44mm of Japanese brawn – the Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT in titanium (ref. SBGE215G)

Editor’s note: Sure, the mighty Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT in titanium (ref. SBGE215G to its friends) might lack the fancy dials of the Snowflake and the new manual-wind Spring Drives but, good golly, it makes up for it in sheer presence. The case, the bezel, the gold detailing. It bangs.  It’s fair to say that much of Grand Seiko’s catalogue leans towards the dressier end of the spectrum — but, of course, there are exceptions, and the SBGE215G is a perfect example. This sporty GMT is an evolution of the SBGE201G; it shares the same large 44mm case. But while the SBGE201G had a steel case, the 215G is cased in high-intensity titanium, and I can tell you that on a watch of this brawn, the lighter weight of titanium makes a real difference on the wrist. There’s also been a change to some of the dial details: the hands and applied indices are now in rich red gold, as is the 24-hour scale under the sapphire bezel. These golden details make a real change to the overall mood of the watch — it’s less purely utilitarian and a touch warmer and, dare I say it, flashier. Whether or…

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7 years ago

3 of Australia's finest … watch brand ambassadors

In case you haven’t watched our videos and heard our brutal mangling of Swiss brand names with broad Australian accents, you might not realise that Time+Tide is an Australian-based company. So it makes sense that we’re a little proud of our homegrown heroes, and even those we’ve adopted (hello Rusty). So, in the spirit of mateship, say g’day to three crackin’ Aussie watch ambassadors.  The ambassador: Chris Hemsworth. Brand ambassadors don’t come much bigger than the mighty god of thunder. The former soapie star has dominated screens since his breakout role in 2011’s Thor. Since then he’s gone from strength to strength, as an action hero, and a man who doesn’t mind flexing his comedic muscles (I mean, Ragnarok is clearly the funniest MCU movie). The brand: TAG Heuer. Hemsworth popped up on TAG Heuer’s radar after his turn in Rush, the Heuer-heavy racing biopic, and the relationship was made official in 2015.  Why it works: Australians love Hemsworth. Sure, he’s famous, but he’s also chill — preferring to call Byron Bay home instead of the Hollywood Hills. We also love TAG Heuer — the sporty, automotive brand has been a force to be reckoned with down under for decades. Plus…

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7 years ago

3 of Australia’s finest … watch brand ambassadors

In case you haven’t watched our videos and heard our brutal mangling of Swiss brand names with broad Australian accents, you might not realise that Time+Tide is an Australian-based company. So it makes sense that we’re a little proud of our homegrown heroes, and even those we’ve adopted (hello Rusty). So, in the spirit of mateship, say g’day to three crackin’ Aussie watch ambassadors.  The ambassador: Chris Hemsworth. Brand ambassadors don’t come much bigger than the mighty god of thunder. The former soapie star has dominated screens since his breakout role in 2011’s Thor. Since then he’s gone from strength to strength, as an action hero, and a man who doesn’t mind flexing his comedic muscles (I mean, Ragnarok is clearly the funniest MCU movie). The brand: TAG Heuer. Hemsworth popped up on TAG Heuer’s radar after his turn in Rush, the Heuer-heavy racing biopic, and the relationship was made official in 2015.  Why it works: Australians love Hemsworth. Sure, he’s famous, but he’s also chill — preferring to call Byron Bay home instead of the Hollywood Hills. We also love TAG Heuer — the sporty, automotive brand has been a force to be reckoned with down under for decades. Plus…

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7 years ago

RECOMMENDED READING: How the Rolex Submariner became an icon and inspired legions of copycats

For many, the Rolex Submariner is the watch. The default, the archetype. In some ways the watch has transcended its original function and become a totemic symbol for aspiration, class and cool. It is, after all, the original watch of James Bond. On the other hand, it’s still a superlative tool, designed for the dangerous job of diving, a job it still excels at. The fact that the Sub can balance these two faces has a lot to do with its success. As does its long, sustained production run and the fact that a Submariner from 1954 will look pretty much the same as one from 2019. So, to brush up on the history of what is — arguably — the most significant wristwatch around, we’d suggest a quick peruse of this GQ article.  

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7 years ago

The Petrolhead Corner – How a crazy 11,000-kilometer Vespa ride ended up in a watch that ends up in the weirdest Peking-to-Paris rally ever

Let’s start this article with a promise. This will be the most incredible article you’ll read today. Guaranteed. We can’t guarantee you’ll be satisfied with your 9-2-5-job anymore, though… A Vostock was what did it. The watch didn’t cost much, just a couple of Euros. And in case you don’t know what a Vostok is, don’t worry. The soon-to-be owner hadn’t heard of it either before he stumbled upon the watch on a flea-market somewhere in the outskirts of Georgia’s capital Tbilisi.

7 years ago

RECOMMENDED READING: Why did auctioneer Aurel Bacs buy a modern quartz watch?

F.P Journe Elégante 48MM TitalytIf you haven’t heard of Aurel Bacs, that is something that needs to change. While the word influencer has been irreparably ruined by people who use Instagram at the beach, it is one of the most fitting words to describe his impact on the global vintage watch market. The founder of the watch department at Phillips, he still runs the business with his wife Livia Russo under the name Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo, responsible for a string of records that places him in a league of his own at the rostrum. As you might expect, given he spends the majority of his waking hours (and probably some of those while sleeping) thinking about vintage watches, he is incredibly passionate about the subject matter, as well as collecting for himself. He tells the story of being 16 years old when he first fell in love with a Patek Philippe, convincing his parents to loan him the money to buy it, which they agreed to if the watch stayed in a safe till the debt was cleared. I don’t know about you, but at 16 I had a few other things on my mind besides old Swiss wristwatches, but…

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7 years ago

Sparkling in all the right places – Jaeger-LeCoultre's Dazzling Rendez-Vous

A decade ago, overtly feminine watches that combined beauty and proper horology were a rare thing indeed. (There are more of them today – although still far from enough.) And when Jaeger-LeCoultre launched the Rendez-Vous collection in 2012 it really struck a chord. Here was a watchmaker taking women seriously, with good mechanical movements, elegant, grown-up designs and a load of refined detail. A little wink in the form of a tiny star on the dial perimeter that can be set to mark an appointment (rendez-vous in French), which gave the collection its name. And a confident, 36mm case diameter. Watches with brains as well as beauty. The line quickly became a pillar of the brand. Although some elaborately beautiful artistic editions and complications have been added over the years, the core of the Rendez-Vous collection hits that aesthetic sweet spot: feminine but not fluffy; decorative but not elaborate; simple yet full of details; great for daily wear and dressy enough for evening. A fine balancing act. And then, this year, Jaeger-LeCoultre went large with diamonds. Literally large. With an extra ring of brilliant-cut stones set around the outside of the bezel. Dazzling Rendez-Vous, it’s called. And dazzle it does.…

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7 years ago