MICRO MONDAYS: Hands-on with the William Wood Valiant White
Editor’s note: Well, this little brand from London that thought it could, sure has convinced us of their seriousness over the last six months. It started with an email to us practically begging to donate a watch to the Watch & Act! Auction in aid of the Australian bushfires. It was a bit late in the game, but the fit was too good to not make it happen. Jonny had us at upcycled fire hoses. So we did it, we put it in. The watch sold high. Then the Valiant Red watch sold out, generally speaking. The fire emoji is appropriate on several levels, and if you’re interested, rest assured, we’re back in stock. To see it in the metal, check out this video. If there was an early candidate to be stocked on our marketplace, it was William Wood Watches. And since then, there’s more news on the Australian front. We can’t tell all right now. But we can say that a commemorative piece with the Metropolitan Fire Brigade is in the works. To find out how you can order this, please email sales@timeandtidewatches.com None of this however is to steal the thunder from this pretty handsome new watch, the ‘Valiant White’. James,…
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Aviation is the pinnacle of human endeavour. The simple dream of wanting to fly has allowed the very best engineers, scientists, artists, and countless other professionals to flex their talents and serve Earth’s globalisation. Adventure and ingenuity go hand-in-hand when it comes to flying, and so too does it go with Bremont. The English-bred company may have only just reached adulthood at 18 years, though their catalogue has consistently shown a respectable mix of design intrigue and maturity. When considering the future of flying, most people will think of greener, more economical passenger planes, perhaps even reusable rockets that will carry the masses from country to country. Richard Browning is not most people, and his Gravity Industries has been making gigantic leaps forward in miniature jet technology to propel individuals through the air in a flight suit even Iron Man would be proud of. Although looking down at your wrist could be potentially disastrous while wearing the 1000 horsepower jet engines, Bremont have decided there could be no better testing ground for their hardened PVD ALT1-P2 JET. The ALT1-P2’s general design has all the hallmarks of a pilot’s chronograph, and definitely doesn’t break any moulds. 43mm diameter, far-reaching lugs, generously…
Grand Seiko’s growing reputation over the last few years has been because of three main factors — outstanding quality, mind-boggling value for money, and the most refreshingly expressive dials. As such, it’s not often one of these uniquely dialled watches flies under the radar upon release, but that’s exactly what the SBGH279 aims to do. With equal parts smoky handsomeness and restraint, Grand Seiko’s Heritage collection has received a new subtle standout. Instant amazement may not be your initial response to the SBGH279. Its dial hasn’t pioneered any new technologies, nor has it recontextualised time-honoured techniques, or reflected any natural elements. What is does have, simply, is a vertically brushed granite-grey dial, shifting in different lights to have hints of steel blue and even light mocha. The point of the watch is not to bombard you with flair, but to offer a small amount of texture and life, which sets it apart from its black or sunburst-dialled counterparts. While still being able to blend with a wide variety of attires, especially if strap-swapping is your thing, the SBGH279 manages to offer some intrigue when checking the time. Grand Seiko’s chisel-like baton indices and dauphine hands continue the theme of refined…
There’s a scene in the fifth series of Breaking Bad where Walter White, the high school chemistry teacher turned meth kingpin, is forced to roll a barrel full of money through the desert. Zooming in from a wide shot of the merciless landscape, the camera finds White bent double and panting with exertion. As he continues to wind his way through the arid terrain, he passes a pair of khaki pants lying crumpled in the dust. It’s a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, but those pants weren’t dumped there coincidentally. It was subsequently confirmed by the show that they were, in fact, the same trousers that flew off White’s RV van during the pilot episode of Breaking Bad some 59 episodes before. This example of eagle-eyed continuity highlights the almost pathological attention to detail of the show’s creator, Vince Gilligan. “I obsess a great deal more than I should over those details,” Gilligan admitted to GQ. “I sweat the small stuff.” In Gilligan’s creative universe, everything is meticulously plotted to the nth degree and apparently random objects are chockful of subliminal messages. What then can we glean from Walter White’s wristwatch that receives considerable attention during the final series? Initially in the show,…
Montblanc have been building their watch credentials over the last few years under the steady hand of Davide Cerrato, the Managing Director of Watches since 2015. With three distinct collections under his influence — the 1858, Heritage and Star Legacy — Montblanc watches have gone from strength to strength over the last half-decade, with 2020 being a particularly strong collection. Here we break down a few of the highlights from this most recent collection, taking a closer look at how each piece within the collection has developed over the last few years, and how that journey has impacted the watches we see this year. Specifically in the spotlight was the Montblanc 1858 Geosphere, a watch that has seen several different expressions, including in bronze and on Bund straps, but this year, for the first time, we see it with a remarkable gradient blue dial. To top it off, the latest Geosphere is also available on a bi-metal beads-of-rice bracelet that uses both titanium and steel, an unusual combination that blends the robust versatility of titanium with the gleaming heft of steel. The Heritage Automatic in British Racing Green strikes a chord, as though green and yellow gold watches aren’t rare, the…
