EVERY WATCH TELLS A STORY: John is blown away by the dial of his Ming 17.06 Copper
While still in its infancy compared to the historical juggernauts of the horological world, Ming is already turning heads for all the right reasons. One of the heads they have turned is none other than John, who took a chance on a brand he hadn’t known a whole lot about and purchased the Ming 17.06 Copper earlier this year. Despite typically focusing his collecting on the big-box brands that we all know and love, John was curious at what the fuss was all about, and if a smaller brand such as Ming could live up to the rather high expectations he had for his watches. Upon receiving the watch, he quickly came to understand what the brand represented. Ming didn’t represent centuries of history and watchmaking methods steeped in tradition, as most watch brands focus their marketing dollars towards. Instead, Ming was about a few very passionate people who wanted to make something different, and get all the details right. As anyone who has pledged money towards a Kickstarter project watch will know, when you strap a brand new watch company’s product to your wrist, the details are what makes the difference — and it’s the details that are most often…
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Editor’s note: We all love blue watches. That much is clear, with the popularity of the blue dial stainless steel sports watch escalating almost beyond belief in 2019 and still in 2020. Both vintage and modern examples of blue watches from a few of the best watch manufacturers in the world command ever-increasing prices as appetites grow more ravenous and the size of the plate remains relatively unchanged. But as you might expect from the watch collecting community, the pulp of the matter lies in the details, and not all blue watches are created equal. Blue and white are a popular pairing, from antique ceramics to dive watch dials, but there is a colour combination that is somehow even more enchanting. Blue and gold. It’s a pairing many hoped for from the just-released Tudor Black Bay 58, only to be disappointed. And you can’t blame them, because the potential is well and truly captured in the stunning, sparkling Grand Seiko SBGE248. Grand Seiko has something of a reputation for finely finished understatement. This watch is, well, a little extra. That’s not to say that the Grand Seiko SBGE248 isn’t as finely finished as you’d expect, it’s just that, thanks to its popping…
Golf is an addictive sport. One that blends the physical power of a Nadal forehand with the psychological rigour of playing a chess Grandmaster. And devotees of the game will do just about anything to get an edge. The immediate question is, will the TAG Heuer Connected Golf Edition help them with that? Because, golf is a game that is as much about mental sharpness as it is about physical performance, with countless factors at play that can either have you putting for a course record or hacking at a bush with your driver looking for your ball. If you’re playing at St Andrews or down at your local course, you always want to see improvements in your game, no matter how minor, and understanding what you are doing while you are playing is key to lowering your handicap. Which is why, to best put the new TAG Heuer Connected Golf Edition to the test – with all of its functions and facets – we enlisted someone who knows the game inside out. Jamie Glazier is a mental performance coach who has helped players like Lucas Herbert, winner of the 2020 Omega Dubai Desert Classic overcome nerves and mental obstacles…
The 1940s were a golden period for chronograph innovation at Longines, an era that included the now highly collectible 13ZN movement, as well as timelessly balanced and articulated designs. The depth of Longines’ archives from this period have yielded yet another handsome model that is faithful to the original, with sensitive updates to bring it into line with modern tastes. This new Longines Heritage Classic Chronograph 1946 is slightly larger, which will appeal to those turned off by smaller vintage-styled watches, at 40mm in diameter and 12mm tall. It also houses the contemporary L895.5 automatic movement that boasts 54 hours of power reserve. Despite these small changes that bring the watch into the 21st century, the mid-century design is clear for all to see and works towards bringing such strong design together with modern movement technology. Read the longer review of this model here. Longines Heritage Classic Chronograph 1946 pricing and availability: The Longines Heritage Classic Chronograph 1946 has an Australian RRP of $4425 and is available from Longines boutiques and online. Made in partnership with Longines. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own in accordance with our Editorial Policy.
