Watch Dandy

The more watches you see, the less likely it becomes that you see something you’ve never seen before. The Girard-Perregaux Absolute Rock, however, is absolutely unlike anything I’ve seen before. While the case shape and dial layout has been seen, in different references within the Laureato collection, the eye-catching element of this watch is the case material. The watch is constructed in a proprietary material known as Carbon Glass, a name that perfectly encapsulates the layered crystalline aesthetic on display. Carbon itself is not a new material in watchmaking, and has been used in countless watches. Carbon Glass, on the other hand, looks as though a carbon watch case has a current run through it, creating electric blue structures within the carbon that appear to be radiating with self luminescence. It’s one of the most remarkable materials you are likely to hear of today, so let’s take a closer look. Measuring up the new Girard-Perregaux Absolute Rock, we are met with a 44mm case diameter that is 14.75mm tall. Not small, but well sized for a modern sports watch. The matte black sandwich dial has impressive depth to it, and has been faintly radially brushed. The chronograph registers are arranged…

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It’s a hard life being the watch of an action hero. For starters, you’re forced to put up with all the endless gunfights, speedboat chases and henchmen annihilation. Worse still, you’re always getting overlooked. The viewer’s eye rarely gets to appreciate the majesty of your Swiss-made dial, because it’s invariably yanked towards whatever kung-fu carnage or helicopter hijacking that your square-jawed owner is currently involved in. Yet these cinematic timepieces deserve their moment in the spotlight. That’s why we’ve decided to take a closer look at the watches on the end of the stunts. Hobbs & Shaw – Rolex and Panerai Dubbed “a fervently brainless delight” by The Guardian, Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham battle against Idris Elba’s bad-ass cyborg in this spin-off of The Fast and the Furious franchise. The Rock, playing a tough federal agent who likes reading Nietzsche, wears a Panerai Luminor Submersible that looks positively dainty on a wrist the size of a redwood tree trunk. But this leaves his co-star in something of a horological quandary. Statham, as mentioned later on, is a big Panerai man. Now he was forced to change things up – but to what? Thankfully our resident watch spotter Nick Gould…

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