Smart Money: 5 of the best buys from Only Watch 2019
Most of the hype around the results of Only Watch 2019 has been wholly and solely squared at the monumental, record-breaking price achieved by the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime ref. 6300A, and it’s pretty easy to understand why … it sold for $31 million CHF (roughly $52 million AUD)! However, away from the white noise of the staggering price of the stainless steel Grandmaster Chime ref. 6300A, there were actually a fair few bargains (relative term) to be had at this year’s Only Watch. In fact, some pièce unique examples actually sold for less than the regular variants of the watches they were based off, which is pretty absurd when you think about it. Anyway, here are the five biggest bargains from Only Watch 2019: Lot 2 – H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept Only Watch – $48,000 CHF ($70,300 AUD) I think this one took quite a few people by surprise. Here is a one-of-a-kind timepiece that features a truly unique dial that’s been created by one of the best dial makers in the horological game … and it sold for a mere 15 grand more than its regular steel counterpart. Someone out there did very well…
The post Smart Money: 5 of the best buys from Only Watch 2019 appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Patek Philippe’s entry into Only Watch 2019, the one-of-a-kind stainless steel Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime ref. 6300A, has just smashed, in fact obliterated, the record for the most expensive watch ever sold at auction. But it wasn’t just the Patek that stretched into the seven-figure stratosphere at the charitable auction last night, as two other pièce unique watches garnered tremendous amounts of attention and, more importantly, bids. Keep in mind, if like us at times, you feel despair at the runaway nature of high-end auctions, that this is for the good of the world. They are going to be able to research the heck out of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy after 2019. Here are the three watches we have to thank for that: Lot 28 – Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime ref. 6300A – $31 million CHF (roughly $52 million AUD) Let’s just let that number sink in for a moment … $52 million Aussie dollars, for a steel wristwatch. Ever heard of the saying, “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry”? It’s far and away the most expensive timepiece in the world, easily eclipsing the previous record holder, another Patek Philippe, the Henry Graves Jr. Supercomplication pocket watch, which sold…
How did I accidentally become a vintage watch guy? Partly, I blame the fact that I’ve got the spindly wrists of a teenage girl. That meant I naturally gravitated towards smaller dials. But I also put it down to the tawdry state of my finances. When I first started to get into watches — before the retro boom really started to kick — you could pick up an Omega Speedmaster in decent nick for $600. Given my financial reality, vintage watches made a lot of sense. I quickly became a sucker for their personal histories, too. Take the 1950s Zenith dress watch I bought online from a woman in Rome. Uneasy that I was about to wire cash to a total stranger (in a foreign country), I attempted to strike up a connection, hoping it’d reduce my chance of being swindled. In the correspondence that ensued, Paola explained the Zenith in question had belonged to her late grandfather, a general in the Italian army. She even shared this photo of him. Admittedly, if this straight-backed man on a white stallion knew that his watch would one day hang off the wrist of a feckless media twat like me, he would surely be turning…
Watch Disasters is a new series on Time+Tide that describes, in chilling detail, incidences when owning an expensive watch goes wrong. This is not going to be comfortable reading, so prepare for the pain. Admittedly, this is a bit of a soft start. The ‘prodigal’ in the title gives it away. If you have a watch disaster with less of a happy ending, feel free to tell us about it at nicholas@timeandtidewatches.com I actually lost this watch. I have a collection of watches, and I hide them in different places. This watch, I forgot where it was for a good three years. I turned my house upside down, and I couldn’t find it. I reached a point where I had to emotionally detach and move on from it. But because I didn’t realise it was lost for a few months, that somehow made it better when the realisation came that I couldn’t find it. That’s fine, I thought, I’ve lost it. OK. Then I had a brainwave. Before I hid it, I was going away on a trip. It will be in my travel bag! I ransacked the bag, but no watch. Some time later I was actually going on…
More than 200 years ago, Abraham-Louis Breguet was appointed as an official chronometer maker of the French Navy, and the tradition lives on today in the Breguet Marine 5517. The 5517 is a robust sports watch, machined in a lightweight titanium that almost perfectly matches the deep-grey dial tone, and offers a host of details that any discerning eye should appreciate. You could talk about the radially brushed dial that explodes from the Breguet logo rather than the typical centre, the flowing wave-like crown guards, or the classic Breguet hands that have been contemporarily reimagined to bring both traditional form and luminous function, and still have minutia to obsess over. This watch gives us the sports watch package we know and love, but offers a little extra that is indisputably Breguet. It’s a compelling blend of heritage and modern horology that is hard to argue with. Breguet Marine 5517 price The Breguet Marine 5517 has an RRP of AUD $26,800 For more details, visit Breguet online here. Made in partnership with Breguet. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own in accordance with our Editorial Policy.
