RECOMMENDED READING: Omega’s CEO on China and the incredible ‘Building O’
Earlier this week The New York Times published an interview with Omega CEO Raynald Aeschlimann, in which he gives an interesting overview as to how the Swatch Group’s crown jewel is faring, and what the plans are for the future. Aeschlimann points to China as a star performing market at the moment, saying that half of the brand’s business is coming from Asia, where the Constellation is the model of choice. He also speaks about the new factory, the impressive ‘Building O’: “At the center of Building O is a giant glass-enclosed atrium three floors deep, an inventory area called ‘the heart’, with 30,000 stacked boxes of watch parts that are retrieved as needed by a roving automated arm.” Omega projects that this massive 175,225-square-foot building will be big enough for another 30-50 years of growth. Read the full story here.
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Dutch design seems to be synonymous with eccentricities, oddities and a flair for the abstract. Characterised by typical and anomalous arrangements and a general nonconformist approach, “De Stijl” design tends to be polarising, to say the least. The term “De Stijl” literally translates to “the style”, and is also known as neoplasticism. Unless you’re up on your 20th-century design, you might not be too familiar with what this movement is or where it came from. So let me give you a quick rundown. De Stijl was founded in 1917, in the Dutch city of Leiden. It consisted of a broad sweep of practitioners — virtually anyone who had an artistic flair. Fine artists, sculptors, architects or a carpenters, all had their place. The movement largely focused on abstraction and universality, as well as functionality and a penchant for block-shaped imagery. The big name you might recognise is Piet Mondrian. Now on to the watch. Created in collaboration with Ace Jewellers, renowned watch and art lovers, and built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the De Stijl movement, this Nomos and Ace limited edition is an intriguing timepiece that subtly reflects the movement’s simplicity. Essentially a 38mm manually wound Orion, the…
This week Andrew has taken you through the options that most people wanting a TAG Heuer Monaco have to ask themselves – do I choose the blue Calibre 12 or the blue Calibre 11? However, the choice of a Monaco hasn’t always been this simple, as the brand has made a range of special and limited-edition models over the years. Some of these you will know. For example, the Gulf Monaco series and the heritage Calibre 11 models, offered with a grey or silver dial. Today we’re going to show you something different, with three Monaco models that we know you don’t know. Each of these date back to the first Monaco series in the late 1990s, early 2000s. The Monaco was brought back to life by TAG Heuer in 1998 after more than 20 years out of production. That 1998 design still forms the base for today’s Monaco (although the case has grown by one millimetre). And for those of you who see a Hublot influence in today’s Carrera Heuer-01 range, you might be interested to know that the designer of the 1998 Monaco Re-edition was none other than Miodrag Mijatovic, known universally as Mijat. His other famous watch design? The Hublot Big…
Today is less of a wind down and more of a recovery. Last night we hosted a small gathering of some of our favourite watch lovers. Drinks were had, canapés were consumed, watches were ogled, fondled and ‘grammed, and new friends were found. Thanks to everyone who came! But that was last night. Today we’re trying to get the office back into some semblance of order – emptying bins, wiping down surfaces and rearranging our loupe collection. You know, the usual. Gaga-gate The big news this week comes from Tudor, which announced Lady Gaga as its first female ambassador. Gaga joins Beckham as another global face of Tudor’s #borntodare campaign, and fan feedback was as mixed as you’d expect. Comments on our social media ran the gamut from Little Monster love to through to confusion and actual anger. Julie Kraulis is clearly a Monster at heart. The Danish dynamo is on board. One of our Facebook commenters thinks this new relationship is like the start of a bad romance. @Macneil1783 reckon’s he’s cracked the secret of the #borntodare campaign. @Mr028 doesn’t have a very good poker face. Tell us what you really think. However, it’s not all so negative. Our favourite FB discussion talks about…
The New York Times has published a story about the upcoming auction of Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona and revealed new facts about the whereabouts of the watch. Until recently it was considered one of the world’s great “lost watches”. But all that time its owner, James Cox, knew exactly where it was. On his wrist. Soon, it will be auctioned for a sum that may exceed $US10 million. These quotes sum up the incredible story. And lastly, write a note for yourself: help someone fix a treehouse this weekend. Despite the fact that it was a gift from his wife of 50 years, Joanne Woodward, Paul Newman regifted it to his daughter Nell’s boyfriend at the time, James Cox. Mr Cox said he was helping repair a treehouse on the Newman property when the blue-eyed actor approached and asked the time. “I said, you know, ‘a hair past a freckle,’ or some comment meaning ‘I don’t have a watch’.” Mr Cox, now 52, said. “To which he (Newman) replied: ‘Well, here, here’s this watch. If you remember to wind it, it tells pretty good time’.” Mr Cox wore the watch for nearly a decade on construction jobs and gardening – my heart just stopped –…
