Hands-on – Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8

Fifty years ago, on Christmas Eve 1968, Apollo 8 became the first manned spacecraft to orbit the Moon and the three astronauts on board the first men to witness the far, or dark side, of our celestial neighbour. To celebrate this encounter, in 2013 Omega dedicated an entire collection of black-themed Speedmasters known as the Dark Side of the Moon. During Baselworld 2018, Omega presented the latest crew member of this collection, the new Apollo 8. A hybrid of sorts, the Apollo 8 shares the black ceramic case of the Dark Side of the Moon collection but has jettisoned its automatic co-axial engine in favour of Omega’s legendary calibre 1861, the manual-wound movement of the classic Moonwatch.

8 years ago

Hands-on – Carl F. Bucherer Expands its Manero Peripheral Collection with Larger 43mm Versions

The Manero Peripheral certainly represents Carl F. Bucherer at its best. Not the most technical watch in the collection (the Tourbillon Double Peripheral holds the title) yet probably the most balanced one. Elegant, sophisticated, technically interesting and well-priced, it is a watch we’ve been regularly praising, here on MONOCHROME. Aware of the demand for larger watches in certain regions (the US market first, and since Bucherer acquired Tourneau, new opportunities opened to Carl F. Bucherer on this market), the brand introduces a larger version of its Manero Peripheral, now with a 43mm case.

8 years ago

IN-DEPTH: the Drive de Cartier Extra Flat in steel — driving the value proposition

The story in a second: A lot of value for not a lot of case. Though “perceived value” has become the new marketing-speak of the last couple of years in the watch industry, there still aren’t that many brands in the luxury watch industry that have taken any real significant strides. Sure, we’ve seen prices nudge their way down from Zenith through to Bell & Ross, but in my opinion these moves have been more about correcting past price creep rather than delivering greater bang-for-your-buck than what’s already been on the market. Of all the players at the big table, I never imagined it’d be Cartier leading the real value charge, but in the case of the Cartier Drive de Cartier Extra Flat in steel this is precisely the case. Great design, a killer hand-wound calibre, and an unrivalled (for the dollar) case profile all make this new release a home run, especially now it’s being offered in non-precious metals. When the first white gold and rose gold models were announced in 2017 there was a hefty outcry from the industry’s media dying for a steel offering to be added, and clearly there was enough marketing data to back it…

The post IN-DEPTH: the Drive de Cartier Extra Flat in steel — driving the value proposition appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

8 years ago

EDITOR’S PICK: We ask the experts how to build a potentially valuable watch collection

Editor’s note: Nigh on a year ago, Sandra delved into the mercurial, and occasionally murky, world of investing in vintage watches. But rather than start at the already stratospheric Rolex/Patek et al. price point, she decided to focus on something a little more achievable. And while prices on some of the below suggestions have likely already gone up, the general advice is still sound … A few years ago I attended a talk called ‘How to Start a Collection’. The focus was on vintage rather than modern and the speaker was a prominent collector, so I looked forward to picking up some great tips. His advice was to anchor a collection with some key pieces, and he gave some examples. Impeccable reasoning, but there was a catch: the name of every piece began with Patek, Rolex or Panerai – and none could be had for less than $80,000. Most were some way north of $100k. So, what if you’re a watch addict of far more modest means? One for whom every $500 increment in price gives real pause for thought. And one who both wants and needs to feel that he or she hasn’t done something dumb with their hard-earned money. Someone…

The post EDITOR’S PICK: We ask the experts how to build a potentially valuable watch collection appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

8 years ago

Hands-on – Seiko Prospex Diver 200m SPB077 – Half Modern, Half Vintage, Totally Cool

If you’re familiar with Seiko, then you already know the Japanese company debuted a vintage re-issue of its 1968 Automatic Diver 300m Reference 6159-7001 this year in the form of the Seiko Prospex Diver 300m Hi-Beat SLA025. That model, however, is limited to just 1,500 pieces worldwide and is priced at EUR 5,500, so not exactly a watch for everybody (Read all the details here.) This is the second highly sought-after vintage re-issue dive watch from the brand, following the Prospex Diver SLA017 last year. As with that model, the company is once again offering two modern and accessibly-priced versions for the wider market, the Prospex Diver 200m SPB077 & SPB079, which we’re getting hands-on with today.

8 years ago