INTRODUCING: The Cartier Drive de Cartier Flying Tourbillon
Last year, Cartier launched a brand-new collection: the automotive-inspired Drive de Cartier. However, unlike much of the brand’s other offerings which have cross-gender appeal, the Drive de Cartier is intended solely for men. It has proven to be a hit the world over, with a case that is neither round nor square. Instead, its elegant curves form a rounded cushion shape, which is unmistakably masculine – but not in a macho kind of way. To use an automotive analogy, it’s less brute Mustang muscle and more the sophistication of an Aston Martin. The crowning achievement of the collection is the Drive de Cartier Flying Tourbillon with its in-house, mechanical tourbillon, caliber 9452 MC movement that’s been hand finished to a high degree to meet the standards of the Geneva Seal certification. However, it’s not just the movement that is impeccable. The dial is a richly contrasting display of satin-brushed surfaces and intricate guilloche finishing. Cartier has created a sense of depth by open-working the outer dial that displays the markings for the hours, minutes and seconds, and exposing the white galvanised guilloche below. Despite the elaborate interplaying layers, the dial layout manages to come across as simple and elegant. The…
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*Minor spoiler alert* It’s not unusual for a watch to play a starring role in a movie. Often it’s the prop that shows a countdown in a race against time, or it’s a sentimental object, or an indicator of personal style. In the rather stupendous Christopher Nolan mega-production that is Dunkirk (I’m still a little woozy on my feet a day after watching it on an IMAX screen), it’s very much the former. Without giving too much away, Tom Hardy’s character, a Spitfire pilot in the Royal Air Force, must use his watch to calculate the amount of fuel he has left when his gauge is smashed by enemy fire. The repeated reference to the watch as the movie hurtles on clearly shows an Omega branded watch, that has been confirmed by an employee at Omega to be the Omega “RAF” 1940, ref CK2129, which was delivered to Great Britain’s ministry of Defence in 1940. Hats off to Christopher Nolan for bothering to research and then source such an authentic watch for the role. Nolan is known for his obsessive attention to detail (read this story about how he made Harry Styles tie his army boots differently to be more true to the era), it’s brilliant…
A few years ago I attended a talk called, ‘How to Start a Collection’. The focus was on vintage rather than modern and the speaker was a prominent collector, so I looked forward to picking up some great tips. His advice was to anchor a collection with some key pieces, and he gave some examples. Impeccable reasoning, but there was a catch: the name of every piece began with Patek, Rolex or Panerai – and none could be had for less than $80,000. Most were some way north of $100k. So, what if you’re a watch addict of far more modest means? One for whom every $500 increment in price gives real pause for thought. And one who both wants and needs to feel that he or she hasn’t done something dumb with their hard-earned money. Someone who, even at a more accessible end of the vintage market, wants the watch to have a fighting chance of holding its value over time, or better still, to appreciate? I asked a range of experts for advice – Jonathan Darracott of Bonhams (London), Pedro Reiser at Sotheby’s (Geneva), Toby Sutton at Watches of Knightsbridge (London) and Alex Ghotbi and Aurel Bacs at Phillips (Geneva). On…
TAG Heuer’s avant-garde new take on the classic Carrera, the Heuer 01, has become an increasingly bright – and big – star in the brand’s firmament since its release in 2015. TAG Heuer have used the modular case as a vehicle to release everything from tourbillons to smartwatches. The only bone of contention thus far has been the size. 45mm is not small by any means, especially when you factor in the height of the Heuer 01 movement. The new (slightly) smaller 43mm version is a smart solution. Make no mistake — it’s still a large statement watch, but slightly less intense on the wrist than the mighty 45mm version. You might say this latest Heuer 01 offers the best of both worlds.
Earlier this year we had a look at one of the classic watches from Longines’ catalogue, the Legend Diver – a heritage diver inspired by old-school super compressors. The Legend has always been popular amongst watch lovers, and an important precursor to the heritage trend that has slowly grown to become all-encompassing. Turns out that the Legend Diver celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, and Longines has celebrated by popping on a new strap option – a heavy and handsome Milanese mesh bracelet. And while the watch itself is unchanged, this woven steel bracelet is a great example of the old-watch-chestnut that changing your strap is the next best thing to getting a new watch. The thick and supple Milanese is a choice that’s entirely appropriate for a diver, but functionally it gives the Legend a far more dressy feel — more work, less weekend. Quality-wise the mesh is there too. It’s firm, substantial, and not prone to flopping around on the wrist. It’s also worth noting that I had no issues with pinched hair while it was on my wrist. I’m really pleased that the Legend Diver has enjoyed such a long run, and this latest iteration is a…
All this week we’ve been asking people what Panerai means to them, and we couldn’t think of a better way of wrapping it up than hearing from Panerai collector – and a man with an eye for fine design – Michael S. Michael, or Mickey to most, manages to sum up just what makes Panerai great in under a minute. The key features that Panerai initially developed were with naval warfare in mind. They resulted in a watch that is (paradoxically) both under the radar and instantly recognisable. Far from being a trend-driven brand, it’s the fact that the watches have remained so true to this original, entirely functional design that makes Panerai special.
