VIDEO: Top 4 Oris releases of Basel 2017
Oris seem to be going from strength to strength, releasing smart watch designs – like the Divers Sixty-Five – that impress critics and customers alike. This year it’s time for their modern diver, the Aquis, to shine. The entire collection has been revamped – it’s still big and bold, but it’s a little less blocky. Oris also released the Artelier Calibre 113, with loads of calendar complications (though truth be told, we’re still wondering who would use a week indicator), as well as some hot new heritage pieces: the old-school pilot that is the Big Crown 1917 and the funky cushion-cased Chronoris Date. All up it’s another strong year for the Hölstein-based brand, which is great news if you’re in the market for a well-priced mechanical.
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One of the brands we’re always excited to see at Baselworld is Seiko. Not just because they’ve always got a few surprises up their sleeve, but also, if we’re honest, because the price point is a lot less painful than some of their Swiss counterparts. This year we were particularly impressed with two models that represent different ends of the Seiko style spectrum. First up is the excellent reissue of the 62MAS, Seiko’s first ever dive watch. And then there’s the flashy, dressy Cocktail Time collection, which is now part of the ever-growing Presage family. No matter what your tastes, it looks like Seiko has your wrist covered in 2017.
If you take a keen interest in the world of watches, you’ve likely heard of Carson Chan. Carson works for the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, an organisation dedicated to building knowledge around fine watchmaking. And while we seem to now run into Carson every time we’re in Switzerland, we first met him in Hong Kong, at the last Watches & Wonders fair. We took the opportunity to get Carson to explain, in his calming, erudite tone, just how a mechanical watch works. Now, we’re well aware that the majority of people reading this know their mainsprings from their pallet forks (though a quick refresher never hurt anyone), but we also get asked with reasonable regularity some version of “Just how does a mechanical watch work?” So now, rather than rehashing the same old conversation, you can just send them the link to this video. Job done, and you’re welcome.
If there’s one key take away from this year’s new watch releases, it’s that brands are playing it safe, with simple, round, steel watches being the order of the day. But, thankfully for the non-conformists out there, not everyone marches to the beat of the circular drum. Cartier and Jaeger-LeCoultre in particular have long and proud histories of making shaped watches. So for the latest episode of Apples to Apples we thought we’d let two of the most recognisable shapes in the business square off against each other. It’s time for the JLC’s mighty Reverso to meet Cartier’s legendary Tank. Who will prevail? 
Most of the Basel buzz around Omega has focused on the very excellent (and likely very hard to get) Trilogy limited editions – and rightly so. But these three spot-on reissues represent only a fraction of Omega’s 2017 c0llection, which is jam-packed full of new variants and completely new models appearing across their key collections. Not only do we have new versions of the Speedmaster and a revamped Aqua Terra 150m, but there’s a completely new regular production Railmaster and a particularly bold Planet Ocean that goes by the name of “Big Blue”. In short, there’s something for everybody.
When Bell & Ross launched their Instrument collection in 2005, they achieved what every new watch brand sets out to: they created an icon. This distinctive range of watches took the cockpit instruments of aeroplanes as their inspiration and suddenly there was a new player in the watch world that you could spot on the wrist at 100 paces. No mean feat when you consider the history and the hype you’re up against. So it turned out the Swiss watch industry, like John Mayer, has found room for squares. But all things must change, and the collection presented at Baselworld 2017 was the most highly evolved pack yet – with new models in a variety of shapes, materials and complications. The unifying factor, if there is one, is a continuing attitude of looking at things differently and balancing the stuffiness with a sense of play.
Grand Seiko had big news at Baselworld 2017 – and not just the epically proportioned (and named) Hi-Beat 36000 Professional 600m Diver’s watch. No, the really big news was that for the first time since 1960, Grand Seiko would stand apart as its own brand. It was the logical next step for Japan’s premier watch brand, which only launched globally in 2010 but has been rapidly building boutiques ever since. Aside from changes to brand position, strategy, company structure and all that jazz, for watch fans the major shift is that Grand Seiko watches will no longer read “Seiko/Grand Seiko” on the dial. A break from tradition and a cleaner dial design in one fell swoop. Nice job Grand Seiko.
We knew it, as soon as we tried it on. You guys knew it too, judging by the comments, which have usually gone something like, “I’d never been that interested in Bulgari before, but….” And naturally Bulgari knew it, which is why their booth at Baselworld dedicated its grandest display space to tell the story: the Octo Finissimo Automatic in titanium is the most refined mens piece ever for the brand in the ‘accessible’ category. By ‘accessible’ – around $18k – we’re not talking entry level, but it certainly is a newly affordable price point for a barely there piece that holds the record for the thinnest automatic watch on the market. In addition there’s a fully murdered out Octo, with all black errrrrrrthang. And the softly cased new Octo Roma, which heartens with its warm tones and gentler curves.
It’s Longines’ 185th anniversary this year, as you might have seen so it’s no surprise that the key heritage pieces were very strong at Baselworld. As we’d hoped, the new Lindbergh Hour Angle model – which I developed strong feelings for after a visit to the Longines headquarters in Saint Imier earlier this year – did drop early, ahead of the 90th Anniversary of the pioneering aviator’s famous New York to Paris crossing. If the watch was somewhat expected, the style was not; it has has a surprisingly contemporary feel. Hello there black PVD bezel, for example. And the Longines Heritage 1945, well that gave us a serious case of de ja vu back to 2015, when the supremely talented artist Sunflowerman painted an almost identical model for the Longines Watercolour Watch Project. The king move, though, was Longines launching their first range to be fully COSC-certified, the Record collection. It’s an extremely accessible range in terms of price that may answer prayers for those wanting a time and date chronometer without the usual cost, but it may also serve to raise questions about why rival brands charge such a premium for a certification when Longines has managed to have prices from…