GONE IN 60 SECONDS: The Da Vinci Automatic shows the gentler side of IWC
For years IWC has staked its claim as being one of the biggest, baddest and most masculine of the major Swiss brands. Recently though, we’ve sensed a change in the wind. In 2014 they released the delicate Portofino, and last year their more petite pilot had women firmly in its sights. That’s set to continue for 2017, with the latest evolution of the historic Da Vinci collection very much conceived with the female wrist in mind. The core of the collection is a range of eight 36mm references, three with moonphase complications. These models with their smaller size, optional diamonds and numerous colourful straps are intended purely for female customers. Things get a little more ambiguous with the two 40mm versions – including this one, the Da Vinci Automatic. I’d comfortably wear it, but I could also easily imagine my partner purloining for the day/week/rest of my natural life. It’s quite simple, with handsome rose gold hands and applied Arabic numerals. So far so good. But hold the watch in your hands and the party trick becomes apparent. The lugs aren’t just unusual and distinctive, they’re articulated. This means the Da Vinci is supremely comfortable on the wrist, whether it be large or small.…
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Looking for insta-inspo? You’ve come to the right place. NAME: James Banks OCCUPATION: Head of Bespoke Cars at McLaren Special Operations (MSO) bringing to life his clients’ creative visions through custom paint colours and unique designs. HANDLE: @JamesBanksEsq FOLLOWERS: 8.5K LOCATION: London Tell us about your daily watch. It’s a Rotary skeleton watch. I adore skeleton watches and clocks – I guess it’s the engineer in me, having studied Mechanical Engineering at university. Apart from a recent Cartier design for over £500,000, I’ve never seen a watch that I find more aesthetically pleasing. Sadly, it keeps terrible time. I rely on my iPhone for that. I’ve really only started to appreciate watches in the past year or so, having had more interest in clocks historically. My most recent purchase was a Cartier Tank Solo in stainless steel. It’s by no means a flashy watch, but that appeals to me. Also, after visiting Patek Philippe’s exhibition in London with a McLaren customer last summer, I’d love to own a Patek Philippe 5131 or similar one day. Again, the engineer in me very much appreciates the complications that in their watches. I find it truly staggering that so much can be achieved…
You never know who you’re going to bump into in the halls of a watch fair like SIHH. Apart from when you get a tipoff in your schedule that a celebrity will be at a booth at a certain time, and you get there early with your cameraman to make sure you make something happen. Unfortunately in this case the chat was off camera, but the quotes were real. Here are five things you almost certainly (apart from you crazy Ryan and Deadpool fans) didn’t know about Ryan Reynolds on the subject of watches. 5 things you probably didn’t know about Ryan Reynolds and his watches He had a smart watch, but he accidentally smashed it on a wall. Smart watches, says Reynolds, are for “counting calories” and that’s it. He was handed down his grandfather’s watch, which was issued to him as a solder in a World War 2. He says it has a mystical air. He has his daughter’s initials engraved on his watch. His daughter’s name is James Reynolds. He has a criteria for all watches that he buys. They must tick the following boxes: timeless, elegant, functional and flexible. What on earth is SIHH? (The Salon International de la…
SIHH is as common an abbreviation to us as YMCA. It doesn’t have dance moves, it’s not the Nutbush City Limits, but it does involve the team covering some serious mileage early in the year, every year. The question is, what happens at SIHH? What is it actually like? We made a video, to complete our two-part series revealing the truth about watch fairs (part one is here).