Cartier is no stranger to the art of fine watchmaking, and in the last few years the French maison has been bringing the haute …err… heat to the world of high horology, with watches bearing the Geneva Seal – like the Drive de Cartier Flying Tourbillon. In 2014 Cartier first introduced us to the Rotonde De Cartier Earth and Moon in platinum, and this year with a case and dial change it has reunited the Earth with the moon and added an 18-carat pink-gold-cased version, which is limited to 15 pieces. Where the first version was a stylised tribute to the Earth, this is an ode to the moon. The original’s earthly blue lapis lazuli discs have been replaced with meteorite and the dial is now “open-worked” – further exposing the tourbillon at six o’clock. The 18-carat white-gold hour markers also surround the off-centre meteorite disc, which forms a subdial and houses the classically Cartier blued-steel hands used to display the time. But that’s not all. Between the meteorite disc and the railroad minute track sits a 24-hour ring, allowing for a second time-zone display, which is adjusted independently, simply by using the pusher at 2 o’clock. And we still haven’t got to the…
Father’s Day. It’s one of those quasi-holidays that has a nasty habit of sneaking up on you. And worse, one that has unclear expectations in the gifting department. We’re pretty sure socks and jocks sit on the inadequate side of the ledger, but what constitutes a cracking pressie for dad is a trickier nut to crack. Wine is always a low-effort, high-yield option, scalable to any budget. But it lacks creativity. Now, if your old man is partial to the odd watch (perhaps he’s even subtly – or maybe not so subtly – shared this article) we would humbly suggest that some variety of horological paraphernalia would be well in order. Only one problem: Father’s Day is on Sunday, and you’ve left your run a little late. But, as always, we’re here to help. Here’s six solid options for the watch dad in your life. And the best thing? They’re all Australian sellers, meaning that you might make it for Sunday if you order right now. Something different in the strap department? A new watch is a big call for Father’s Day (save that for a milestone birthday), but a new strap is the next best thing. Mix it up with…
At some point on my watch journey, I made a resolution to resist all the shiny new things that get paraded in front of us daily and just start collecting the icons. The classics. The unquestioned cornerstones of modern watchmaking. Watches whose aesthetic, technological and for-the-good-of-humankind breakthroughs still resonate today. How’s that working out for me? Hmmm, there have been occasional slip-ups, and some redefinitions of what is “iconic” (Nomos makes modern classics, right?) but acquiring a TAG Heuer Monaco was to be a satisfying tick of the square-watch box. The only problem was, when I went to pull the trigger, there was an unexpected dilemma, a crossroads with two signposts – one pointing to a version powered by the Calibre 11 (reference CAW211P) and the other running off the Calibre 12 (reference CAW2111). Both have their merits, and both have a surprisingly legitimate connection to the original model, so which one would it be? The Calibre 12’s metallic starburst dial is more faithful to the very first blue-and-grey metallic dialled models in 1969. But the Calibre 11 is pretty much a dead ringer for the 1971 McQueen… decisions, decisions, decisions! I used the backdrop of the city of Monaco…
Editor’s note: We exist in a permanent fever-dream of watches. Every day we’re presented with a fresh press release promising hitherto unseen wonder and innovation, not to mention beauty beyond compare. Unsurprisingly, 99 per cent of these watches fail to live up to this promise. A. Lange & Söhne’s Saxonia Moonphase is one of the exceptions. It remains hard to argue with the simple, confident beauty this fine German timepiece exudes. Let’s begin by stating the patently obvious: A. Lange & Söhne has had a very good year. At the top end, collectors have raved about the Grand Lange One Moonphase Lumen, as well as the Richard Lange Jumping Seconds. And for those whose pocketbooks have earthly limitations – the new Saxonia Thin presents a very tempting offering. For me though, the sweet spot lies somewhere in the middle. The Saxonia Moonphase offers you the undeniable style of the Saxonia family, but adds some classic Lange complications to the mix – the big date and that oh-so-stunning moonphase. And the star of the show, is in fact the 852 stars on the said moonphase. It’s simply stunning; traditional without being a cartoonish smiling moon, yet thoroughly modern in its laser-cut technique. And it’s accurate to…