RECOMMENDED READING: 14 lessons from Christie's watch auction expert
To work at one of the largest international auction houses in the world, you need to know your stuff, which makes you very good at evaluating the world’s rarest watches and also passing that knowledge onto collectors and enthusiasts. One such watch auction expert is Dr Andrew Hildreth, who is responsible for presenting and writing Christie’s online course, “History of Watches: 1700 to Now”, a comprehensive overview of just about everything you might need to know about the last 300 years of horological history. The man seriously knows what he’s talking about, with his favorite vintage watch being a unique Patek Philippe ref. 2458 that was commissioned by the American lawyer J.B. Champion in 1952, and his grail modern watch is a Greubel Forsey Quantum Perpetual (“because it solves all the problems that have plagued the perpetual calendar complication”). In an interview with Christie’s, Dr Hildreth reveals the truth about who really invented the balance spring, why Fidel Castro was such a Rolex fanboy, and the seriously collectible vintage watches he believes aren’t on everyone’s radar yet. Find the link to the full article on Christie’s site here.
The post RECOMMENDED READING: 14 lessons from Christie’s watch auction expert appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
This year, the brand known for their focus on avant-garde techniques has updated one of their most iconic sporting chronographs, to produce the best-looking TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 16 in recent years. With an aesthetic of clean refinement, the less-is-more approach has come up trumps in a watch that prioritises robust functionality over notions of new-age minimalism. While the template of black dials with red highlights has been a successful one for the Calibre 16 over the last few years, this version has been updated with less busy dial markings and text. Additionally, the bold rhodium-plated indexes are less visually cluttered than the previously used Arabic numerals, without losing any of their high-contrast impact. Another new addition to this Calibre 16 is the use of a full ceramic bezel around the perimeter of the dial. The glossy material plays with the light nicely, while keeping the tachymeter scale as crisp as can be. The 41mm steel case is well sized to comfortably fit most wrists, and the perforated “rally” style calf leather strap is comfortable and features a deployment clasp that will extend the life of the leather substantially. TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 16 price and availability The TAG Heuer…
Welcome to the Time+Tide Club, where you are a number — with an individually numbered Time+Tide x Erika’s Originals strap — and a member. Six years into the Time+Tide journey, we are introducing the Time+Tide Club, with one thing front of mind. To take the subscriber experience to a whole new level. Join up now at www.timeandtide.club And to give our most loyal friends, both Australian and international, some proper recognition. We know how long many of you have followed Time+Tide. “Since the beginning…” is a rallying call we hear at every event and fair. “Since 2014,” is usually thrown at us in a booming voice, too. What do Club Members get for their money? So, to brass tacks. What do club members get for their annual fee of $129 AUD per year (or $149 AUD — which is circa $100 USD — for international club members to cover shipping)? A Time+Tide Club x Erika’s Originals MN™ strap – value, $120 A copy of NOW Magazine Buying Guide for 2019/2020 (shipping next week!) – value, $24.95 (+P&H) Member pricing on the soon-to-be-launched Time+Tide Marketplace Access to special deals and discounts Access to Clubhouse events in Melbourne and Sydney Firstly, our equivalent of a bikie club…
Editor’s note: Question: What do David Gandy, Gerard Butler, Eric Bana, Bradley Cooper and Adrien Brody all have in common? Answer: They’ve all been spotted wearing a Bulgari Octo. And apart from being five exceedingly good-looking dudes, they’re all rather tall gents. So naturally, our fearless leader Andrew McUtchen pondered, “What would this beefcake collective be like if they were to join forces and start a basketball team?”. And spare a thought for the celebs who have been relegated to the bench, because let’s face it, 175cm ain’t gonna cut it on this team … Jeremy Renner! Golden State Warriors, you are on notice. If our A-list line-up of regular Bulgari Octo wearers decided to, mythically speaking, join forces on a basketball court in their on-screen personas, you’d be done. Crushed. Eliminated. Defused. Skewered. From snipers to Spartan warriors, Moonlight Sonatas (lovely Adrien, just lovely) and devastating good looks, our Octo Octet has every possible scenario covered, on and off the court. Maybe we’ve had too much time on our hands, or spent too long analysing Met Gala wristwear, but we’ve gone ahead and drawn up, not just the Octo’s starting five (with allocated positions), but a pretty hard-hitting bench too.…
If history is anything to go by, we shouldn’t have been surprised at news coming out of Only Watch 2019 that Tudor’s entry into the charitable auction, the Black Bay Ceramic One, had sold for a staggering 350,000 CHF ($515,000 AUD). In fact, for Tudor’s third pièce unique entered into Only Watch to do anything other than command a crazily large bid would’ve been an abnormality. Why, you may ask? Well, the Swiss marque’s first “Only Watch”, the Tudor Black Bay One, was submitted for auction at the 2015 event, and while the estimate for the stainless steel diver was a mere few thousand Swiss francs, it ended up selling for a monolithic 375,000 CHF! Two years later, Tudor was back at Only Watch 2017 with the Black Bay Bronze One, and, just like its inimitable steel counterpart, it too sold for a whopping chunk of change – 350,000 CHF, to be precise. However, while the previous two Tudor Only Watches represented only slight deviations from the standard models they were based off, the Black Bay Ceramic One represents wholesale change for the Black Bay, and it’s all to do with the 41mm case. This is the first Black Bay…