In the light of the uncertainty provoked by the current health crisis, most of the major fairs of 2020 were cancelled – including the two heavyweights that are Baselworld and Watches & Wonders, the latter having held a digital edition already in April 2020. For 2021, afraid of the (non) evolution of the sanitary situation, […]
To the average punter, casual enthusiast or proper aficionado, there is one brand that manages to muscle itself into just about every current conversation about watches. And the king rightly wears the crown. But there’s a problem for many, should they intend to deepen their own relationship with Rolex. Namely, the inflated prices that we have discussed many times before. And that’s a hard, oyster-shaped pill to swallow if you’re only new to this crazy industry. So, what’s the solution? Well, there are a number of avenues you can go down to sort your Wilsdorf fix. And this is a really good one. You could, if brave enough, buy into the increasingly popular homage segment of the watch industry. There are innumerable brands out there right now that will happily sell you a facsimile of your favourite Rolex for a fraction of the cost. Buyer beware, though – some of these creativity-free timepieces are about as well made as that pair of rip-off Ray-Bans your Aunty bought you on her last trip to Bali. And be prepared for watch snobs everywhere to turn their noses up at anything that isn’t the real deal. Ours included. Just don’t do it, no…
The post WHY I BOUGHT IT: My Tudor Oyster Prince has the Rolex stamp of approval, without the price tag appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Originally designed as a time-and-date model when it was introduced in 1972, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak has since been offered with countless complications, including the most complex of them all, a grand complication. The tourbillon, an AP speciality is, of course, no stranger to the Royal Oak and was first used in the iconic […]
An American take on a classic British chronometer.
After the inaugural launch of its new and important Code 11.59 collection last year, Audemars Piguet is now playing with the existing models and is “spicing up” the looks to give this modern interpretation of a classic watch some appeal. We’ve seen it, for instance, on the time-and-date and chronograph versions, fitted with smoked dials. […]
You don’t need the statistics to tell you that Apple Watches sell more than the rest of the Swiss watch industry combined. You need only to glance at people’s wrists. You can’t miss those sleek square slabs. They’re everywhere. Worn by every age group, in every profession. I’ve been told they’re particularly popular among undertakers, who can discreetly check messages without having to whip out the phone in the middle of a widow’s eulogy. But I refuse to wear one. Worse, I instinctively let out a pathetic little “pah” of derision at the mere mention of the Apple Watch. Why? Because I believe there’s a difference between having an obsession with a watch and being a slave to one. Traditional watches are not hyperactive kids bouncing about on your wrist, demanding that you give them attention right now. Wind your mechanical watch every day, or keep that automatic’s rotor turning, and it will do its job calmly and soberly, without minute-by-minute demands. And it’ll do it with a calm and regular tick-tick-tick, not the intrusive buzzing of notifications. I sit with friends and see them constantly glancing at their wrist at every single interruption. An Apple Watch isn’t asking you…
The post The only thing I want buzzing on my wrist is a Memovox. Why I’ll never wear an Apple Watch… appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Independent German watch manufacturer, Moritz Grossmann has come a long way in its short 12-year history. When trained watchmaker, Christine Hutter claimed rights to the company in 2008 she intended to revive the heritage of Carl Moritz Grossmann – a 19th-century pocket watch and clockmaker who also founded Glashutte’s German School of Watchmaking in 1878. […]
The Seamaster is one of Omega’s oldest collection, born in 1948, and modelled after watches that Omega delivered to the Royal Air Force during the second world war. Then, the collection expanded drastically, ranging from elegant timepieces to ultra-robust instruments. Looking closely at the history of the Seamaster, another date is important to note – […]
Editor’s note: With many expecting (or more accurately hoping) for an Rolex Explorer refresh come 2021, we wanted to revisit that time in 2018 when our Canadian contributor – who you might know from his all-conquering BLNR review – Bruce Duguay was offered one by his AD. When presented with an Explorer II 16570 at retail (and with a discount no less), Bruce may or may not have declined to snag it – his eyes and heart possibly taken by another family within the Rolex catalogue. We will let you read the full story below, but one thing we suggest you keep in mind as you read through his experience is the reality that the 16570 represents the end of a more classic profile in the Explorer II line. If the refresh is anything like the 2020 Submariner, we may have a larger, yet tapered, profile available next year – and possibly with a ceramic bezel. With that being said, many buyers are downsizing their collections, and I don’t mean in number. I am talking diameter. The 36mm Explorer I is trading on par with its newer 39mm sibling, when usually smaller watches don’t hold their value as strongly. Clearly, collectors are looking back to classic aesthetics, diameters…
The post The white dial Rolex Explorer II 16570 is an ice-cold classic hiding in plain sight appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Oh, and we tell you how to order one, too.