INTRODUCING: The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon 41mm is a bridge between the past and the future
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…
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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…
Editor’s note: With many expecting (or more accurately hoping) for an Rolex Explorer refresh come 2021, we wanted to revisit that time in 2018 when our Canadian contributor – who you might know from his all-conquering BLNR review – Bruce Duguay was offered one by his AD. When presented with an Explorer II 16570 at retail (and with a discount no less), Bruce may or may not have declined to snag it – his eyes and heart possibly taken by another family within the Rolex catalogue. We will let you read the full story below, but one thing we suggest you keep in mind as you read through his experience is the reality that the 16570 represents the end of a more classic profile in the Explorer II line. If the refresh is anything like the 2020 Submariner, we may have a larger, yet tapered, profile available next year – and possibly with a ceramic bezel. With that being said, many buyers are downsizing their collections, and I don’t mean in number. I am talking diameter. The 36mm Explorer I is trading on par with its newer 39mm sibling, when usually smaller watches don’t hold their value as strongly. Clearly, collectors are looking back to classic aesthetics, diameters…
Once again they manage to surprise us, from ironic rectangular horology to a hypnotising collaboration with MB&F, to this, where Moser enter the ring for the strongly contested Integrated Steel Sports Watch Bracelet contest. Yes, I tried it on – and did not want to take it off – the H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Centre Seconds. OK, the competition in this category is tough, but so is this smooth nugget. The case and bracelet is familiar from the GPHG-winning Streamliner Flyback Chronograph, but this time Moser sticks to their speciality, which is a beguiling time-only fumé dial. Except for a certain Italian angular svelte creation, nothing beats this for being different, and refreshingly free of inspiration from the top grails. The inspiration is here, but from the age of streamlined trains and cars of the ’30s with their smooth, honed speed-centric shapes. A case and bracelet, both setting new standards When you slip it on, the feeling is that of smooth comfort, or a flexible cuff-like piece of jewellery, not a watch with a bracelet. In its 40mm case this is an experience of one-ness, immensely refreshing in a time of homage and re-editions, and Genta derivatives ad nauseam.…
Military watches, or tool watches, are incredibly popular in today’s marketplace – with heritage becoming a huge emotional driver behind watch purchases. The Vario 1918 Trench Watch is a new and affordable option for buyers looking for a detail-driven and military-inspired timepiece. Vario carefully considers each component utilised within their Trench watches, working to provide the best build and value to the end consumer. The story Most tools and products are born as solutions to encumbrances and problems. To make our lives easier than they were previously. During the First World War, soldiers and officers utilised pocket watches that were integral to strategic efforts on the battlefield. But with shrapnel flying around, bullets ripping through the air overhead, every second counted – and any pauses to their effort, or time spent distracted in the pursuit of information, was an unwelcome vulnerability. Imagine, in the throes of battle, having to pull out your pocket watch and open the protective lid with gloved hands. In a setting where a second could be the difference between life and death, this configuration would no longer be acceptable. Further detriments of the utilised pocket watches of the time included a lack of luminescent material, and glass crystals that…
Sydney-based watch brand Bausele has been confirmed to produce two watches with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to mark their centenary. The RAAF’s 100th anniversary will be marked by two special watches that contain parts of RAAF aircraft. The last time the RAAF actually commissioned a watch was in the 1940s, when they commissioned the likes of IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre, so this is something of a breakthrough in the short history of Bausele, which was only founded in 2011. The sense of occasion, and the connection it provides Bausele with a long and rich history, has spurred the brand on to their greatest heights in terms of design and contemporary appeal. These are far and away the most attractive, and on point, models in their broader range, which so far has yet to land on an identifiable design language. Founder of Bausele, Christophe Hoppe, worked very closely with the RAAF design team to perfect the two different watches, using the theme of the Air Force Centenary — “Then. Now. Always.” — as inspiration. In this spirit, the first watch is the Airfield, which looks back on those RAAF watches from the ’40s, and takes their clean tool watch aesthetic into…
Dress watches are the epitome of traditional horology. I know, sports watches are trendy and consume a large portion of the conversation – but there is something, whether tangible or intangible, that dress watches provide that a sports watch simply cannot and never will. They may not be your daily wearer, you certainly won’t take a dress watch to the beach. But for those crucial moments, whether a wedding or a job interview, the formal dress watch provides a certain kind of gentlemanly confidence boost that you just can’t find in professional tool watches. When I go out into the world as Zach Blass, I wear my Black Bay Fifty-Eight – but in those moments when I need to be Mr Zachary B. Blass, only a dress watch such as my Lange 1815 Up/Down 221.021 can truly elevate me to the task at hand. While they do not always get as much time in the spotlight as they deserve, let’s take a look at eight of the best dress watches of 2020 over $10K. Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept I have to confess I have a bit of a bias here, as once upon a time I did work for…
This week, in an unusual move from the obsessive tool laboratory of Sinn Spezialuhren (yes, Special Watches — only tools and instruments may apply), comes a glittery fresh take on the social media and forum hive-mind favourite, the 41mm Sinn 103 pilot’s chronograph. In the Sinn 103 Sa G version they have taken what is a very compact and Leica-quality like monochromatic pilot’s watch and added colour. And what that intense sparkly green has done is transform this serious tool into a delicious piece of wrist candy. Metallic green sparkles in the sun and adds a delightful twist to a superb piece of ergonomic German engineering. If that wasn’t enough, it is also the debut of a Concepto movement in place of the ETA-based Valjoux 7750. More on that later. The venerable 103 has been a staple of the Sinn portfolio for many years. It is testament to both German engineering and the bulletproof nature of the Valjoux 7750 that you’ll find pre-loved, banged up ones still holding their value and soldiering on with close to COSC-accurate hearts. The detailing is classic ’50s pilot’s watch, without a single applied index in sight, and a purist vision of aviation wristwear. While you can…