Just Because – What is a “Ligne” in Watchmaking?

While today the world relies mostly on two measurement systems (metric and imperial), things haven’t been always that simple. Each country, each culture, sometimes even each corporation had its own units and ways to measure its commodities or production. And if you’re into watchmaking, you might have spotted one of these old units when it […]

6 years ago

INTRODUCING: The TAG Heuer Aquaracer GMT with black and blue bezel. Shut the garage door, Batman!

TAG Heuer has beefed up its popular Aquaracer GMT lineup with their latest release – the TAG Heuer Aquaracer GMT Ref. WAY201T.BA0927. And is it just us or is that ‘WAY’ in the title sent to trigger a subtle reference to you know who? If that’s the intention, there are many interesting details this Aquaracer brings to Wayne Manor. Similar to its red and blue brethren, which was unveiled in 2017, this new Aquaracer has got a lot going for it, so let’s walk you through the salient specs. The size of the stainless steel case, which features both brushed and polished elements, has remained unchanged at a beefy 43mm across, making it substantially bigger on the wrist – 3mm to be exact – than the obvious comparison watch in the same colour way, the Rolex GMT-Master II BLNR. Sitting atop the case is the watch’s new aluminium unidirectional rotating bezel, which sees the top half painted a deep black, to indicate nighttime, and the bottom half painted a handsome blue, which represents daytime. Just as before, this Aquaracer features an impressive 300 metres of water resistance, thanks largely to a screw-down crown and screw-down caseback. The dial of the watch has come…

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6 years ago

Hands-on – Fortis Official Cosmonauts Titanium Alarm Chronograph

The chronograph and the alarm are highly practical functions that can be used on a daily basis. However, these are complex mechanisms to design and manufacture. And when it comes to seeing them together, very few mechanical watches combine both functions. This is a good reason to take a close look at the Fortis Official […]

6 years ago

Quartz, the killer – A history of quartz watches, Part 2

history of quartz watchesEditor’s note: This is part 2 of a long read from the second edition of NOW Magazine, which you can pick up here. If you missed Part 1, you can find it right here. The story so far is a space race between America, Switzerland and Japan as they sought to manufacture battery powered quartz watches at scale.   On Christmas Day in 1969, Seiko beat both the Americans and the Swiss to the quartz punch when they released the gold-cased Astron. But while quartz was now on the scene, digital watches were en vogue, even gracing the wrist of James Bond when Roger Moore wore a Hamilton Pulsar P2 in the 1973 film Live And Let Die. Digital watches with either LED (Light Emitting Diode) or later LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) time displays also opened the doors for electronics companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Motorola and Texas Instruments to make watches, further squeezing the Swiss watchmaking companies. By 1978, it was all biting. The Swiss watch industry was in very serious trouble, and the move was made to restructure the industry, creating a scenario straight out of a Management Consulting textbook. This environment of necessarily aggressive mergers and acquisitions saw the rise of…

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6 years ago

Review – Seiko Diver’s 55th Anniversary, the 1965 “62MAS” Re-Creation SLA037J1

Seiko’s excellent reputation in the field of dive watches is unquestionable. We’re talking top-tier actor, member of a fine club of influencers that helped shaped what the modern dive watch is today. Yet, on the contrary to some Swiss competitors and their 1953 introductions, Seiko waited for a few more years before taking the plunge. […]

6 years ago