Hands-On – Patek Philippe Chronograph Annual Calendar 5960/01g – Patek, With a Vintage Touch…
For a few years now, Patek Philippe is applying a rather surprising strategy, by offering a new, younger approach. Sometimes vintage, sometimes modern, sometimes quite difficult to understand, sometimes controversial… Everything started back in 2014 with the modern-looking stainless steel 5960/1A, followed later in 2015 with the launch of the Calatrava Travel Time Pilot 5524G, a vintage-inspired watch, drastically different from the traditional conservative Patek collections. And if you mix these two watches, you’ll obtain the 2017 Patek Philippe Chronograph Annual Calendar 5960/01g.
I didn’t appreciate just how good the new Master Chronometer Omega Aqua Terras were until I spent some proper time with them. And now that I have, I’m kicking myself for not talking more about them at and after Basel. What’s not to like? The design manages to be current and sporty without losing sight of its classic roots, there’s oodles of cool tech under the hood and it looks stellar on the wrist, thanks to all those facets, edges and polished surfaces. But what really won me over was – wait for it – the rubber strap. Yep, Omega have taken a part of a watch that’s usually an afterthought, and elevated it to (almost) an art form. It’s comfortable and functional but, more than that, it’s cool, thanks to the woven print reminiscent of the so-called tropic straps, and the metal end link really helps give this version of the Aqua Terra a sportier edge than its brethren on metal or leather. Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M Australian pricing Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M, Master Chronometer, on rubber, $7250
Nomos may be one of the younger players in the watch scene, but they’ve already well and truly stamped their mark on the industry. A very minimalist-looking one, to be sure, but that does not mean that their purist Bauhaus/Deutscher Werkbund-inspired designs are boring. Far from it. There’s nothing ho-hum about a manufacturer who has been making its own movements since 2005, and whose latest calibre – the DUW 3001 – not only uses their own designed and built escapement system but is also their thinnest automatic movement yet. Now that excitement of thin in-house goodness is combined with an extra visual punch on the outside, as they’ve added not just a splash but an entire bucket of colour to the Ahoi collection with the introduction of two new ‘Aqua’ colourways – signalblau (siren blue) and signalrot (siren red). We’re already familiar with the silvery-white and Atlantic-blue dials of the sporty Ahoi, and while – at the risk of contradicting my earlier self – they were safe and rather plain choices, these new dial colours add a couple of vibrant, fresh faces to the collection. I know what you’re thinking: “Bauhaus designers don’t do bright colours… do they?” Well, while the vast…
