The Speedmaster Chronicles #2 – Robert-Jan Broer, Mister Speedy Tuesday
Today is Tuesday. What else then, except having the one-and-only Mister Speedy Tuesday featured for our second instalment of “The Speedmaster Chronicles“. Yesterday, we started this series of videos with the man that certified the Omega Speedmaster to go to the Moon. Today, we give the floor to fellow watch-journalist Robert-Jan Broer, founder of Fratellowatches. Most importantly, RJ (as we all name him) is one of the top-tier sources for the Speedmaster, the founder of the “Speedy Tuesday” movement and the man responsible for the creation of the highly coveted Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday Limited Edition. Needless to say, he knows quite a bit about the “Moonwatch“.
In 2017 the Black Bay is a force to be reckoned with, a retro reissue that has fuelled Tudor’s ascendancy to the powerhouse it is today. And while these days we’re used to having a range of colours and case finishing to play with, it’s hard to overstate just how hot this watch was when it was first released in 2012, and how it got even hotter the following year, when the blue version dropped. The Black Bay isn’t just a (very excellent) dive watch, it’s a tribal marker of community. So we thought it was the perfect opportunity to get as many Bays as we could lay our hands on in the one place, and run through the evolution of this modern-day classic. 
At Time+Tide we typically focus on the new – the latest reviews and news. But there’s always a place for the stone-cold classics, which is why, when we had a bunch of Black Bays in the office (more on that later in the week), we thought we’d take the opportunity to have a look at the Black Bays that started it all: the red, blue and black versions. And while these versions (which we borrowed from friends – thanks guys!) are the older, ETA models, they’re still pretty indicative of what this retro diver is all about. So while you’re likely familiar with these colourful, core Black Bays, it doesn’t hurt to look at them in crisp HD. And even though the oldest model is now five years old, and the competition for heritage divers has hotted up, we still think it’s pretty hard to beat the original Tudor Heritage Black Bay. Tudor Heritage Black Bay Australian pricing Tudor Heritage Black Bay on leather, $4030, on bracelet, $4410
Some people say that a leopard can’t change its spots, and you know what? Some people are wrong, as the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver clearly proves. The French watch brand earned their stripes with an impressive array of aviation watches, centred on the square, cockpit-inspired BR 03 case. Well, it turns out that this large, striking design works just as well at depth as it does at altitude. The BR 03-92 Diver is a remarkably smart underwater repurposing of the brand’s famous form. But really, not too much had to be changed. A bezel was added, as was a screw-down crown. The trademark Arabic numerals were replaced with simpler (and heavily lumed) hour markers. It’s clever design – something B&R excels at – and I think this new diver will have an important role in the collection going forward. I can’t wait to see what versions will be coming down the pipeline in a few months’ time. Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver Australian pricing Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver, $5400. For more information, see here.
Given how synonymous Omega’s Speedmaster is with space in general and the moon in particular, it’s quite easy to forget that the watch was originally designed with motorsports in mind. This year, Omega set out to remind us that the Speedmaster does not always equal Moonwatch, with the Speedmaster Racing Master Chronometer, a big, 44.5mm dual register automatic that honours the spirit of the Speedy, but also spices things up with numerous automotive touches. Starting with the perforated racing strap, with flashes of orange peeking out from between the lining. Then there’s the high-vis orange highlights on the dial, and finally, the roulette-style alternating minute track, which improves legibility (and coolness) by at least 20 per cent. With the Speedmaster Racing, Omega has taken an already winning engine and, once again, fine-tuned it for optimal performance. Omega Speedmaster Racing Master Chronometer Australian pricing Omega Speedmaster Racing Master Chronometer, steel on leather, $11,300
If you were looking for a go-anywhere-do-anything type watch (and honestly, aren’t we all?), then a stylistically versatile steel GMT on a bracelet would tick a lot of the boxes. And as far as versatile steel GMTs go, there aren’t too many options that offer quite as much as Grand Seiko’s SBGJ203. It’s got the looks: a distinctive, angular and exceptionally well-finished 40mm case, paired with a rich dial that sets an exceptionally high bar for the competition. There’s fine detail at play, but it’s not a watch to peacock its virtues, or to sacrifice comfort and function in favour of style. And then there’s movement. Grand Seiko’s 9S86, released in 2014, is a connoisseur’s choice, a well-finished automatic that beats at an accurate 5Hz rate, with an antimagnetic balance spring and 55 hours of power reserve. Not to mention the user-friendly GMT itself, which shows two time zones from central hands, and allows for quick, hour increment adjustments of the local time, a more logical implementation than the GMT hand adjustment, which is more common. The SBGJ203 is the sort of watch that has me going out of my way to find flaws. You might find the finishing –…
There is something inherently fascinating about seeing a watch movement emerge from its case. After however many years of seeing this great reveal, I never get over it. Regardless of the model, or the brand, I am somehow always struck by the same thing: its diminutive size, its delicacy, its complexity when separated from its exoskeleton. The very same thing happened when TAG Heuer master watchmaker Shalen Gokoolparsadh loosened the screws on the clear caseback of the Heuer 01 a few seconds into this disassembly video, revealing a tiny, circular micro-city of details to explore. And, over the course of this seven-minute video, Shalen picks out the key sights. On our trip we’ll journey past the rotor, explore the column wheel, disarm the chronograph — exposing the energetic oscillating pinion — and explore the mysteries of Incabloc. An action-packed itinerary if ever there was one. A quick overview of TAG Heuer’s Heuer 01 The base movement for the Heuer 01 is the Calibre 1887, which itself is based on a SII (Seiko Instruments Inc.) TC78 platform first developed and patented in 1997. Marc Walti, TAG Heuer’s head of products, explains that it “features the same dimensions and the same features, such as…
Many brands and many people have taken a chance on Time+Tide since we launched, way back in 2014. One of the greater leaps of faith was earlier this year, when Longines gave us permission to spend time in their archives, and extended a standing invitation to several international events. The aim was to create a year’s worth of stories to celebrate the brand’s 185th anniversary. Well, what feels like only weeks later, I’m dismayed to say that the year has passed. But not without a frankly alarming amount of stories created. In the time since that first phone call we’ve enjoyed quite an itinerary. And we’ve had an immersion in the brand like no other. If you missed any of our ‘Longines Time Machine’ episodes, you can watch them all below, after you’ve had a quick flashback run-through of the new video, which also includes footage from the 185th Anniversary celebration in Beijing, which happened just last week. Special thanks to Amelia and the Longines Australia team for their support over the year, as well as to Longines President Mr Walter von Känel, who endured so many interviews with us that by Beijing he greeted us with a raised eyebrow,…