8 of the best titanium watches: Part 1 is large, indestructible and mind-bendingly light
Titanium: the strong, ultralight metal of the future. Once exclusive to F1 parts and featherweight bike parts, the material is almost divisively light. Some people actually tell you that the light weight puts them off, as if a heavy watch is a sign of intrinsic value and quality. In the case (pun intended) of precious metals, yes, the heavy weight of a Submariner in solid gold does imbue it with an extra level of quality. But on an everyday watch or, even better, a diver’s watch? All positives in my book. How would sir like the intense legibility and strength of a 44mm+ diver’s tool with the lightness of a resin Casio? I’m exaggerating to make a point, but it’s still almost true, and from bargain microbrand to elegant dress watch in a Zaratsu suit, we have lined up a few of the best titanium watches for you right here. Grand Seiko SLGA001 Okay, let’s just say it is huge and be done with it. Unashamedly so. A dark blue threatening behemoth. Nothing can hide the fact, except the raison d’être of this very story: titanium! In our video review here, Nick started by describing it as almost daunting, and…
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It’s not really a stretch to say that after a slow, weird, stymied kind of year we are off to the races. Last week we launched the third edition of NOW Magazine, which has kept us run off our feet this week sending out copies to enthusiastic watch lovers around the world. This week, we are launching our first ever watch. And not just one, two. We are delighted to introduce you to the Bamford London x Time+Tide GMT1 Limited Edition of 50 pieces and the Bamford London x Time+Tide GMT2 which will be produced only for 2021. The reason we wanted to release two watches with George Bamford instead of one is simple. While we love the excitement and anticipation of getting a limited edition watch on your wrist, we also understand the frustration and occasionally bitter sentiment that comes with not being able to get the thing that you want. We wanted to have our cake and eat it too. So we worked with George on two designs. One that would be limited to 50 pieces, and another that would be unlimited in numbers but only produced for 2021. So if, like George says in the interview with…
We are beyond excited to introduce the Bamford London x Time+Tide GMT1 Limited Edition of 50 pieces which is available here and the GMT2, a Limited Production 2021 model that will only be available for 12 months. These are the first two watches ever released by Time+Tide, and they arrive to mark a year when – more disconnected than ever before from the world, in the most remote capital city on earth, Melbourne – we made a strong connection with the man behind the Bamford brand, and quickly wanted a watch or two to celebrate it. We agree wholeheartedly with Wei in the video below: George is “the premier customiser” in the watch industry who introduced an entirely new aesthetic to watches. Which can be described in one question: can you make it blacker? The GMT1 , on the right, is in grey 316L steel with a contrasting bezel. The GMT2 is a more stealthy offering, in DLC carbon. The watches are the equivalent of two brands meeting in the middle – each are rich in colourful highlights that hint at both Bamford and Time+Tide, and the people behind the watches. Both carry the mark of the mystery and subtlety…
George Bamford, founder of Bamford Watch Department and living proof that disrupting a traditional industry can bear new fruit for all and open it up to a more engaged, more youthful audience. Now drumroll, please, for a very special announcement. George, please tell us the story behind the watch you’re wearing today I am currently wearing the brand new Time+Tide edition Bamford London Dual Time GMT. It has been amazing working with Time+Tide to design and create this watch. I love how Time+Tide have put some wonderful hidden Easter eggs into this watch and I cannot wait to see images of people finding them. Time+Tide connects their readers to watches all around the world and I love that we have used our Bamford London Dual Time GMT for this edition as it is inspired by travel with the automatic 24-hour GMT hand function with internal rotating bezel allowing users to view a separate time zone. Collaboration excites me because … It brings strengths from all sides and the focus and desire to create something unique. Before you sit down together, you never know what will be the end result as one word or suggestion can inspire a whole new chain…
Editor’s note: Posting stories about Rolex watches you can buy now is like trying to hold a live fish down to get the hook out. A very slippery business. We have had to re-write this post twice already, as the models we’re nominating are slipping away as quickly as we write about them. So, if you see anything you like, move fast, or forever hold your peace. And apologies in advance if – once again – they’ve disappeared before you snap them up. Entry-level Rolex. Words that don’t necessarily sit in the same sentence, but you still want to ask the question. What are the best affordable entry-level Rolex pieces, comparatively? We’ve scoured the inventory of Bob’s Watches and found the new truth. Yes, there are still good Rolex references to be found and no, there are no exaggeration here, this is reality. New and unworn Rolex Oyster Perpetual ref.126000 36mm Yes, you are seeing straight, this is a brand new silver dial Oyster Perpetual in the slender 36mm case for less than $7000 US. With its new case, with the familiar razor-sharp bevels on the balanced case sides, this is the most classic of the new OPs, a watch…
