FRIDAY WIND DOWN: SIHH 2021 is already cancelled, Cartier is feeling very generous and it’s a special birthday for Jack Heuer
Well, with the sense of a big black limousine passing through the neighbourhood in the middle of the night, there goes 2021 watch fairs. It’s November 2020, and the two biggest fairs of the coming year are already cancelled. So, as watch lovers, we face yet another year of digital attempts to re-create the magic, the moment, the madness of Baselworld and SIHH. As watch media people, we face the prospect of another year of infrequent flying and not handling watches in the metal very often. What a shake-up to a routine that had many of us lulled into a sense of inevitability, of security – there is none of this anymore. We will cherish the chances to be together with our colleagues in the years to come like never before. We will cherish the events, held locally, where we can connect in person. We will pore like visually challenged fanatics over new watches when – if – they are presented to us. Everything that was old, and routine, will be new again. To commiserate, we featured some of our favourite affordables from the second last multi-brand fair we went to, in January 2019. What else is happening? Lots. Lots and lots.…
Auction catalogues can be quite intimidating at times, with hundreds of lots, understated estimates, and vague additional costs tacked on after achieving a winning bid. Bob’s Watches has completely streamlined the process for the end consumer, curating a small selection of highly desirable watches across a range of price points with their “Fresh Finds – Iconic Watches of Hollywood” auction launched earlier this week. Running for one week, from Monday, November 16 to November 23, Bob’s Watches once again goes for quality over quantity with five killer references that have all graced the wrists of some of Hollywood’s most famous stars both in and out of film. To make things even more interesting, each of the lots are offered with ZERO buyer’s premium. Yes, you read that right – an incredible value proposition for prospective bidders. Rolex Daytona ref. 6239 – Paul Newman Arguably the most famous watch within the watch community, the Rolex “Paul Newman” Daytona ref. 6239 is a watch that needs very little introduction. The most immediate signal of a Paul Newman Daytona are their exotic dials, affectionately referred to as “panda” dials. Newman’s wife, Joanne Woodward, is known to have gifted and engraved two watches for the renowned…
What’s in a name? Quite a lot if you’re the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time. But while Lewis Hamilton is used to zooming to victories on the track, he’s just skidded to a big loss in the law courts. The racing driver has just lost a three-year legal battle with the Hamilton watch brand over his attempt to void their trademark on the name “Hamilton” across Europe. The Daily Mail reports that Lewis Hamilton’s company 44IP claimed that the watch brand’s trademark had been filed in “bad faith”. This was despite Hamilton producing watches under that name since 1892. Named after the Mercedes driver’s race number, 44IP attempted to trademark the name “Lewis Hamilton” for a number of goods including watches, smartwatches and jewellery. But Hamilton watches challenged the move. In a ruling this week, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) refused to cancel the Hamilton watch company’s trademark. “The argument relating to the IP rights of the racing driver Lewis Hamilton fails,” the EUIPO said. “There is no ‘natural right’ for a person to have his or her own name registered as a trademark, when that would infringe third parties’ rights.” The EUIPO statement also noted…
If you’ve been looking for an excuse to buy an older Pasha de Cartier, consider this the sign. In case you missed the news, Cartier have announced that owners of any Pasha model will be eligible for a complimentary diagnosis, service, and optional engraving. You read that right, a Cartier Pasha service for free. Any model, from any year, as long as it bears that ‘love it or hate it’ diving helmet look, alongside the name Pasha. The promotion, which coincides with the French brand’s rejuvenation of the line, has somewhat gone under the radar — although that may just be due to the nature of Cartier’s weirdest model. It has all the hallmarks of what should be a staple of watch collecting, with its Gérald Genta design, a brand name packed with heritage, and an origin story full of engaging myths, but its extreme stylisation has caused a powerful ‘Marmite’ effect. While the newer models are much easier to love, with their smooth bezels and overall simplified themes, the expanse of references brought out between the mid 1980s and 2000s each carry something totally unique. As I’m writing, I’m wearing my own 38mm Pasha de Cartier— a reference 1033…
