Designed in 1996, the Toric is Parmigiani Fleurier’s dress watch. The model staged a comeback a few months ago with the Toric Chronometer and the smart Toric Hemisphères Rétrograde. The latter features a second time zone indication that can be adjusted to the minute via an additional crown. Unlike the vast majority of travel watches, the […]
Grand Seiko’s Snowflake (the more evocative name for the SBGA211 née SBGA011) is undoubtedly one of the most popular watches in their line-up, and understandably so. With its titanium case, seductive Spring Drive movement and one of the best-loved dials in the business, it’s remained unchanged (reference number and dial naming convention) since 2010 (see our review and video in case you’re unfamiliar). Part of the appeal is the fact that the watch is as pure as its namesake. The Snowflake is unchanged, untouched and undiluted by case/dial/size/etc variants. Except that’s not quite the case. Meet the SBGA259, a Snowflake with brilliant gold hands and hour markers. Now, first things first. This is not a new watch; this reference was introduced last year, and prior to that, there was the SBGA059, with the older style dial that has existed alongside the original since at least 2012. And even though it’s been around for years, knowledge of it — like with many ‘special’ Grand Seikos — is quite low, as it was originally made only for boutiques or the Japanese market. But, with Grand Seiko’s growing global popularity and availability, it’s time to shine a light on the Golden Snowflake. Ostensibly,…
The post HANDS-ON: The Golden Snowflake – Grand Seiko’s Spring Drive SBGA259 appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
There are few things more exciting than discovering an entirely new species. Especially creatures from the abyss, and there happens to be the largest and deepest one on the planet just to the east of Australia. Scientists recently discovered this cute little guy in there. He still remains nameless if you have any ideas? We also discovered a new type of watch wearer this month and in our opinion it’s significantly less savoury to consider than our seemingly scale and skin-less fishy friend. If you’re an easily offended watch person you should hit the Back button right now. Because, according to The Independent, there is “now a trend among watch collectors to purchase stylish timepieces that don’t actually work, making them void of any useful function altogether”. Is there really now? The story then goes on to list why it’s in fact a sensible idea, when broken down. To which we’d like to take the first right of refusal. Reason 1: “It’s fine because Andy Warhol did it.” No, no, no. The article ties the notion to a famous Cartier wearer, Andy Warhol, who in 1973 admitted that he didn’t “wear a Tank watch to tell the time. Actually I never even wind it. I wear a…
The post NEWS: We’ve discovered a new species of watch wearer, and it ain’t pretty appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
A look back at a fan (and editor) favorite.
Fitted with a refurbished Valjoux 92 Calibre from the 1960s, Speake-Marin’s London Chronograph pays tribute to the English soul of the brand and flaunts some dandy design tweaks on the dial. Originally released in 2016 in a hyper-limited edition of just 3 pieces, Speake-Marin revisits the London Chronograph in 2018 in another limited edition of 15 watches. A winning combination of classic watchmaking elements, quirky design choices and a vintage movement make the London Chronograph a very fetching and practically unique model.
Chris Alexander, also known as Creo Design, is a professional artist and designer who has worked across multiple media, with a focus for watch dial art. Hi Chris, what’s your daily watch and why? An Omega Speedmaster Pro 3570.50. This watch means an awful lot to me even though it has only been in my possession for about three months. The story goes way back to when I was around 4-5 years old and spending time with my late father. He was a qualified astrophysicist and taught me all he knew about space. And the clearest and fondest memory I have of him was spending hours looking at the moon and hearing about all the facts and statistics. My father was also a keen horologist and collected several clocks and tinkered away with them in his spare time. Fast-forward 30 years, and I found myself falling in love with watches all over again while painting them. My appreciation for horology was of a keen outsider — someone who admires them in a store window but never purchased. So spending a lot of money on a watch just didn’t make sense to me until I started working on them. Then it all made sense,…
The post WHO TO FOLLOW: @Creodesignwatches – the dial artist appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Editor’s note: Speculation that Big Idris Elba might be the next man to don the Tom Ford tux and strap on the Walther and take over from Daniel Craig as the next Bond has once again reared its head, and honestly this is something we can all get behind (side note, Esquire’s suggestion of Thandie Newton also has serious merit). So we thought we’d revisit this piece on possible Bond watches. Q would be proud. Given his extraordinarily good taste in watches in real life we would love to be a fly on the wall at Omega the day Elba arrives to discuss 007’s next wristwatch of choice… The Globemaster Bond attends a large number of black tie events, casinos, gala openings, secret cabalistic meetings – you know, the usual. These occasions can degenerate into brawls and/or gun fights without a moment’s notice, which necessitates a watch that works just as well with a bow tie as it does a submachine gun. Tricky. Our suggestion would be the Globemaster. While dressy, it’s not fussily so, particularly in the steel model with tungsten carbide bezel, which would defend itself well against dings or scratches caused by hapless henchmen. The Ploprof 1200M The odds are…
The post EDITOR’S PICK: As speculation rises about Idris Elba as Bond, we speculate about 007’s next watch appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
The week’s can’t-miss stories from around the web.
Last month I had the distinct privilege to meet with Nick Moloney. For those who do not know the great names in the world of sailing, like me, here’s a brief resume… Nick sailed around the world three times, is a 15 x world sailing speed record holder, and has competed two times in the America’s Cup (and much more). He was involved in this year’s Volvo Ocean Race as the official Race Ambassador, he’s a Delma Watches ambassador and a great, really great, guy. We sat down with Nick, when the Volvo Ocean Race ended in The Hague, Netherlands, and we talked about sailing, the Volvo Ocean Race, the quest for cleaning the seas and of course watches.
It might surprise you to know that in the first half of the last century, America was regarded as the force to be reckoned with when it came to watches — especially modern, efficient and mass-produced watches. But now, with great legacy brands like Waltham and Illinois consigned to the scrapheap of history, while others, like Hamilton, are part of larger Swiss portfolios, the American watch industry is a shadow of its former self. But that’s not to say that the land of the free and the home of the brave is entirely bereft of local timekeeping concerns. Here are five brands keeping the faith, though it must be mentioned that in most cases the heavy lifting of manufacturing is done off shore. Weiss American Issue Field Watch A few years ago the American Federal Trade Commission tightened up on ‘American Made’, dictating that to be eligible it wasn’t good enough for a product to be assembled in the States, it had to be manufactured there too. Few American watch brands can live up to that claim. Weiss is one of them. The Cal 1003 movement in the American Issue Field Watch is machined, assembled and finished in Los Angeles.…
The post LIST: 5 of the best watches from the good old U S of A appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.