At SIHH 2016, Audemars Piguet showed off its Royal Oak Concept Supersonnerie Tourbillon Chronograph watch, a minute repeater watch of extreme engineering and without any peers.
This cool, calm and collected new Yacht-Master almost slipped past me. I was too busy falling in love (again) with the gold and chocolate Rolesor Yacht-Master, which was distracting me and dazzling my senses, but then out of the corner of my eye I spotted a flash of almost-iridescent blue, and my curiosity was piqued. I’m so glad it was, because this steel and platinum Yacht-Master with its dark rhodium dial and blue highlights is an absolute stunner, even though it’s a much more restrained affair than its Everose-embellished siblings (in both Rolesor and Oysterflex variants). This is partly down to the dark dial, but it’s also the bi-directional platinum bezel, which might sound weird given the material, but with a predominantly sand-blasted finish, it’s actually far less in-your-face than ceramic. Not that it’s plain, by any stretch. The shimmering dial, polished bezel elements and centre bracelet links mean it pops where it counts, and the overall effect of metallic grey on metallic grey adds up to a truly luxurious watch on the wrist. Then there’s the blue. It’s funny how that single line of text and sweeping second hand – a comparatively small amount of real estate – can have such massive impact…
The post HANDS-ON: Shades of grey – the Rolex Yacht-Master 40 with dark rhodium dial (ref. 116622) appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
I had the pleasure of curating a special exhibition on métiers d’art at SalonQP 2016, comprising specialist brands in their fields demonstrating the arts and crafts that they have become famous for. But what else did I particularly enjoy there? Read on to find out.
Magnetism has long been a bane of mechanical watches, leading to solutions such as Omega’s Master Co-Axial movements and the Rolex Syloxi silicon hairspring. Another magnetism resistant contender has just emerged from Precision Engineering, a significant manufacturer of hairsprings and the corporate sister of watchmaker H. Moser & Cie. The hairspring specialist has just announced PE5000, a […]
Magnetism has long been a bane of mechanical watches, leading to solutions such as Omega’s Master Co-Axial movements and the Rolex Syloxi silicon hairspring. Another magnetism resistant contender has just emerged from Precision Engineering, a significant manufacturer of hairsprings and the corporate sister of watchmaker H. Moser & Cie. The hairspring specialist has just announced PE5000, a […]
Where can you grab breakfast with Philippe Dufour, lunch with Max Büsser, and coffee with Stephen Forsey in the same day? Dubai Watch Week, that’s where. Last week, Stephen and I were there to host a few panels and the first ever HODINKEE meet-up in the Middle East, and boy did the event impress. From the quality of the discussions held during various panels to the event’s ability to act as a hub for watchmakers and collectors from all over the world, it was top-notch across the board. For a few days, it felt like walking around Geneva, only in 85° F heat, surrounded by sand, and in the shadow of the world’s tallest building. Okay, so not that much like Geneva at all.
Yes, you’re looking at a split-seconds Rolex chronograph ref. 4113. And, yes, it’s being worn casually, out-and-about at Dubai Watch Week. In fact, when I spotted it, this watch had been on its owner’s wrist non-stop for the prior 10 days. I know this because Ben and I saw him and his beautiful split in Geneva just a week prior during the hectic week of auctions and the GPHG. To put this into perspective, that’s a $2.4 million watch, the first in a series of only 12, being worn like it’s nothing to think twice about. That’s basically the definition of a total boss move.
This past weekend we hosted a pop-up at Material Good in New York City, featuring some of the most insane timepieces for men and women alike. As you may have read, we had a 1960s Bulgari Serpenti in yellow gold and enamel, a 1960s IWC with cloisonné enamel dial, a 1969 Paul Newman reference 6241, a near-mint 1964 Rolex Daytona reference 6239 with box and papers, and a number of other incredible watches that you just don’t see everyday. We kicked things off with a Friday night cocktail to celebrate and then welcomed guests all day Saturday and Sunday. In case you couldn’t join us, here are some photos from the first ever HODINKEE ladies’ pop-up.
Emmanuel Bouchet has teamed up with one of the world’s leading watch dealers, Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, to release a limited edition of its unique Complication One watch called the Emmanuel Bouchet Complication One Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons Boutique Edition Watch. Have a look at it here.
Breitling was founded in 1884, and right from the start, specialised in chronographs to that extent that it is fair to say that the form of the chronograph, as we know it today, had been solidified due to the development done by the company. It was in 1942, that Breitling introduced the first watch with a circular slide rule, the Chronomat. Some years later (1954) the legendary Navitimer was also introduced. However, the focus of the article is on the Chronomat, perhaps one of, if not, the most commercially successful Breitling of the past sixty years. Contrary to general belief, it is not the Navitimer but the Chronomat that has proved to be Breitling’s biggest seller. However, before we examine the Chronomat Black Steel 44 SE we must understand how this model evolved.