H. Moser & Cie started a joke that started the whole world wanting, now it's ready for your wrist, for real
Anyone remember H. Moser & Cie.’s “April Fools” prank from last year? We just revisited it on our Instagram stories. If you missed it, allow me to explain. The @moserwatches Insta post from April 1, 2019, displayed what looked like a brand new model of the Swiss watchmaker’s popular Venturer range. But it was immediately apparent that there was something off about this watch … its handset appeared to be missing, just a deep black Vantablack dial. Look ma, no hands. Moser explained in the caption of the post, “Something new and unprecedented for #MoserMonday: meet the Venturer Concept Vantablack in a 39mm steel case, the first watch to feature a Vantablack dial paired with Vantablack hour and minute hands. Limited to 20 pieces.” Well, that started a joke that started the whole world wanting. The reception to the Instagram post was such that a year later we now bear witness to three completely new models from the watchmaking provocateur that stay almost completely true to that original jape. And best of all, they can be purchased online now, from anywhere in the world. The first is the Venturer Vantablack Black Hand 39mm in solid 18k white gold. This would…
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When it comes to celebrity endorsements, Patrick Swayze’s sixth cousin once removed John Cameron Swayze is simply not modern watch brand ambassador material. A news anchor and game show host during the ’40s and ’50s, Chris Hemsworth he wasn’t. The 1960s, however, was the perfect era for Swayze to take to timepiece advertisements. Whether being caught mid-air by a trained dolphin, or held in the hand of a free-falling diver jumping off the edge of Acapulco’s cliffs in Mexico, Timex watches were the action-bearing beaters of their day. And, in a move that predates similar ‘torture tests’ by over 60 years, here Swayze, with a little help from Satchmo, can be seen to put the brand new Timex 100, entombed in ice, into what appears to be a supercharged blender, sans blades. For good measure, he throws in a few big cubes of ice. G-Shock, eat your heart out. (The action really kicks off at 1:30) Timex needed clarity and credibility, and that’s where John Cameron Swayze’s authoritative “takes a licking and keeps on ticking” mantra found its mark. Enter, the earliest iterations of the Timex Marlin. Timex’s reissue of the cult-classic Marlin in 2017 marked the beginning…
We’ve tallied up the results from last week’s CELEBRITY WATCH DEATH MATCH: John Mayer Vs. Ed Sheeran … there’s been an upset, and it’s a big one. I declared the bout, which was mostly a Patek vs Patek punch-up, a win for the longer in the tooth collector that is John Mayer. I marked him up the winner of three out of the four rounds, with Sheeran scoring just the one W. But you disagreed. The people have scored it differently and, in doing so, you’ve thrown this enterprise into complete disarray. Let’s see how this shocking revelation transpired: Dress watch to die for: Result: 27% for the 5971P-001 and 73% for the 1518 This should be a clue as to how the drama unfolded. I, rightly so, gave Mayer the win here with his famed 5971P-001 because A) it’s one of the best watches Patek has ever made and B) Sheeran had the audacity to wear one of the most important watches of the 20th century, his solid yellow gold 1518, on a goddamn Bund strap! That’s downright reprehensible. But despite pairing the first QP chronograph ever made with a disgusting leather belt that makes Sheeran look like a casual…
Few acronyms in the watch world are as recognisable, or as likely to trigger emotions than the BLNR. Rolex’s steely professional model GMT-Master II Ref.116710BLNR and subsequent Ref.126710BLNR have been unendingly popular ever since the former was unveiled way back in 2013 at Baselworld. What might have seemed like a hype watch has well and truly gone the distance. The origin story goes that Rolex was keen to release their first Cerachrom bezelled “Pepsi” GMT-Master II to market, following on from the all-black variant Ref.116710LN being released in 2007. But the watchmaker was having considerable trouble manufacturing the two-tone ceramic bezel in the renowned red and blue colour scheme. So, what did Rolex do? They went from all-black to all-Bat in Gotham City; a nice transition when you think about it. BLNR (for those who don’t know, BL stands for “Bleu”, and “NR” for Noir) was not exactly a slow burn in terms of critical reception. It blew up immediately. The now iconic colour scheme saw the top half of the Cerachrom bezel coloured in a deep and shimmery black, while the bottom half scored a blue, almost purple tone. The dial would remain largely the same as its all-black brethren, however…
Halios is one of the most popular microbrands in Australia. At an average Aussie get-together odds are you’re almost certainly going to see a Seaforth or two, at the least. So, with a lot of love for what Jason’s doing, and with a lot of respect for the momentum he’s building, we’re delighted to give his latest watch a shout out. And this is not just any watch. It’s a Piece Unique that he’s auctioning right now on his Instagram, with 50% of the funds going to the Vancouver General Hospital COVID-19 Response Fund, and 50% going to the winning bidder’s charity of choice. The watch is a 1 of 1 dark brown prototype dial with matte sunburst finish. The sunburst effect, according to Jason, is very subdued and not “shiny”. The dial is a deep grey-brown with no coppery tones. Unusually, the watch is offered with right or left-handed options of crown positions – at 3 (right handed) or 9 for destro-bros (left-handed). At the time of writing, the bidding is at $3750USD. Bidding will close in 16 hours, at midday Vancouver time. Hit his Instagram page now to get amongst it. Good luck to all, and good on you…
