Watch Dandy

The standout from the new Zenith 2020 novelties is hands down the DEFY Midnight collection. What immediately caught my attention was that Zenith were leading their 2020 new releases with a women’s collection that appeared — in the preamble — to not only be a new product in itself, with various attributes, but for those attributes to be assembled around a strong concept, albeit a very simple one. And that is, an evocation of the night sky on the dial. Hardly groundbreaking in theory, but when played out, it actually has plenty of poetic detail to incorporate. One remains sceptical about new concepts in watch collections. Long bows are almost always drawn. But immediately in the metal I was impressed. The concept iterates in the graduation of the sky at dusk; the way the colour intensifies from the horizon up to the heavens. The immediate comparison is the Rolex James Cameron Deepsea Sea-Dweller, which has a similar concept in reverse — the deepening and darkening of colour as you descend to the depths of the ocean. The navy blue variant — the eponymous model from the collection as it best evokes ‘midnight’ in terms of its night sky — starts at the bottom of the…

The post The Zenith DEFY Midnight is a (very) early contender for women’s collection of the year appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

The standout from the new Zenith 2020 novelties is hands down the DEFY Midnight collection. What immediately caught my attention was that Zenith were leading their 2020 new releases with a women’s collection that appeared — in the preamble — to not only be a new product in itself, with various attributes, but for those attributes to be assembled around a strong concept, albeit a very simple one. And that is, an evocation of the night sky on the dial. Hardly groundbreaking in theory, but when played out, it actually has plenty of poetic detail to incorporate. One remains sceptical about new concepts in watch collections. Long bows are almost always drawn. But immediately in the metal I was impressed. The concept iterates in the graduation of the sky at dusk; the way the colour intensifies from the horizon up to the heavens. The immediate comparison is the Rolex James Cameron Deepsea Sea-Dweller, which has a similar concept in reverse — the deepening and darkening of colour as you descend to the depths of the ocean. The navy blue variant — the eponymous model from the collection as it best evokes ‘midnight’ in terms of its night sky — starts at the bottom of the…

The post The Zenith DEFY Midnight is a (very) early contender for women’s collection of the year appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

Up until a month ago, if you’d asked me whether or not it was appropriate for a man to have diamonds adorning his timepiece, my response would’ve gone something like, “Only if he’s a vapid member of the glitterati, or his vocation is spitting bars”. Bedazzled, iced-out, frosty … whatever you want to call a wristwatch covered in cut-up pieces of highly pressurised carbon, I just couldn’t get behind the the uber shiny aesthetic. You see, I like to think that watches represent utilitarian practicality — they’re a tool that should tell the time, not tell everyone else around you how poor they are. My oh my, how times change, though, because after a revelatory afternoon back in early December, I now endeavour to own a dazzling, diamond-clad wristwatch before the decade is out. How has this massive contradiction come to be? Well, perhaps rather surprisingly, it all started with a trio of Franck Mullers. Long known for their expertise in precious gem-setting, Franck Muller really can make a watch sing like few other watchmakers. And when we had three of their shiniest timepieces arrive in the office just over a month ago for a photoshoot, my revelation was set in…

The post OPINION: Diamonds are a man’s best friend appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

Up until a month ago, if you’d asked me whether or not it was appropriate for a man to have diamonds adorning his timepiece, my response would’ve gone something like, “Only if he’s a vapid member of the glitterati, or his vocation is spitting bars”. Bedazzled, iced-out, frosty … whatever you want to call a wristwatch covered in cut-up pieces of highly pressurised carbon, I just couldn’t get behind the the uber shiny aesthetic. You see, I like to think that watches represent utilitarian practicality — they’re a tool that should tell the time, not tell everyone else around you how poor they are. My oh my, how times change, though, because after a revelatory afternoon back in early December, I now endeavour to own a dazzling, diamond-clad wristwatch before the decade is out. How has this massive contradiction come to be? Well, perhaps rather surprisingly, it all started with a trio of Franck Mullers. Long known for their expertise in precious gem-setting, Franck Muller really can make a watch sing like few other watchmakers. And when we had three of their shiniest timepieces arrive in the office just over a month ago for a photoshoot, my revelation was set in…

The post OPINION: Diamonds are a man’s best friend appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.