RECOMMENDED READING: The rise of patina
One of the longest and most sustained watch ‘trends’ in recent times is that of vintage and retro styled pieces. In fact, you could argue that it’s now a bona fide category in its own right. And underlying this entire movement is the concept of patina. Sure, retro design plays a part, but the real charm is in those faded paints and the kind of look that only comes from a long life well lived … Patina is even more important in the secondary market — particularly the high-end auction space, where ‘good’ versus ‘bad’ patina on the right watch reference can make a massive difference in the number of zeros in the final hammer price. Suffice to say it matters, but patina is also an incredibly vague catch-all term, used and abused by enthusiasts and opportunistic dealers alike. Which is why this long and very informative read from Gear Patrol on the rise of patina is such a helpful article. Definitely worth a read. Something you can do at Gear Patrol.
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The first watch I saw at Baselworld 2019 was the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Automatic. I saw it at a preview dinner before the fair proper, and honestly, it kind of ruined me for other watches at the fair. The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Automatic is just so impressive. Not only is it the world’s thinnest automatic chronograph (ever, no fancy caveats needed), measuring 6.9mm for the full watch, and 3.3mm for the BVL 318 movement alone. But (and more importantly for me) it looks and feels good on the wrist and is exceptionally user-friendly. For me there are two big points in favour of this watch. One, the form is flawless, unmarred by obvious, ugly pushers. One of the genius moves of the Octo’s angular design is that it allows for the near seamless integration of geometric pushers that extends the existing look, rather than adding some clunky lumps to one side. The other real user-friendly feature is the addition of a GMT feature. Bulgari deserve massive props for this, simply because they didn’t need to do it. But they did (because they can), and it’s great. The second time is displayed in the little subdial at…
Wednesday night saw Time+Tide invite Jaeger-LeCoultre into our office, along with some of our most die-hard fans (you have to be a little die-hard to make it out on such a cold evening), for an evening of watch-related entertainment. There is no doubt that the guests of honour were a brace of brand new Master Ultra Thin watches, with stunning enamel guilloché dials in white gold cases. These were the watches first on show at SIHH 2019, and it was great to see them closer to home. And while our readers were keen to debate the merits of tourbillon versus perpetual on a one-to-one basis, there were some other dazzling stars on offer. There was the astonishing (and astonishingly complex) Master Grande Tradition Tourbillon Zodiaque, and — I have to say, these are perhaps my favourite JLC releases of the year — the gorgeous new Dazzling Rendez-Vous, which sees some serious weight of diamonds, set using the very complementary griff setting. The resulting watch is a stunner. But the Jaeger-LeCoultre presence wasn’t just limited to the display cases, there were plenty of Reversos and Master collection pieces in the room – including a Tribute to Reverso 1931, with a very…
Big news overnight from the house of Omega – they can now claim the lofty (well, the opposite actually) title of deepest diving watch ever. Just how deep are we talking here? How about 10,928 metres? That’s the depth Victor Vescovo took his submersible, Limiting Factor into the Mariana Trench. And on that sub, was the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Professional. The next question you might well be asking is — what was the previous record holder? Well, that honour was held by Captain Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard, who took their Trieste down to 10,916 metres, with a custom Rolex on board. It’s a testament to the extreme marine environment that the Trieste record was set in 1960, and it’s taken 59 years to better it, and even then by only 12 metres. But Vescovo isn’t content with just the Mariana Trench, his Five Deeps aims to see him make manned dives to the ocean’s five deepest points. Now, how about the watch? The Seamaster is, of course, one of the big names in professional dive watches, and one with a rich legacy. But there’s never been a Seamaster this big. This prototype watch (there were three on the…