Audemars Piguet's Michael Friedman and Eric Ku go deep on the history of the Royal Oak Concept while exploring two brand new releases
Lightning sometimes strikes [the same channel] twice. This time last week, we brought you one of the most scholarly and in-depth conversations I’ve ever been privy to in my time as a watch journalist, in the form of a video in our Watch & Chill series over on our YouTube channel. The main speakers were Michael Friedman, Head of Complications at Audemars Piguet, and collector and dealer extraordinaire Eric Ku. It was all about the way that Audemars Piguet views history, and the vehicles for the story were two watches. Eric Ku’s now restored vintage Audemars Piguet chronograph, and the 2020 release that has launched a thousand dreams, the [Re]master01 Selfwinding Chronograph. We have captured some of the lightning in a bottle of a few posts, but really, if you haven’t had the pleasure, and a weekend stretches away with a spare hour in it, do yourself a favour. And now, precisely a week later, we’re doing it again, this time with our eyes fixed firmly on the present — and the future. This video sees two (at the time, unreleased) new watches revealed to Eric, who is asked by Michael for his unvarnished opinion. It all seems a little cosy,…
The post Audemars Piguet’s Michael Friedman and Eric Ku go deep on the history of the Royal Oak Concept while exploring two brand new releases appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
It’s a dark, rainy afternoon in Melbourne with temperatures plunged back below 10 degrees. But it’s always sunny when you can write the Wind Down from the office with colleagues around — 1.5m away, of course, but at least around! Today is my first day back in the office for what I would guess to be four months, and it feels good. And as far as the recap for the week goes, it’s been another bustling one. Early in the week, we had the news that Seiko would donate all proceeds from the cute, but properly value-packed Porco Rosso chronograph to the Black Dog Institute of Australia. If you are interested in doing something great for the world, and acquiring an enamel-dialled chronograph par excellence in the process, please contact sales@timeandtidewatches.com with your name and location. For further inspiration, just look at the way the light bends and pools over the inky enamel dial. Swoon … In other news, we have been deluged with enquiries about the Longines Tuxedo chronograph from our top five. Was it your favourite in the mix? Mine is still the khaki HydroConquest Green (khaki life is real for me), while James, Thor, Luke and Nick…
There are few things as desperately desired in this world as the 1930’s La Voiture Noire. The long-lost Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic Coupe was one of just four high-specced models to be made between 1936-38, and the only one to be completely draped in black. Whether it now lies in ruins at the bottom of the ocean, or still hides away in some abandoned shed, is a constant source of fever dreams for wealthy collectors and daydreaming teenagers alike. Last year, Bugatti announced a new one-off hypercar named after ‘The Black Car’, honouring the legend of the first. Not to be outdone, Jacob & Co. have now announced their own piece unique — the murdered-out Jacob & Co. Twin Turbo Furious Bugatti La Montre Noire. The original Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic Coupe is not just famous for its legend, it has to be one of the most breathtakingly gorgeous cars ever designed. The sensuous, sweeping curvature almost seems like it’s taken from a comic book, or been given the Salvador Dalí melting treatment. The rear end of Bugatti’s La Voiture Noire from 2019 echoes that fluidity, while the aggressive front end reminds you that it very much belongs…
