If you think about the natural habitat for watchmakers, images of picturesque places in Switzerland, Germany or Japan might pop up. This is true… today! But back in the golden age of mechanical watchmaking, there was another major player on the watchmaking scene: Russia. And we’re talking millions of watches a year, produced during the […]
Crystal clear.
Godzilla and Grand Seiko team up for an unforgettable collaboration.
The duo will discuss resonance in horology, as well as its discovery, development and modern interpretations.
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is a paragon of the Art Deco dress watch style, delivering a clean and classic design that has remained the same for the best part of a hundred years. While most watches with a solid caseback offer ample space for an engraving, the Reverso offers more than most thanks to its beautifully designed ability to flip the watch dial over to face the wrist, exposing the caseback to the elements. As most will know, this ingenious technique for hiding the dial from the rest of the world was born on the polo fields of India, where players required a watch that could have its glass protected against errant mallets and balls. In this regard, there is an argument to be made that the Reverso was the first ever sports watch, but today it is firmly found on the dressier side of things, pairing nicely with a daily suit and tie. What has remained unchanged, however, is the both valuable and visible real estate of the caseback, offering a blank canvas for a masterpiece of engraving. The only thing left is the owner to decide what they want depicted. Hugh, a friend of Time+Tide, was in just such…
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Last year saw the introduction of the Old Mind, a beautiful tourbillon watch with a hand-guilloché dial and immaculate finishing. It was made by two young watchmakers who recently founded their own company, called Van Bricht. Visiting their workshop, one can’t help but fall in love with their enthusiasm. In the Wallon countryside, three young […]
Jean-Claude Biver is a horological superhero. The legendary watch entrepreneur brought Blancpain back to life, resuscitated Omega and turned Hublot into a super-brand for which LVMH paid almost half a billion dollars. As a result, he’s assembled a private watch collection that would do King Midas proud. Auction house Phillips understands the appeal, which is why they’ve launched a touring exhibition of Biver’s personal timepieces. After stints in Hong Kong and New York, the collection has now pitched up in London until the end of the month (details here). Speaking in a WatchAdvisor video (see below), Biver reveals some random highlights of his jaw-dropping collection. Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Reference 1518 “There are some pieces I bought for the history and then there are some pieces I bought for my eyes. For the beauty, the exceptional beauty! Like this 1518 in rose gold. When I see it now, it is just a miracle. I think it’s the most beautiful watch I have ever seen. I think that even today, now when I see it. The colour of the dial is just amazing.” Philippe Dufour Simplicity in Rose Gold “It’s important to support the independents. They’re bringing fresh air, they’re…
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A few days ago, we uploaded a photo of the Zenith Defy Classic Ref.95.9000.670/51.R790 and asked our 120,000 followers this question: “Is the Zenith Classic underrated?” The response was resoundingly confirmative, with many people opining that not only the Defy Classic but the Defy range in general was, more often than not, overlooked and it shouldn’t be, because it’s a great collection of timepieces. For example, @styleinternity wrote: “Think most of their lineup is underrated to be honest.” @modernthrills commented: “Totally underrated.” @dwwright55 concurred, writing: “So underrated.” As did @k_temae, who added: “For sure underrated! Price is very ‘soft’ regarding quality and look.” We also posited the same question on our Instagram stories with a poll asking if the Zenith Defy was “underrated” or “rated” and, once again, the sentiment was largely the same, with 64 per cent of the 2000 voters saying the collection was underrated. With all this in mind, and as fans of the Zenith Defy collection here at T+T ourselves, we thought we’d pick out three of our favourite iterations … enjoy. Zenith Defy Classic Ref.95.9000.670/51.R790 This probably should’ve been obvious to most of you, seeing as it’s the very watch that kicked off this topic. This…
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The week before last, three members of the T+T team went on a national roadshow. Though, in reality, it was more of an airshow, considering we covered more than a lazy 10,000km in six days. The goal was to meet members of the Time+Tide Club in their own cities. It was a magical mystery tour — with the mysterious element being: would the venue still have a record of our booking? Would it be in any way suitable for showing watches? Would anyone turn up? What questions would they ask in the often ‘Town Hall’ style catch-up? Over the week, we met more than 200 club members, and heard probably as many stories about watches. It was great. Of course, the other big unknown was: what watches would they be wearing? Well, given the week Perth had had in the news, with a local YouTube personality being called out online for selling an inauthentic Rolex Daytona 116500LN, you could say I was on heightened alert when one appeared. But it wasn’t like any 116500LN I’d ever seen before. The ceramic bezel was unmistakeable. But so was the, uh, racing dial. To say that it was an awkward moment would be understating…
The post What is it with Perth and Daytonas? Glenn explains his ‘unusual’ 116500LN in the days after Horology House scandal appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Sinn has a long reputation for no-nonsense, well-priced, military-spec watches with functional design, instrumental technical solutions and, overall, a sense of durability. This resulted in great, technical-looking watches but also in a certain lack of coolness. The brand has, however, recently shown some evolutions by introducing more “fun” into the design, yet without forgetting its […]