HANDS-ON: The Tudor Black Bay Bronze with slate grey dial for 2019
If there was ever a case study for the difference a dial (and bezel) can make, the 2019 edition of the Tudor Black Bay Bronze with its slate grey dial is that watch. The new colour is subtle, and executed in a sophisticated manner, making for a dramatic improvement on the now discontinued khaki/brown version. Before we get to the cool grey makeover, a recap. The Black Bay Bronze (or BBB to its friends) is — you guessed it — a bronze-cased version of Tudor’s flagship Black Bay. Specifically an alloy of bronze that’s high in aluminium, meaning you won’t get the sort of crazy green patina that was super popular a few years ago. As you’d expect, it’s an in-house movement, the MT5601. It’s still also the biggest of the Black Bays, rocking in at 43mm across, so if you’re slight of wrist, consider yourself warned. It comes on either a leather or fabric strap, though it’s worth noting that these days it’s an either/or situation, not both. But, that dial. Slate grey really is an accurate term in this case. The dial looks cool and inviting — just like a slate floor on a hot day. It’s also an…
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Most of the time we’re OK living in Australia. We’ve got great beaches, a laidback culture and some colloquial slang that’s more colourful than a hatful of rainbow bezels. But sometimes we feel we’re missing out. And today is one of those days. When we spotted this article on Uncrate about a US boutique-only Omega LE, we felt the thirst. And not just because it’s a collab between Omega and their best pal Clooney’s spirits company Casamigos. No, this watch, in matt black ceramic on sailcloth with teal text, has us feeling all sorts of things. You can feel them too, over at Uncrate. 
Last year, Seiko announced their Save the Ocean initiative – a partnership between famed underwater explorer and conservationist Fabien Cousteau and Seiko Prospex. This program is aimed at raising awareness (and funds) for marine conservation. It was also a partnership that saw some very cool ‘Save the Ocean’ editions of classic Seiko divers. Well, it’s 2019 now, and time for another edition of this feel-good diver. And while the blue colour theme is the same, the details are a little different. Meet the Save the Ocean Great White Shark edition ’turtle’ diver, AKA the Seiko SRPD21K. Fundamentally, this is the same Seiko diver we all know and love: 45mm case, Hardlex crystal, more than enough lume to shake the room (tick, tick, tick, boom), a crown at four allowing you to change the time, day and date on the 4R36 movement, a diver’s bezel with a blue and black aluminium insert, and a solid steel bracelet. What’s new though is, of course, the dial. It’s a metallic, shimmering oceanic blue, with a pressed pattern on it evoking, if not quite Hokusai’s Great Wave then certainly some pretty choppy seas. The link between the watch and saving the ocean could not be…
Editor’s note: Ahh, bezel screws. Along with date windows, nothing riles up the watch-loving populace quite as much as a misaligned, exposed bezel screw. So, in that spirit, here’s an opinion piece we wrote on just that topic a little while ago … “Such a shame they don’t take the time to align their screws. I wouldn’t buy one purely because of this.” Every time we post a picture of a watch with exposed bezel screws (mostly Hublot or Bell & Ross) we get a variation of this comment. And I’m well and truly over it. While many brands use exposed screws on bezels, the most commonly cited example is that of the iconic Royal Oak from Audemars Piguet. It’s certainly what all the commenters on our social feeds reference when they’re lambasting other brands for their inability to align screws. But you know the funny thing? The screws on the AP’s bezels aren’t screws. In fact, they’re threaded nuts that fit neatly and immovably into the perfectly hexagonal holes in the bezel. They’re secured via the screws on the caseback, which —surprise surprise — aren’t neatly aligned. In contrast, the bezel screws on your Bell & Ross or Hublot are…
The inimitable Niki Lauda died yesterday, and Formula 1 lost one of its most enduring icons. And I don’t know about you, but my own little tribute to this man will take the form of finishing off Formula 1: Drive to Survive (and marvelling at the on and off-track intensity of the sport), and re-watching Rush, the 2013 Ron Howard biopic detailing the professional rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt. Rush is an excellent film, and in addition to being exquisitely played by Daniel Brühl, Niki Lauda served as a technical advisor. Read more about the film, and particularly the role TAG Heuer played in it, in this article by the charming Miguel Seabra over on WorldTempus.