Seiko’s year of living prolifically – while seemingly oblivious to a global crisis – continues afoot. After releasing dozens of watches already this year, to almost unanimous praise from fans and press alike, they have done it once again with the Seiko Prospex SPB185 and SPB187, two watches that look familiar for lots of reasons. Taking inspiration from the historically important Seiko Automatic Diver ref. 6159-7001 from 1968, which was the second dive watch design produced by the brand, this design was reproduced in near facsimile early this year with the Seiko SLA039J1, a watch that celebrated the 55th anniversary of the first Seiko dive watch in 1965. But the look of these two new SPB18X references is updated to be more modern, thanks to a slightly sleeker case profile and new dial and bezel options. The stainless steel cases of both examples measure 42mm in diameter with a 12.5mm thickness, which isn’t petite but is much lighter on the wrist than the similar Seiko SPB077 reference from 2018. The case sides and lugs are angular, a fact that is highlighted by the vertically brushed finishes of these watches, with those lug angles tapering nicely into the stainless steel bracelets.…
Today, TAG Heuer celebrates the 88th birthday of the legendary former CEO and current Honorary Chairman Jack Heuer by re-issuing Jack’s favourite ever Heuer watch, the gold Heuer Carrera 1158CHN. Jack, the great-grandson of Edouard Heuer, was an innovative leader of the famed manufacturer who worked with his family’s company for almost three decades. Two years after he joined the business, in 1960, Jack became one of the youngest leaders of a watch manufacture, at the age of 28. He devoted himself to many projects throughout the years, but his personal favourite to this day is the creation of the Carrera. And, beginning in the 1970s, Jack began a tradition of presenting an 18k gold Heuer Carrera for good luck to Ferrari Formula 1 drivers – legends such as Ronnie Peterson, Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni – during the partnership between Heuer and Ferrari. Engraved with the driver’s name and blood type on the caseback, these Heuer Carrera 1158CHN models have become highly sought-after collector’s items and symbols of the golden age of racing. In his honour, and in recognition of his favourite watch, TAG Heuer introduces the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Jack Heuer Birthday Gold Limited Edition (available for…
Editor’s note: The news out of Geneva overnight is that Watches & Wonders 2021 (formerly SIHH) is cancelled, unsurprisingly citing the “current health crisis and uncertainties as to how the situation may evolve”. To be honest, it feels like only last week that we were reporting on the cancellation of Watches & Wonders 2020, with eyes then turning to what Baselworld would do. As we now know, they “postponed” the event, before completely cancelling it once Rolex and Patek Philippe decided they would no longer participate. The news did give us pause for thought, however, on the last time the T+T Team was in Geneva for (then) SIHH 2019, and some of the watches that were released last year. And it was a great year, especially at the more affordable end of the spectrum. So with that in mind, let’s take another look at four affordable options that are still as enticing as ever. As far as international watch fairs go, SIHH is great. If highly complex, mind-blowing timepieces are your jam, it’s the one for you. After all, it’s the Haute Horlogerie fair. But things get a touch trickier if you (like I suspect many of our readers) are…
If you’re a regular reader of Time+Tide, you’ll probably know that Audemars Piguet are well known for their skill in making tourbillons. This year alone, the Le Brassus-based brand has released a number of tourbillon watches, which we’ve covered here, here and here, but Audemars Piguet isn’t slowing down. Today the watchmaker announced the release of three new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon 41mm references in different metals, which is an important step by the brand for a couple of reasons. Firstly, while it was all the way back in 1999 that the brand incorporated a tourbillon into a Royal Oak case, it is the first time Audemars Piguet has used their new Caliber 2950 in the famed Genta-designed watch. This movement was debuted with the launch of the CODE 11.59 by Audemars Piguet at SIHH in 2019, and was the first caliber produced by the brand to feature both a flying tourbillon and a central winding rotor, and featured 65 hours of power reserve. Other Audemars Piguet Royal Oak references that feature tourbillons at 6 o’clock are typically powered by the Caliber 2924, making this new trio an exciting bridge between the Royal Oak of the past…
To the average punter, casual enthusiast or proper aficionado, there is one brand that manages to muscle itself into just about every current conversation about watches. And the king rightly wears the crown. But there’s a problem for many, should they intend to deepen their own relationship with Rolex. Namely, the inflated prices that we have discussed many times before. And that’s a hard, oyster-shaped pill to swallow if you’re only new to this crazy industry. So, what’s the solution? Well, there are a number of avenues you can go down to sort your Wilsdorf fix. And this is a really good one. You could, if brave enough, buy into the increasingly popular homage segment of the watch industry. There are innumerable brands out there right now that will happily sell you a facsimile of your favourite Rolex for a fraction of the cost. Buyer beware, though – some of these creativity-free timepieces are about as well made as that pair of rip-off Ray-Bans your Aunty bought you on her last trip to Bali. And be prepared for watch snobs everywhere to turn their noses up at anything that isn’t the real deal. Ours included. Just don’t do it, no…