How did this Rolex get past QA? Revisiting the suspicious case of the ‘Double 9’ Air-King…
Editor’s note: It seems to be yet another sub-sub-sub-culture within the watch collecting community. And that is the people that get some kind of a kick out of Rolex imperfections. I suppose, in lots of ways, it makes sense. They are so rare as to be freaks of nature. Recently, a new Oyster Perpetual model with misplaced double batons has been doing the rounds. While it is treated, naturally, with a very high does of skepticism, for a few days there, it was everywhere. But this one, that was first uncovered last year, is certified legitimate and next level curious. How could something so detectable, so obvious, have slipped past QA? Revisiting the confounding case of the ‘Double 9’ Air-King… It’s a modern-day escape from Alcatraz, where the escapee is a defect on a watch that makes it to market, and Alcatraz is the Rolex manufacture. That, I suspect, is flattering Alcatraz. Because, the fact that a modern Rolex with a defect you can actually see even exists is unthinkable to the point of immediately being suspected as a hoax. But here it is. Not only does a ‘double nine’ Rolex Air-King 116900 — with a nine where the ‘3’ numeral should be — allegedly…
The post How did this Rolex get past QA? Revisiting the suspicious case of the ‘Double 9’ Air-King… appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Editor’s note: If I had to list my most motivational interview of the year, it would be easy. It would be Paul de Gelder. Paul is a former navy clearance diver, turned TV show host and now Seiko ambassador. Paul is an Aussie based in L.A – and his claims to fame are more than just being the last shark attack victim in Sydney Harbour. He has also taught Mike Tyson how to dive. And he is the creator of a COVID-19 lockdown in-house fitness routine involving a broom, shopping bags and lots of canned goods. If you’re looking for a non-standard watch-related video to watch today, you have found it. We hope you enjoy the video, and also this first-person minute-by-minute recap of the day that changed his career, and changed his life. That morning, it was February 11, 2009, 6 in the morning. Overcast, and the water in Sydney Harbour is quite murky, which always makes it a bit nerve-racking. I was swimming near HMAS Kuttabul, which is where we’ve spent thousands of hours working on the warships. I had sharks on the brain. I always have sharks on the brain! I was in the water doing what we…
Editor’s note: We’ve had quite the flurry of Bulgari lately, mostly in celebration of the brand’s 2020 collection. And, increasingly, the pinion of the collection is emerging as this model right here. Make no mistake, it doesn’t rightly deserve to be. It’s a simple dial variation away from the black lacquer dial variation that the satin polished steel Octo Finissimo debuted with in January this year. But that’s the logical take. The emotional response, for the broader team, and not just me it seems – is very much centred around this lavish combination of rich blue dial, and the highly faceted and finished steel of its case and bracelet. Well, we all knew it was coming. There was no way that Bulgari was going to release the Octo Finissimo in satin polished steel, and not create a model with a blue dial. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the Bulgari Octo Finissimo blue dial in satin polished steel is the best attempt by any watchmaker in recent memory of creating a genuine Patek Philippe Nautilus or Audemars Piguet Royal Oak competitor. Bulgari had to make this watch. And now that it’s here, the burning question on…
For many of you reading, COVID-19 is the virus that will. Not. Go. Away. At first, for most, it was a bit of a quirky change of pace. Fun, even. A blur of Netflix, homemade Negronis and novelties like bare-knuckle fighting for toilet paper. But as it’s ground on, the darkness has subsumed many of us; we now just want it to be behind us, amirite? In Australia, we’re getting there. After 139 days of Stage 4, the most strict lockdown in the world by most reports, Melbourne, our home city is coming out – at 11.59 tonight. Sydney has been out for ages. We’re rejoining normality, whatever that will look like after so long away. So, it’s time to drop a story we’ve been sitting on for months. The idea for this post came up when we did a wristcheck in the Monday meeting on Zoom and – out of seven people – only two of us were actually wearing a watch. Given that we’re technically still in it, the question still very much has the sting of immediacy for the Time+Tide team. What place did our watches have in lockdown? GQ noted in a recent piece that in…
