LIST: 10 watches I’ll never forget from my first Baselworld
Editor’s Note: Andy Green has pretty much been part of the Time+Tide team since day one. But it wasn’t until 2017 that the stars aligned and he was able to attend Baselworld. And I think it’s fair to say that Andy had a quintessential first Basel. He was blown away, occasionally overwhelmed, but most of all I think he loved discovering new things and meeting the watchmakers he’s admired and the people he’s DM’d from afar IRL. Andy’s personal Top 10 list really reflects this. Sure, it’s about the watches, but the people behind the scenes are just as important. Hope to see you at Basel 2018 Andy. H. Moser & Cie Pioneer Centre Seconds in Steel I’ve always been a big fan of H. Moser & Cie, and have been especially fond of their recent marketing campaigns. So, when I turned up to their stall and was told that for the first time, they had a new release in steel, I got pretty excited. This was my pick of the fair (which will come as no surprise to my IG followers). I just love everything about this watch: the stunning fumé dial, the curvaceous crystal and the famous Moser ‘less is more’ approach. As a steel…
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When Bell & Ross launched their Instrument collection in 2005, they achieved what every new watch brand sets out to: they created an icon. This distinctive range of watches took the cockpit instruments of aeroplanes as their inspiration and suddenly there was a new player in the watch world that you could spot on the wrist at 100 paces. No mean feat when you consider the history and the hype you’re up against. So it turned out the Swiss watch industry, like John Mayer, has found room for squares. But all things must change, and the collection presented at Baselworld 2017 was the most highly evolved pack yet – with new models in a variety of shapes, materials and complications. The unifying factor, if there is one, is a continuing attitude of looking at things differently and balancing the stuffiness with a sense of play.
The Cartier ‘Drive de Cartier’ was about as close to a number one hit as you can get in the watch industry. From the minute it was released, it was popular with journalists the world over – us wholeheartedly included. It appealed to round and small watch markets like Asia as well as tastemakers in other markets, and it was smartly priced. In a refreshingly frank interview, Cartier’s International Marketing and Communication Director, Arnaud Carrez, details how, after a wayward period where brands “tried to be everything and everywhere”, the Drive is powering Cartier to new heights. 1 – The Drive refocused Cartier on what it does best – “masculine elegance” “The Drive came at the right time, because it was years after the birth of fine watchmaking at Cartier, after the Calibre and Calibre Diver watches. I think these stories were very nice, but we probably stretched into fields where we are not necessarily legitimate. “Our masculinity is not muscles, sport, achievement, performance. It’s a different masculinity. It’s more elegance, and style, and refinement, and we are fine about it.” “I’m not saying we shouldn’t do that kind of watchmaking. We created an impressive momentum in fine watchmaking. We were really…
Much like the state they’re named for, California (or Cali) dials have something inherently cool and playful about them. With their nonchalant mixing of formal Roman and casual Arabic numerals, you just know these watches don’t play by the rules. Which brings us to the Panerai PAM 629, first seen at Watches & Wonders in 2015. This stealthy/sexy watch raised a few eyebrows when it was released, as it was the first time the brand had paired a Cali dial with the sportier Luminor case shape.
Editor’s Pick: Last year we received a tip-off that popular Australian actor Rodger Corser has a Tudor story to tell. Not only does he wear a Black Bay on his latest show, Doctor Doctor (he’s also in zombie series Glitch if you’re OS and also thinking he looks familiar), it turns out the vintage model he sported in ‘Doctor Blake’ was also a Tudor. And not just any Tudor… I first noticed it for a split-second in Channel 9’s new show Doctor Doctor. Pause. Rewind. Yep, there was no mistaking the black bezel and dial on the wrist of Hugh Knight (the titular doctor) – definitely a Tudor Black Bay. I filed that knowledge away in the part of my brain dedicated to celebrity watch-spotting, not imagining for a minute that a few weeks later I’d be having a drink with Rodger Corser, in a tiny laneway bar, talking about that exact timepiece. Watches tell you a lot about a character, and a bad choice is immediately obvious. But for Rodger, the Black Bay Black is more than just a smart props decision, it’s a deeply personal link, one that ties into his other on-screen personas and informs his craft. Of course we spoke…
Editor’s note: At Time+Tide we’ve always felt that gendering watches is somewhat pointless and arbitrary. If you like it and you can wear it, that’s all that matters – right? Sure, there won’t be too many fellas out there rocking 28mm diamond-studded Datejusts, and conversely it’s a rare woman who can rock a 50mm+ timepiece. But between these two poles there’s a wide range of ‘men’s’ watches that look the business on a woman’s wrist. We asked Ceri David to hunt down six of the best. Ever since the female of the species began wearing trousers circa the 1920s, they’ve been gradually but persistently encroaching into the territory of men. Never has the saying ‘give them an inch’ been more relevant. Next minute, they had the right to follow whatever career path they fancied and the freedom to get a short haircut without bringing shame on the entire family, and the world was upside down. Women wearing men’s watches is just the latest example of this invasion – and you know what? Get used to it. Full disclosure: I am a woman, so I’ll stop with this ‘they’ nonsense. After centuries of not having a choice, we can finally do what we like, so is…