Like all of Seiko’s greatest models, the 62MAS has a serious fanbase, and they couldn’t get enough of this high-end Seiko, limited to 2000 pieces. RRP $5500 Grand Seiko re-creation Seiko don’t have a monopoly on smart remakes of mid-century designs, as this very straight up and down remake of Grand Seiko’s first watch (from 1960) proves. No bells. No whistles. But pure class. RRP $25,200 in yellow gold. …
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Geophysic collection harks back to a time when nuclear tensions were taut between the Eastern and Western Bloc. A time in 1958, at the height of the Cold War, when a period of collaborative worldwide scientific experiments and excursions took place. Dubbed the International Geophysical Year. One of the more notable expeditions of the time, was a pioneering cross under the North Pole, by the first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus. On the wrist of USS Nautilus commander – Captain William Anderson – was the high-tech (at the time) purpose-built Jaeger-LeCoultre Geophysic, designed to cope with the strong magnetic forces of the region. Now one of the most sort after vintage watches on the market. In 2014, JLC released a series of limited edition tributes to the original. Leading to the release of the Geophysic True Second in 2015. As a further tribute to the fathomless depths explored during the Geophysical Year. JLC has released a new limited edition Geophysic True Second. With its tell-tale tick passing on a backdrop of a radiant ocean blue dial. Essentially this new limited edition is identical to the previous versions. It has a 39.6mm stainless-steel case with alternating brushed and polished finishes.…