It’s now time for our Year-End buying guides to gather 8 of the toughest watches launched in 2017. We have picked tool watches of various types, not excessively priced, but designed to hold up to outdoor activities, or constructed to tolerances for specific purposes. Perfect gifts for adventure seekers or simply for a rugged cool look for an afternoon trip into town.
At Baselworld 2017, Seiko introduced a new line in the Presage collection, the “Cocktail” watches – colourful, elegant timepieces inspired by the glamorous world of the cocktail bar. Comprising no less than 8 models, this series of Presage watches have been praised for its audacious look and for the perfect combination of mechanical pleasure with highly decent prices. Today, Seiko enriches the collection with four new models (two new dials, with two different movements) that have been inspired by the work of a past winner of the International Bar Association World Championships. Here are the Seiko Presage “Cocktail” Starlight and Sakura Hubuki with references SSA361, 363 and SRPC01, 03.
After going through some of the best dress watches of 2017 (part 1 and part 2), it is time for our year-end buying guides to pick 5 traditional complication watches from 2017, stressing value – because an expensive watch is not necessarily a better watch. All you need from a watch, without having to take out a new mortgage. This doesn’t mean affordable watches, but rather impressive complications with a price that is far from being shocking.
There’s something quite special about Seiko and its community of collectors. Indeed, some are proper fanatics and every new limited edition, especially if branded Prospex (the professional line of watches at Seiko), can create a blast among these aficionados. Very recently, Seiko introduced another limited edition, reserved to the Thai market (don’t worry, you can find it elsewhere…) based on the well-known Titanium Diver’s 200m “Shogun” SBDC029J. New gradient dial, different hands and a splash of colours, and here is the Seiko Prospex Shogun Zimbe SPB057J.
Few brands can argue to have watches that are so iconic that they are actually known after monikers. Rolex and Omega are amongst them – think “Paul Newman”, “Bart Simpson” or “Deep Blue” – but Seiko is also on par in this “nickname game”. Many of their watches have been granted with funky sobriquets, as for instance the “Turtle” or the “62Mas”. Another one, more modern, is the “Samurai”, known to be a sporty and high quality-to-value ratio. After a discreet comeback with the (sold-out) Lagoon Limited Edition, aficionados will be pleased to see that the Seiko Prospex Samurai is back in the 2017 collection, and now in non-limited editions.
At Baselworld 2017, Seiko came with a very refreshing surprise (among all the superb watches they launched this year…) While we thought that the Seiko Presage 60th Anniversary Chronograph would forever remain an untouchable dream – way too limited in production, sold out way too fast – the Japanese brand came with a full range of watches: the Seiko Presage Enamel Collection. It means not one but four watches with luxurious but friendly priced hand-made enamel dials, all mechanically powered, including the comeback of the superb chronograph… and they are not limited in production!
Vintage is one of the biggest trends these days… Really, what a piece of news! We all know that brands have been widely surfing on the vintage / heritage / reissue trend, and for now over 10 years. However, in the middle of the dozens of vintage-inspired watches launched every year, there are some good ones and the one you really need to consider. Here are 5 of the coolest vintage-inspired watches of 2017, to look good this summer.
You may or may not be planning a deep dive over the summer. It does not really matter. You do not need to be a diver to love these high-performing, utilitarian dive watches. They make great daily wearers too and as summer is fast approaching, we have picked 10 new dive watches of 2017, with choices to suit every pocket and every taste. In short, the best watches to look cool on the beach, on a boat and with your favorite summer cocktail.
The association between Italian designer Giugiaro and Seiko watches is nothing new and already produced some of the most daring watches from the Japanese brand – as for instance the Seiko Chronograph 7A28-7000, famous for its appearance in Alien movies. Since a few years, Seiko reintroduces some of the greatest watches designed under the pen of Giugiaro, including the 2015 Limited Edition Reissue Seiko Sced035 or recently an Astron watch. Today, using the iconic asymmetrical case, Seiko reissues a rather unknown dive watch made in the 1980s with Giugiaro, with the new Seiko Diver Scuba Limited Edition by Giugiaro Design Ref. SBEE001 and 002.
After Xavier’s and Frank’s Top 10 watches of Baselworld 2017, after our list of the 10 most read articles of the fair (just to give us an indication of what collectors loved), it is time for your humble editor to come with his 10 favorite watches of Baselworld 2017. First all, before going into further details, this ranking is not about the 10 best watches of the show but it is based on my personal tastes – and as collecting dive and sports watches myself, you’ll see it is a little biased. From a super-friendly priced Oris to a complex Patek, here are my 10 favorite watches of 2017 (and yes, all of them are on my wish-list).