FRIDAY WIND DOWN: Balls, death, Dan Henry's 1937 and Bulgari's best

Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon AeroGMT IIFriday has come around with lightning speed this week. And hot on the heels of our story last week about James Murdoch buying into Baselworld’s parent company, MCH, comes the news that a new show, called “HourUniverse” will debut in April 2021 in Basel. Yes, timed perfectly to align with the newly announced Watches & Wonders show in Geneva. “The new concept is a B2B2C meeting point that places the consumer at the heart of its focus … including CPO (Certified Pre-Owned).” The unanswered questions are how it will place journalists like us in two cities at once, and who will show, and what wiener sausages they will serve, and, and … We will keep you posted on these breaking stories as they happen. In other news, we welcome two new models to our marketplace from Ball Watches. We have selected the Engineer Hydrocarbon and the Engineer Hydrocarbon AeroGMT II with red and blue, which is something of a coup, as it’s currently a USA-only edition, and not available elsewhere. There will be more on these models over the coming weeks. Exclusivities have been the flavour of an otherwise bustling week for us, with the exquisitely styled Dan Henry 1937…

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5 years ago

Value Proposition – Akrone K-05 Automatic Chronograph

The accessible microbrand market is flourishing, yet among those hundreds of value proposition models, one has to be extremely selective. Putting design aside, quality isn’t always on par with what you’d expect from a nice mechanical watch and, sometimes, established brands remain the best possible option. Yet, some newcomers are doing a great job to […]

5 years ago

INTRODUCING: The Grand Seiko SBGE253, SBGE257 and SBGE255 – 3 GMTs with colour, curves and cutting-edge tech

Twenty-seven … that’s how many watches Grand Seiko have already unveiled this year. And that’s not really an accurate statement – 27 new watches have been released to the Australian market. If you include limited editions, boutique editions and models from other regions, the number is closer to 40. The wheels may well have fallen off 2020 in just about every sense, but Grand Seiko seems to have actually gained a set – making some damn fine watches and trucking through chaos in fine style. Better still, it seems as though someone back at HQ in Tokyo has twigged that 44mm+ watches that are thicker than the new Hodinkee Travel Clock aren’t exactly what most watch enthusiasts want. No, Grand Seiko’s new timepieces are shrinking, and they’ve started exercising – get ready for some curves in all the right places. This new-found design philosophy is perfectly demonstrated in their latest releases – the Grand Seiko SBGE253, SBGE257 and SBGE255. These three new GMTs have piqued many people’s interest, and rightly so because there’s a lot to like here. The case The stainless steel case, for instance, measures just 40.5mm across and 14.7mm thick, which is very reasonable, considering the mechanical innards.…

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5 years ago

INTRODUCING: The TAG Heuer Aquaracer "Tortoise Shell" ain't like your Granny's glasses…

TAG Heuer Aquaracer "Tortoise Shell"The summer watch is a category as important as pilot’s watch or doctor’s watch, but without the historically derived definition that comes from a serious professional context. A loose definition might include a watch that needs to be robust, waterproof and easy to read after five Aperol Spritzes, but it also needs to be fun and communicate a bit of personality. After all, the summer holidays (regardless of the hemisphere you live in) are a time when the workplace persona can be dropped, you can relax into the warmer weather and leave your more conservative timepieces in the safe for a few weeks. Bright colours, uncommon textures and interesting materials are all part of the summer watch playbook, as they aim to complement your board shorts instead of your boardroom suit and tie. For all those reasons, the new TAG Heuer Aquaracer “Tortoise Shell” is one of the most compelling summer watches to hit the market this year. Being born into the Aquaracer family of TAG Heuer makes perfect sense, as the tool watch DNA of the collection nicely matches up with the brief of being a robust and waterproof watch. True to heritage, this latest member of the Aquaracer…

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5 years ago

Hands-on – The Hanhart S-Series 105 OE, No-Nonsense Flight Instruments

The pilot watch is one of the most coveted categories on the market with a wide range of models ranging from accessible to high-end, time-only or chronograph functionality to vintage or modern styling. Several brands enjoy a certain legitimacy in the field of pilot watches, among them is the German manufacturer Hanhart – arguably one […]

5 years ago