OPINION: Why thick watches are no good
I’m rather fortunate in my role here at Time+Tide — I get to wear a lot of different watches. In fact, in 2019 alone I tried on and wore more than 200 different timepieces. Getting to experience this many different watches is a privilege, and while each and every one had both positives and negatives, they all need to be praised just for existing because, after all, technically speaking, wristwatches aren’t exactly essential in 2020. That being said, however, if there was one overriding takeaway from all the timepieces I wore last year, it was this — I hate thick watches. Ugh … OK, maybe hate is too strong a word … perhaps strongly dislike is more appropriate. I also need to qualify a few things first. If a timepiece is thick for a specific reason, like to provide better water resistance, for example, then it gets a pass. In fact, any tool watch that’s on the portly side is OK in my book, as long as the extra girth serves a purpose. And I’m not going to criticise anything that’s more than 10mm thick in some sort of Meryl Streep, Devil Wears Prada-esque venomous spat against all but the slimmest…
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Finally, we have the last additions to the “Watch & Act!” Auction. Lot 22: TAG Heuer – Unique Piece, Autavia Caliber 5 ‘Watch & Act!’ Edition First released in 2019, this collection represented the first time the name Autavia had been given to a time-only watch, which is originally a portmanteau of automobile and aviation and used for chronograph tool watches. This TAG Heuer Autavia Caliber 5 is offered in a warmly toned bronze case that complements the graduated moss green dial and strap, and is framed by the ceramic bezel. This model was chosen by TAG Heuer to “symbolise the colours of Australia”. The watch is a Unique Piece and features a caseback engraving of the “Watch & Act!” logo, as well as the text “UNIQUE PIECE AUSTRALIA”. On the dial, note the crossed axe insignia associated with firefighters all around the world — this will be a constant dial-side reminder of the ‘firies’, as Aussies call them, who your watch purchase will benefit. The watch has a bidirectional rotating bezel in brown ceramic and is water resistant to 100m. The sapphire crystal is anti-reflective and the dial is khaki fumé and rhodium plated. The indexes and hands are filled…
Over the next two posts, we’ll be showing the final additions to the “Watch & Act!” Auction. Lot 19: Baltic Watches – Aquascaphe Prototype Based out of France, Baltic Watches have carved themselves a niche in producing watches inspired by the second half of the 20th century, with a range of genuinely attractive references that have proven themselves to be hugely popular with watch enthusiasts around the world. After the roaring success of the Bicompax chronograph release, they immediately began work on their vision of a diving watch, which resulted in this Baltic Watches Aquascaphe Prototype. While several elements of the design were changed for the final production model, this prototype expresses the no-nonsense restraint of a vintage tool watch that was built with a specific purpose and intent. The 3, 6, 9 style of dial was let go in favour of arrow markers at the cardinal points of the dial in the eventual production piece, but the prototype design reminds of the legendary tool watches of the ’50s and ’60s that are so collectible today. It is through the enormous generosity of the team at Baltic Watches that we are able to offer this Aquascaphe Prototype for sale, and…
Montblanc’s Heritage Collection draws inspiration heavily from the watchmaker Minerva and the timepieces they produced in the ’40s and ’50s. And there’s a very good reason why – Montblanc owns the once great Minerva. As a result, we get great-looking watches like this – the Montblanc Heritage Automatic. Replete with its period correct and vogue salmon dial, this elegant three-hander offers a great amount of vintage flair and modern technicality. Housed inside the subtly rounded 40mm stainless steel case, which is just 11.65mm thick, you’ll find Montblanc’s Calibre MB 24.26. This trusty self-winding movement offers 38 hours of power reserve, 26 jewels and an operating frequency of 28,800 (4Hz) vibrations per hour. Complementing the anthracite characteristics of the dial, the Heritage Automatic is paired with a grey Sfumato alligator strap, which has been created by Richemont themselves, in their Pelletteria located in Florence, Italy. What we like about it Montblanc has really been nailing its heritage watches of late, and this heritage automatic is another great addition to the collection. The salmon dial is one to adore, with styling cues that have been borrowed from Minerva timepieces from the ’40s and ’50s. Features Manufacturer: Montblanc Model Name: Heritage Automatic Year:…
This eye-catching special edition, launched at the Dubai Watch Week 2019, features a satin-finished steel case and lush starburst dial inspired by the green in the UAE flag – a colour chosen to inspire hope, growth and prosperity – and four Hindi Arabic numerals painted in Super-LumiNova. This is the first Bell & Ross model to ever feature Hindi Arabic numerals. This watch has been generously donated by Seddiqi Holdings. What we like about it It’s pretty well established in the watch world at the moment that green dials are just better. Case in point is this limited edition Bell & Ross, which has been graciously donated by the Seddiqi family. It’s a stunning watch, featuring Eastern Arabic numerals and, much like a few other lots in this auction, is one that is sure to be hugely popular. Features Manufacturer: Bell & Ross Model Name: BR 03-92 Green Arabic Limited Edition Year: 2019 Reference: BR0392 Material: Steel Dimensions: 42mm diameter Calibre:Mechanical automatic Bracelet/Strap: Brown leather strap View the lot right here.
