The dark delights of the black ceramic TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 01
Editor’s note: I’m a big fan of the Heuer 01 from TAG Heuer. It’s a cool, modern watch that looks great in a whole bunch of executions. And, to my mind, one of the best is this fully black ceramic number. Sporty, stealthy and — dare we say it — sexy. In two short years, TAG Heuer’s Carrera Heuer 01 has gone from a single statement model to a fully fledged sub-collection, with something for everyone. Having said that, this stealthy, slightly smaller 43mm in matt black ceramic might just be the most versatile model yet. The case There are two noteworthy features of the case of the CAR2090: its size and material. First of all, the size. As I’ve said before, the 43mm Heuer 01 models are much friendlier to more wrists than the (frankly, pretty massive) 45mm versions. 43mm is still a large, modern sports case size that doesn’t — especially when coupled with the height required by the integrated chrono movement — lack anything in the wrist appeal department. Secondly, the material. The matt black ceramic case construction (with a stainless steel core and caseback for water resistance) doesn’t just look mean, it also means your watch…
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Editor’s note: OK, yes, it seems as though every time you scroll through Instagram these days, it’s highly probable that your feed will be inundated with myriad “rainbow” bejewelled-bezel timepieces. And whether you’re for or against them, there’s no denying it – these bedazzled technicolour flex watches are firmly solidified in the zeitgeist of current watch culture. It’s not just the ubiquitous (if you can call it that) Rolex Daytona Ref. 116595 RBOW either, with several watchmakers jumping on the figurative “coloured ice drop” bandwagon. Hublot, in particular, has been a strong proponent for these types of timepieces, with the Swiss marque producing several vibrant iterations across their various collections. One such watch that really stands out in Hublot’s catalogue is this, the Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Power Reserve 5 Days Sapphire Rainbow. Our man, Felix Scholz, was lucky enough to go hands-on with the near quarter-of-a-million dollar watch late last year, and these were his initial impressions: There are a lot of things I love about Hublot, and I’ve got to say, this watch manages to cram pretty much all of them (barring ceramic) into one awesome, 45mm package. It’s the Big Bang Tourbillon Power Reserve 5 Days Sapphire Rainbow,…
To the uninitiated, it may come as a surprise to learn that watches can actually do a fair bit more than merely tell you what time it is. In fact, the myriad complications that can currently be housed inside a timepiece are actually a little bit staggering when you stop to think about it. Weekly calendar, annual calendar, perpetual calendar, minute repeater, split-seconds chronograph, moon phase … the list goes on and on. But here’s one thing that I bet even the most astute of watch enthusiasts may not have considered – some watches can save your life, and here are the top three candidates that could conceivably do just that: Apple Watch Series 4 and 5 Hypotheticals aside, the Apple Watch Series 4 and 5, equipped with the “fall detection” feature, have quite literally saved lives. Just last month, for example, a mountain bike rider in Spokane, Washington, had a hard fall and knocked himself unconscious. Through the use of its gyroscopic and accelerometer sensors, the Apple Watch was able to detect the hard impact. And once it had, not only did the smart watch alert his next of kin about the accident and his location, the watch…
Editor’s note: Watch people love nothing more than popping watches into genres or tropes. And while a lot of the time these categorisations can be a little, how shall we put it — arbitrary — in the case of Breguet’s Classique 7147 we’re pretty comfortable declaring this as a dress watch, and a dress watch in the truest and most classical sense. The Classique 7147 is the definition of a quiet achiever. It’s a simple, sturdy watch that does everything asked of it with style, and it does so with a sense of reserved assurance that only a watch with ‘Breguet’ on the dial can adequately muster. The purpose of this Breguet is to be a dress watch without equal. If you need a black-tie timepiece that speaks to tradition and classical style, without being yet another ho-hum exercise in derivative design, we suggest you make a beeline for the Classique 7147. The case The first thing you need to know about the 7147 is that it’s not a completely new design. Rather, it’s an update of the Classique 5140. From a distance these two timepieces look indistinguishable, but up close the 7147’s new body-work stands out. At 40mm it’s…
The story in a second: One of the best watch designs of recent times gets complicated. I know I’m not alone in thinking that the Octo Finissimo family is one of the most important commercial watch designs of the last decade or so. Sure, it’s based on an old Genta design, but the Octo has evolved so far under the careful ministrations of Bulgari’s design team so as to legitimately stand tall on its own merits. It’s a strong design, one that deigns to ape the past and provides a compelling argument for modernity and a versatile platform that looks great in numerous metals and treatments. And while the Octo exists in Bulgari’s ‘regular’ watches, the Octo Finissimo takes the design to its logical, breathtaking conclusion. And the Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT proves that, and then some. The case There are two things that really struck me about the case of this watch. Firstly, just how well it works as a chronograph. Now, many watch designs look a little ordinary when that smooth profile has been marred by a few pushers popping out all over the place. Not so here. In fact, if it wasn’t for those registers on the…
