HOW TO: Buy a Valentine's Day watch in 90 secs
Buying a watch for anyone other than yourself is a difficult thing to do, for exactly the same reasons it is so enjoyable to wear a watch at all – it is a deeply personal decision. This challenge is amplified when you’re faced with the 14th of February, and are standing at the counter of a boutique with three watches in front of you, unable to be sure of which is the best one. Luckily for you, we have arranged a 90-second refresher on what to consider when purchasing a Valentine’s Day watch for your significant other, which outlines the three keys to success in this high-pressure environment. There’s no need to thank us, your successful Valentine’s Day gifting is enough.
The post HOW TO: Buy a Valentine’s Day watch in 90 secs appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
At the beginning of last year, the famed Le Brassus-based watchmaker Audemars Piguet released their first totally new collection in decades, the Audemars Piguet Code 11.59. It is safe to say that the release got people talking, with an outpouring of expression on social media articulating many people’s disappointment with the collection, blaming it for being underwhelming in the context of the iconic Royal Oak. If you were one of those people who disliked it initially, let’s take a closer look now that a full year has passed and any immediate reactions have had time to cool off. Pre-owned watch dealer Watchfinder & Co., known for their Attenborough-like narrator and macro-videography, have put together a short video explaining the Audemars Piguet Code 11.59, both in the context of the Swiss watch industry and the state of the watchmaking firm themselves. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s certainly worth a look, no matter where your opinion stood on the collection, to see if it offers any insights you didn’t already have.
Editor’s note: The Longines Master Collection is one of the current pillars of the brand, offering you everything you want in a classic dress watch, but in a modern package and at a sensible price. Andrew took a closer look at the full collection just as it was hitting its stride, and it is certainly worth watching if you are considering adding a contemporary dress watch to your collection. When it comes to Longines’ yearly new releases, we are like heatseeking missiles for the vintage fire the brand has at its disposal – few archives are as deep or as versatile as Longines, and it means they can pick and choose between adventurers’ watches, avant-garde designs, classic dress … the options are almost endless and they impress with regularity. But we rarely look at the everyday collections that, to put this bluntly, are the watches that the brand sell in staggering quantities. The Master Collection, for example. That is, until I noticed it for the first time at a launch in Sydney, last year. That discovery led to more discoveries. All of which are captured in this video, in which we look at the watch that won me over, and…
There was not a moment’s hesitation. Jean-Christophe Babin, the CEO of Bulgari, and I were standing on a pool deck at a villa in Dubai. Within sight, an emerald green ocean. Swaying palm trees. Skies of blue. A world away from the scene I had left, when I’d jumped on an Emirates flight 24 hours before. Choking smoke in Melbourne. People wearing gas masks as they boarded the plane. Fires in Victoria you could see from 30,000 feet as we flew towards the Middle East. The air quality in Melbourne on the day I left for LVMH Watch Week was the worst of anywhere in the world, including parts of India that are considered hazardous. “Of course we would like to help. It is done. Speak to Antoine (Antoine Pin, the Managing Director of the Bulgari Watches Division), he will arrange the details.” The watch that was ultimately offered was the absolutely stunning Bulgari Serpenti in yellow gold picture above. At just over $50,000AUD it is the most valuable watch in the ‘Watch & Act!’ auction based on its RRP. With the cameras about to roll on an interview, I asked a second question. Would Mr Babin have a message…
Chopard have been an important firm in the Swiss luxury landscape since they were founded in 1860, but they weren’t always the house of haute horology that they are today. It wasn’t until just over a quarter of a century ago, in 1993, when Karl-Friedrich Scheufele made the decision to refocus the brand’s energies into the art of watchmaking, and only thee years later marked an important year in the history of Chopard L.U.C as they launched their first in-house movement. Since then, the in-house component of Chopard’s watchmaking has gone from strength to strength, developing new movements at a steady rate till today, where the brand includes a stable of high complications, including full-strike complication watches and perpetual chronographs. The Chopard has also maintained an impressive cachet of exclusivity with the L.U.C collection, producing only 4500 pieces per year, which allows a total focus on quality finishing and mechanical accuracy. Made in partnership with Chopard. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own in accordance with our Editorial Policy.
There are myriad impressive things about Seiko’s Presage collection. But if we had to single out one overriding thing that the Japanese watchmaker’s dress watches do better than almost anyone else, rather predictably, it would be their dials. Pound for pound, the Presage dress watches and their rapturous range of dials represent amazing value for money. It’s not just the design that marks these dials out as instant winners either, it’s the finishing, intricacy and attention to detail. These two new examples, SRPD36J1 and SSA392J1, are no exception. The lustrous chocolate brown dials these watches possess are sumptuous, and as Nick Kenyon pointed out, they almost mimic that of a horse’s radiant flank. Complemented by gold coloured hour indices and Seiko’s signature dauphine handset, these Presages are downright handsome, especially when you take in to account the stainless steel cases with gold coloured finishing. The Seiko Presage SRPD36J1 and SSA392J1 prices and availability: The Seiko Presage SRPD36J1 has a recommended retail of $995 AUD. The Seiko Presage SSA392J1 has a recommended retail of $1250AUD. Both of these watches are currently available in boutiques across Australia. Made in partnership with Seiko. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own…