INTRODUCING: The TAG Heuer Aquaracer Bamford Limited Edition
Watch consumers are always looking for a fresh new face to add to their wrists and collections. The irony, however, is we also tend to flock to familiar designs – references we believe are iconic. So how do we solve this problem? As per usual, Bamford has the answer. The Bamford Watch Department is known for taking watches to a whole new level, providing incredible makeovers to timepieces that leave some wondering how it was not made a production model in the first place. Today, TAG Heuer and Bamford once again team up with the new TAG Heuer Aquaracer Bamford Limited Edition (click here to purchase). The case, made of grade 2 titanium, is 43mm in diameter. With an approximate lug to lug of 49mm, the case size should not pose a problem for smaller than average wrists. The unidirectional rotating bezel matches the case, in grade 2 titanium, and has a orange triangle pip at 12 with a 60-minute scale. It’s dodecagon-shaped bezel creates easy to grip angles, which enhance the tactile experience when in use. The only component of the case not fabricated in titanium is its stainless-steel screw-down crown. The crown, along with its screw-down caseback, gives…
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The new Omega Speedmaster ‘Silver Snoopy Award’ 50th Anniversary is many things, but limited in numbers it is not. That’s right, for the first time ever, the brand has released a non-limited edition Snoopy Speedy. For many collectors who missed out on the other two references – released in 2003 and 2015 – this is an exciting opportunity to own a part of the history that Omega and NASA share, a history that was first celebrated 50 years ago. But while the news of the normal production run is big, what the watch itself has to offer is also significant. The silver dial contrasts strongly against the navy blue sub-dials and bezel, and the 42mm stainless-steel case serves up everything you would expect from a modern Speedmaster. But the party really starts when you look at the caseback, where Omega have built a mechanical animation that shows Snoopy circling the moon in his own lunar module. This is a complication we’ve never seen from Omega before and we’re thrilled they’ve decided to use the depth of their watchmaking knowledge to bring to life one of the most beloved cartoon characters of the last half-century. But the Silver Snoopy Award also signifies…
More than 50 years ago, an aviation team led by pilot Tom Lecky-Thompson embarked on what they referred to as codename “Blue Nylon”. So, what was the top-secret project? The group was making preparations for Lecky-Thompson’s attempt to enter the Transatlantic Air Race in 1969, which involved pilots flying from London all the way to New York. The pilot would go on to win the race, successfully flying his Harrier XV741 across the Atlantic to take home first prize. In honour of this accomplishment, AVI-8 has released its second limited-edition with the AVI-8 Hawker Harrier Blue Nylon. The case The dark stainless steel case is 44mm in diameter, 13.5mm thick, and spans 52mm lug to lug across the wrist – which, while not super compact, is reasonable for its size. The tapered lugs of the AVI-8 Hawker Harrier Blue Nylon Limited Edition introduce a deep carved polished bevel that introduces a hint of vintage-inspired elegance to the predominantly sporty satin case. The taper and angle of the lugs will also ensure it snugly fits around the wrist. To honour the Transatlantic Race that inspired the watch, as well as Lecky-Thompson’s airborne feat, the caseband has the plane’s takeoff and landing…
If you, like many others, stumbled across the watch collecting hobby entirely by yourself, you know that feeling of loneliness. You may spend hours perfecting a wrist shot to show off your grail purchases, incredible bargains, or vintage eBay snipes, only to have friends and family snub you by exclaiming, “You bought another watch?” Well, if you really want others to appreciate your hobby like you do, you need to give them a taste for themselves. Whether you save up for something special or gather some buddies to pitch in, these are five of the best watches to get your friends into watches too, from cheapest to dearest. Casio AE1200WH-1A It’s safe to say that every soul on the planet is familiar with Casio’s digital watches, thanks to the ubiquitous $20 AUD marvel, the F-91W. They’re rugged, last forever, and their retro-utilitarian stylings have cemented them as classics with even the snobbiest of wristwatch enthusiasts. However, if you want to step it up a notch, the AE1200 series offers a wide set of useful features with a much quirkier and distinguished appearance. The ability to store multiple alternate time zones, complete with LED world map display, makes this a perfect watch…
The Speedmaster Professional is so well known, so in command of its hallowed place in the history of watchmaking, how could you possibly find an alternative? Given that it is a watch that has actually been to the moon (conspiracy theories about the Mojave Desert aside), any comparisons will have to be approximate at best. This will be an attempt to offer alternatives to the actual space-flown chronograph that can also muster period-perfect and legible chronographs with monochromatic balanced designs. The Speedmaster now represents a huge range, from the Speedmaster Professional to versions in platinum and gold, but all are essentially functional and tool-minded chronographs. So without further ado, let’s take a look at a few possible options. Bell & Ross Heritage BRV2-94 Flight-inspired, like most of the Bell & Ross range, this is a slightly smaller, yet more muscular, proposition to the beloved Speedy. While the brushed and polished 41mm case is Daytona-esque with its distinctive crown guards, screw-down pushers and broad-shouldered looks, the dial is a pure vision of monochromatic legibility. The dial is a pure twin-register chronograph with clear B&R design elements like the polished, dagger hour hand and sword minute hand and – my favourite touch…
