What super-collector Roni Madhvani thinks about the steel sports watch craze
Roni Madhvani is one of the biggest vintage watch aficionados on the planet. His Instagram page – @roni_m_29 – is the stuff of legend and showcases his treasure trove of some of the rarest and most eccentric timepieces from the likes of Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Cartier. Conspicuously, however, it’s one of the few watch ’Gram pages that isn’t littered with steel sports watches. Madhvani’s collection is focused on precious metal and unique case shapes. Whether it’s a Cartier Crash, Audemars Piguet “Disco Volante” or a Gilbert Albert-designed Patek Philippe, his Instagram feed is a wonderland of the strangest and most left-field watches out there. Here, Madhvani offers his thoughts on the steel sports watch phenomenon and explains the benefits in branching out. Nick Kenyon: What are your thoughts on the current hype around stainless steel sports watches? Roni Madhvani: “Horses for courses” as they say! I respect anyone’s tastes, but my personal thoughts are that there is so much out there when it comes to watches and particularly vintage ones, and it’s sometimes good to look out beyond a bit. Others, I suspect, view steel sports watches as an opportunity to flip and be a nice earner. So…
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This morning a new generation of Omega Speedmaster Professionals were announced, but that was not the only legendary chronograph revival and rejuvenation introduced today. Zenith has unveiled a new tribute to one of their chronographs from 1969: the Zenith Chronomaster Revival A385 Gradient Dial. Game-changers in their day, Zenith produced three watches that were not only powered by a then rare high-beat movement, but they also had gradient dials – which Zenith claims was the first smoked dials for the industry at large. Today the Zenith Chronomaster Revival A385 brings back the smoked brown gradient dial variant of the initial trio. The Zenith El Primero movement is a horological legend in the watch world – it’s schematics, stamps, and fabrication machinery saved by Charles Vermot and his great defiance and foresight. What could have been lost to the quartz crisis was rescued and the El Primero triumphantly returned thanks to Vermot’s preservation (against orders) of the equipment needed to produce it once again. This meant modern collectors could enjoy watches powered by the first high-beat automatic chronograph movement – a movement so respected even Rolex used a modified version of it in its Daytona watches for some time. The movement…
Editor’s note: Today, Omega did what they had been hinting at for months: they launched eight new Speedmaster references across four models, all with the new Master Chronometer Calibre 3861. The four references include regular versions with Hesalite and Sapphire and precious metal versions in Omega’s proprietary Canopus gold and Sedna gold, all with options on bracelets and leather or fabric straps. The most significant updates for all eight references are the new caliber housed within, and the brand new bracelet design. The new movement looks like an evolution rather than revolution. The power reserve is improved from 48 to 50 hours, hacking seconds is now possible, and it’s generally more robust all round. The bracelet now features five links per row instead of three, and each row is slightly smaller, which is sure to make the bracelet even more comfortable. But to get a better idea of what’s changed, let’s have one last loving look back at the now superseded (and more affordable) generation of Omega Speedmaster. More to come on the new collection shortly. The Omega Speedmaster isn’t just another watch. It is an important part of the horological canon and, more importantly, the watch that went to…
Look, I don’t have a crystal ball that can tell me which new watches will or will not drop this year. But when people raise the question of whether or not the Black Bay Fifty-Eight with its 39mm dial will replace the 41mm line in the Tudor catalogue, I am not afraid to share my prediction. The short answer: no. Believe me, as the resident tiny wrister of the Time+Tide team (who regularly and playfully battles with his boss on the issue of ideal case diameters) I would have no qualms if this did actually happen. But if I really try to follow the trends of both marketplace preference and brand manoeuvering, I get the sense that it’s highly unlikely. Here’s why … Rolex made their Submariner 41mm this year and Omega is sticking to the diameter as well Rolex are sticklers when it comes to change. They favour the five-and-out mentality over Hail Mary overhauls (sorry, American Football reference). The incremental modifications they make each year are highly discussed in-house, with the subtle revisions made with extreme caution and care. The Submariner watch has never surpassed 40mm in diameter, but clearly Rolex felt the marketplace would be open to…
