HANDS-ON: The mysterious Rolex Submariner Date ref. 116659 SABR – white gold, blue dial and a whole lot of bling
There was a lot of mystery surrounding this piece when it was pulled out of a large green box during our appointment with Rolex at Baselworld. And, to be honest, we were too caught up in the moment, too dazzled by the gemstones, to take it all in at the time. It’s formally known as the Submariner Date ref. 116659 SABR, a variant on the white gold, blue-dialled ‘Smurf’ (ref. 116659 LB), but while at first glance it might look like the stones are the only addition, the dial is completely different. Not only is it darker, and has a sunray effect, but there’s a notable omission. Look closer. Have you spotted it yet? That’s right, there’s no depth rating. On a typical sub, there’s a line underneath the ‘Submariner’ text that says the watch is good to ‘1000ft = 300m’; not so here. And there’s also no specific mention of depth rating on the press release, though it does specify an Oyster case and Triplock crown. But it bears the Submariner name, so you’d expect it to be 300m, though it’s not made explicit, perhaps something to do with all those diamonds. Speaking of stones, the bezel is set, in Rolex’s…
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Last year, Jaquet Droz rolled out a first round of the Grande Seconde Moon in three editions, including two steel models, and an ivory-coloured enamel dial cased in red gold. Building on the model’s success (and the growing popularity of black and gold wristwatches across the board), the brand added a fourth model to the collection at Baselworld 2018 in the form of this elegant-yet-modern black enamel model cased in red gold. Given how smitten I was with the first iterations — especially the beautiful level of detail in the execution of their moonphase complication — I couldn’t wait to take a closer look. Vital statistics As noted, the changes with this new model are entirely visual. Powered by the self-winding caliber 2660QL3, which features a silicon hairspring and a pair of mainspring barrels delivering at 68-hour power reserve, its moonphase complication was executed to maintain accuracy for 122 years and 46 days before requiring a 1-day correction. I always find these sort of stats a little humorous, as this accuracy is effectively useless unless the caliber is maintained fully wound and running for that duration of time (which, by the way, is impossible considering the need for servicing along the way).…
This year saw Bell & Ross expand their popular Renault Sport collection, and add a smaller, regular dialled version. I had the pleasure of chatting with Bell & Ross co-founder and CEO, Carlos Rosillo, to discuss the new models, and hear his thoughts on the ongoing partnership with Renault Sport. Most people know Bell & Ross for their iconic aviation-inspired timepieces; however, Carlos sees the partnership with Renault as a natural fit, highlighting their fondness of Bell & Ross, and Renault’s Chairman and CEO, Carlos Ghosn, as key reasons for the partnership coming to fruition. Launching into F1 was foreign territory for Bell & Ross, but partnering with a fellow French brand makes sense. Now in year three of the partnership, Carlos has gained several insights into the sport, and what it takes to be successful — placing a high emphasis on teamwork and collaboration. CR: It’s like in any business – it’s all about teamwork. You need the right car and the right team; if you do, you have a better chance to succeed. Looking at the collection itself, we saw an additional model added, the BR 03-94, which features a ‘regular’ carbon fibre dial, and comes in at 42mm…