INTRODUCING: A vision in red – the brand new Omega De Ville Trésor 125th Anniversary Special Edition
It’s well known that Omega loves an anniversary, but the one that I’m currently celebrating with them in Bienne is quite significant. This year marks 125 years since the Calibre Omega — a 19-ligne movement that was so significant that, a few years after its debut in 1894, the company changed its name to the Omega Watch Company in 1903, and the rest, as they say, is history. But what made the Calibre so significant that it earned the declarative moniker of Omega — the last letter of the Greek alphabet — and the ‘ultimate’ achievement in watchmaking? Well, this calibre matters because it was innovative — it was awarded a patent for setting and winding via the crown, but more than that it mattered because it was the first serially produced movement, a movement that was not only produced using an industrial production line method, but it also meant that parts were produced very precisely, and thus interchangeable or replaceable. We might take it for granted now, but whenever you drop your watch in for a routine service, you owe a small debt to the Omega Calibre. To celebrate this achievement, Omega has released two very special watches. The…
The post INTRODUCING: A vision in red – the brand new Omega De Ville Trésor 125th Anniversary Special Edition appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Gossip is one of the staples of SIHH and, as far as gossip goes, it doesn’t get much juicier than this. Bloomberg are reporting that Patek Philippe — one of the last great independently held watchmakers — may be considering a sale. Based on a note by analysts Berenberg, there’s industry talk of a sale, which would be expected to cost seven to nine billion euros. Now, write this off as pure speculation, but as the Bloomberg article suggests, there may be some basis to the rumour. The next question: who could buy it? Swatch or Richemont perhaps, but also don’t write off Kering, LVMH, Hermès or even Chanel, all of whom have deep pockets and form with high-end watch brands. There might be nothing to it, but what if there is? Read the full article here.
Constantly feeling like the Captain Cook offerings were either too big or too small? Problem solved. If you think about it objectively, watch collectors may be the most widespread sufferers of Goldilocks Syndrome out there. While many, regardless of interest, are picky about certain aspects of their life — what foods they eat, what colours they wear, how warm or tidy they keep their home, etc — but let’s face it, we fuss over millimetres on a disturbingly frequent basis. “I won’t wear anything over 40mm in diameter” or “When they changed the case size from 42mm to 43mm it completely ruined that watch” are things we’ve either heard or said on more than one occasion, and they were said with the utmost sincerity. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m just as fussy as anyone when it comes to this matter, as was proven this past Thursday night when Rado decided to present the global first look at the Rado Captain Cook 42mm diver in Toronto. When the Captain Cook models first launched in 2017, they stuck two polarised ends of the spectrum — a 37mm model that was true to the original case size (in steel), and a beastly…
