Hands-On – The Rolex Datejust 41 in Steel (a.k.a. The Perfect All-Rounder Watch)
An elegant sports-watch? A robust dress watch? A casual watch? Call it the way you want, the Rolex Datejust simply is the definition of the all-rounder, a sort of SUV of the watches that can do everything, that can go everywhere and that can be worn with everything. The Rolex Datejust 41, first introduced at Baselworld 2016 in two-tone, now comes in steel versions, which means that it is now more affordable and even more versatile. This is why we had to go hands-on with the new iterations of this icon (ref. 126300 and ref. 126334), that we’ll name an SUW, a sports utility watch.
Tudor has just announced Lady Gaga as a brand ambassador and global face of the #Borntodare campaign. This announcement comes just months after the brand signed veteran sports star and style icon David Beckham. In the advertising collateral supplied Gaga wears the (now classic) Heritage Black Bay with red bezel on a red fabric strap. Lady Gaga is an interesting choice for Tudor. Even though her days of meat dress donning, scandal courting behaviour is (for now, anyway) in her past, the outspoken singer is still a much edgier proposition than your typical luxury brand ambassador, which at least lives up to Tudor’s campaign name. What’s also interesting is the choice of watch she’s promoting. Typically, female ambassadors are associated with explicitly feminine collections (think Nicole Kidman and the Omega Ladymatic), but Gaga isn’t wearing pieces from the Style or Glamour lines. No, she’s wearing the original Heritage Black Bay. In a way this is the safest choice for Tudor, as I’m willing to bet it represents the lion’s share of their sales. But it also demonstrates the Black Bay’s versatility, in that it looks as at home with high couture as it does with Gore-Tex outerwear. And if Tudor wants to pitch…
When I go to the pinpoint the exact moment in time I decided that I wanted a particular watch, there’s almost always a common denominator: it’s seeing it on someone else’s wrist. My Monaco story starts this way. My business partner in Time+Tide is a pretty big Heuer and TAG Heuer fan. He is the founder of Calibre 11 – the home of TAG Heuer and vintage Heuer collectors – and has, at times, been among the most pre-eminent Heuer collectors in the world. It goes without saying that his wrist has been a showcase for pretty much every style of watch the brand has to offer over the years – vintage, modern, attainable, completely out of the question, you name it, DC has shown up at some point with it on. I remember the day he first wore the 2015 Monaco distinctly. I asked to take a closer look, and snapped off a couple of wrist shots. Before I knew it was, I was re-reading Felix’s review and paying closer attention to the photos. How had I never noticed that powder blue dial at the time? The mirrored horizontal indices? The fat slab of sapphire crystal that warped the light…
Well, this month ended just as quickly as it started, busy with watch related activities — and a bunch of incomings (including this stunning tropical Tudor Sub). Here’s what happened… I kicked off August with a coffee with Rich who, aside from having a great car collection, has a love for watches. He was rocking a Rolex Sea-Dweller (SD4K) on an Everest Rubber strap. Rich noted he prefers to wear watches on some sort of strap, and the only watch he keeps on the bracelet is his Audemars Piguet Royal Oak (ref. 15300). Understandable — it’s one of the best bracelets I’ve ever felt. Later, I made my way down to the Nomos Glashütte x Monards event, tucked away at South Yarra’s famous Stables. There I saw Phoenix, who just so happened upon a purchase. This particular model, the Nomos Club neomatik, caught her eye, and for good reason — it’s a great looking watch! What Phoenix really loved though, is that although it’s a diving watch, it doesn’t share the chunkiness you usually find on more popular models. Phoenix has an impressive collection, featuring brands like Rolex, Tudor and Roger Dubuis. For her next piece, she’s tossing up between a Blancpain…
Editor’s Note: Look, it’s not the first time anyone has thought of combining watches with whisky. It is, however, surely the first time an Italian barman in Ginza, Tokyo did the matching. It was the kind of performance the hashtag #nailedit was created for. Consider for a moment that two Aussie guys dropped in to the Bulgari Tower out of nowhere, set him a bizarre task in front of some Bulgari top brass, and started rolling the tape. If you watch one watch-related video today, make it this one. We can’t get over it, or Pietro, and it’s been two years. So good. So intense. So spicy. We’re really going to have to do this again soon, Bulgari. If you want to skip my intro and get to the good stuff, drop in at 0:55. **Video may contain traces of day-drinking** Believe it or not, this idea was conceived during business hours, in complete sobriety. We had arrived at the Bulgari Tower in Ginza, Tokyo, and taken an elevator up to the bar on the top level. Our eyes were rolling back in our heads at the bar selection. The barman, Pietro, offered us a drink, but the hour hand on…
Reviewing watches like the Sky-Dweller is all well and good, but we’re (usually) quite detached about it. So we decided to find the opinions of people who had handed over their own hard-earned for the Sky-Dweller and asked them for their far less impartial take. Ashley’s perspective First we spoke to Ashley, a Sydney-based collector who’s eagerly awaiting the delivery of his Sky-Dweller. Ashley was pretty sure he was going to get it as soon as he saw the news from Basel, but handling it in person at a retailer’s event sealed the deal. Which one did you get? I went with the black dialled, white gold Rolesor version. I know the blue photographs better, but the black’s better in person and is a much more classic option. Why did you get it? When I first saw it online – partially through you guys – I thought it was a bit of a left field release for Rolex. I’ve always loved the Sky-Dweller but it’s always been out of reach for me. I’ve had loads of Rolexes, and I’ve worked out that I like ones with a bit of character or tool purpose. The Explorer and Datejust are beautiful watches, but…