VIDEO: A closer look at the 2017 Rolex Sky-Dweller in Rolesor
In the months, weeks and days leading up to Baselworld the speculation around what novelties Rolex would release reached a near fever pitch. Pundits made predictions about what the new Sea-Dweller would look like, and if we’d see extensions added to the Daytona and Yacht-Master family. But no one predicted an updated Sky-Dweller… Originally released in 2012 the Sky-Dweller has always been something of a niche proposition. Highly complex and only offered in precious metals, the dressy Rolex lacked the instant cachet of the Professional series. Well, with the addition of competitively priced Rolesor models (the steel and yellow gold has a Swiss RRP of 16,300 CHF and steel with a white gold bezel is 13,700 CHF) we expect the Sky-Dweller will rocket to the top of a lot of people’s interest lists. It’s not just the fact that Rolex has democratised the Sky-Dweller somewhat that has people interested, they’ve also given it a facelift, lengthening the hands, replacing numerals with indices and blending the 24-hour disc into the dial. All this adds up to a Sky-Dweller that looks and wears differently to the original, and we’re pretty sure Rolex has another hit on their hands.
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According to the CEO of Omega, Raynald Aeschlimann, the Planet Ocean ‘Big Blue’ Co-Axial Master Chronometer is “one of the most interesting” watches to be launched by Omega at Baselworld 2017. It represents, he says, a “continuation of Omega’s technological advances, a full ceramic blue Seamaster Planet Ocean, which is coming as a very nice surprise, following the Deep Black and following the whole evolution in ceramic that Omega has been doing for three years.” We should warn you though, this is more of a dip than a deep dive as we’re scheduled to meet the wider Omega school of 2017, including this blue ceramic diver, later today. It will be interesting to shoot this blue ceramic model under normal lighting conditions to compare and contrast with the brand video here and previous Swatch Group blue ceramic models, most notably the Blancpain Ocean Commitment Fifty Fathoms models.
One of the brands we’re always excited to see at Basel is Tudor. They’ve built a reputation for consistently delivering solid, and occasionally surprising watches, and 2017 is no different. We take a look at four new versions of their flagship Black Bay. There’s the simple but upscaled BB41, the blingy BB S&G, the rugged new BB Steel and the complex BB Chrono. If there’s one thing that struck us about the collection as a whole, it’s just how versatile (and enduringly popular) the Black Bay design is.
Omega’s box set celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Railmaster, Seamaster and Speedmaster has been one of the talking points of Baselworld 2017, and not just because of the watches. The box itself is a work of craftsmanship in itself. It isn’t just like an Omega box from the 50s, it has been made to be exactly the same, with corduroy and gold foil lettering and all. We have the pricing, the live images and the (included) travel pouch all in this two-minute video.
This post is served with an almighty fist pump, because just like our crystal ball ‘predicted’, Longines has announced a 90th Anniversary version of the Lindbergh Hour Angle, a few months ahead of the anniversary celebration. Longines has still managed to pull out a major surprise though. The steel and titanium watch will be limited to just 90 pieces. The hour referenced in the name of the model will be about as long as it takes for the model to sell out. The original ‘hour angle’ watch was designed in a partnership between Charles Lindbergh and Longines following his 33-hour flight from Roosevelt Airport to Le Bourghet, outside Paris. The historic feat was timed by Longines, who were official timekeeper for the World Air Sports Federation. Lindbergh had some ideas about how to determine longitude during long-distance flights using a rotating bezel to allow for the correction of the equation of time and a rotating centre dial that allows for synchronization to the second. The resulting watch, which has had several reissues over the years, indicates the hour angle in degrees and in minutes of arc in addition to indicating hours, minutes and seconds. Pilots and navigators have used the hour…
