First Look – Omega Reissues Its First Ever, 1913 Wrist-Chronograph and Fits Original Vintage Movements Inside

There’s no doubt that, when talking Omega watches, we all now that the brand has quite a savoir-faire in terms of chronographs. Think Speedmaster, what certainly is one of the most emblematic watches ever created. Well, if you go back a bit earlier in the history (quite a lot earlier in fact), you’ll see that there’s more to discover. In 1913, Omega produced one of the world’s first wrist-chronographs and helped change the way these pieces will be later worn. Today, at the Omega Museum, the brand unveiled an incredible reissue of this antique watch, with equal military roots and, best of all, some historical, refurbished vintage movements inside. 

8 years ago

In-Depth – Urwerk UR-105 CT Streamliner: the Origins and What NYC has to do with it?

Launched to coincide with Urwerk’s twentieth anniversary in 2017, the UR-105 CT Streamliner is a celebration of the city that put the wind in Urwerk’s sails: New York. Three versions of the UR-105 CT are in circulation today, each one designed to capture a New York minute. According to co-founder and designer Martin Frei, the titanium and polished steel model is “like New York City in broad daylight, bright and shiny” while the Kryptonite model evokes a Gotham City atmosphere emitting its green lume in the dark. The most stealth interpretation of the three Streamliners is this titanium and black PVD-coated steel version, something the Dark Knight might have worn on his vigilante crusade to eradicate evil from Gotham City, New York’s fictional alter-ego in Batman movies and comics.

8 years ago

Introducing – US-based Watchmaker RGM Reissues the Limited-Edition William Penn Series

RGM Watch Co., based in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and founded in 1992 by Roland G. Murphy, is quite literally the only true American watch company standing. Unlike other brands that might build cases, dials or straps in America, RGM manufactures their own high-grade, in-house calibres that rival comparable movements from Switzerland. They’re a complete watch manufacturer. My first serious mechanical watch was a Model 107-P Pilot, an entry-level RGM piece (with an ETA 2892-A2) that’s also the oldest in their portfolio, produced since the mid-1990’s. They often use antique, hand-operated machinery to craft dials and to hand-polish components, mixing modern and traditional techniques to produce luxury watches that are often limited editions. Many have advanced complications, such as the Pennsylvania Tourbillon or Caliber 20 (with a 2nd type motor barrel and “Precise Moonphase”), and are painstakingly adorned with elaborate engine-turned (guilloché) dials and movements like the Model 801-EE. One of their most popular watch series was the Model 121-M William Penn line from the years 1999 to 2000, and in RGM style, they have reissued the watches in a very limited series of 10.

8 years ago

EDITOR’S PICK: What’s cooler than being cool? The Grand Seiko SBGA211 Snowflake

Editor’s note: With temperatures dropping, winter has officially arrived Down Under. And although the mornings are now crisp and our evenings chilly, unfortunately for us, as we dust off our cable knits and scarves, our streets are unlikely to ever be covered in a sprinkling of the white stuff.  Still, we dream dreams of snow and ice. And with this week being all about Grand Seiko for us here in the Time+Tide office, we thought there’s no better watch to remind us of winter wonderlands than the Grand Seiko SBGA211 Snowflake. Grand Seiko’s famous ‘Snowflake’ has been with us for quite some time now (it was first released, as the SBGA011, in 2010), and it’s quickly earned a reputation as an exemplary everyday watch that manages to combine functionality and beauty in equal measure. Smartly, Seiko knew enough to leave one of the cores of the Grand Seiko collection well alone … until this year. The ‘new’ Snowflake is the SBGA211, and, thankfully, it’s virtually identical to the original — except for the dial. At the start of this year it was announced that Grand Seiko would be fully independent from Seiko — a move well overdue. The most obvious symbol of this change was that the…

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8 years ago

VIDEO: A closer look at the Grand Seiko SBGR311

Grand Seiko’s limited editions are, in their own way, hype machines. They generate huge buzz and are, in the pretty fanatical world of GS enthusiasts, hotter than the proverbial hot cakes. The SBGR311, unveiled in Basel earlier this year, is no exception. Ostensibly, it’s a celebration of the mighty 9S calibre, but it’s also a pretty compelling celebration of how awesome a brown dial can be. I mean, look at this thing — it’s rich, it’s textural, it’s got a super detailed mosaic pattern on it and it’s got gold highlights. If you had told me pre-Basel that I’d fall madly in love with a brown watch, I would have been too polite to laugh in your face, but there would have been a definite snicker. But now, after seeing this guy in all his warm, chocolatey rich glory, I am down for brown. Grand Seiko SBGR311 Australian pricing and availability Grand Seiko SBGR311, limited to 1300 pieces, $7500

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8 years ago

Hands-on – Junghans Meister Chronoscope Terrassenbau Limited Edition

It’s not often that a watch brand can celebrate the centenary of a milestone in their history, but Junghans is doing just that with a pair of watches that commemorate a nine-stepped terrace building in Schramberg, Germany. This industrial building by Philipp Jakob Manz, considered to be an architectural masterpiece, was the centrepiece of the Junghans factory for decades. Junghans was the largest clock manufacturer in the world at the start of the 20thcentury and the terrace building was erected out of necessity to increase factory space in the crowded valley of Schramberg. Built directly on a slope and resembling a staircase, the building provided direct daylight into the windows of each ascending floor, with the top floor reserved for the painstaking assembly and regulation of chronometers. Today we have two limited edition Meister Chronoscope Terrassenbau timepieces to pay homage to Junghans’ renowned structure.

8 years ago