MY 6 MONTHS WITH: The TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 11 (ref. CAW211P)
When I go to the pinpoint the exact moment in time I decided that I wanted a particular watch, there’s almost always a common denominator: it’s seeing it on someone else’s wrist. My Monaco story starts this way. My business partner in Time+Tide is a pretty big Heuer and TAG Heuer fan. He is the founder of Calibre 11 – the home of TAG Heuer and vintage Heuer collectors – and has, at times, been among the most pre-eminent Heuer collectors in the world. It goes without saying that his wrist has been a showcase for pretty much every style of watch the brand has to offer over the years – vintage, modern, attainable, completely out of the question, you name it, DC has shown up at some point with it on. I remember the day he first wore the 2015 Monaco distinctly. I asked to take a closer look, and snapped off a couple of wrist shots. Before I knew it was, I was re-reading Felix’s review and paying closer attention to the photos. How had I never noticed that powder blue dial at the time? The mirrored horizontal indices? The fat slab of sapphire crystal that warped the light…
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The story in a second It’s one of the hottest watches of 2017, and here’s why… For years, the Sky-Dweller has been one of the most interesting and least understood modern Rolexes. It’s one of the most complicated watches in their lineup, as a luxury traveller’s watch, and is the patrician elder brother of the tool-like GMT-Master II. This niche proposition, along with its solid gold offering, always made it something of an outsider Rolex. Until now. The case In some ways the case of the Sky-Dweller remains identical to the version released in 2012, but viewed a different way, the changes to the big 42mm case represent the single biggest shift to the model, which has seen it rocket to the top of many a fan’s list. It’s all about the material. For the first five years of its life, the Sky-Dweller existed only in precious metals: white, yellow or Everose gold. Not only did this place the watch into a premium price bracket, but it was also every inch the solid gold Rolex — unavoidably so with that large, fluted bezel. But, as Baselworld 2017 rolled around and the Rolesor Sky-Dwellers were unveiled, the proposition suddenly changed. Fifty…
The story in a second It’s all in the bezel. One of the more interesting watches to come across my desk in recent months is this Oris ProPilot Worldtimer. Now, at first glance you might wonder why, as it looks every inch a regular ProPilot, albeit one with a second time zone on display. But this sturdy pilot’s watch has a trick up its proverbial sleeve – an innovative and awesomely user-friendly time zone adjustment method. Add this novel feature to Oris’ already proven robust build quality and versatile style and the ProPilot Worldtimer is an automatic finalist in the ‘Best dual-timer of 2017’ awards. The case First thing’s first. The case. This particular Big Crown definitely lives up to the ‘big’ moniker, coming in at a substantial 44.7mm across and sitting roughly 12mm high. Getting the watch wet isn’t too much of a concern, thanks to the grippy screw-down crown and 100 metres of water resistance. The style of the case follows the familiar form of the ProPilot; simple, sturdy, and with the distinctive coin-edged bezel with polished top ring. But this bezel isn’t just for show. In an ingenious bit of engineering, a simple twist of this bi-directional…
Ancient Greek and Roman mythology furnish Bulgari with emblems from across the epochs, but their love affair with bold women in history also holds sway on their aesthetic. Like serpents, these dangerous beauties are sinful and sinuous — and nothing less than paradoxical. Fittingly, their latest Serpenti watch is a timepiece that can literally shed its skin. I regret not unravelling my tape measure to record the length of the thin double tour strap of the Bulgari Serpenti Skin, but it just felt so at ease on me I was happy to let it linger a while, almost unobtrusive except for its expansive curvature. This watch is a subtle charmer, and that was the point. Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, Director of Bulgari Watches Design Centre in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, was evidently looking to diverge from the statement dressing of the potent Tubogas and explore personalisation and transformability with this first release on a leather or skin strap. Beyond choosing watch elements and one of the two straps the watch is accompanied by, the way your Serpenti Skin is wrapped to your wrist is uniquely your own. Whether anticipating a combatant or work ally, your snake head dial may be tilted towards a…
I don’t want to get all KPI on you, but image selection is something that I spend a lot of my time working on. Of the dozens of shots of any given watch that one of our photographers take, only a handful make the final cut. That’s not because the shots are out of focus or poorly lit, but because we strive to hit the right balance between written and visual information, and both elements are complementary and essential. Typically on this sort of review, I’ll end up running with four or five images. Today I’ve we’re at 12, more than double what we’d usually publish. Not just because they’re stunning, drool-worthy pictures (they are), but because they tell a story about the watch, showing the form and quality in a way that a written description of the specifications cannot quite compete with. But that’s not to say I won’t try. Just in case the tell-tale Curvex shape and the name on the dial didn’t give it away, you’re looking at Franck Muller’s Cintrée Curvex Skeleton Tourbillon, a mighty 39.5mm wide by 55.3mm long white gold case, polished to a mirror like finish, with the thick, domed sapphire case seamlessly integrated…
Story in a second The Marine Chronometer Torpilleur shows a new, focused and driven face of Ulysse Nardin. I’m going to start this review talking not about mechanical watches, but naval warfare. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, naval dominance was all about massive floating fortresses, with thick plate armour and a massed battery of cannons. These ships, which culminated in the dreadnought class of battleships, were the undisputed masters of the seas. To counter these ungainly behemoths, the Torpilleur, or torpedo boat, was developed. Streamlined, fast and modern, the Torpilleurs were armed with the latest technology — the self-propelled torpedo. These low-cost boats were intended as battleship-killers and presented a real threat to the dominance of the big ships. Now, do you really think it’s a coincidence that Ulysse Nardin chose to name their new, streamlined Marine Chronometer the “Torpilleur”? The dial Of all the elements of the Torpilleur, the dial is the most traditional. It follows the established conventions of a marine chronometer or deck watch — early navigational timepieces that put Ulysse Nardin on the map. The poire hands are blued, set against a crisp white lacquer dial, printed with bold Roman numerals, with dial…