IN-DEPTH: The Longines Conquest V.H.P. GMT “Flash Setting”
The story in a second: A rare case of quartz having legit enthusiast appeal, albeit in a clever, and very novel, fashion. Say “it’s quartz” and countless watch nerds cringe; however, there have been some exceptions to the rule over the years. Of course, Grand Seiko Spring Drive calibers get a pass on account of the brand’s epic design and finishing, as well as the fact that they run a quartz oscillator in the place of the balance wheel, but everything else is done mechanically (to state things as simply as we can). And then there’s the F.P. Journe Elegante 48, which is a completely different animal. Longines has also been toiling away in the battery-powered department, and their V.H.P. calibers, which were refreshed in 2017, carry with them some impressive specifications. Accurate to +/-5 seconds per year, Longines integrated a special functionality to these calibers that allows for internal correction for magnetism or shock via a “gear position sensor” that effectively can tell if things are out of whack and adjust the caliber as required. Weird, but clever for sure. With the GMT Flash Setting model, the brand pushed a step further and have basically created the most idiot-proof…
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I like to imagine this time of year as an Advent calendar for watch lovers, with pre-release announcements being dropped each and every day as the countdown to SIHH 2019 ticks ever closer. Today’s delectable delight comes courtesy of Jaeger-LeCoultre, and not only is it new, it’s also blue, and delivers an impressively novel take on one of their classics. Say hello to the Master Ultra Thin Moon Enamel. Since its beginnings in the famed Vallée de Joux, Jaeger-LeCoultre have been driven by precision. A search for accuracy that has seen the brand develop more than 1200 calibres and earned it the honourable title of “the watchmaker of watchmakers” – with many of JLC’s high-end valley neighbours calling on the manufacturer to help supply them with movements. The brand-new Master Ultra Thin Moon Enamel not only displays that generations-old technical know-how but also highlights some of the Maison’s other in-house métiers, namely, their incredibly skilled handcrafts of guillochage and enamelling. Limited to 100 pieces worldwide, each dial is meticulously crafted by hand, with patience being not just a virtue but an absolute necessity during the entire manufacturing process. Culminating in a stunning combination of a captivating shade of intense blue…
For a site ostensibly about fine mechanical watches we spend a decent amount of time talking and thinking about watches of the smart variety. But we come at the genre (which is, thanks to Apple, the biggest category of watch in the game at the moment) from a fairly particular (dare I say biased) perspective, whereas Wired, one of the most venerable and respected tech news sites in the world, comes at it, it’s fair to say, from another point of view entirely. Which is why the fact that their fundamental experiences with smartwatches so closely mirror my own, right down to those danged proprietary chargers. Worth a read. 
This is among my favourite days of the year. When, from the relative peace and quiet of the gap between Christmas and New Year, there’s a chance to look back at another 12 months of Time+Tide. 2018 was our biggest year yet, in every sense — traffic, travel, trips to the post office to mail out magazines, as well as more trolls and gladiators than ever before; it all escalated quickly. It was awesome. These are my favourite four stories of the year. Russell Crowe tells us all the watch stories I didn’t know what ‘AMSR’ was until this video. I was telling people about the odd, extremely enjoyable feeling that Russell Crowe’s voice caused me. Shivers. Goosebumps. “That’s AMSR,” someone said, before expanding. “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response.” So, in addition to the content itself — a detailed breakdown of the how, who, where and why of many of Rusty’s watches — there’s also the sheer listening pleasure of his delivery. This story, too, was another high-water mark for us. Where did the big guy, and his auction house, go to reach Australia’s watch buyers and collectors? Where else but Felix Scholz and T+T; a job well done by the…