Audemars Piguet’s latest and greatest. Essentially the same Royal Oak, but in a rainbow plethora of colors. From black to lime green, some may question if their design ideas were a result of offshoring. That said, there is one piece that turned heads at SIHH. The Frosted Gold collection for ladies.…
Last year, at the SIHH 2016, Cartier came with a new men’s creation, the Drive, which has been praised here, on Monochrome-Watches (see introducing article and review) for its great elegance and the way it mastered shapes. This is what Cartier is all about for us here, a master of shapes and elegance, a brand that can achieve to create a unconventional watch that still looks brilliantly classy and understated. Still, to us, the Drive de Cartier had one issue regarding its dimensions – a bit too thick and a bit too large. This year, for the SIHH 2017, the Drive de Cartier has been revamped and now comes in its best option so far, the Extra Flat Calibre 430MC.
A brilliant metallic blue sky scattered with stars is a favourite of De Bethune, with the latest being the Milky Way. The DB25L Milky Way uses the brand’s traditional heat blued titanium for its dial, with tiny white gold spheres embedding by hand into the polished surface to represent the stars. And fine gold flakes […]
Once in a while, I find it opportune to review a watch twice – well, sort of. I previously reviewed this Victorinox Swiss Army Airboss Mechanical Black Edition reference 241720 watch on a strap, and now I am following-up with another review article on the same watch on a bracelet that is known as the reference 241740.
Ulysse Nardin pulled out all the stops for its first SIHH showing. In a fair charactered by conservative product releases, the Le Locle-based manufacturer presented a strong line-up of novelties, with a strong nautical theme, highlights including the new regatta timer, the technically impressive Marine Grand Deck, as well as this watch – the Classico Manufacture Grand Feu. This very traditional timepiece is jam-packed with smart details and offered at a highly competitive price. At 40mm across, the round steel case is hard to dislike, with its wide polished bezel, slightly clawed lugs set into the case middle and a crown that’s simple, sturdy and not at all fiddly. Nice though the case is, it doesn’t hold a candle to what’s within. The movement is the UN-320 caliber, made entirely in-house, down to the silicium hairspring and escapement – a feat of which the brand is rightly proud (the oft-repeated message at SIHH was that none of the other exhibiting brands made their own silicon hairsprings). The movement finishing is neat, though not astonishing. The rotor, with its blue anchor logo and wave pattern is quite pleasing on the eye. The dial is another story. It’s a ‘grand feu’ enamel dial in vivid,…
The post HANDS-ON: Confident refinement – the Ulysse Nardin Classico Manufacture Grand Feu appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Unsurprisingly the A. Lange & Söhne line-up at SIHH 2017 included a large and complicated watch, the Tourbograph Perpetual Pour le Mérite. This builds on the original Tourbograph, and has a split-seconds chronograph, tourbillon, perpetual calendar, as well as a chain and fusee constant force. While the new Tourbograph is an impressive complicated watch, its complexity brings with […]
One of the most fun things about trade shows is running into the people behind the brands and seeing what they’re wearing on their wrists. When I ran into Robert-Jan Broer, I saw the prototype of the Omega “Speedy Tuesday” limited edition. And about three minutes before I ran into RJ, I ran into Mr. Eric Giroud. For those who don’t know his name – and to be clear, unless you’re in the industry, most would not – he is one of the most prolific watch designers today. He’s worked for everyone from MB&F to Van Cleef to Tissot to Vacheron Constantin and even Universal Genève many moons ago! You might not know his name, but you surely know his work, and we featured an interview with Giroud a few years back during The Road To Basel.
Last week from the calm air that often precedes the SIHH storm, Greubel Forsey released a single thunderclap that rumbled across the horological community. And even more impressively, what created the loud bang was so minuscule as to be invisible to the naked eye. Welcome to our musings on the Mechanical Nano!
By Martin Green
Ever since its creation, the Audemars Piguet has kept the Royal Oak steady on the path evolution, yet at SIHH 2017 they surprised everybody with an unexpected revolution by introducing the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in ceramic. Although ceramic is not a new material for the brand, crafting an entire watch and bracelet from it is.
Very few watch boutiques in the world are able to offer a client the dual experience of both getting exceptional service while purchasing a piece from its current collection AND of seeing watches that once belonged to an elite club of owners he or she has just joined. But Breguet’s flagship boutique in Paris, on the southeast corner of the Place Vendome, can do just that.