Goodwood FoS “Festival of Speed”… If you’re into cars, you probably know that this event has become one of the major car-related events of the year. But on the contrary to the cold halls of the Paris “Mondial de l’Auto” or the Geneva International Motor Show, Goodwood FoS is all about smoking tyres, noise, action […]
Despite what many may think, the birth of the watch internet happened a long time before Instagram was around. Back in those days (in an almost Grecian purity), the forum was king, with moderators wielding the sword of truth, slaying inaccurate idiots with all of the mercy Zeus was known for. These forums, most popularly TimeZone and WatchUSeek, were where WIS from around the world would congregate to politely* discuss watches in all shapes and forms. It was a mandatory introduction to the watch internet for any enthusiast. A few folk rose to notoriety in these online communities, including the American polymath Walt Odets, a clinical psychologist and author, who was known for his love of haute horology, disdain for tool watches, and savant-like ability to tinker with complicated watch movements. If you aren’t convinced, collector Jeff Kingston mentioned him when interviewed once, describing Walt as “simply one of the most brilliant people I’ve ever met”. “I remember the first time I met Jean-Claude Biver when he was running Blancpain. He knew I was from the Bay Area and he said as soon as we met, ‘Who is this Walt Odets? Who is this person? He is the only person…
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Editor’s note: The Rolex Air-King ref. 116900 is the brand’s entry into their world of professional watches, but it’s also a piece that stands out in the line-up, thanks to its unusual dial layout and colourful logo. We take another look at this now three-year-old watch, below. Rolex famously espouses a philosophy of evolution, not revolution – and its product releases are so reliably incremental that you could, well, set your watch by them. Except when they’re not. Every so often, Rolex does something that breaks from its evolutionary mantra. Witness the Sky-Dweller, the platinum Daytona and now, the latest generation of the Air-King. There’s so much new about this watch that the only real link to the Air-Kings of yore is the name, so it genuinely shocked people when it was unveiled at Baselworld, and has polarised opinion since. But now that the watch has started arriving with retailers and making its way onto wrists, even the most vocal of naysayers are beginning to mellow. But is that really so astonishing ? This is Rolex, remember? The dial For a time-only Rolex, there’s a lot going on with this dial. To start, there’s the text, all five lines of it – two at the top…
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These are the conversations we all keep having lately. Much like our beloved Sandra Lane, I’m equally sick of the steel Rolex and Patek hype that refuses to die off (at least for now), and every time I hear of the obscene premium that people are still willing to pay for either the Nautilus 5711 (upwards of $70K) and the new GMT-Master II 126710BLRO Pepsi-bezel, I can’t help but think of the countless alternatives that I’d rather have in my collection than these two poster girls. The point of this story is precisely that –where would my hard-earned dollars go if the retail price of either or both pieces was within my grasp here and now; specifically looking at pieces you can actually go out and buy today. Not the Nautilus – 3 other options for around $70K USD Conservative – Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin When I was thinking of alternatives to the Genta-designed Nautilus, the Overseas was one of the first contenders that came to mind as a piece that’s equally sporty, and comes from a manufacture with a serious reputation for quality. What surprised me was how far up the food chain the Nautilus’ street price…
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An icon among icons… This is how we would sum up the Doxa SUB300. Recently, the brand has revived its most legendary model in multiple editions, starting with an almost 1-to-1 re-edition for the 50th anniversary, followed by specific “Aqualung” branded models in orange, silver or black – the so-called “Sharkhunter”. However, there was one […]
Tracing the original owners of watches worn by The Greatest Generation.
At Baselworld 2018, Maurice Lacroix surprised us by presenting its own (accessible) vision of a luxury sports watch. This watch, named Aikon, bears most of the necessary elements of the genre, yet for a fraction of the price commanded by those of the “Holy Trinity” – exclusivity and high-end finishings apart. Aware that these watches […]
It’s hard to overstate the importance of the Zenith El Primero. The movement, an elegant, high-beat column-wheel chronograph, is impressive enough. It’s even more impressive when you factor in that this miniature engineering feat was the first automatic chronograph to be presented as a working prototype — after seven long years of development. Just as important — or perhaps even more important — is the staying power of the El Primero. It’s been in near continuous production, and is still one of the greatest automatic chronograph movements on the market today. Today, we’re going to explore its evolution … 1969 – the birth The dramatic inception of the El Primero is probably the most famous part of its story — which makes sense given that it’s called “the first” in Esperanto (the utopian universal language that had a life much briefer than the movement itself). Zenith was in fierce R&D competition with the Chronomatic Group (Breitling, Heuer et al) and — further from home — Seiko, but Zenith made their announcement in January 1969, well before the Chronomatic in March, and Seiko in May. And while Zenith’s El Primero didn’t hit the market until October, they earned the right to…
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When it comes to affordable automatic dive watches, you have plenty of options (especially with the Kickstarter/microbrands trend). But when it comes to serious, affordable dive watches from respected, established brands, two Japanese companies run the show… Seiko for sure, but Citizen, a century-old manufacturer, shouldn’t be overlooked. To mark 50 years of its presence […]
Editor’s note: With the announcement of Tudor’s ceramic Black Bay for Only Watch 2019, we found our minds turned, inexplicably, to the darker things in life. And while the chances of owning that dark phantom are slender, the Tudor Heritage Black Bay Dark is a much more achievable goal … The story in a second: It’s time you met the dark horse of the Black Bay family. After four years of tantalising, tactical releases culminating in the near-perfect surprise announcement of the Black Bay Black last year, we weren’t expecting a new Black Bay in 2016. Well, we were wrong. Tudor gave us not one, but three completely new takes on its modern classic (and updated all the existing models to boot). So now, in addition to the colourful trio of red, blue and black, we’ve got the mighty bronze, the petite 36 and today’s subject, the midnight-hued Black Bay Dark. The case The first thing you notice about the Dark is how apt the name is. It’s a starkly monochromatic watch, the black and white colour scheme only relieved with the occasional flash of red. Of course the dial and bezel are big parts of this picture, but it’s…
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