One of the highlights on our Baselworld calendar is seeing what heritage re-release Longines has cooked up, and whoo boy, have they pulled out all the stops in 2017 or what. You’re looking at the Heritage 1945, an absolutely on point interpretation of a mid-century dress watch. Based on a 1945 design called the Calatrava by collectors, this watch does everything right. Funnily enough it’s the exact watch that Sunflowerman illustrated as part of the Watercolour Watch project back in 2015. The 40mm steel case is simple, and not overly fussy, with a flat bezel just the right width and a slender-yet-functional crown. The mid-tan nubuck strap with single line of reinforcing stitching in contrasting thread walks a perfectly straight line between dress and casual. The real star is the dial. For such a minimal layout, Longines has packed it full of sexy detail. First of all there’s the vintage velvet effect of the brushed copper-tone convex dial, then there’s the alternating steel-tone applied hours markers and printed mid-century Arabic numerals, all of which contrasts with the long, elegant leaf hands in blued steel. The small seconds subdial has a concentric circular finish, just to keep things interesting. Oh, and…
Seiko’s reputation in the world of professional dive watches is unimpeachable, and a trusty Seiko diver is a staple in any well-rounded collection. But, until now these watches have primarily been made under the Seiko Prospex label. Well, that all changes today with the introduction of the first ever professional-grade diver made under their top tier label, the Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 Professional 600m Diver. Released in two versions, the regular production black-dialled SBGH255 and the limited edition (of 500) blue-dialled SBGH257 is every inch a professional grade diver: with a large 46.9mm wide and 16.9mm high titanium case, powered by Grand Seiko’s excellent 9S85 movement, accurate to -3/+5 seconds a day. Moreover the ingenious design of the case (specifically the L-shaped crystal gasket) means that it’s suitable for gas saturation diving, without the need for a helium escape valve that would blemish the otherwise clean lines of the case. The watch is has magnetic resistance of 16,000 gauss, thanks largely to the solid iron dial. The unidirectional bezel, with elapsed time scale is heavily notched to ensure ease of operation, even at depth. What isn’t captured in this roll call of specifications is just how seriously manly this watch is.…
Last year Grand Seiko released a new-look, sporty, modular, ceramic and titanium Spring Drive Chronograph. It was a bold change of pace for the usually buttoned-up brand, and I’ve got to say it both surprised and delighted me. Baselworld 2017 sees the return of this modular approach, in the form of the Black Ceramic Collection – a trifecta of three Spring Drive GMTs. There’s a black dial (SBGC221) and a white dial (SBGC223), but the version that caught our hearts and inspired out minds was the blue and gold SBGC219. Of course this is the limited edition (500 pieces). But there’s something about the rich colour scheme, complex dial layout and big 46.4mm case that just works. Add the enhanced accuracy (how does an accuracy of + 0.5 – 0.5 a day sound?) of the 9R96 into the mix, and this is a watch that has all the bells and whistles you could ask for. In addition to the titanium and ceramic case, Grand Seiko has added a high-intensity titanium bracelet with ceramic centre links into the equation. It’s a welcome addition that suits the look better than the alligator straps last years versions came with. There’s no denying that…
Watch brands love nothing more than an anniversary. You might even be forgiven for thinking that marketing departments devote a substantial amount of energy to finding ever more obscure historical events, products or personages to commemorate with a new limited edition. 56 years since the release of our mildly popular chronograph? Reissue. The company founder’s brother got married on this day 132 years ago? Gala event. Jane from accounts is going on long service leave? Commemorative limited edition. Given this bloviating trend it’s refreshing to see no mention of ‘anniversary’ anywhere in Seiko’s press release for the reissue of the original Grand Seiko, originally released in 1960. In fact, it’s not one reissue, but two, or four, depending on how you count it. Before we get to the new, let’s quickly talk about the old. The original Grand Seiko, powered by the manual caliber 3180, was the epitome of a classic dress watch, and an important step in Seiko’s quest for accuracy. Round, demure of proportion and fitted with bold (and ever so slightly ’60s) baton indices paired with traditional dauphine hands. It’s a watch that set the tone of classical excellence that has (odd quirky design choices aside), set the…
First vision of the just announced new Speedy: Omega CEO Raynald Aeschlimann announces the Speedmaster “Apollo XVII” Limited Edition released at Baselworld 2017. It is dedicated to the last man on the moon, astronaut Gene Cernan.