Watchmaking can often seem like an intimidating world that’s inaccessible to all but the most tech-savvy. But Peter Speake-Marin is striving to change that with his fascinating website, The Naked Watchmaker. After exiting his eponymous haute horlogerie watch brand, Speake-Marin has worked as a consultant and started his site with a desire to demystify and inform. Or in his own words: “To bring to a new generation the magic and passion of watchmaking and to increase the knowledge of those already bitten by the horological bug.” Last week he gave us a free ticket into the shadowy world of the mythical COSC labs. The organisation that stands behind those four all-encompassing letters is enveloped in secrecy and, for some of us, embodies the raison d’être for collecting expensive mechanical watches. Because as we all know, no matter how embarrassing it may be, a bargain quartz watch is usually more exact than your mechanical wonder, unless COSC can prove otherwise. COSC was established in 1973 and are based in the heart of the Swiss watch industry, La Chaux-de-Fonds. The Swiss Official Chronometer Control (English language version COSC) is a non-profit association created by the five cantons of Bern, Geneva, Neuchatêl, Solothurn…
Well. I don’t know if Nicki Minaj saw my recent story about six unexpected watch spots, which included Cristiano Ronaldo Jr. wearing his father’s Rolex – the most expensive one for sale at retail today. But it seems I may have been a little hasty in proclaiming Ronaldo Jr. the junior #wristgame champion. I genuinely believed flexing such a timepiece at the tender age of 10 would be impossible to top, but Nicki Minaj may have done just that. This week, Nicki shared the first public photo of her three-month-old son flexing some serious bling. Her post was captioned with the following: “#PapaBear thank you so very much for choosing me to be your mama Wishing you guys a happy & prosperous New Year. Thank you for your love & support throughout this journey. It’s meant so much to me. Becoming a mom is by far the most fulfilling job I’ve ever taken on. Sending love to all the superhero mothers out there. Big hugs to all the women who have been pregnant during this challenging time.” Speaking of prosperous, Nicki celebrated the new year and her newborn by dressing him in a $600 Fendi onesie, a “papa bear” chain…
Rolex may seem like a straight-forward brand with timeless references within the catalogue that have only incrementally changed over the years. But watchmaking is a game of microns and millimetres and, playing at the summit of watchmaking, Rolex watches are replicated and copied endlessly. Navigating the second-hand Rolex market can be frightening at times, with the inherent risk of investing in a forgery. The age-old advice is always to “buy the seller” and fortunately a vendor like Bob’s Watches is a master of all things Rolex. They not only handle some of the most in-demand Rolex models today, but have even gone to the length of creating a Bob’s Watches Rolex Watch Resource page to serve as a Bible for all things Rolex. Bob’s Watches Rolex Watch Resource is an easy-to-navigate guide with crystal-clear information on Rolex watches. Site visitors can explore more intel on the brand’s history, watch production dates, serial numbers, caliber specifications, how references have evolved over the years, and even general buying advice. Need to know if a watch has a hollow or solid bracelet? Was a particular reference produced with tritium dials? Or even start at the beginning and find out who this Wilsdorf fella…
Editor’s note: You may note one watch gets more air time in this article than the other two. When we originally tasked our team to put this together, we prompted our writers to pick the one watch they wore the most in 2020. But we decided to give you all more bang for your buck, and instead ask what were the three watches they wore most in 2020. Zach … take it away. When it comes to my watch collection, I always try to spread the love. Unless I am reviewing a watch, or in the honeymoon phase with a new addition to my roster, I rarely wear a watch for a week straight. In fact, I try to avoid wearing the same watch two days in a row. But a common trend I find each morning when I elect to strap a watch to my wrist is that I usually wear watches more frequently when they are on a bracelet – especially in warmer seasons. I am a bit OCD with my watches. I don’t baby them by any means, but I do take care of them. As an example, each time I take a watch off I’ll rinse it if it…
I may sound mad to anyone not consumed with a boggle-eyed obsession for watches. But as many of you know, the watches that get away can hurt just as much to talk about as a failed relationship. In the dazed aftermath, processing your heartache often requires some long and painful soul-searching. How can you ever come to terms with the fact that you allowed yourself to lose her? Obviously, I’m talking about the watch here … Even if I don’t have any million-dollar tales of missing out on a scratched Explorer in a second-hand shop for $10, I feel equally sad and frustrated when those pitch-perfect limited-edition drops disappear within the minute it takes to put them in my online basket. While this happens more often than before in the current market, it doesn’t make the loss any easier to stomach. Bottom-line: missing out on any watch still stings. The Bamford Watch Department x G-Shock, missed by less than 5 minutes The classic G-Shock Square – the 5000-series in its ’80s resin splendour – is one of the few cheap digital watches respected in the world of serious watch enthusiasts and can often to be found in a watch case…