Spending quality time with the Tudor Black Bay 36
Editor’s note: In the intro to this wearer review of the Tudor Black Bay 36 we remark on just how busy Kristoffer Paulsen is. Well, this story is a few years old now and judging by KP’s instagram and ever-more-mind-blowing folio of work, his life hasn’t calmed down at all. Still, beautiful pictures of a lovely watch … Let us start off by saying that if we’d known just how busy Melbourne-based photographer Kristoffer Paulsen was when we arranged to lend him the Black Bay 36, we’d have said, “How about we raincheck this project?” Not only is Kris under the pump with his commercial work (there’s a good chance you’ve drooled over his pictures of food at some point), he’s also exhibiting at Tailfeather Concept Store and dealing with the end of the year like the rest of us. In addition, he’s also just bought a house (well done!) and got married (congratulations!). Let the boy have a lie down, please. Yet somehow, in the midst of all that, he managed to spend a week with the Black Bay 36, delivering a series of beautiful images that speaks to the watch as an object of pure design, as well as giving us…
The post Spending quality time with the Tudor Black Bay 36 appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
When it comes to watchmaking, it’s no stretch of a hairspring to say that Michel Navas has done it all. He was a key figure at Gérald Genta in the high complications team in the boom times of the ’90s. He also worked at Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet. At Franck Muller, he masterminded the implementation of a complication based on the personality of its creator, from concept to the wrist — the ‘Crazy Hours’. The luminous brilliance of this invention, which sees the hour hand jump capriciously (and just about instantaneously) around the dial to the non-sequential numbers, is undimmed by time. Even after decades, the changing of the hour on a Franck Muller Crazy Hours watch makes me blink in surprise, every single time. While few would contest Muller’s brilliance, his frenetic, unpredictable process was just as legend – Navas is credited with translating this into a mechanical tribute that has become the singular Franck Muller watch. The icon for the brand. But, in conversation with his friend and soon to be lifetime business partner Enrico Barbasini, Navas concluded: “Between us, we had more ideas than the big brands needed.” So, in 2004, the pair broke away to form…
Last year we made our foray into the inky world of print with NOW – The Watch Buying Guide. A weighty tome that, in addition to shining a light on some interesting horological tales and factoids, also lived up to its promise — putting more than 200 of the best recent watch releases into one handy, almost encyclopaedic place. It had quite the ring as a proposition: 200 watches from $200 to more than $200,000, though that part was quite accidental. Regardless, it was a happy accident for buyers frustrated by the obfuscation around pricing that we all endure from the brands. From Swatch to Cartier’s Santos, from A. Lange & Söhne to Zenith. There’s something in there for everyone. As long as your definition of everyone is — people who appreciate fine watchmaking. And even if that’s not the case, flipping through the pages of NOW should convince even the most ardent Apple Watch wearers. But if you weren’t prepared to get physical with us, our options to get together over NOW proved limited. Up until last week, NOW was only available as an actual object in our shop (there are a mere 300-odd out of the original print run remaining if…
The substantial and subtly blue IWC Aquatimer Chronograph Edition “Laureus Sport for Good” is the 13th (unlucky for some, but clearly not IWC) edition watch celebrating the Schaffhausen-based brand’s partnership with the Laureus Sport for Good, which leverages the power of sport to end violence, discrimination and disadvantage. It’s a cause as worthy as the watch is good-looking. The Aquatimer Chronograph is a large, sporty timepiece. It’s 45mm of pure grunt — aggressive case architecture and lots of clever tech: the internal bezel that you operate by turning the external one, the flyback chronograph movement and a case that’s been coated in black rubber, for an under-the-radar look that really stands out. And then, of course, there’s the blue. Subtle, dark and inky like the deep waters it’s been designed to conquer, while there’s still a flash of light visible, thanks to the starburst finish. The colour is well-matched thanks to the textured rubber strap, which is comfortable, and far more stylish than a rubber strap has any right to be. The caseback is engraved with a charming illustration with the theme of ‘Time to Learn’, of children, happily gambolling around — the work of a young Sri Lankan boy named…
Editor’s note: Think Rolex, and the odds are high that you think sporty, if not straight-up steel. However, there’s a lot more to the brand than Hulking, Pepsi-sipping superheroes. There’s also the dressier, more delicate face of the brand. The side called Cellini, and here Andrew looks at the Rolex Cellini Time … When the Rolex Cellini range was relaunched by Rolex in 2014 – including the Cellini Time – the General Manager of Rolex Australia, Patrick Boutellier, chose a line of poetry to announce the news: “The sleeping Prince has been awoken,” he said, or words to that effect, as Felix and I pored over the new range, not quite sure what to think. We were certainly intrigued by these classic, luxurious faces amongst other more colourful offerings, such as the white gold ‘Pepsi’ GMT-Master II and the new Milgauss. The light embroidery of poetry and classicism in Patrick’s description somehow attached itself to the watch in that moment, and the more I’ve learned about it, the more this type of fairytale mystery fits. But how would it wear? What would I wear it with? What else would I learn about this seemingly simple design on the wrist? I…
