The detailed design of A. Lange & Söhne
Editor’s note: Some of my favourite stories on Time+Tide are the series we wrote on the design of A. Lange & Söhne’s watches. This first instalment, written by Sandra Lane, explores the German brand’s overall design methodology and approach. Well worth another read. “Money likes silence.” Several years ago, a Russian collector by the name of Nikolai (he prefers not to publish his surname) was telling me why he’s so keen on A. Lange & Söhne, and I was struck by that part of his reply. While he meant it to sum up the ‘stealth’ appeal of Lange’s designs (discreet elegance; the antithesis of vulgarity), it also begged the question: what does make Lange so distinctive? A. Lange & Söhne is not what we think of as a “design brand” (the term suggests something altogether more conspicuous or self-consciously groovy) and yet its design language is not only unmistakable but also an intrinsic part of its being. We live in the Age of Noise: advertising noise, entertainment noise, social media noise – all adding to the general cacophony of daily living. So, given that a Lange watch announces its specialness with a whisper, not a shout, how does it make…
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Editor’s note: It’s not too often you see something genuinely ‘new’ in the watch space — with all the ‘novelties’ on offer. The Longines Conquest V.H.P. GMT Flash Setting, however, is new. The tech inside is user-friendly, smart, and makes for a better watch. And that’s something we can get behind. A few weeks ago I travelled to Rome to check out the Longines Conquest V.H.P. GMT Flash Setting, a GMT unlike any other. And in between the first-look video, horse racing and spectacular rooftop launches, we thought we’d do some sightseeing around Rome and put the V.H.P. GMT through its paces as a travel watch. Now, of all the ‘genres’ of watches, the travel watch is one of the most subjective. There’s no handy ISO standard to hold it against, nor is there a clearly established design tradition. There’s only subjective taste. With that little caveat out of the way, I’d be quite comfortable putting my money where my mouth is and saying that this Longines Conquest V.H.P. GMT Flash Setting is a near-perfect travel watch for the 21st century. Why? Well, first of all, it looks good. It’s stylistically versatile — important if you’re on the road with…
Casio’s G-Shock has a reputation — and a well-deserved one, I might add — for being one of the toughest watches ever made. Way back in 1983, Kikuo Ibe, the man behind the watch, decreed that the watch needed to meet some pretty tough criteria: a 10-year battery life, water resistance of 10 bar, and the ability to survive a 10-metre fall onto a hard surface. In the decades since, the combination of extreme functionality and even more extreme durability has made the G-Shock the go-to choice for people who need a watch that can *really* take a beating. And, of course, this function-before-form aesthetic has led to the watch becoming a style icon in its own right. Fast forward to 2019 and there’s countless versions on offer, from fashion brand collaborations to high-end artisanal offerings and versions with fitness trackers inbuilt. Today, though, we’re looking at a watch that offers a compelling update of the classic. The look is classic G-Shock 5000 (the most classic, and one of the most popular G-Shock configurations), but the case is pure metal. Full metal cases are something pretty new for the traditionally plastic-based G-Shocks, with steel and gold tone models joining the tribe…
Editor’s note: When it was first released back in 2015 (was it four years ago already?!), the IWC Portugieser Annual Calendar was hot. And while there’s been a lot of watches (including many more Portugiesers), the years have not diminished the appeal of this big business watch. The story in a second The headline act in IWC’s 2015 line-up is the Portugieser Annual Calendar, an assured new take on an old favourite. The big question Will people want a watch that’s more than a complete calendar, but not quite a perpetual? IWC have declared 2015 to be the year of the Portugieser, and the star model in the fully revamped (and re-branded) line is the Annual Calendar. The Annual Calendar is a big, beautiful watch featuring the brand’s first ever annual calendar complication, and a brand new in-house movement. This is an impressive watch on many levels, and paradoxically, the greatest thing about it is perhaps the hardest to articulate. The best description I can come up with after wearing it for a week is that the Annual Calendar has a strong personality. Some watches can have all the right stuff, yet still come off cold and calculated. Not so…
Editor’s note: The Omega Seamaster Railmaster is an interesting release from Omega – similar in overall form to the Aqua Terra, but with a decidedly neo-vintage flavour. This watch makes a great daily, with a more youthful vibe. The Omega Seamaster Railmaster was one of the surprise hits of last year’s Basel fair. So it’s vaguely appropriate that as we’re busy speculating what we’ll see Omega release at Baselworld 2018, we look back on one of their hottest from last season. Not that we realised it at the time – the regular production Seamaster Railmaster was more of a slow burn. It’s a deceptively simple piece, lacking the hero status of its limited edition sibling, and somewhat lacking in obvious bells and whistles. Rather than being a weakness, this simplicity is the Railmaster’s greatest strength. Clean, pure design, of the sort that Omega excels at: classic, but with fine details — like the brushed dial and Railmaster text — that reward close inspection. Omega Seamaster Railmaster Price Omega Seamaster Railmaster, from $6675 AUD 
As we found out at the Monaco Grand Prix, TAG Heuer is celebrating the 50th birthday of the genuinely iconic Monaco with five limited editions, one for each decade of its life. The second instalment has just been announced in Le Mans, a tribute to the 1971 film of the same name, a film responsible for some enduring (and genuinely iconic) images of the Monaco on the wrist of the one and only Steve McQueen. The colourway for the first edition was muted: earthy brown and dark green. This Monaco 1979 – 1989 is a polar opposite, in rich, vibrant red. The dial, with a sunburst finish, is — depending on your perspective — the red of rich French wine, or the archetypal image of a race car. Regardless of the evocation, you cannot deny that this is a visually arresting watch, with the square steel case, rhodium-plated markers and that bright dial all packing a punch. The strap is black calf, with rally-style holes allowing for the occasional glimpse of the red lining. The watch is limited to 169 pieces and comes with a snazzy presentation box. TAG Heuer Monaco 1979 – 1989 Limited Edition price TAG Heuer Monaco 1979 –…
Brand ambassadors are an indelible part of the watch landscape. Fundamentally, an ambassador is someone — typically with a profile — who has a relationship with a watch brand, and endorses them. That’s the broad brush stroke picture, but the reality is much more diverse. An ambassador could be a Hollywood A-lister who wore a watch for the billboard photoshoot and a contractually mandated number of public appearances, never to be seen again. Or it could be something much more targeted, where the relationship is less about getting the watch in front of the largest number of eyeballs but rather the right eyeballs. Bremont’s relationship with Nirmal ‘Nims’ Purja is an example of the latter. You’d struggle to find a man who embodies the value and mythos of Bremont more than Nirmal Purja. The 35-year-old was the first Gurkha to join the elite Special Boat Service. These days, Nims is spending more time at altitude than at sea, as he’s now a record-breaking speed climber, who earlier this year embarked on Project Possible — aiming to climb 14 of the world’s highest peaks (all 8000+ metres) in a single season, or seven months (the previous record is seven years). And of…
Smart watches are here to stay. But that doesn’t mean we have to be OK with it in a mechanical watch-fancying world. But it’s hard to deny that self-quantification and easy, breezy notifications on the wrist address certain functionality that the Submariner and its ilk struggle with. Never fear, Sony has a solution. The Wena strap, which can fit a conventional 18mm, 20mm or 22mm watch, is water resistant to 50 metres, and offers some tracking, notification and NFC functionality. All that is good. More importantly, it doesn’t look too much like a smart strap. This is very good. Read more about it over at Wired UK.