Auction Report: Five Oddities From Next Week’s Phillips Game Changers Auction
It’s not all about those star lots after all.
Are Bremont the new kings of mil-spec watches?
Editor’s note: In a recent discussion with a respected watchmaker who knows a thing or two about Rolex, I posited the question, “So what’s your next timepiece going to be?” Without a moment’s hesitation, he replied: “Bremont, definitely a Bremont.” When I asked why, he said that increasingly, he was observing more similarities between Bremont and, if you can believe it, Rolex. He went on to explain that a huge part of Rolex’s history was providing military-spec watches for armed forces across the globe, and while the Swiss marque had ceased doing so, Bremont had more than carried the torch since. Back when Bremont opened their Melbourne boutique, we spotted quite a few of these military-issue timepieces on some servicemen and women of Oz and beyond. Walking into Bremont’s brand new Melbourne boutique, it doesn’t take long to work out the brand’s military and aviation connection. If the spartan style of the watches didn’t give the game away, the pictures of planes on the walls, the hanging model biplane, and the actual, very battered looking ejection seat sitting front-and-centre kind of give it away. Not that all those fine details were too easy to spot last night, as the space was…
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When classicism meets contemporary: The Baume & Mercier Classima
Here’s a question for you: how do you modernise something as traditional as a time-only dress watch? Do you utilise new-age materials? Or maybe blow-out the proportions of the timepiece? It’s a conundrum that Baume & Mercier faced with their understated range of Baume & Mercier Classima wristwatches. Their solution was to give owners the chance to physically see their mechanical watch in action, by skeletonising a portion of the dial and exposing the beating heart of its movement, the escapement. It’s a novel idea that gives the Classima a thoroughly modern aesthetic, and, perhaps more importantly, wearers a greater appreciation of the complexity of a mechanical movement. Speaking of the power source, the Classima utilises Sellita’s tried and true SW200 BV, which features self-winding, 38 hours of power, 26 jewels and an operating frequency of 4Hz. Shrouding the movement, the Classima’s traditional 40mm stainless steel case is quite slim, measuring just 8.95mm, and it’s also water resistant to 50 metres. The rest of the dial hosts all the standard accoutrements you’d expect of a dress watch such as this — Roman numerals, blued steel hands … it’s all present and accounted for. The conforming stainless steel bracelet features both…
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Introducing – Longines Heritage Military 1938
Founded in 1832, Longines is among the oldest registered watch brands in the world. It’s no wonder that the company has a sizeable portfolio of faithful reissues in its Heritage collection. Look no further than the Avigation BigEye, Legend Diver or Type A-7 for recent examples. The Longines Heritage Military 1938 is the latest piece to join the collection with a design very faithful to the 1938 original, albeit with a few modern touches. First produced at the cusp of World War II, it features all of the hallmarks of a wartime piece.
Introducing: The Hublot Classic Fusion Cruz-Diez Collection
The late artist Carlos Cruz-Diez lends a new palette of colors to a classic Hublot.
The 'Barty Party' hits Australia, and there are just 123 Rado watches available to celebrate
I’m fortunate to be able to say I’ve met a couple of world number one tennis players in my time. Ash Barty, current women’s number one, is not like any of them. She has no star vibes as such. No X Factor. No celebrity aura. What she carries with herself, which comes across in person, is more powerful – and rarer – than that. It’s total ease with herself. And a level of self-belief, to back herself in every word she says. It’s borderline frightening. All answers are direct, honest, sincere. This one, for example. I’d asked, “Is Serena Williams intimidating to play against?” The response was instantaneous: “She is,” and with this a squint and a nod. “The first time. But not the second.” This answer frames exactly why the 23-year-old Australian is the best player in the world. She has a rock-solid self-belief. She has no doubt she is up where she belongs. The Number 1 seed for the Australian Open next month, who lists Alicia Molik, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin as her heroes, has steel in her eyes. Friend of Time+Tide and tennis commentator Miguel Seabra describes her this way: “She’s a great player. Or should…
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Hands-on – Laurent Ferrier Galet Annual Calendar School Piece “Geneva Edition” – Steel & Salmon
In tune with the season, Laurent Ferrier launches an ‘autumn-inspired’ version of his well-known Galet Annual Calendar School Piece. Created for retailer Boutique Montres Prestige in Geneva, the watch, in a 40mm steel case with an opaline salmon-coloured dial, is a limited edition of just five pieces. And well, it looks really good.
In-Depth: My Hunt For John Glenn’s Watches
What happened when eight watches worn by the American astronaut and senator suddenly turned up at a little-noticed estate sale in a suburban home.
Introducing – Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers “La Musique du Temps” Collection
Vacheron Constantin interprets an Haute Horlogerie Christmas carol with a series of 12 unique pieces made by its Les Cabinotiers artisans and grouped under the title “La Musique du Temps”. As you might have guessed, they are all repeaters and hyper-exclusive editions limited to just one piece per model. Today, we take a look at […]
In The Shop – Announcements: The HODINKEE Shop Is Now An Authorized Leica Camera Retailer
The first camera company to join the HODINKEE Shop is a familiar face.