Stealth-wealth stunners: five platinum watches to die for (one of which the Swiss should be very afraid of…)
Platinum is the most noble metal for watches. It’s both precious and powerful, a tough and costly metal for brands to work with and for buyers to purchase. Yet being a white precious metal, there is a quiet irony to the aesthetic it provides. Platinum watches are usually the most expensive in any brand’s catalogue, yet they make for some of the best stealth-wealth options due to the fact they look like steel watches at first glance. It’s only when you feel their reassuring heft on the wrist that you truly know what you are dealing with. Here are five stunning platinum watches for all of us to admire and drool over. Patek Philippe 5270P-01 Chronograph, Perpetual Calendar Excluding the piece unique Grandmaster Chime in stainless steel, the Patek Philippe 5270P-01 Chronograph, Perpetual Calendar is the king of salmon dials. One of the most desirable complication watches the brand offers, the 5270P-01 harkens back to earlier eras of Patek Philippe design with a blend of more current taste accounted for by its modern case diameter of 41mm. Back in the day, you would have seen watches such as this closer to 36mm (aka the perfect size in my book) –…
The post Stealth-wealth stunners: five platinum watches to die for (one of which the Swiss should be very afraid of…) appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
We turn now to one of the great philosophical dilemmas of our time. It’s a profound and complex question that lies at the knotty intersection between primal desire, technology, psychology, gender equality and the mood-killing potential of trying to undo a particularly fiddly NATO strap. I refer, of course, to the ticklish conundrum: should you take off your watch before having sex? It’s actually a more divisive issue than it sounds. When Men’s Health conducted a Twitter poll on the subject in January 2019 the jury was pretty inconclusive with 57% of respondents saying that wearing a watch during sex was perfectly fine, while 43% took the view that you should just “put the damn thing on your bedside table already” before getting down to business. The gender issue At this point, we need to establish some ground rules. Without getting too intrusive: are you a man or a woman? I don’t mean to pry, you understand, but this makes a fundamental difference to the question at hand. Because expectations of complete nudity during jiggery-pokery are not the same for both genders. Let me explain. Whenever I make a cack-handed attempt to coax my long-suffering wife into conjugal activities, she’s…
Earlier this week, aptly on a #speedytuesday in Switzerland, Omega has released a new generation of Omega Speedmaster watches. The upgrade has been long-awaited with the previous references largely unchanged for the past 50 years. The Omega Speedmaster 3861 models announced introduce master chronometer co-axial technology to the professional moon watch – with subtle changes to its case, dial and bezel, plus an overhauled bracelet. Let’s take a closer look at the new watches and what they may mean for prospective buyers worldwide. The 2021 Omega Speedmaster 3861 Collection The new-generation Omega Speedmaster 3861 collection comes in the form of four watches in eight configurations – two in steel and two in precious metals (Sedna Gold and Canopus Gold). Each can be bought on either a strap or new-generation bracelet depending on your preference. The cases of the Omega Speedmaster 3861 collection are directly inspired by the fourth generation Omega Speedmaster ST 105.012 worn by Apollo 11 astronauts on the moon. The 42mm case is both satin-brushed and mirror-polished, with twisted lyre-style lugs that feature a mirror-polished bevelling. Omega has returned the double-stepped caseback to the new line, which will make the wear experience that much more akin to the original…
In spite of some not inconsiderable distractions, there were some pretty decent watches released in 2020. Quite a few of them actually. Omega relaunched their serially produced caliber 321, Bulgari executed the Octo Finissimo in steel, Grand Seiko launched an entirely new escapement in their SLGH002 and DOXA brought their most iconic design into the 21st century with a forged carbon case. But that wasn’t all. Moser joined the sports watch game with a “Matrix green” three-hander, Audemars Piguet launched a sensationally designed Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon for women and Rolex served up a colourful nod to the Stella dials of the 1970s. Amid all of these exciting new horological treats, it isn’t easy selecting a trio of favourites, but I’ve done just that, and picked the three amigos that I’d be more than happy to bolster my collection with. In fact, I’ve added one of them already. Cartier Santos-Dumont “La Demoiselle” Limited Edition in platinum Cartier continued their development of the Santos-Dumont collection that they’d begun to revitalise in 2019 with a number of new quartz references. Last year’s references focused on mechanical movements instead, as well as an expansion of precious metal cases, and several very exciting new…