It’s a surprisingly vexed question. You get voted into office as a Prime Minister or President, and suddenly the public’s attention turns to your wrist. Do you continue to wear the watches you’ve worked so hard to acquire? Or do you suddenly downgrade your wrist to what you were wearing when you were in short pants … Among the current international statesmen, Vladimir Putin is very much in the “If you’ve got it flaunt it” category. His astonishing watch collection stands alone. Where others prevaricate over Patek or Pulsar, Putin puts on the Ritz. Picks of the bunch would have to include his platinum A. Lange & Söhne Tourbograph that’s valued at over 525’000 CHF (more than $AUD890,000). The Russian president’s watch drawer is also known to includes a Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar, Patek Philippe Calatrava, Breguet Marine, Blancpain Leman Flyback, and a Blancpain Leman Aqua Lung Grande Date (his fourth after he gave two Aqua Lungs away – one to a locksmith, another to a shepherd’s son – and then threw a third into liquid concrete at a building site). But would Putin’s Platinum-level wristgame be tolerated for long in a modern democracy? Judging by the wrists of other…
The idea came from a letter we received at info@timeandtidewatches.com We are lucky to receive a lot of random personal mail at that address. And the truth is we read all of it and try to reply to as much as we can. The influx of mail since cities have starting locking down around the world in response to COVID-19 has been noticeable, and the tone of it is different. You can tell people have time on their hands. Richard Winter from the UK summed it up perfectly in his note: “I am managing to work from home but not being with colleagues makes it a real chore and not the promised land people assume it must be. After finishing work finding something interesting to do or watch is actually quite difficult and spreading out decent box sets to watch over a 12-week period is more difficult than you’d think.” Richard goes on to say that an unlikely saviour for this one day – one day out of we sadly suspect will be over a hundred more, certainly in Australia, where we are only just going into lockdown over the last week – was the Time+Tide YouTube channel. Richard falls…
Bold colours and textures. That’s how you could quickly sum up the Sixties collection that has been the vintage-inspired darling of the Glashütte Original lineup ever since they hit the scene. This year, the German-based manufacture has turned the volume down, opting for a much cooler and more restrained expression of the collection with glacier blue dials for the first time ever. Available in both time-only and chronograph formats, this could be a compelling collection for those who love the vintage cues of the Sixties collection but prefer to keep what is on their wrist under the radar a little more. As with all of the references within the Sixties collection, we are offered a watch of restrained dimensions and faithfully executed design cues. The 39mm case of the three-handed watch keeps it at an extremely wearable size, with the chronograph only slightly larger at 42mm. Both keep a low profile, at a tastefully svelte 9.4mm and 12.4mm respectively for the time-only and chronograph. The shape of the case is also a point of note, as it is generously domed on both sides of the watch thanks to the curved sapphire crystal that covers the dial and movement. This serves…
In the lead-up to the 2012 presidential election, France’s leader Nicolas Sarkozy, was preparing to deliver a campaign speech in Paris. Striding through the heaving crowd in Place de la Concorde, Sarkozy grinned and shook the hands of his cheering supporters. But halfway along, a realisation flashed through his mind. Without stopping, he whipped off his watch and surreptitiously tucked it into his pocket. The watch in question was a Patek Philippe 5140G-001 Perpetual Calendar in white gold with an opaline white dial. A gift from his wife – the former model and millionaire heiress Carla Bruni – Sarkozy’s watch had a value back then of 55,000 euros. Inevitably, Sarkozy’s sleight-of-hand act was caught on camera – you can watch his switcheroo below (forward to 2.05). Afterwards, he was crucified by the press for a gesture that was viewed both as proof of Sarkozy’s mistrust of his own people and the admission that his extravagant wristwear was inappropriate for a man in his position. Notably the man who ousted Sarkozy in the subsequent election, Francois Hollande, opted to wear a modest Swatch. Political leaders live in a world where every speck of their life is deconstructed and analysed to…
Well, what else can possibly happen in this beleaguered watch industry of ours? Fairs are cancelled. Roadshows are roadblocked. Even events are a sweet, champagne-flavoured memory. What about brands not releasing watches at all? And what if a brand that would have ordinarily been the latest of adopters when it comes to e-commerce was suddenly available through their AD’s websites with ‘Add to Bag’ next to the listing? Tick, and tick. Patek Philippe will not release any watches in 2020. And, of the watches currently on sale, several are now available for purchase online. So there you have it. Another sacred cow meets the scimitar. At the other end of town, we received an email today from a microbrand, Albany Watches, who informed their database that the brand would be ‘on hold’ indefinitely. “I hope you understand how regrettable this decision has been to make,” says Brett, the founder. “It’s been my pleasure to bring Albany Watches to the watch world since its inception. Through the trials of testing prototypes, to finding the right company that’s manufactured to the levels of quality I expect, to receiving stunning reviews from around the world and finding supporters like yourselves has been a dream…