One of the standout watches of last year was the Drive de Cartier. The collection impressed with its assured case shape – a pleasing blend of robustness and classicism that, for many, epitomised what Cartier is all about. Well, the Extra Flat takes things a few steps further, removing any and all extraneous elements from the Drive and making it even more sublime. What do we mean? For starters the watch is, well, flat. At 6.6mm thick it’s some 40 per cent more slender than the regular automatic Drive – a feat achieved largely thanks to the manually wound caliber 430MC (based on the Piaget 430P). Cartier has also made the case a touch smaller (39mm), removed the small seconds and foregone their usual guilloche on the dial. The resulting watch is far more dressy, and absolutely stunning. Offered in pink and white gold, our pick is the more reserved white gold option, which is paired perfectly with a subtle grey alligator strap. Cartier Drive de Cartier Extra Flat in white gold Australian pricing and availability Cartier Drive de Cartier Extra Flat, white gold, limited to 200 pieces, with an indicative price of $24,000 Note: the crown is set with…
While the watch world’s glitterati (including a fair chunk of Team T+T) shiver in Geneva, warming their frost-bitten hands over pots of fondue, those of us left here in Australia are enjoying a lovely summer. Conjure the usual stereotypes: prawns, barbecues etc. You get the picture. Of course, an overall coating of perspiration and seafood sauce is no excuse for not looking good – so do please factor into that mental picture the latest trends from the Spring/Summer 17 runaway shows, which we assure you are currently being sported Down Under. To help with the visualisation process, here are a few of our favourites. But what’s this? They’re all missing one key thing. You guessed it: a watch! Fear not – we’ve paired each ensemble with a timepiece to complete the look. Readers from the northern hemisphere can feel free to take notes now, ready to put into action when summer finally arrives, months and months from now. Cheers! Material Gains Still spraying on the skinny chinos? Well, stop! There’s no longer any need to compress your nether regions in the name of fashion. This season’s collections revolve around roomier cuts made with fabric aplenty, like the Etro look worn here by this…
James Marsden, a face you will recognise from at least one of your favourite films (guys: Zoolander, girls: The Notebook, me: Westworld), describes the moment he surprised/scared IWC’s Creative Director, Christian Knoop, the night before. “I was chatting with Christian and I told him can you please make a perpetual calendar with a split-seconds chrono in a 43mm case. Please?” Knoop’s expression must have been somewhat like mine, read, the open-mouthed emoji with red cheeks. “His mouth was agape, he was like ‘How do you know about the 89630 movement in my new perpetual calendar?’ And I was like, it’s because I’m obsessed. They made a perpetual calendar with a chrono in the older Da Vinci, I think it was 2004 or something, and they’ve brought that back now and I just love a chrono movement with a perpetual calendar. He was like… ‘How do you know this, actor guy?” T+T: When did you get your first good watch? James Marsden: An IWC was the first really special watch I was given when we wrapped the last season of a show… Ally McBeal in 2002… It was given by David E. Kelley… It was the first upper tier nice watch I’ve ever owned. It was…
Watch industry Presidents and CEOs are often conservative to the point of invisibility. The adage that seems to be uniformly and universally extolled is a variation on the idea that it’s “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.” Then, at the other end of the scale there is Jean-Claude Biver, CEO of TAG Heuer, Chairman of Hublot and Interim CEO of Zenith. In March 2016, one of the world’s top TAG Heuer experts, David Chalmers (who is founder of Calibre 11 and one of the two guys I started Time+Tide with three years ago), asked him about Heuer branded watches and whether they were helping or hindering TAG Heuer’s brand in the market. His response was scathing: “Very few brands have brought so much confusion than TAG Heuer. TAG Heuer is number one in the confusion. That’s where they were the best at. Create confusion. No consistency, no coherence, just confusion. No professionalism, no respect of yesterday. What TAG Heuer has done in the recent past is an example for any business school of what one should never do. At least now we know what not to do. That is what we’ve inherited from the past… I’m…
Walking into Montblanc’s revamped SIHH booth, it didn’t take long to work out what the overarching theme of 2017 would be. If the deconstructed racing chronograph suspended from the ceiling wasn’t enough of a clue, the booth staff in stark white racing firesuits certainly gave the game away. Montblanc’s off to the races, and in pole position is an aggressively updated Timewalker. The Timewalker is one of Montblanc’s most successful ranges and, over the years, the distinctive Arabic numerals, modern hand design and sculptural, cut-away lugs have become emblematic for the brand. Recently though, the pioneering model has been somewhat overshadowed by new and exciting heritage models. Not any more. The reimagined Timewalker collection is the brainchild of Davide Cerrato, Managing Director of Montblanc’s watch division (and former Creative Director at Tudor), and is released as a fully formed, mature sports collection comprising everything from simple three-handed options to more complicated offerings like this chronograph. And while the key details like the stylised hands, numerals and cut-out lugs are still there, the overall aesthetic is much more restrained, and with the subtlest touch of vintage (like the tip of the seconds hand and clever rubber racing-style strap). But it’s the…
This video series was born out of frustration. We were so sick of being asked to compare “apples to apples” (A2A) when it came to watch recommendations that we went and created a whole new segment – and a new concept for us – to get on the front foot to meet the demand. Like two very proud grocers, we bring you ‘Apples to Apples’. It’s along the lines of Top Gear for watches, but with significantly less talent and on-air experience. We’re doing it because we get it. When you’re looking at buying a watch, it’s natural to ask what else you could get that’s similar – whether it’s comparing your choice to similar types of watches, for example, what other blue worldtimers are out there? (Hello, Episode One!) What other masculine tool watches are there that you’re not thinking of? Or perhaps it’s just simply a question of price. What else can I get for eight grand? So, our criteria for future contenders in A2A battles is that they be comparable materially in terms of form / function OR that they be equivalent in price. So, how does it work? Who gets to fight for what? This is how A2A goes…