This Bulgari is the anti-gold gold watch
Editor’s note: It’s slender, but it weighs a lot. It’s gold, but it doesn’t look like it. I just can’t get the Bulgari Octo Finissimo in rose gold out of my head. And that’s even factoring in the epic new black ceramic version we saw at Basel. Seriously, will someone spot me $60K? The story in a second: Bulgari’s latest take on the Octo Finissimo Automatic is the anti-gold gold watch. How about a riddle to start your day off right? When is a gold watch not a gold watch? When it’s Bulgari’s darling, the Octo Finissimo Automatic, in rose gold. Now, obviously it’s a gold watch, but it looks and wears like no other gold watch I’ve ever had the pleasure of wearing. The case While the movement and other elements of habillage are important to this watch, really, it’s about the case (and bracelet — more on that shortly). The design, the material, the treatment. All of it really. Let’s start with the familiar. The Octo Finissimo case itself is a pretty well-known quantity by now. It’s a much thinner (5.15mm to be precise) version of the regular Octo, which is an evolution of Genta’s original design. The Octo Finissimo…
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Editor’s note: It’s easy to get caught up in the hype around Grand Seiko dials (and these two beauties still pack a punch in that category), but the unique Spring Drive movement and 44GS-style case are just as noteworthy – as is the wearable size … In addition to the scene-stealing 9S 20th anniversary pieces, Grand Seiko have announced two new Spring Drive models at Baselworld 2018. Reference SBGA373 with a champagne dial, and SBGA375 in rich blue. Vital statistics With its inexorably smooth sweeping seconds hand, there’s something hypnotic about Grand Seiko’s Spring Drive technology, powered and regulated by an ingenious combination of kinetic, magnetic and electrical energy. And while the Snowflake tends to garner the most attention, there are other time and date members of the collection, the most recent being these two. Both are powered by the 9R65, visible through clear casebacks on both models, and housed in broad-shouldered 40mm, 44GS-inspired steel cases. It’s worth noting that these pictures are of prototype models, and I’ve been told that the (very) large crowns are likely to be replaced by something a little smaller and more balanced. On the wrist Grand Seiko’s champagne dials are exceptional and — apparently…
Watch lovers don’t need to be told that great things take time. And that’s certainly been the case leading up to this moment. As readers of our NOW magazine know, last year we had a little dalliance with the brand that used to inhabit our HQ space, and now lives next door. Royal Enfield. Basically, we had a few beers one afternoon and found some matt black, lightly modded common ground between watches and vintage-inspired bikes. Shortly after, we started work with them on a project that had sheer, exuberant fun as its intention. A Time+Tide motorcycle. We wanted it in the Bobber style, first made popular in the golden age of the wristwatch, the 1950s. We worked with Australian Royal Enfield Dealer Mid Life Cycles to mod it just how we liked, with a leather solo saddle, a mean matt black Moto Wings Performance exhaust and custom bar-end mirrors to complement the low, retro style of the timeless, ever-badass Royal Enfield Classic 500. Today, we are excited to announce that the very bike we conceived of could be yours. So, let’s get to it. How do you win it? You must first be Australian (Bronx cheers here, I know,…
Field watches are a bit of a paradox — at once a very broad, yet quite niche category. Essentially these are watches originally made for military use — on battlefields. But having said that, there’s also many other tropes of military-inspired watches, like pilot and dive watches. The easiest way to think about it is, while those watches are made for a quite specific purpose, field watches are generalists. They have to be tough enough to handle some pretty rough conditions, and do their job of telling the time quickly and reliably. If we’re honest, a lot of the time these days the job will fall to a G-Shock (ain’t nothing wrong with that) — the genre of the field watch has come to typically be defined by black dials, strong legibility, and a robust build in a fairly classic body. Here are our picks of the five best field watches, ranging from high-end to much more affordable. Hamilton Khaki Hamilton is a great name in watchmaking (apparently it’s a pretty popular musical too), with a strong American legacy. It’s now part of the Swatch Group portfolio and (sadly) not available in Australia. They’re also one of the most well-known producers…
Editor’s note: For whatever reason, I’m on a bit of a back-to-basics kick at the moment. I mean, high complications and high price tags are all well and good, but sometimes you crave the simpler things in life. And I guess for me, right now, the simpler things are watches. Only hang on — plot twist — turns out this watch here isn’t quite so simple: there’s an annual calendar in the mix, which has been realised in a refreshingly unfussy way. Read on for our review of the Longines Master Collection Annual Calendar. There are few things I love more than a watch that surprises me. It’s something that doesn’t happen near enough for my liking, but it happened with this Longines. It was in the Longines booth at Baselworld, the first day of the fair. Trays and trays of watches had just been laid out in front of us and we were working out what to photograph and focus on. The new Legend Divers, obviously; cool new V.H.P. variants, a really sexy blue and gold Record. Then, the brand representative thrust something from the Master Collection into my hand. Steel, 40mm case, day-date display. Sure, it was nice,…
The Mark XI was the first watch that really got me ‘into’ watches, and it has endured over the decades as an icon of good, utilitarian design. Its influence has been very visible in IWC’s Pilot’s family over the years, but this watch, the IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic Spitfire, might be the closest we’ve seen IWC come in a long time to hitting that mark in a regular production model (sorry about the pun, I couldn’t help it). There are three main reasons why this watch is so great: the dial, the case and the movement. All these elements add up to create a watch that’s greater than the sum of its parts. Let’s break it down. The dial IWC has done a great job with the dial here; it’s a really nice blend of clarity and heritage. All the classic hallmarks are there: crisp white Arabic numerals, surrounded by a minute track with larger hash markers at five-minute intervals. The signature triangle and double dot at 12, along with the cardinal hours, all in a faded, cream-coloured lume, which sits on the right side of the line between vintage-inspired and overbaked. The hands, in the characteristic Spitfire sword…