MY WEEK WITH: The Seiko Astron GPS Solar 8X Dual Time in Japan
Last Sunday I boarded a plane in Melbourne and made the 8,000-odd kilometre trek to Tokyo. And in the last week I have travelled, by Shinkansen, bus and car a further 1500 or kilometres across Japan. On my wrist every step of the way – from airport lounges to traditional Ryokans – was the Seiko Astron. The Astron is a tremendously important and innovative watch for Seiko – it takes its name from the first quartz wristwatch, developed by the brand in 1969. The orginal Astron was a major milestone, not just in watchmaking, but in the history of electrical engineering. Seiko is hoping that the current Astron, released in 2012 will prove to be just as significant; it is the world’s first GPS solar watch, and aims to be an unfailing, ever-accurate timepiece, no matter how obscure your timezone. There’s no doubt it sounds impressive, but what’s it like on the wrist? My first impression was…Confusion. I’m a mechanical watch kind of guy, and the Astron, for all its appearance as a conventional watch, is a very hi-tech product. At first glance it appears to be a chronograph, but closer inspection reveals that the subdials are actually a second time zone, the…
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Though the devastatingly cool new steel Daytona is the Rolex chronograph de jour, this year the brand also released new variations of their classic chrono in white and yellow gold. Today, we’re having a look at the reference 116508, in 18 carat yellow gold with a new green dial – a colour combination that no Aussie can resist. The reference 116508 is the same 40mm Oyster case, powered by the calibre 4130, accurate to within -2/+2 a day. Indeed, the only difference between this reference and earlier models is the dial. But what a dial. Yellow gold versions of the Daytona are most commonly seen with black or champagne dials – the green is stunning in its sheen and richness. Of course, green is a special colour for Rolex, but in this instance it’s a green not like the bright tones of the green Submariner or the mossy green of the new Day-Date 40. It’s a rich colour, somewhere between pine trees and British racing green, finished in a starburst technique that at once complements and contrasts with the case – to stunning effect. Of course, it’s a solid-gold Rolex, so it’s not exactly the most unassuming of timepieces. But then again why…
Story in a second Omega adds an extra hand, two millimetres and a whole lot of text to their Constellation-inspired Globemaster. The Globemaster was one of the breakthrough watches of 2015, and it would have been naive to think that Omega wouldn’t extend the collection. And, while predicting a calendar version would have been a pretty safe bet, no one expected it to look quite like this. Given that the collection will be hitting Australian shores soon, we thought it was time to take a closer look at the Omega Globemaster Annual Calendar The dial When I saw the press images of this watch I was worried that Omega had taken one of the most handsome, heritage-inspired designs of 2015 and ruined it with wordplay. After all, there’s a whopping 21 words, albeit abbreviated words, on that dial. But in the real world, on the wrist, my worries about the dial faded away in about 90 seconds flat. That cursive, italic calendar text isn’t overly in-your-face. It’s a bit more distinctive on the white dialled model, but the contrast works. You know what really jars with me though? The radial flip. I’m sure there’s sound design theory behind changing the direction of…