INTRODUCING: The Oris Carl Brashear Chronograph Limited Edition
Oris have just unveiled the latest take on their popular Divers Sixty-Five line — the Oris Carl Brashear Chronograph Limited Edition, a follow-up to 2016’s popular bronze LE, named in honour of US Navy Master Diver Carl Brashear. The overall look and feel of this 43mm LE is familiar: a bronze case with deep, inky blue dial — with one notable difference. This is a chronograph, and a really neatly executed one at that. The dial is clean, with the large sub registers offering balance and symmetry, with no half-eaten numbers, date windows or overly busy scales to detract from the clean, simple good looks of the watch. Oris decided to keep the rotating elapsed time bezel, which I think is the right call. The crown and pushers are all bronze, and, interestingly, the chrono pushers don’t screw down, which goes some way to explaining the 100m of water resistance. Of course, this calls into question the dive watch bona fides of the Carl Brashear Chronograph, but honestly, it’s more of a lifestyle diver — a great-looking watch inspired by the marine world. Yes, purists will moan about it, but I don’t think that really matters. The watch is powered by…
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Summer has officially landed here in Australia. The days are long and sun-soaked, while the nights are humid and restless. With temps rising, there are only two things on my mind: whether the aircon can be reprogrammed to go colder than 16°C, and the upcoming summer holidays. It might not be much help with the AC, but one watch that was made for an island getaway is the Gavox Avidiver. A hybrid of air and sea, it combines the legibility of a pilot’s watch with the water resistance of a diver. As well as boasting an extra trick up its sleeve – or rather, its bezel. As the official watchmaker and supplier for two of Belgium’s air force squadrons, it’s no surprise that Gavox dabbles mostly in aviation-inspired designs. Just one look at the Avidiver and you can immediately see that it’s flight-ready. Large numerals at three, six, and nine o’clock combined with gauge-inspired sword hands make for a dial that’s seriously easy to read – especially in the dark when a liberal heaping of SuperLuminova lights the way. And a four-layer sandwich design that’s available in a selection of different colours – white, black or blue – adds a…
A parcel recently landed on my desk. It had made the journey all the way from the United Kingdom, and it contained two pieces from British microbrand Farer Universal. Launched earlier this year, these models made waves with their colourful dials and brightly accentuated designs. So when the opportunity arose to test drive a piece, just in time for Australian summer, I dived right in and put the Farer Universal Aqua Compressor Hecla through its paces. The first thing I noticed was — of course — the striking blue floating dial, with a wave-cut pattern, which changed gradients with the shadows. It was the perfect base for the raised polished numerals, which added some nice sophistication to the dial. In terms of legibility, we have the extra-large handset, with white Super LumiNova — a great colour choice given the rich blue dial. A final touch: a warm and bright yellow Farer logo arrow tip on the seconds hand. On the case, it’s shaped a little differently to your standard dive watches. The curves are a little more accentuated, giving it somewhat of an elongated shape. Aesthetically, it looks a little bit unusual when not being worn, and gives the perception…
The sky’s the limit in this final instalment of the best watches of 2017 – and the entry price to this exclusive club starts at a cool $20K. For this you can expect hot ceramic, classical tourbillons, cutting-edge design, ingenious engineering, and finishing to die for. Breguet Marine Équation Marchante 5887 Ah, the equation of time! It’s one of the most esoteric complications in the world of high horology, and Breguet’s innovative and deceptively simple display means that telling the difference between civil and solar time has never been this simple. $296,000 A. Lange & Söhne Tourbograph Perpetual ‘Pour le Mérite’ When it comes to mic-dropping virtuosity, no one can do it quite like the Germans. More functions than anyone rationally needs, incredible tourbillon and a fusée and chain? Yes, please. POA Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar (Ref 26579CE) What makes AP’s ever-popular perpetual calendar even hotter? Black ceramic, and lots of it. This is the first all-ceramic Royal Oak from Audemars Piguet, and we certainly hope it’s not the last. $123,000 Hublot Big Bang Meca-10 King Gold The Big Bang is a watch that isn’t afraid of making a statement, and when the Big Bang in question is the…
Things start getting serious in the $10-20k price point. In our fourth (and penultimate) ‘best watches of 2017’ video we showcase innovative materials, double dials, big crowns, thin winners and more. Panerai Submersible 1950 BMG-Tech 3 Days Automatic – 47mm Smart style and an even smarter case material ensures that Panerai’s BMG-Tech made our list, proving there’s always a place for a big, bad, 47mm diver. $13,850 Rolex Sky-Dweller No surprises here. The new Rolesor Sky-Dweller is up there with the hottest watches of 2017, offering a compelling combination of Rolex brand power, complication and a smartly streamlined dial design. From $18,250 Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic Slim is in! Bulgari’s latest evolution of their Finissimo family is the simplest yet, and offers an angular, edgy alternative to the typical delicate ultra-thin options. $19,250 on bracelet. Girard-Perregaux Laureato The return of the Laureato was one of the big stories from SIHH 2017, and Girard-Perregaux’s high-end sports option offers both form and function. And while there’s plenty of precious options, it’s hard to go past the full steel version. $16,080 Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Moon What’s better than one rectangular dress watch? Two! The JLC Reverso Tribute Moon in steel offers double the…