World women’s number one tennis player Ash Barty has collaborated with Rado to release a watch this year, bringing us the Rado HyperChrome Ashleigh Barty Limited Edition, a white-hot polished ceramic watch that matches perfectly with the uniform of Wimbledon, which was her first junior Grand Slam win – ahead of her career-defining Grand Slam win at the French Open in 2019. Taking advantage of Rado’s expertise in ceramics, both the case and bracelet of the watch have been produced in a polished white ceramic, with the case reinforced with stainless steel. The bracelet is finished with a deployant clasp for a snug fit, and tapers nicely into the 36mm case. The gleaming case is where the watch really shines. The bezel is fitted with 60 diamonds around the circumference of the dial, which not only draws the eye inward but could also be used as minute markers. Once your eye has been drawn into the dial, you’re treated with the soft pearlescent glow of the mother-of-pearl dial, which has been radially spoked for emphasis and is only punctuated with a white date indicator. As a final touching nod to the career success that Ash Barty has had at such…
OK, let’s dispense with any hype and get down to it. Sixty per cent of watches are sold on a bracelet and this is a fact that Hublot are finally set to take advantage of with the Hublot Big Bang Integral, a new collection, freshly launched at the LVMH fair in Dubai in early January. But first, if we’ve set a tone of #realtalk, let’s address a glaring contradiction. Doesn’t the very concept of a Hublot Big Bang with a metal bracelet jar with the original vision for the Big Bang? Which was to demonstrate the ‘Art of Fusion’ by attaching a rubber strap to a precious-metal case? A quarter of a century later, the model has grown into such an entity in its own right that it can now evolve without letting the original concept down in any way, opening the way for the Hublot Big Bang Integral. A Hublot Big Bang with a metal bracelet was always going to happen, regardless of the popularity of the original version. However the reason for the long wait (this single component has taken no less than three years of exhaustive research and development) is telling. Because it couldn’t just be any…
Most of you reading this will have already heard of Gary Getz, or, as he goes by on his Instagram nom de guerre, GaryG (@garyg_1). But if for some reason you haven’t stumbled across his ‘gram page or heard of him at a horological gathering, believe me when I say, the man hath some nice watches. In fact, it’s probably easier to think of Getz’s collection of timepieces as an assortment of some of the most revered and sought-after grail watches on the planet. A judge at last year’s Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, and a regular columnist for Quill & Pad, Getz recently wrote about his experience of purchasing and taking possession of one of 2019’s most talked about and contentious timepieces — the A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus. To say that Getz has performed a deep dive on Lange’s first steel sports watch is perhaps a bit of an understatement, and he’s accompanied his words with myriad excellent photos chronicling the process of unboxing, adjusting links and wearing the steely timepiece. It’s a great read, and if you’re still on the fence about the Germanic integrated sports watch, this article goes a fair way to answering questions and…
It’s Thursday, and that can mean only one thing — it’s time for Nicholas Kenyon & James Robinson to engage in another jousting of words over a watch-related point of contention. In this week’s office argument, the two pontificate whether or not it’s OK to wear dive watches on leather straps. James Robinson – The For Argument I don’t think there can really be any debate on this matter — dive watches look great on leather bands … and that’s the end of it. The argument that “they shouldn’t be worn on leather because that defeats the purpose of them” is completely redundant. I guarantee you that 99.9 per cent of dive watch owners around the globe have never, ever used their fit-for-purpose tool watch in its intended environment. That’s why innumerable different examples of amphibious timepieces these days are sold on leather bands directly from the watchmaker, because they know, just as well as I, that dive watches are, more than anything else, just an aesthetic. People just like the way they look, and that’s completely fine, and if someone wants to pair their 5513 with a tan brown leather band, who among us has the authority to tell them otherwise?…
Editor’s note: The serpent is a central part of Bulgari’s iconography, and has been for the last eight decades since it first entwined women’s wrists in the 1940s. While the design has refined over years, shedding old aesthetics in favour of a newer expression of the same feminine elegance, its power as a symbol of Italian sophistication has never wavered. As a part of the “Watch & Act!” World Watch Auction that is currently offering an 18k yellow gold Serpenti Tubogas kindly donated by Bulgari, we wanted to take a look back at the history of the ophidian-inspired collection, which is an undisputed icon in the history of the Roman luxury house. For most of us today, snakes evoke a mixture of fascination and fear – but since ancient times they have been a mythological symbol for countless cultures and civilisations. Although, in the Christian tradition, a serpent represented the devil in the Garden of Eden, snakes mostly had positive associations. For Native Americans, Mayans and Aztecs, Persians, Chinese, Hindus, Africans and Australian First Nation tribes, they represented, variously, power, wisdom, eternity, fertility, sexual desire, protection, and a direct link to ancestral spirits. Unsurprisingly, then, since humans first adorned their…