There is huge power in community, even if you don’t always realise it. And there’s nothing like a serendipitous meeting to remind you of the little threads of connection all around you that build that community. It was one such chance meeting that Sap experienced while wearing his Deep Blue watch that was custom-made for his watch group – the SEVEN10 Watch Brotherhood. Sap reminds us in this video the appeal of indie brands. “I have a Rolex Hulk, I have an Omega Moon to Mars… but I also have Autodromo and Deep Blue, one of the OGs of the indie movement. The benefit [of indies] is that it’s a cost effective way to get something that’s amazing and different.” The customised elements of Sap’s Deep Blue watch can be seen on the dial where SEVEN10 text sits just above the 6 o’clock position, and the only two hour markers that are Arabic numerals are, you guessed it, seven and ten. The caseback also mentions the watch group, where it also proudly displays the 1000m of water resistance that the watch offers. Sap wore his watch to the US to meet a few other members of the group, but before…
Ghosts are well known for haunting people. They leave people terrified. Too scared to leave their bedrooms at night. This ghost bezel Tudor Submariner ref 7016 is sure to keep you from sleeping, and the unshakeable feeling will be either intense horror, or intense attraction. There are unlikely to be fence sitters on this one. On Every Watch Tells A Story this week we hear from Rob, the man behind Geneva Blue who represents a number of independent watch (and accessory) brands right here in Australia, and his pretty remarkable 52-year-old Tudor Snowflake Sub. This special watch was born in the very late 1960s, and came into Rob’s collection through a watch enthusiast friend who had purchased it at auction. Two of the most attractive features of the watch are the highly collectible ghost bezel and the full set of box and papers that the watch was sold with. The beautifully faded bezel offers a sense of just what the watch has been through in the half-century since it left the factory, with an evenly pale fade that offers a charming contrast against the black dial that shows signs of an equally well-lived life. While this sort of wabi-sabi aesthetic…
Grand Seiko are marking the 60th anniversary of their first watch with a small collection of dress watches that are based on the first ever watches to be made with Grand Seiko on the dial. These classically styled time-only dress watches set the foundation for what Grand Seiko are becoming known for today; a knack for traditional watchmaking expressed in simple and coherent designs. We took a closer look at two of the three watches in this collection, the SBGW257 in platinum and the SBGW258 in yellow gold, which are two precious metal watches that offer different experiences of the same watch design. While the platinum is both more luxurious and subtle, it also has a coolness to it with a sharper edge. The SBGW258 in yellow gold, on the other hand, is more clearly a gold dress watch in the most classical sense, mostly due to the warmth of the coloured precious metal. The three watches in this collection are not limited in their production numbers, giving everyone the opportunity to wear a piece of Japanese watchmaking history on their wrist. Australian pricing of the Grand Seiko First in platinum and yellow gold: The Grand Seiko SBGW257 in platinum…
“Is that what I think it is?” asked Aldis Hodge, Hollywood actor and horological designer, as I sat down for breakfast one morning at Dubai Watch Week 2019. “Yep,” I replied. “It’s an old Raketa Copernic; I picked it up last year.” “Nice, man. I’ve got one of those too,” he said. I had already been happy with the watch, mostly on account of the price I paid for it. But now, I smiled ear to ear. To have its coolness confirmed by a man who definitely knows a thing or two about watch design? That was something else. The Raketa Copernic was first released in Soviet-era Russia to commemorate the Polish astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus. The strangely shaped hands were a specific ode to his work in astrology, with the minute hand representing the moon, being eclipsed by the hour hand that represented the sun once an hour. The watch was re-released by the still-operating Raketa in 2019, but without the old-world charm of the original. The larger 40.5mm blackened steel case and red dial highlights are attractive, but don’t give the same pared-back, roughly finished appeal of the original watch. While it doesn’t have sharply finished case…
Editor’s note: Watchmaking is founded on incremental progress. The slow accumulation of applied knowledge that produces a better and better product with each passing year. That is exactly what TAG Heuer have achieved with their latest generation Connected Watch, offering the most optimised blend of Swiss luxury and Silicon Valley tech that we have seen in a smartwatch to date. Andrew spent some quality time with the TAG Heuer Connected Watch generation 3 before it was released to get a better understanding of what it is all about, and how it is better than the previous generations. Without further ado, enjoy his Week on the Wrist review. The latest generation of the TAG Heuer Connected Watch has just been released and it represents a major and — practically everyone would agree — welcome departure from the tech and mindset of the previous two generations. Simply because it is now powered by Google Wear OS, which allows the Swiss to do what they do best — a dramatically refined and more luxurious case and overall design — and it lets Google run the hardware, with a raft of improved apps and functions, most of which we explore in the video. In terms of…