Well, it’s been another successful year for what many in the horological world refer to as (much to the chagrin of Time+Tide’s Nicholas Kenyon) the “Oscars of the watchmaking industry”. And, much like Hollywood’s most revered awards ceremony, there’s been more than a few upsets at this year’s Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, across quite a few different categories. Now we understand that GPHG is an awards ceremony, so the ability to please everyone is nigh on impossible. However, these three watches represent the biggest shocks from the famed awards night: Tudor P01 Yeah, I don’t think anyone saw this one coming, but somehow, against the misshapen odds, the Tudor P01 has gone and won the hotly contested “Challenge” category at this year’s GPHG. Quite how this … inimitable-looking timepiece managed to upend a field that consisted of watches like Ming’s gorgeous 17.06 Copper and Doxa’s excellent new SUB 200 is beyond me, but GPHG’s expert judges obviously saw something in P01 that this mere mortal did not. Anyway, while the Tudor P01 is a contentious timepiece, it does at least present consumers with an unquestionably unique design language that you won’t find anywhere else. Kudos to Tudor for…
Only Watch 2019 is now less than 24 hours away from kicking off, and Breguet has really knocked it out of the park with their entry in this year’s charitable auction. The Breguet Type XX Only Watch 2019 is, I think we can all agree, a handsome timepiece, and that’s largely because the pièce unique is a faithful re-creation that aims to pay homage to a very early variant of the original Type XX. As a result, the aesthetics offer a charismatically vintage ’50s appearance and, as is the case with any homage piece made today, you’re getting old world charm with new world practicality, or in other words, the best of both worlds. The bronze dial of this Type XX is particularly arresting, and features faux-patina lumed Arabic numerals and hands, chapter ring and two simple sub-dials located at three and nine o’clock that display a 30-minute counter and running seconds, respectively. Another standout is the stainless steel case, which, true to the original Type XX, measures in at a very reasonable 38.3mm and 13.9mm thick. Featuring both polished and brushed accents, the case is also adorned with a simple bi-directional rotating bezel, and a solid case back engraved…
Initially created for the French Ministry of Defence for the French Air Force, the Breguet Type XX, XXI and XXII are timekeeping devices steeped in the history of aviation-specific wristwatches. First released in 1954, the Type XX was the first aviation watch ever created by the storied Swiss watchmaker, who specifically produced the timepiece at the behest of the aforementioned French Ministry of Defence, who had originally approached Breguet to commission 500 examples of a flight-ready wristwatch with a flyback chronograph complication. The rest, as the old adage goes, is history, and now Breguet makes a great many iterations of the fabled aeronautical watch, and we thought we’d take a look at three of our favourite models. Breguet Type XX 3800 The Breguet Type XX 3800 is a faithful reinterpretation of the original Type XX, and is personally my favourite timepiece from Breguet’s sizeable aviation collection. Why is it my favourite, you may ask? Well, for a start, it wears a lot smaller than most flight-ready wristwatches you’ll find on the market, with the familiar stainless steel case measuring in at a reasonable 39mm and 14.4mm thick. It also presents a nicely vintage aesthetic, without being a pastiche. The…
It’s been a pretty busy year for boutique Swiss watchmaker H. Moser & Cie, from the introduction of several new models at this year’s SIHH, right through to the arresting Pioneer Dual Window Perpetual Calendar, which was unveiled just a few short months ago. The eccentric Swiss marque isn’t done with the 2019 new releases, however, as they’ve just dropped this – the stunning H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept Aventurine. Based on the underpinnings of the original Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept, the new timepiece’s Aventurine dial is quite stunning and, according to Moser, is meant to pay tribute to the stars that shroud the moon above us in the night sky. As with previous examples of the Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept, the case measures a well-judged 42mm and 13.1mm thick, and is available in a choice of two different materials: 18k 5N red gold or stainless steel. Inside the beautifully polished case you’ll find Moser’s in-house Calibre HMC 801, a manual-winding movement that offers customers a bevy of great features including moonphase complication, no less than seven days of power reserve thanks to Moser’s interchangeable escapement, original Straumann Hairspring, 28 jewels and an operating frequency of 18,000…
Nothing raises the heart rate of a watch enthusiast faster than the story of a tool watch being used in the environment it was originally designed for, which was why I almost needed to call an ambulance when Nic told me the story of his Bremont ALT1-WT made for his RAAF squadron. Nic’s job is flying the fuel tankers of the sky, Australia’s KC-30s, which are able to refuel other aircraft while mid-flight. In his squadron’s collaboration with Bremont, they customised a number of elements of the original watch, including striping the GMT hand the same colours as their refuelling boom, editing the world timer ring to reflect the airport codes of locations they’ve operated out of, and adding their unit crest to the sub-dial at 9 o’clock. It’s one of the coolest custom watches I’ve ever seen, so without further ado – what sealed the deal on Nic’s custom military Bremont. When did you first see/hear about it? I first heard about the Bremont Watch Company when I was undertaking my pilot training. One of our flying instructors had ejected from an aircraft the previous year and was in the process of purchasing the MBI he’d become eligible for, telling…