HANDS-ON: A charming surprise – the Oris Big Crown 1917
Oris has developed a bit of a reputation for consistently releasing surprising vintage-inspired pieces. Having said that, their Big Crown 1917 is a little more surprising than most. That’s partly because Oris had no idea the watch that inspired it existed — this little piece of Hölstein history has been sitting in their archives, quietly gathering patina. Happily, someone (who deserves a promotion, just quietly) at Oris noticed it and recognised the potential of their first pilot’s watch, just in time for its 100th anniversary. Not a foot has been put wrong with the Big Crown 1917; all the elements work in harmony and there’s precisely the right blend of idiosyncratic charm and everyday comfort. The 40mm steel case resembles a converted pocket watch, rounded and pebble-like, with a nicely domed sapphire crystal and onion crown. The dial is warmly retro, with a finely grained silver base with old-school railroad chapter ring, and stylised serif Arabics filled with creamy SuperLuminova that neatly matches the blued steel cathedral hands. Purists can also breathe a sigh of relief as there’s no date window to mar the purity of the style. Oris also gets major kudos for that little button at two —…
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Mr Zhu is a purveyor of all the finer things in life, including watches, cars, menswear and whiskey. His feed is overflowing with the spoils of his day job – a provider of high-end ‘value added’ services, for financial institutions within China. NAME: Mr. 朱 OCCUPATION: High-end service provider for financial institutions HANDLE: @Horoloupe FOLLOWERS: 27K LOCATION: Shanghai, China How do you unwind? When I’m not working (which is almost never), I tend to either spend time with my lovely dog Cupcake (who, if you follow me on Instagram, you should be quite acquainted with), or catching up with friends and family. Apart from that, I try my best to make time for the gym and the driving range, but I find that increasingly difficult due to how busy I am! I also love going on drives in my car or simply researching which watch to buy next! What’s your daily watch and why? This is an extremely hard question as I tend to rotate my watches as much as I can. It varies based on the occasion or even the client that I’m meeting. For instance, when I’m meeting an important client or attending an event, I tend to…
The big watch news of the week has been the announcement of the unique watches being auctioned off to raise funds for Duchenne muscular dystrophy in the seventh bi-annual instalment of Only Watch. And while everyone’s (rightly) excited about the Patek, F.P. Journe and Tudor unique pieces, we’re pretty sure that they’ll quickly move into the rarefied air of bajillionaire collectors. If you’re interested in trying your luck at scoring a one-of-a-kind piece of horology here are five options that we suspect will hammer in within reach of mere mortals come November 11. Konstantin Chaykin Joker Russian independent watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin had a breakout Basel this year, thanks largely to his clever and charming Joker, with its clever disc based time display and moon phase tongue. This version has a zirconium case and unique dial. Estimate 10,000 – 15,000 CHF Piaget Black Tie Vintage Watch If we’re honest, we suspect this Piaget will sell above its estimate, but gosh is it stunning. The Black Tie case acts as a perfect golden frame for the Pietersite stone dial, which looks like something straight off the wall of The Getty. Estimate 30,000 – 50,000 CHF Chronoswiss Flying Regulator “Red Passion” Chronoswiss…
