HANDS-ON: Fancy a date? How about the Nomos Tangente neomatik 41 Update
Surely there is no more contentious complication in the world of watchmaking than a seemingly humble date display? It’s hard to believe that something so useful, and seemingly ubiquitous, can be so divisive. One way to end the date/no date feud is to include it, but with a twist. And a twist is certainly what the Tangente neomatik 41 Update offers. The date is shown in the radial fashion, at the outermost extremity of the dial — already alleviating the issue of a dial-disfiguring date window, and working with the Nomos’ signature pared back vibe. And the Tangente, with its ultra slim and super subtle, serif-y Arabic numerals, is the purest and most pared back of the lot, even when it’s the larger 41mm version. Back to that date, though. It’s not as simple as being a radial date; you’ll notice that the date is indicated by being bracketed between two little lozenges of red, proving that a little bit of colour goes a long way. It’s a neat implementation to be honest, which allows the radial date to occupy a fairly narrow amount of real estate (less than putting a coloured aperture above or below a number), and maintains…
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Editor’s note: More and more men are opting for tailored suits and a properly fitted outfit. Harking back to the days of style, when refinement and elegance were elements that defined a man. And as most watch fans know, no suit is complete without an accompanying piece of fine wrist wear. So before you step in for your next custom measure, it’s worth considering what will be strapped to your wrist. Perhaps Cartier’s charmingly romantic Drive de Cartier Moon Phases? In our recently published interview, Arnaud Carrez, Cartier’s Head of Marketing and Communications, said the Drive represented a different kind of masculinity, one that wasn’t defined by “muscles, sport, achievement, performance”, but by “elegance, and style, and refinement”. Looking at the Drive de Cartier Moon Phases, you can see what he means. It’s a confident watch that takes the dressy Drive design and, by adding the eternally romantic moon phase at six, elevates it to the next level of elegance. Introduced at SIHH in stainless steel and pink gold, the Drive Moon Phases took a bit of a back seat to the critically acclaimed Extra Flat, but for me the Moon Phases is the perfect embodiment of what Drive is all about. In gold,…
Editor’s note: I first wrote this story back in April 2017. And, in those more innocent days, I hoped I’d become a better person and not abuse those old favourites of the watch world. But you know what? Today I hang my head in shame. In the 18 months since this first published, I’ve written about innovation and icons a-plenty. I can be better. I will try to be better. This I pledge. A large part of my job is sifting through press releases. After a while they all start reading the same, thanks to the seemingly limited vocabulary of most marketing departments. And you know what the greatest irony is? While these communications have been designed to make the watch they’re talking about stand out and sound unique, the constant, jargonistic repetition of these rote phrases has precisely the opposite effect. Now, it’s only fair to point out that I’m far from guilt-free in this situation. I’m pretty sure I’ve abused all the below words at some point. But you know what they say – admitting you have a problem is the first step on the road to recovery. Icon A quick Google suggests that, outside of specific religious meanings,…
If you’re not familiar with the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (AKA the FHH), it’s one of the industry’s peak bodies, founded in 2005 to promote fine watchmaking in Switzerland and across the world. It’s an organisation with 43 partner brands, the most recent being Breitling. This development should come as no massive surprise if you’ve been following the recent developments around Breitling, spearheaded by Georges Kern, who stepped away from Richemont to take Breitling’s top job. Mr Kern has worked his trademark magic on the blue-chip brand, seriously shaking up the Saint-Imier-based manufacture, including a streamlined product offering. And while membership of the FHH, and alignment with spreading the message of fine watchmaking seems like a nice symbolic gesture, there’s actually a very tangible reason why it matters. The FHH is the organising body of the SIHH, and many FHH members (in addition to Richemont Group brands that dominate the Salon) also exhibit at the Salon. Does this announcement mean that an announcement about Breitling showing at SIHH is just around the corner?