Introducing – Grand Seiko 60th Anniversary – Recreating the First 1960 GS with the New SBGW257, SBGW258 & SBGW259
To celebrate the brand’s independence from the mothership Seiko, luxury subdivision Grand Seiko introduced 3 limited edition watches at Baselworld 2017. All three limited edition watches paid tribute to a famous 1960 piece: the first-ever Grand Seiko model also known as “Diashock”. This year, which marks the 60th anniversary of Grand Seiko, is another important […]
What was last week a meme is now no joke. The next Bond film has been postponed from April to November, because, as the saying goes, this is no time to die. Other London events — such as the London Book Fair, which attracts 25,000 attendees — have also been axed amid Coronavirus fears. Pundits associated with two James Bond fan sites — MI6-hq and The James Bond Dossier — wrote an open letter to the studios behind the film, urging them to follow global shutdowns and put safety first. The letter points out some interesting facts. It says: “China and Japan have closed theatres for weeks. The Chinese box office in January and February 2019 combined to $1.5b USD. The same period this year has netted just $3.9m — a 99.7% drop.” They go on to point out that the Royal Albert Hall venue for the London launch exceeds the 5000 people limit imposed by other affected countries, and poses a risk. “Just one person, who may not even show symptoms, could infect the rest of the audience.” When the world’s biggest Bond geeks are asking for a film to be delayed, you know things are real. The official James Bond…
“To boldly go where no man has gone before …” For most people, that’s just a hackneyed line from Star Trek. For Victor Vescovo, it’s become a personal mission. Put simply, the American private equity investor is hell-bent on pushing his limits. He’s the first man to have reached the deepest points of four of the Earth’s five oceans, plumbing a world record depth of 10,925 metres when he made it to the bottom of the Challenger Deep last year. Having previously summited Everest, the 54-year-old is now the only man to have ever travelled to the planet’s starkest extremities. But the two experiences were wildly different, Victor explains. “Climbing Everest is such a visceral, almost violent experience, because it’s such punishment for your body, physically and mentally. When you get to the summit, you get this massive sense of relief and accomplishment. But the sense of danger is also there because you still have to get down. “Getting to the bottom of the Challenger Deep wasn’t anywhere near as physically intense because I was safely cocooned in a titanium sphere. But mentally it was much more insidious. That came from knowing that I was so far down. I went down…
The team have physically and emotionally recovered from the first round of Battle Royale, which saw a war of words fit for a Grecian epic tale. This week, the team are back in the cage to make their case for their favourite piece from the Hublot Big Bang collection, a family of watches that has just about everything you might ever desire in a wristwatch. Without further ado — draw swords! James’ choice – the Hublot Big Bang Unico Full Magic Gold This Big Bang typifies why many consider Hublot to be at the pointy end of the horological spear when it comes to material innovation. Not only have the wunderkind managed to create a new precious metal that looks unique, but “Magic Gold”, as a result of being a proprietary blend of 18k yellow gold and ceramic, is also robust and very scratch resistant. This means that you could conceivably daily wear this timepiece without fear of errant door jams or whatever scratching it … which is a good thing, because it’s got an RRP of $48,300 big ones. At 42mm, it’s also the most appropriately sized Hublot for my lissom wrists, and like most Hublots, it comes on…
Last week, Zenith and Revolution magazine, as well as sister publication The Rake, dropped this – the El Primero A3818 Revival “Cover Girl”. This watch is a dead ringer for the original El Primero “Cover Girl”, so-called because it was the watch featured on the cover of Manfred Rössler’s book Zenith: Swiss Watch Manufacture Since 1865. The Cover Girl is considered to be one of the rarest and most desirable iterations ever to carry the El Primero moniker, with less than 1000 thought to exist. Hot watch. Retro perfection. Ladder bracelet. These are the three things we’re digging about the Zenith X Revolution El Primero A3818 Revival. But first, can you get one? Be quick. This new model will be limited to just 100 pieces in total, with half the allotment going directly to Revolution and The Rake, while the other half will be sold exclusively through Zenith boutiques across the globe. The Dial The satin-brushed petrol blue dial of this watch is goddamned gorgeous. It’s also somewhat of a rarity within the El Primero collection, seeing as that most of the iconic chronograph-equipped timepieces feature contrasting coloured sub-dials. The A3818 Revival well and truly bucks this trend, keeping the same…