The Enabler: How To Justify Buying Another Watch (#6. The Kanye West Contention)
Kanye West is many things: hip-hop superstar, fashion designer, maverick genius, not to mention Kim Kardashian’s other half. What he is not often recognised as is a beacon of sound common sense. It turns out there’s a very good reason for this. Yeezy’s public comments suggest a man who is not only a full-blown egomaniac (“By 50% I am more influential than Stanley Kubrick, Apostle Paul, Picasso…”) but also slightly deranged (“I would never want a book’s autograph. I am a proud non-reader of books.”) Oh dear. Nevertheless, there was a moment when the 42-year-old rapper uttered the most profound truth imaginable. It’s worth repeating not to aid your ceaseless quest for knowledge and wisdom but because, far more importantly, it could help rationalise your next watch buy. “The only luxury is time,” Kanye said in a rare lucid moment. “The time you spend with your family.” Hard to argue with that one. In the final analysis, spending time with the people you most love – whether friends or family – is something we should all prioritise a whole lot more of. Luxury splurges from bespoke suits to fine wine are all very well. But let’s face it: on your death-bed you’re…
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One of the biggest trends for timepieces of the last decade has been oversized case dimensions that stretch well into the 45mm plus category. And while the inclination for producing gargantuan wristwatches is starting to cool as tastes in the horological community change, this year has still spawned some absolute doozies for those that like a wristwatch that can be seen from the next postcode. Here are our three favourite biggest watches of 2019: PANERAI SUBMERSIBLE MARINA MILITARE CARBOTECH While Panerai watches have been long-held favourites of the diving community for their no-nonsense approach to robustness and legibility, the enormous housings in which the brand’s attractive calibres reside provide the perfect playground for mad material scientists to experiment. The relative simplicity of Panerai’s signature look makes it ripe for reimagining. The Carbotech model is fascinating to look at, but even more interesting to wear given its hefty proportions, but surprising lightness. Ref No: PAM00979 / Case size: 47mm / Case material: Carbotech / Movement: P.9010 / Price: $27,200 FRANCK MULLER SKAFANDER CHRONOGRAPH 2019 The Skafander, Romanian for diving suit, is Franck Muller’s interpretation of a dive watch, and it bears all of the brand’s hallmarks: a hefty, modular case with…
This year has seen countless examples of new and exciting dive watches flood the already perpetually popular sub-genre. And while most new entrants into the amphibious watch market have been successes, some have done far better than others. With that in mind, we thought we’d share with you our favourite five dive watches of 2019. LONGINES HYDROCONQUEST FULL BLACK CERAMIC The HydroConquest range is a too-often overlooked corner of the Longines universe. But you sense that the collection has grander plans to expand with some hot additions in the last 12 months. Chief among them is the HydroConquest in black ceramic, which gives this piece an undeniably stealthy appearance. Its 43mm case makes it viable as a powerful desk diver during the week as well as a fun watch for the weekend. Ref No: L3.784.4.56.9 / Case size: 43mm / Case material: Black Ceramic / Movement: L888.3 / Price: $4850 RADO CAPTAIN COOK AUTOMATIC 42MM The Captain Cook collection from Rado is one that hits particularly close to home for those who live in Terra Australis, thanks to its reference to the explorer James Cook. The Rado Captain Cook imbues the same spirit of adventure and discovery through its robust…
The Patek Philippe Nautilus forms the basis of this historic brand’s sports collection, which rivals the very best in the business. And the genesis of this iconic model shares its history with another legendary sports watch, further cementing the status of the man behind both pieces. Designed by Gérald Genta, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak hit the market four years before he followed up with the Nautilus, which debuted in 1976. Being responsible for two of the industry’s most recognisable references firmly established Genta’s reputation as the father of luxury sports watches. And while we’ve had the best part of half a century to become well acquainted with the Patek Philippe Nautilus, this storied timepiece still has a few lesser-known facts up its sleeve. The original Nautilus had more in common with the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak than just the same designer In the ’70s, the concept of a luxury sports watch was in its infancy. And, in those days, many major brands were still in the habit of fitting their new models with movements designed by rivals brands. Case in point, both the Nautilus and the Royal Oak were originally driven by the same super-slim automatic calibre from Jaeger-LeCoultre,…
The Horological Society of New York, the oldest watchmaking guild in America, formed 1866, is one of the world’s leading educators on all things watchmaking and horology. For the first time ever they are coming to Australia. We are proud to be the official media partner for the tour. We are joining with event partner, The Hour Glass, to make this maiden voyage a smashing success. Classes will run on February 29 and March 1. Buy tickets here. The esteemed guild will be offering classes in Melbourne on how your mechanical watch works — covering everything from how the escapement works to the setting mechanism. It will be hosted in the new eight-storey The Hour Glass building on Collins Street, which is in its last stages of renovation, and is due to reopen early 2020. When we say it will be an exclusive opportunity, we are not overstating things. Just 32 chairs will be available — and we know that several of those have already been snapped up by the watch addicts in the @timetideclub, which you can join (and by doing so gain access to the Closed Insts group) at www.timeandtide.club if you haven’t already. Early heads-up on all kinds of things…