INTRODUCING: Put the petal to the metal with the Hublot Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami All Black
It’s late January, which means it’s LVMH Watch Week, an event where the watch departments of Bulgari, Hublot and Zenith unleash their new novelties for the year. For Hublot in 2021, we enjoyed a number of updates to existing collections, including a totally new colour of sapphire crystal in the Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic, a ceramic expansion of the Big Bang Integral collection and the Big Bang MP-11 now in Magic Gold. But we were also treated to an exciting new reference that should quicken the pulse of fans of Takashi Murakami. The Hublot Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami All Black takes the famous “smiling flower” motif of the cult Japanese artist and lets it bloom into horological form. Using the Classic Fusion as a base template, the watch is constructed from 45mm of black ceramic and is paired with the black rubber strap that Hublot is so famous for. For those who follow Takashi Murakami’s high-impact work, you might be surprised to see the monochromatic tones of this collaboration watch, but the liveliness of the dial does more for the watch than colour ever could. Set with 563 black diamonds, the dial features one of Murakami’s most well-known motifs in…
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The Swiss maisons are at it again, bringing their entire arsenal of craftsmanship to celebrate the Chinese New Year. As we all know, the Chinese market is huge and a great reason for watch brands to bring out the big guns. By big guns, however, we really mean the opposite here, as tiny instruments and loupes are dusted off to bring artisanal handmade details to the forefront and start off 2021 with an artful bang. Chopard L.U.C XP Urushi Spirit of Shi Chen Lustrous gold meets inky black framed in the classic L.U.C case from Chopard that offers a perfect balance of pebble-round comfort and swoopy lugs. The 40mm dial is a beautifully crafted surface of the Urushi lacquer we know from the best wristworn examples of Japanese craftsmanship, here delightfully integrated into Chopard’s design. The dial has a large crescent-shaped window in the upper half of the dial displaying the animals from the Chinese cycle of the Zodiac, with a balanced Chinese symbol in the centre. This large and engagingly symmetrical symbol of prosperity lends an almost architectural formality to the background. Arrowhead indices and the contemporary sword hands of the L.U.C series brings a sharp modernity that works,…
Back in November, we were treated to two new releases from Grand Seiko to honour the founding of the Seiko brand. As we covered, 2021 marks the 160th anniversary of the birth of founder Kintaro Hattori and the 140th anniversary of the birth of the Seiko Corporation. Hattori, at the age of 21, would create what would later become Seikosha and eventually the Seiko Corporation we have all become so fond of. Now that 2021 has arrived, Seiko is joining in on the celebration to help kick off the new year – and there is a lot to like about the new Seiko SSH083 and SPB205. The watches each capture picturesque elements of Japan with the SSH083 embodying cherry blossoms lit by the night sky and the SPB205 evoking Tokyo at dawn. Both watches really stand out within the catalogue through their “super-hard black coatings” that result in an appealing stealthy sharpness. Seiko Astron GPS Solar Dual-Time 5X53 SSH083 The Seiko Astron GPS Solar Dual-Time 5X53 SSH083 is 42.7mm in diameter and 13.3mm thick. The 100 metre water-resistant case is inspired by 1969 Quartz Astron cases, and features Grand Seiko-like geometries with contrasting polished and satin-brushed surfaces. The bracelet is…
One of my favourite traits of the Octo catalogue from Bulgari is its matte, smooth and very quiet elegance. While the endlessly creative Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, Bulgari’s chief watch designer, continually sets the bar ever higher, it’s mostly done without the flash and bang of complications. But this week we saw the debut of the Bulgari Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon. While Bulgari has created some more demonstrative pieces – like the sinous dynamic of the Serpenti series – the brand’s emphasis is generally on the understated style and fascinating angular design of the unique Octo case. On the back of that, Bulgari is now renowned for its paper-thin wristwear. But this dark testament to Haute Horlogerie is one of a strong deck of ultra complex cards in the Roma range. This watch combines a tourbillon with a repeater striking a three-hammer chime all packaged up in a stealthy dark suit that hints at the wondrous complexity within. For connoisseurs of the Bulgari brand, the DNA of the minimalist Finissimo Minute Repeater Carbon is mixed with the dramatic opulence of the Grande Sonnerie Perpetual Calendar, two milestones from the maison’s top tier. The dark case is anything but small, yet it’s…
Joe Rogan has one of the most popular voices in the world. His podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, gets close to 200 million monthly downloads and you can understand why. He’s had everyone who is anyone on the show, including a wide variety of celebrities, sports stars, scientists, politicians and more. Names like Mike Tyson, Elon Musk, Jocko Willink and even Edward Snowden have all shared the airwaves with Joe on his 1603-episode journey and he’s showing no signs of slowing down after signing a $100 million deal with Spotify last year. Recently on episode #1600 he interviewed AI researcher Lex Friedman, who is working in the field of “autonomous vehicles, human-robot interaction, and machine learning”. That’s when Joe did something he doesn’t usually do with his guests. He gave Friedman a watch. And it was a pretty cool watch too. In fact, it was an Omega Speedmaster Moonphase Co-Axial Master Chronometer that was released in 2016 as one of a four watch collection. Featuring the in-house manufactured caliber 9904 movement, it boasts a full 60 hours of power reserve and a rather complex 368 parts, as well as offering a moonphase with a photorealistic moon in the display to…
It isn’t often that the brands we review are homegrown right here in Melbourne, but that’s exactly the case with John Robert Wristwatches. Melbourne is a really, really long way from Switzerland (just ask Andrew about the long-haul flights to Baselworld over the years). But despite the tyranny of distance, the first John Robert Wristwatches Archetype collection has several compelling features that are cause for serious consideration. In essence, the Archetype is a modern realisation of a mid-century dress watch. And if you’re looking for a place in horological history to plant a flag for your first watch, the unofficial but universally regarded golden age of watch design is a good place to do it. The Archetype is available with either a Swiss-made automatic or quartz movement, as well as three different dial colours of blue, white and charcoal, which offer a good range of options right from the word go. The particularly interesting thing about all six of the new Archetype references is that the closer you look, the more details you see that make you realise this is a collection that’s been meticulously thought through. While the Sellita SW200 powering the automatic references is relatively ubiquitous for a…
Editor’s note: For many desirable watches, the ‘waiting list’ is now not even an option. And as for a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711, it’s well and truly closed, with the announcement this week that it will be discontinued. As a result there’s a good deal of cynicism about the whole concept. Which is why, when this video – about Tom’s lucky day – was nostalgically raised at an editorial meeting this week, we all glazed over. See, there WAS a time when the system worked. When you put your name down and got “the call”. We thought we’d revisit it on the site. These days may be gone, and the prices on the 5711 rising like the level of this cup tea in a post by @hautetime , but here’s the proof they did exist… View this post on Instagram A post shared by Time+Tide (@timetidewatches) In the first episode of a new Time+Tide video series called ‘Every Watch Tells A Story’ — in which we ask people to choose a watch in their collection with a memorable backstory — Tom explains how he came to be the proud owner of a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711, a watch that has had arguably more attention in…