Editor’s note: It’s no secret that there are heaps of Speedy variants to choose from, and typically we veer towards the more classical versions. Which is why we were so surprised by this Omega Speedmaster Moonphase Chronograph. It’s two-tone, with a silver dial and a green bezel. Not what we’d normally pick. But also, absolutely awesome. If, at the start of 2016, you’d told me my favourite Omega of the year would be a two-tone Speedmaster (yellow gold, no less!) with a green bezel, I’d have enjoyed a good laugh at your expense. I like a Speedy as much as the next guy, but I like them in the straight-up classical format, à la NASA. Well, fast forward a few months and you’ll have to excuse me as I wipe egg off my face, because here it is, my pick of the Omega 2016 litter – the Speedmaster Co-Axial Master Chronometer Moonphase Chronograph in steel and yellow gold. For me, the real lesson here is to never truly judge a watch until it’s on your wrist. The crush I had on this watch was instant, and real. Earlier this year, I’d seen blue and black versions of the model that were the…
Editor’s note: Fancy a date? No, we’re not talking Tinder or your other app of choice, we’re delving into the world of the seemingly innocuous date window. Where some see a useful calendar tool, others see a symbol of all that is wrong with the world. So, on which side of the date line do you stand? We’ve got a surprisingly complex relationship with date windows in the Time+Tide office. And not just because we’ve been known to forget to set them on occasion. No, every time we review a vintage reissue, it can be assured that we’ll have a host of comments on various social media platforms that read something like this: “Love the design, but they RUINED it with that ugly date window.” I understand this reaction and, to be fair, there are plenty of sloppily designed date windows out there. But ruining a watch? I’m not so sure. A few years ago we were interviewing Walter von Känel, CEO of Longines, and we mentioned in passing that his heritage collections received near-universal praise, except for the fact that they almost invariably included a date. We asked why he put a date in. To my recollection (it’s a few years ago…
Broadly speaking, microbrand is a term used to describe smaller watch brands — typically with few staff, outsourced production and a direct-to-consumer business model. The other thing to note is that there is a lot of them, typically waxing and waning in terms of favour. But sometimes these brands gain a critical momentum that starts to stretch the category ‘micro’. Farer is one such brand. I’ve always had a soft spot for the UK-based brand. Initially, their bright and colourful designs drew my magpie eye, and then when we reviewed a GMT and a diver, the quality won me over. And clearly it’s not just me. Chris Hall over at QP has written a great story on their (short) history, and their (bright) future. Read it here. 
In case you’ve been living under a particularly unfashionable rock for the last few years, you’ll know the name Virgil Abloh. Since March 2018 he’s served as Louis Vuitton’s creative director, while still doing his duty as CEO of the Milan-based fashion house Off-White, and being long-term buddies with Kanye West. He also wears a Patek Nautilus, but not a ‘regular’ one. While he certainly didn’t start the trend for high-end streetwear, he’s an important player in the space, and fond of riffing on (and perhaps even appropriating) design signifiers of other well-known brands. In this context, his choice of watch makes perfect sense. On prominent catwalk display his watch stood out, being pitch black. It appears to be a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5726, an annual calendar with a moonphase indicator. But honestly, it’s hard to tell given the custom blacked-out finish, which renders everything, except the white logo text and the stars, black. No official comment has been made by anyone on this watch, but GQ has exchanged some coy messages with a Paris-based custom firm who may (or may not) have done the work. Read it here. 
Editor’s note: We’re big fans of the new Samurai, it’s one of Seiko’s all-time classic dive watches. We’re also fans of beautiful blue dials. Which is why the Seiko Samurai ‘Save The Ocean’ SRPC93K is a watch we can really get behind. Read on for our in-depth review … The story in a second: Same great watch, brand new dial. The centrepiece of Seiko’s 2018 Prospex collection is, without doubt, the brand new and very blue ‘Save The Ocean’ series, offered in Turtle, Samurai and solar variants. It follows on from the recent Black Series and Blue Lagoon. But while last year’s limited edition was purely a cosmetic update, the Save The Ocean release has an element of social responsibility. Seiko has teamed up with Fabien Cousteau (grandson of Jacques-Yves Cousteau), who is himself a marine conservationist, to raise funds and awareness for Cousteau’s Ocean Learning Centre. Part of this awareness-raising involves prominent displays of what healthy and not-so-healthy marine environments look like in several Australian cities. So, not only do these watches look the part, they also do their part. The case First up, aside from the dial and bezel, this watch is pretty much identical to its regular release…