Introducing – Nomos Club Campus Amsterdam Limited Edition by Ace Jewelers
Ace Jewelers and Nomos Glashütte have teamed up for the second time to create a limited-edition wristwatch. Their first attempt was a cool, slightly “out of the box” Orion watch inspired by art movement “De Stijl” and featuring a unique dial with asymmetrical indexes. For their second watch together, the Dutch theme is still present (Ace Jewelers is one of the largest retailers in the Netherlands) as inspired by the city of Amsterdam. Meet the original, fresh-looking Nomos Club Campus Amsterdam Limited Edition by Ace Jewelers.
They say legends aren’t born, they’re made. And the immortal story of the archetypal diver’s watch, Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms, is as legendary as they come. Beginning with tales of clandestine underwater missions and Oscar-winning performances. Following a long and ultimately unsuccessful search for a watch that would suit all their aquatic espionage needs, in 1952, Captain Robert “Bob” Maloubier and Lieutenant Claude Riffaud – two commanding officers from the then recently established French combat diving corps – sat down with a drawing pad and pencil, and set out to design a watch that would not only play an instrumental role in the military unit’s covert undertakings, but could also survive the immense pressures found at the murky depths of their usual field of operations. Essentially, what they were after was a water-resistant watch with a black dial, large numerals and clear indications using triangles, circles and squares, that used an external rotating bezel for measuring elapsed time, and had markings that could be easily read in both light and under the discreet cover of darkness. With a sketch in hand, the pair then approached a small Villeret watch manufacturer by the name of Blancpain, and then-CEO, Jean-Jacques Fiechter, who was…
Take two parts dial, one part case, one part movement and two dashes of typical Seiko value and you have a recipe for a particularly tasty cocktail; in this case, the Seiko Presage Cocktail Time ‘Fuyugeshiki’ limited edition, specifically the 40.5mm SRPC97J1, and the 33.8mm SRP843J1. We are pleased to offer limited numbers of both models for sale within Australia in our shop, buy them here. Also included in the sale is a copy of NOW – THE WATCH BUYING GUIDE, Time+Tide’s first publication. These limited edition watches are inspired by cocktails created by Hisashi Kishi, the head bartender at Tokyo’s Star Bar, with the case design and hour markers inspired by the shape of a cocktail glass. Mr Kishi created a paired drink, with a cool, pure appearance and, if it tastes anything like the dial looks, it must be delicious. Fuyugeshiki literally translates as ‘winter scene’, and the dial certainly delivers on that promise — it’s rich, crisp and white. Like previous versions of the Cocktail Time, the dial is pressed, but instead of the radial pattern we’ve seen before, the pattern here is very delicate, a repeating, naturalistic vertical pattern that resembles fine brushwork or — if you’re feeling poetic…
The other day we showed you the very heritage-inspired Captain Cook Mark II from Rado. Well, now it’s time for the other side of the coin, the modern take on an old classic. Meet the Rado Tradition Captain Cook Mark III. On paper, it’s a titanium-cased diver with an internal bezel. On the wrist, it’s so much more. The titanium case is large (46mm large), but not overwhelmingly so, thanks to a curvy, lugless case design. And while the Mark II is reflection city, this guy sucks up the light like nobody’s business, thanks to the super-hard matt finish. The domed sapphire crystal is something else, showing every tiny popping yellow detail on the dial below. And while all the individual elements are pretty good, what I appreciate the most about this watch is the whole picture — it’s a modern dive watch that’s fit for purpose, and one that manages to be its own creation rather than an homage (knowing or otherwise) to other designs. Bravo Rado! Rado Tradition Captain Cook Mark III Australian pricing and availability Rado Tradition Captain Cook Mark III, $3450
Editor’s note: The thing I love most about Tudor is their capacity to surprise. They get me every single time. I mean, every time a new watch is announced I know it’s probably going to be a Black Bay, but they still manage to defy expectations. And that’s exactly what they did last year, with the announcement of the BB Chrono, which took the heritage diver to a whole new, complicated level. Is it too early to start thinking about Basel 2019? Over the years, Tudor has proved their mastery of a particular genre of historically revisionist bricolage — most obviously through their fan-favourite diver, the mighty Black Bay. Except now that straight up diver classification doesn’t sit so easy. The 36 and 41 models add a dressy touch, and the Chrono brings a hefty dose of sporty style to the mix. So perhaps the real question is: does the pick and mix approach, which serves Tudor so well with the relatively restrained palette of the ‘regular’ Black Bays, work with this more complicated offering? And then, of course, there’s that movement … The case The 41mm steel case of the BB Chrono is at once familiar and unfamiliar. The shape and…