Manufacture Royale was founded in 1770 by French philosopher Voltaire who was one of the main figures of the French enlightenment. Voltaire believed in the importance of having a heart that is free in spirit and independent of things.…
The F.P. Journe boutique in Tokyo just marked its 10th anniversary with the Centigraphe Souverain Anniversaire, a limited edition that’s the latest in the brand’s series of boutique-only watches in titanium and red gold. F.P. Journe has made it a tradition to mark the anniversary of its stores with limited edition wristwatches in titanium with red gold […]
The TACS Automatic Vintage Lens is designed by Japanese designer Yoshiaki (Yoshi) Motegi. The watch aims to appeal to the photographers soul in you as it is inspired by a camera (fish-eye) lens. The Lens watch will only be available via Kickstarter and will be limited to 500 pieces. At this very moment of writing …
The story in a second Bell & Ross ditch the tactical style of the flight deck in favour of the formality of the parade ground. Ever since I reviewed the surprisingly seductive beige dialled Vintage BR 123 way back in the early days of Time+Tide I’ve had a soft spot for Bell & Ross’s round watches. The Vintage line offers a solid platform for the design-oriented brand play with colour, materials and military codes. Don’t believe me? Look at the watch above, then compare it to the beige dialled version, and finally check out this blacked-out chrono. Same essential platform – three completely different results. The unifying factor? A link back to the world of aviation. In the case of the Aeronavale the inspiration is more parade ground and less flight deck – the distinctive blue and gold livery comes from the dress uniforms of French naval pilots – the Aeronavale. The dial It seems the French navy know a classic colour combo when they see one, because the deep blue and shining gold of the Aeronavale is a real winner. It translates well on the wrist too. The sunburst blue dial and applied gold tone markers and hands look sharp…
The post IN-DEPTH: Bell & Ross think outside the square with the sharply styled BR 123 Aeronavale appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Travelling is rarely a relaxed affair. There’s the packing, the rushing to the airport or train station, losing your passport, finding it again, running the gauntlet through security. By the time you get to your destination you’re pretty much guaranteed to be exhausted (and let’s face it probably a little buzzed). The last thing you want to be doing is fiddling around trying to adjust your watch to a new time-zone. Enter the Laurent Ferrier Galet Traveller, a watch as attractive as it is easy to use. When haute horlogerie meets functionality…
The story in a second Cartier’s key collection of 2015 just became a whole lot more accessible. Much fuss has been made over Cartier’s manly new Drive collection, and rightly so. But the Parisian powerhouse also released another excellent, and highly anticipated, men’s watch this year – the Clé de Cartier in steel. It’s no secret that we fell pretty hard for the Clé when we first met at SIHH 2015. The only potential spanner in the works? It was only available in pricey precious metals. Well, if you’re less about the shiny stuff and more about the stainless, you’re in luck. The dial Cartier doesn’t often mess with their trademark attributes, and that’s a good thing when it comes to dial and handset. So, expect the expected: Roman numerals, blued sword hands and guilloché centre detail. Familiar and reassuring. It’s a simple design, but not boring. There’s enough detail here, from the multiple dial finishes, through to the well-designed date and the secret signature to reward close examination. And of course it all looks gorgeous under that softly domed sapphire crystal. The case If the dial is traditional Cartier, the case is where the brand has flexed their design prowess. The circle…
The post IN-DEPTH: The Cartier Clé de Cartier in steel appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Chopard is one of the under-rated manufactures in the world of haute horlogerie. Nestled in the Fleurier, they began in earnest with in-house manufactured movements some 20 years ago through the diligent efforts of their c0-President Karl-Frederich Scheufele. The house was already immensely successful before the L.U.C. manufacture, making high…
When it comes to watches, some of us have a thing for pieces that are unusual. We feel that watches can be a statement and an outlet for people to be creative. After all, what fun would it be if all the watches come in similar shapes, and tells time in a similar way? Cue conversation starter watches.…
Luminox releases its latest collection the Carbon SEAL 3800 series with three model variants. With durability and reliability as its namesake, Luminox’s new series achieves not only what it is already good at, but also comfort and aesthetics. The new carbon case looks better than the PVD variants and is much lighter than steel and even…
The story in a second New movement + new look = new ball game? Hublot describe their Meccano-inspired Big Bang Meca-10 as a ‘transitional object’. It’s an interesting choice of phrase. You could take it literally and assume that Hublot are referring to the watch as a way for people who obsessed about Meccano and technical constructions when they were younger to move into some more grown up gadgets. Or you could interpret that it’s talking about a transitional object for Hublot the brand, and their design language. We are erring on the side of the latter. You see, we think the Big Bang Meca-10 is quite an important watch. With a deep new movement (that isn’t a chronograph) and a look that somehow seems even more confident and assured, we can’t help but wonder if this the start of the next chapter of Big Bang? The dial What dial? But seriously folks, it looks like Hublot forgot to include the dial when they cased up these watches. And honestly, we’re so glad they did. Because the view of the pinions, gears, wheels and springs draws you in with seemingly endless, enthralling detail. And Hublot is absolutely right; if you were the sort…
The post IN-DEPTH: Is this the next evolution of Hublot? The Big Bang Meca-10 appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.