VIDEO: One for the ladies – the Rado HyperChrome Captain Cook in white
So far this week we’ve looked at the larger 45mm Captain Cook and the smaller vintage versions. To round out the trifecta, we’re taking this bright and beach-ready number for a spin. Now, this isn’t your typical ‘on the wrist’ review, as the mesh bracelet is intended for wrists smaller (and less hairy) than my one. But you can still see how the all-white colour scheme really makes this design pop, especially when helped out by the diamond hour markers and the field of reflections that is the Milanese-style bracelet. Rado HyperChrome Captain Cook 37mm (white) Australian pricing The Rado HyperChrome Captain Cook 37mm on mesh, $3100
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We’ve already given you a pretty thorough look at Rado’s pint-sized and patriotic Captain Cook, but while still photography is great at showing the finer details – that sunbrush finish and crisp dial printing, for example – video gives you a much more holistic picture. If you want to know how that dial looks under the glass box sapphire (hint – it looks awesome), or whether that ceramic is too shiny, then video is the way to go. And if you’ve been tossing up the pros and cons of regular vs limited, this could help you seal the deal – I know I had to try the bracelet on for it to win me over. Finally, in case you’re wondering, I’ve got a fairly large wrist, around 20–21cm – or a touch over 8 inches if imperial is your jam.
Not so long ago, the TAG Heuer Carrera was one of the watch world’s most easily recognised chronographs. Now, it’s every kind of watch imaginable. It’s time-only, it’s a Connected watch, it’s a tourbillon; you name it, there’s a Carrera variant. Hell, I’m wearing a Carrera today and it’s a removable time-only module that I’ve fitted onto a pair of – themselves interchangeable – titanium lugs and a leather bracelet that more often carries the Connected Modular 45 around. No matter where you stand on the rapid recent evolution, the name does not mean what it used to. And the modern Carrera vehicle, if you will, is one made for thoroughly modern times. But is there a risk in overloading the name and making it less special? Just over a year ago David Chalmers asked TAG Heuer CEO, Jean-Claude Biver, just that. For more of Jean-Claude Biver in action, watch this and this. 
Rado’s HyperChrome Captain Cook has made waves this year, mostly due to the nearly pitch perfect 37mm reissue. And while there’s a lot to like about that watch, I suspect that the comparatively petite case size will be a deal-breaker for some people. But that’s OK because Rado has covered their bases by releasing a contemporarily sized 45mm version. It’s not just the case size that’s impressive, but also the construction – with ceramic bezel, hardened titanium case construction and a solid 80 hours of power reserve. Rado Hyperchrome Captain Cook 45mm Australian pricing Rado Hyperchrome Captain Cook 45mm, $3175
Watching Andre Agassi play changed my tennis game, but reading his biography, Open, changed my life. I love tennis. And I was impressed, of course, by Andre’s second coming, when, in 1998, he rose from a ranking of 110 to number 6 in one calendar year. It was a quantum rankings leap that remains a record. But putting the whole context of professional tennis aside, I’ve never read a biography so excoriatingly honest. It is a self-examination few would have the mettle to undertake. “I’ve never been scared to admit my weaknesses because I’ve always needed to as a tennis player,” is one of his opening lines. Regular viewers of Time+Tide will recognise this as more of an ‘About Time’ episode, where we ask amazing people how they manage their time, and seek their thoughts on how to jump through those rare windows in life that open up. It’s about timing. I’ll be honest here. For the watch obsessed, there’s not a lot to learn. And we captured most of it in the shorter version launched earlier in the week. But for the human beings among us that are striving to be their best, to reach the heights, though? This…
Andre Agassi’s response to the question, “Are you into watches?” didn’t exactly go to script. “Not at all. I have no interest in them,” he said. It’s not the first time we’ve spoken at length to someone who doesn’t identify as a ‘watch person’ per se. Mark Bouris is one, Mark Richards another. But this really was a first. An interview subject, at the start of a 30-minute interview, declaring our whole subject area a dead zone. Ok then? There was a five second pause, and I let it be because he looked like he was going to continue talking. “But I’ve come to appreciate what watches mean to people…” He was off. Andre ended up landing on one of the most elegant, eloquent descriptions of why people like watches that I’ve ever heard. And, spoiler alert, he does actually have pretty deep feelings for a watch in his own collection. Typical Andre, really. When you ask about any topic, you’d better be ready to go deep, because it’s a place where he – after a few minutes of feeling you out – seems to feel most comfortable. Abandoning certain conventions of conversation to answer as honestly, as unflinchingly as…
Given that 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the Sea-Dweller, Rolex’s iconic deep diver, we were pretty confident that we were going to see an updated version at Baselworld. And the Big Crown did not disappoint, offering a brand new Sea-Dweller, the reference 126600, which quickly became one of the most talked-about watches of the fair. Now, any new, top-line release from Rolex will get people fired up, but the increased size, the single line of red text and – most significantly – the addition of a Cyclops really stirred debate. As is always the case with watches, it’s best to see them on the wrist, which is where our video review comes in… Rolex Sea-Dweller (ref. 126600) Australian pricing The Rolex Sea-Dweller, $14,400
It’s easy to get distracted by the brightest, shiniest watches of Baselworld; the watches that live up to the marketing parlance of ‘novelties’. But sometimes the real winners are the quiet achievers. I suspect Omega’s redesigned Seamaster Aqua Terra 150m will be one of these winners. The AT (as it’s often called) has long been the go-to casual dress Omega, the obvious choice for those looking for an alternative to the storied Speedmaster or the sporty Seamaster. This year that choice just got easier. The dial has been significantly improved, with less busy text, a new horizontal stripe, and a newly positioned date window at six, giving the whole dial really strong vertical balance, which looks great on the wrist. The changes don’t stop there either – the case (in 41mm and 38mm) has been subtly updated, and the crown has been modified to make it slightly more ergonomic. And of course they’re Master Chronometers, powered by mighty METAS-certified calibres. This particular model comes in at $7250.
One of the keys to success for any watch brand is to have something instantly recognisable – a watch that can be spotted from the other side of a crowded room. Hublot’s Big Bang is one such design. With its large size and uncommon case shape the Big Bang stands out, and the Sang Bleu is no exception. In fact, as this new version is made from a sizeable lump of King Gold, it’s guaranteed to be noticed. But once you get a bit closer you might start to notice things starting to look a little different. The normally rounded bezel has been clipped into a hexagonal shape, and the hands have been replaced with discs, resplendent with geometric motifs. Sure, it’s still clearly a Hublot, but the tattoo-inspired Big Bang Unico Sang Bleu is quite unlike any we’ve seen before.
If you love dive watches but don’t love the wrist-dominating size that typically goes along with the genre, you’ll want to pay close attention to Blancpain this year. Alongside new 38mm versions of the pared-back Bathyscaphe, they’ve also released a particularly hot limited edition – the Tribute to Fifty Fathoms Mil-Spec. Not only does this heritage-inspired little legend come in at a crowd-pleasing 40mm, it’s also got a funky-yet-functional dial decoration in the form of a moisture indicator. If that bi-colour circle at six changes colour, time to get your watch out of the water and into the service centre. But as you should know, there’s more to Blancpain than the Fifty Fathoms – there’s also a Villeret Day-Date, a good choice for an everyday wearer if your style sits on the formal end of the spectrum.