I imagine there’d be some decent perks that would go along with being a bud of The Weeknd. You’d probably get to meet Daft Punk. You probably wouldn’t get to meet Justin Bieber. And maybe he’d pick you up to go bowling in a sweet ride with a panther in his passenger seat. Pretty great perks. But the real value of working with, and befriending Abel Makkonen Tesfaye seems to kick in around birthday time. Just ask French Montana, who received an iced out Patek Philippe Nautilus in November last year from The Weeknd, successfully present-shaming the whole world in the process. Now, it seems the birthday-watch is making its way into the pair’s music, with new French Montana song feat. The Weeknd ‘A Lie’ starring both French’s new Nautilus and a rose gold model on leather on The Weeknd. The song drops lines like “A hundred thousand for the time” and “House on my neck / ‘Nother house on my wristband”. As well as this one, which I’m sure we can all relate to: “My life’s invested in bein’ a f*cking legend.” The moral of the story is, even though it’s Saturday, we all need to get closer to The Weeknd.
Tudor’s BB Chrono has been one of the most talked about movements of the year. It has a formidable set of specs, and the collaboration with Breitling is a bold (and smart) play. But it’s far from Tudor’s first step on the road from ETA to movement autonomy. Here’s what they’ve achieved in a few short years. 2011 – The Advisor Not many people realise the story of Tudor’s movement development goes back as far as 2011 – to the very first watch in the Heritage collection, the Advisor. The Advisor is one of the unsung heroes of the collection, not least because the alarm module was developed in-house — and it’s still one of the smartest of its type. Date, on/off indicator and alarm power reserve are all visible, but the really neat trick is that the alarm sound ends abruptly, rather than fading off slowly. 2015 – The North Flag When they’re not making excellent watches, Tudor are busy building drama and mystery around their watch releases. Never has this been more evident than with the North Flag. Not only was this a completely new watch (when we were expecting another Black Bay), but it was powered by…
There’s an inherent irony in the Friday Wind Down that gets me every time. It’s often the last item on my weekly to do list — the one thing between me and a (very) well-earned knock off drink. For me, writing this isn’t much of a wind-down, if you know what I mean. So with that (and a beer) firmly in mind, I’m going to make this short and sweet. What happened We had more tourbillons in the office over the last week or so than usual, and in general, we’ve been photoshoot city. Our go-to snapper, Jason has really been excelling himself recently, moving from Hublot to JLC to Panerai seamlessly and flawlessly. I mean seriously, how nice is this caseback? We’ve also been having more fun with smartwatches. Previously I’ve dabbled with Apple, and Andrew’s been known to TAG it up, but recently we’ve been playing with Montblanc’s offering. Find out how it stacks up next week. What really mattered Ummmm, Georges Kern? I swear absolutely no one (especially and importantly Richemont senior management) saw that one coming. And Breitling? Double wow. Let’s just say that Breitling’s 2018 collection just got a whole lot more interesting. The week in…
Imagine you were suddenly launched back in time and onto the deck of a naval ship in the second half of the 19th century. What’s the very first thing you’d do? Personally, if I’ve learnt anything about time travel from The Terminator, I’d find some clothes. Shortly after that, I’d be pretty keen to know exactly “when” I was, and the only way to do that at sea would be to consult the ship’s marine chronometre – and there’s a good chance it would been made by Ulysse Nardin. It’s this style of watch – along with other suitably nautical horology that made UN famous – that they’re still best known for today. But that doesn’t mean they don’t surprise us every so often. And this year they dipped into their 171-year-old back catalogue and released a vintage inspired reissue of a 1964 diver, called, simply enough, the Diver Le Locle. As far as looks go, not much has changed from the original. The design elements that made the original such a looker are still present – large luminescent hour markers, thick pencil hands, and a fully graduated unidirectional coin edged bezel. Although, they’ve been updated to suit modern standards. Take…