The Polaris Chronograph is one of the five members of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s new 2018 Polaris collection. To date, we have seen the new Polaris Geographic World Time and reviewed the entry-level Polaris Automatic, the vintage-inspired Polaris Date and Polaris Memovox models. To complete the pentalogy, we’ll take a look at the Polaris Chronograph. The sportiest of the newcomers, this 42mm …
If you love authentic tool watches, then you were probably pretty happy with Rolex this year. With all the hype surrounding the unveiling of the highly anticipated Rolex GMT Master II “Pepsi” 126710 BLRO in steel, however, you may have missed that the company also introduced two other GMT Master II models at Baselworld. Both feature the brand’s proprietary 18ct Everose gold – the first time it’s ever been used in this range – and both channel the spirit of a rather quirky model from the 1960’s, affectionately referred to as the “Root Beer” GMT. Today we’re going hands-on with the two-tone/Rolesor version – the GMT-Master II 126711 CHNR – to see how it matches up against its legendary ancestor.
Recently, I’ve had the good fortune to wear the Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance for a few weeks. This watch is one of the most revolutionary horological developments of recent years – or even decades – and seeing it in action on the wrist has been a sheer pleasure. The visual treat of wearing this timepiece on the wrist is so mesmerising that it can distract you from daily (boring) activities and even provoke daydreaming.
Now, IWC is a brand I’ve always admired from afar, but haven’t had substantial personal experience with until last month. The timing worked out well, and I happened to be in the UK at the time of the Goodwood 76th Members’ Meet — an event I’d been dying to attend. Luckily for me, IWC Schaffhausen is the Official Timing Partner of the Goodwood Members’ Meeting and was kind enough to invite me along. Of course, I couldn’t attend such an event without some form of chronograph — and naturally an IWC. I ended up choosing the IWC Spitfire Chronograph on bracelet for my travels. The meet – Goodwood 76th Members’ Meeting As I arrived at the Goodwood Motor Circuit in Chichester, filled with excitement, I was hit by an icy chill. I was seriously underprepared for the unusually cold March day and was feeling the sort of cold I’d never felt before. Lucky for me, IWC had a strong presence at the meet and hosted guests within their multi-level trackside marquee. It was there I sought refuge from the snow, drank copious cups of coffee, and mingled with other guests. One particular guest, who I bumped into as I was leaving the gents, had taken…
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The story in a second: Two stripes are all it takes to amp up the legacy and motorsports heritage of the Monaco. I’m willing to put the success of the Monaco down to two things. The Steve McQueen link, and the square shape. I’m sure there are numerous other factors, like the Calibre 11, at play. But really, it’s the fact that this watch is so distinctive, and was worn by someone so cool that the Monaco has stayed strong throughout the decades. The latest brightly striped Gulf Special Edition takes both these factors to the next level. The dial Typically with in-depth reviews I start with the case, as it provides the foundational framework of the watch. But today I’m going with the dial, because this watch is all about the dial, and not just because of those stripes. The square Monaco dial is already pretty distinctive, due to its shape and those matching, rounded-off registers. This version takes as a base the blue starburst finish of the Cal. 12, and the dial layout (horizontal indices FTW) of the heritage, Heuer-only model. Of course you might not notice that the first few times you look at it, as overlaid…
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As far as boss complications go, the world timer is pretty up there. Not only is it technically impressive, it’s also visually arresting: the city ring and typically colourful layout make walking around with one of these on your wrist the watch equivalent of playing Beyoncé’s ‘Run the World (Girls)’ wherever you go. Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Geophysic Tourbillon Universal Time takes it to the next level by adding — yes, you guessed it — a flying tourbillon into the mix, for that extra horological pop. But before we get to the tourbillon, let’s take a step back and talk Geophysic. The Geophysic collection, relaunched a few years ago, is a typically sober and not-too-dressy take on a scientist’s watch. A key feature of the line is the true second, which sees the hand move in crisp, one-second increments rather than the typical mechanical sweep. The true second featured on the regular production world timer, but hasn’t made it to this Tourbillon model. In fact, any form of seconds hand has dropped from the equation, to give all the more space for the flying tourbillon (the first ever integrated into a world timer), that forms the heart of calibre 948. For me, the…
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Since the launch of the Defy 21 last year, and the shockingly innovative Defy Lab later in 2017, it wasn’t a matter of speculation that more releases for the new collection were coming to Baselworld in 2018. The new Zero G is this year’s Halo watch from the brand as we wait for the groundbreaking new escapement to trickle down to series production. Though this is a new execution, the Zero G’s clever gyroscopic escapement — said to have been based on the concept of the gimbals used in old marine chronometers — is nothing new. Oddly enough, the first execution of the Zero-G was also a Defy, known as the Defy Xtreme Zero-G Tourbillon. Since that massive half-million dollar beast’s launch, Zenith have further refined the mechanism, scaling it down to a more modest size that no longer requires a large dome in the crystal to accommodate its freewheeling functionality. Vital statistics Regardless of how new the innovation is, there’s much to love about the new Zero G. At its heart, a high-beat El Primero caliber delivers a 50-hour power reserve to its indication of time and running seconds, with a subtle power reserve display to the right of…
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This year, at Baselworld 2018, the main novelty for Tudor was the Black Bay GMT – a watch that was a hot topic of debate, knowing that Rolex also showed its version of the Steel-Pepsi GMT watch. But was this watch the most important piece in the new collection? Maybe not. Additionally, Tudor introduced the Black Bay Fifty-Eight. Weird name for a watch that, at first sight, seems to be just another diving Black Bay. But let’s get straight to the point: this new ref. 79030N could well be the best Tudor Black Bay so far, and here’s why.
Amidst the pile of big and bold Hublot offerings at Baselworld 2018, it was a pleasant surprise to see a rare level of conservatism land on the table in the form of a more compact Big Bang Unico Chronograph — four references measuring 42mm in diameter, offered in King Gold, King Gold and ceramic, titanium and ceramic, and the titanium and ceramic model seen here. For some, one of the biggest gripes about the Big Bang is its significant presence on the wrist, and after closer examination, this slightly reduced variant puts the chronograph on just enough of a diet. Vital statistics Visually speaking, the new 42mm Big Bang Unico looks like it is simply a scaled-down version of its 45mm sibling, but that isn’t exactly the case. A close examination of its self-winding flyback chronograph calibre reveals at least some slight modification, explaining why though its specs are the same, the new derivative movement is called the HUB1280 rather than the HUB1242 listed on Hublot’s website. We do know that the new calibre is also thinner, allowing Hublot to trim away some excess case thickness in the process. Of the four variants, this titanium version is perhaps the most…
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Seiko have again released a duo of modern re-interpretations of one of their OG dive watches – the Seiko 6159. Sitting alongside the modern re-creation – the newly released SLA025, which was also just revealed here at Baselworld 2018 – the pair echo the original design of Seiko’s first hi-beat diver but wrap it up in a slightly more contemporary package. Vital statistics Available in two variants, the cases are thinner and hark back to the design of the original, except now they have a screw-in case-back and measure 44mm across and 13.1mm thick. They’re also joined by thinner bezels, with black for the SPB077, and blue for the SPB079. The black dials have highlights of silver – instead of the original’s gold – and slightly redesigned hour markers, as well as a set of modern-day Seiko arrow hands and the Prospex logo printed in the lower half of the dial. Both are water resistant to 200m and feature a Seiko 6R15 movement with a power reserve of 50 hours. And if you’re a fan of steel bracelets you’ll have to opt for the black bezel SPB077, which is the model we’re focusing on here. On the wrist It captures…
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