Phillips’ Geneva Watch Auction XI is just around the corner, and we must say – it is so refreshing to see something in the watch world that’s actually going to happen. No cancellation, no postponement, this auction is going ahead … and it’s got the potential to be quite interesting. Given the precarious state the industry is in, it’s going to be very illuminating to see whether or not the vintage, pre-owned and auction markets have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the auction launching at 2pm CET today, we’ve selected our top seven favourite watches from a range . Lot 65. Rolex Ref.3372 “Bubbleback” – CHF 3000 – 6000 See? This isn’t going to break the bank. In fact, this Rolex “Bubbleback” could well sell for less than an OP39 … and we know what we’d rather have. Just look at how utterly beautiful this timepiece is! Have you ever seen another Rolex like it? Look at the dial … and the handset … and original Oyster bracelet with straight end links. What. A. Thing. OK, sure, its stainless steel case is only 32mm, but with looks this good, do you really care? Lot 112. Omega De…
Here are some little-known facts about the Friday Wind Down, which has been published pretty consistently on a Friday since 2015: Fact #1 — There have been 143 Friday Wind Downs. Fact #2 — ALL of them, every single one, was written on a Friday. Fact #3 — It’s fair to say that practically all have been written on or after 3pm on the Friday. The professional reason for this is that we want to make sure we don’t miss anything, and push it deep into the Friday paint to make sure of it. The other, closer to the truth, reason is that it’s become the last thing we do for the week. Thus, it almost always flows out of whoever’s writing it in the stream of all the things we’ve done and amidst planning for what is to publish in the days ahead. This week, the Wind Down comes as we put the finishing touches on a TAG Heuer Connected Golf Watch video that will launch in a couple of days. We’ve enlisted a pro to help us with it, as our own combined golfing experience lands us squarely in the mini-golf kings category. Thank you again, Jamie Glazier! And if anyone’s…
The 1940s were a golden period for chronograph innovation at Longines, an era that included the now highly collectible 13ZN movement, as well as timelessly balanced and articulated designs. The depth of Longines’ archives from this period have yielded yet another handsome model that is faithful to the original, with sensitive updates to bring it into line with modern tastes. This new Longines Heritage Classic Chronograph 1946 is slightly larger, which will appeal to those turned off by smaller vintage-styled watches, at 40mm in diameter and 12mm tall. It also houses the contemporary L895.5 automatic movement that boasts 54 hours of power reserve. Despite these small changes that bring the watch into the 21st century, the mid-century design is clear for all to see and works towards bringing such strong design together with modern movement technology. Read the longer review of this model here. Longines Heritage Classic Chronograph 1946 pricing and availability: The Longines Heritage Classic Chronograph 1946 has an Australian RRP of $4425 and is available from Longines boutiques and online. Made in partnership with Longines. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own in accordance with our Editorial Policy.
January … they really were simpler times: no global pandemic and no lockdowns. The first month of 2020 also saw TAG Heuer completely and utterly steal the show at LVMH’s Dubai Watch Week with the limited edition, nigh-on faultless Carrera 160 Years Silver. In fact, it was such a good timepiece that T+T founder Andrew McUtchen said it “might be the perfect watch”. Sadly, however, it wasn’t perfect, because TAG only made 1860 of those beauties, and they sold out almost instantly. All hope is not lost though, because while you may no longer be able to purchase the Carrera 160 Years Silver, the legacy Swiss watchmaker has just unveiled this – the TAG Heuer Carrera 160 Years Montreal Limited Edition. Stylised to pay homage to the 1970s Heuer Montreal chronograph, this new Carrera just oozes retro chic, and arguably offers even greater visual appeal than its Silver sibling. The dial, for instance, has so much more going on. The stark white base is contrasted, and complemented, by splashes of all three primary colours – blue, red and yellow – and the resulting aesthetic is one that appears equal parts busy and beautiful. Starting at the outer edges and moving…
Who says the sequel can’t be as good as the original? TAG Heuer have just dropped their second collaborative timepiece with Japanese outfit Fragment Design, and it looks fresh to death. Consider it the Empire Strikes Back to equal, or even exceed Star Wars. This watch is an absolute masterclass in masculine minimalism that is more of a case of what’s been left out, than included. Called the TAG Heuer x Fragment Design Chronograph Limited Edition, the sporty timepiece is the brainchild of Fragment’s founder, Hiroshi Fujiwara. To say Fujiwara is a pioneer of design and culture in Japan is somewhat of an understatement – the man is largely credited with not only introducing his mother country to hip-hop, but he is also considered by many to be the godfather of Ura-Harajuku fashion. He also co-created perhaps the coolest TAG Heuer collaboration since the Hodinkee Skipper, the TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02 Fragment Limited Edition. Strongly recommend sound for this video too, put the headphones on… Based on a standard TAG Formula 1, the Fragment Design Chrono is meant to harken back to some of TAG’s most iconic, motorsport-inspired wristwatches of the ’60s and ’70s (think Autavia Jo Siffert or…