Editor’s note: A few months back, we announced that former Editor of GQ Australia, Mike Christensen, was to be our first European Editor. In this series, ‘11 Days of Londoners’, Mike will be sharing the stories of a few notable local collectors, starting on Day 1 with King Nerd, and with a stellar lineup still to come. Lastly, you might ask, why 11 days? That, friends, will become clearer over time … There may be British watch brands with a richer heritage, but none has claimed the attention and respect of the watch world quite like Bremont. In the space of just 12 years, brothers Giles and Nick English have become the movers and shakers of British watchmaking and even inspired many others to follow suit. Here, Nick reflects on his own special relationship with watches that would go on to shape his working life. The story behind the watch you are wearing today It’s based on an event that happened in Giles’ and my life just over 25 years ago. Our father used to own an ex-RAF Battle of Britain Memorial flight Mark XIX Spitfire. After his passing in 1995, this remarkable Spitfire, which had been in continuous RAF service since 1944…
Being a superstar athlete clearly has its perks. Sure, there is glory within achievements and success found in their respective sport, but if you become such an anchoring presence to a team, such as NBA player James Harden, it also means you receive quite the hefty payday. Harden, who has reportedly amassed more than $224,000,000 during his career, can clearly afford to spoil his friends with gifts, and lucky for rapper Lil Baby he did just that for the musician’s 26th birthday. Filmed in Las Vegas last week, during the birthday celebrations and shenanigans, it was revealed James Harden really values his friendship with Lil Baby – who he gifted a Prada bag, $100,000 in cash, and a $200,000 Richard Mille watch. A total expense of around $300,000! In the video obtained by TMZ, Lil Baby exclaims: “Prada bag ’cause he Prouda’ me.” They also note that inside the bag “was a bunch of honey bun pastries — surrounded by a ‘honey bun’, which is slang for $100,000 IN CASH!!!!” But those were not the only two items inside. The gift we watch enthusiasts are most focused on was the $200,000 Richard Mille watch he pulled out from within the Prada…
Even after such a strong year for Hublot, and after getting up close and personal with the Black Magic version here, the new Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Meca-10 Titanium still intrigues me with its intricately woven industrial micro-architecture. Even as the Big Bang series is getting close to becoming an industry standard for large, open-worked luxury sports watches, there is always something new to discover, and for me the tonneau-shape is king. A case for the renaissance of titanium? With the arcing tidal movements of fashion, titanium seems to be enjoying a new rise in popularity, even in slim, polished dress watches. But the strong Hublot language of wrist-worn engines still feels like the material’s true sweet spot. The lightness is still every bit as surprising as the ceramic-cased Black Magic version of the Spirit of BB, but even more so with the heavy industrial tool sensation I get from the texture of metal. As soon as I try it on with the soft-striated rubber strap, the sensation is surprising: the combination of lightness and an air of indestructibility is tangible. I’m not pretending it is a slim watch, but that’s exactly why we love these big machines from…
Have you ever wondered what racing cars and auction rooms have in common? In a 2006 publication, neurosurgeon Dr Eric Watkins published evidence that a Formula 1 driver can experience a pulse in the neighbourhood of 200 beats per minute during a race. According to the US Centre for Disease Control, this heart rate approaches, if not exceeds, the maximum heart rate for the typically aged Formula 1 driver. In this way, both race cars and auction rooms have a similar effect on those inside them, with hearts racing if you’re gripping a steering wheel or a paddle, a fact that gives an insight into the name of an upcoming Phillips “Racing Pulse” auction in New York. This name is a natural choice for the Phillips Watch Department. Arguably their most well-known sale of a watch took place in 2017 when the hammer dropped on the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona “Paul Newman” lot previously owned by Paul Newman. The engraving on the back, “DRIVE CAREFULLY ME”, was a reminder from Mr Newman’s wife to take care during the car races in which he competed. That watch achieved a then world record for a watch sold at auction, at more than $17…
Buying a pre-owned watch can be full of dangers. The watch might be fake, or not have all of the original parts, and it can be very hard to know all that — unless you have the original documentation of the watch. But even if these original papers have remained with the watch all these years, there is an increasing risk of fake papers that are forged to match the watch you’re interested in buying. The response to this problem by the LVMH watch brands has been to use blockchain records to ensure no counterfeiting happens. But Hublot has taken it a step further, partnering with an artificial intelligence company to create a system that uses a phone camera to recognise every individual Hublot watch that will be sold in the future. You read that correctly – every individual Hublot. Hublot has been working with KerQuest for the last three years to develop this technology, with that time being spent in research and development to find a way to specifically identify each individual Hublot watch. They focused on the materials used in the watches and — in part thanks to the improvements in phone camera definition over the last few…