OK, let’s start by remembering the SBDC007, the legendary Seiko Shogun. Now I might be slightly biased because, at one point, I had two of them — after reading reviews saying the watch was so good it’d make you forget your other wrist-worn beauties. Well, believe the hype. The watch was that good and pretty difficult to get your hands on, too. It was a pure JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) model, large but deceptively light in a way that made its 43.5mm size seem smaller on the wrist. Now the new Seiko Prospex SPB189 and SPB191 have arrived and they’re a significant step up. Here’s why … First impressions After a couple of years lamenting the discontinuation of the SBDC007 … voila! The Seiko Prospex SPB189 and SPB191 are here. The Shogun is back in business, sharp as before, and with a crisp white brother in arms on soft rubber. The case and bracelet While the faces are different and specs are seriously improved, the body of the watch still exhibits that muscular angularity and sharp dynamism. As soon as you grab it, you’ll notice that it’s deceptively lightweight is due to the titanium build. The bracelet on the black…
The perpetual calendar is widely recognised as one of IWC’s greatest strengths. Back in the 1980s, legendary watchmaker Kurt Klaus was challenged to develop a new version of this highly intricate mechanism. He responded with an ingenious upgrade that essentially streamlined the complication by doing away with the correctors and enabling the calendar functions to be manipulated via the crown. The new IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42 Boutique Edition offers an even more refined expression of this idea to deliver a simple solution to a complicated problem. Just like Kurt Klaus would have wanted. The case As the name suggests, the case of this latest perpetual calendar measures 42mm in diameter and sits a modest 13.8mm off the wrist. It’s by no means a petite watch, but is remarkably compact if you consider the level of complication on offer. The compact case proportions are an exciting step by IWC to produce slightly smaller perpetual calendar watches and make them more accessible in the process. The lugs are elegantly tapered to ensure the more modest specifications on paper match what you are feeling on your wrist. It’s not too big and not too small – the stuff of Goldilocks’ dreams. The…
Being quarantined in our homes this year has encouraged us to binge more series and films than ever before. Fortunately, it’s the golden age of TV dramas, which means you don’t have to re-watch an episode of The Office or Seinfeld for the 100th time. One such show that has recently taken Netflix by storm is The Queen’s Gambit, which, at the time of writing, has been viewed by 62 million households in its first 28 days of release, making it the streaming channel’s most popular limited series ever. For watch enthusiasts, however, any checkerboard manoeuvres were eclipsed when protagonist Beth received a gift from her adoptive mother: a Bulova watch. During the series, Beth — escorted by her mother, Alma — travels around the United States to enter various chess tournaments. A prodigy introduced to chess at the age of nine, Beth has some serious game. She rarely finds a mind capable of outwitting her on the board, which means that more often than not she scoops the prize money awarded to the tournament champion. While it was not considered appropriate for most girls to play chess during the ’60s and ’70s – at least not to those with traditional expectations and…
If you have been holding your breath for the 5711 you put your name down for seven years ago, it’s time to listen to Queen Elsa and let it go – alternatively, you’ll suffocate. Like all watch manufacturers in these unprecedented times, Patek Philippe has taken a hit to its productivity for the year, enduring lockdowns and, later, staggered workforces and interrupted production. The brand has also had to adapt the way they engage with and present to consumers – allowing authorised dealers to list their watches online and recently launching their first watch via a digital announcement. By no means is the esteemed brand in financial trouble, as their years of success have built a nice fiscal cushion, or “a lot of reserves of cash”, as Thierry Stern puts it, for moments such as this. But for a brand that does not produce Swatch Group-level quantities, many cannot help but wonder what this means for watch availability and production quantity for this year. In a recent interview with Forbes magazine, Thierry Stern has provided us the answer: Patek Philippe production is down 30 per cent, due to COVID-19. Thierry Stern explains, “For Patek, we have a lot of reserve…
Earlier this year, in April, the IWC Portugieser 2020 Collection was announced at Watches & Wonders. The Portugieser was created in 1939 due to a demand for a marine-deck chronometer experience that could be translated into a wristwatch. Legibility and accuracy are the two pillars that hold up the Portugieser line, and IWC has changed very little to the winning formula over the years. As IWC puts it, this year was the evolution of a classic. In order to maintain the Portugieser aesthetic we have all come to know and love, the majority of the evolution throughout the lineup is actually internal – with new in-house calibers raising the bar more than ever. IWC Portugieser Automatic 40 The Automatic 40 is the most compact watch within the collection, and also the most faithful to the original Portugieser profile found in the original reference 325 from 1939. Water resistant to 30 metres, the cases are 40.4mm in diameter with a thickness of 12.3mm – providing a sporting yet elegant profile on the wrist. The dial has the same traditional layout with large Arabic numerals surrounding the dial, and sub-seconds complication found at the 6 position. The dial crystal is made with…