This year, the charity auction Only Watch 2017 will of course feature unique wristwatches but, new for this 7th edition, some special projects too, lead by some of industry leaders or greatest watchmakers. As an example, the first production piece of the revolutionary Agengraphe movement is to be auctioned at Only Watch 2017 – Meet Carpe Diem, a table chronograph designed with HEAD students.
This is your Bring A Loupe for July 7, 2017.
Well, this is a big one, and I feel humbled to announce that non-other than esteemed watch journalist Roberta Naas is joining Monochrome-Watches. Having such an experienced journalist, who has been covering the world of watches since the early 1980s, is a real coup. She’s got more than thirty years in the industry and has written a half a dozen books on the subject. With that comes an incredible amount of knowledge about the industry, about watch models, styles and, of course, about those lovely mechanisms with a beating heart. She joins us to cover the topic many of you told us that you would like to read more about: women’s watches.
Geek tested, nerd approved: Meet the RJ-Romain Jerome RJ X Donkey Kong. Seeking out a healthy dose of nostalgia, we took the opportunity during our visit to the brand’s Boutique in old town Geneva to go hands-on with this cool, bold, arcade-inspired timepiece, and here is our report on this unusual and captivating watch.
It’s a Wind Down for one this week, as I’m currently alone in the office engaging in some fairly serious desk dancing to this sprawlingly awesome mix. But it’s not all fun and games because watches are a Very Serious Business. Just ask the Swiss. Or the Germans or Japanese for that matter. So, have a drink, but make sure it’s a serious one — more Manhattan, less Melbourne Bitter. What happened? Omega announced their latest Bond limited edition, the Commander’s Watch. It’s hard to tell, but the summery feel of this Seamster caused more askance eyebrow-raising than most Omega LEs. Richard Mille announced Margot Robbie as their latest brand ambassador. That is all. What really mattered? Patek wrote a letter to their dealers, telling them to stop letting watches out of their stores in original packaging. That means the brown outer boxes and the sealed plastic bag. Why? Tackling the grey market of course. Will dealers comply? Will it change anything? The lineup for Only Watch 2017 was unveiled and while we’re busy drooling over the Journe, speculating on the Patek, and nodding appreciatively at the WOSTEP watch, I think it’s interesting that wunderkind-auctioneer Aurel Bacs has lost out to…
The post FRIDAY WIND DOWN: 7th July, 2017 appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
The story in a second The most eagerly awaited dive watch release from Seiko…ever? Seiko were relative latecomers to the professional dive watch game, coming some 10 years after the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms and the Rolex Submariner. Released in 1965, the legendary Seiko 62MAS (ref. 6217) was Japan’s first professional dive watch and inspired a long tradition of Seiko divers that has seen the brand release some of the most widely used and respected divers on the market. In fact, some of Seiko’s own design innovations contributed to the foundation of the ISO 6425 dive watch standards. So, when the news leaked, that Seiko were finally answering the prayers and wishes of collectors by releasing a re-creation of the iconic 62MAS, the watch world was abuzz with excitement. Was it true? Were the pictures fake? Will they accept MasterCard? All was revealed at Baselworld 2017, when Seiko unveiled one of their most faithful vintage reissues ever, the Prospex SLA017. In fact, if you spotted someone wearing the modern re-creation, you would have a hard time distinguishing it from the original, without resorting to some expert level wrist stalking. The case The SLA017 is an almost exact duplicate of the original…
The post IN-DEPTH: Is the Seiko Prospex SLA017 62MAS re-creation their best dive watch ever? appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Everything you ever wanted to know about the new Rolex Sea-Dweller, and probably a lot that you didn’t.
Earlier this year we told you about the TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer-01 Full Black Matt Ceramic, which made its debut at the 2017 edition of the Geneva Watch Fair. Now that the madness of the first half of the year is starting to subside, we thought this a perfect time to come back and give this watch a proper hands-on review.
Strong lots stood out, but many promising watches inexplicably failed to find buyers.
According to a recent article I came across on Business Insider (you can already tell this is going to be bad), Apple is crushing the Swiss watch industry. Click-bait title aside, one thing is clear; wearable technology is a fast-growing industry. Some people like having something smart on their wrists that can track their daily activity, help them achieve their fitness goals and basically just live more fulfilling lives. But what about those of us (including us here at Monochrome) who still want to live fulfilling lives but love our traditional mechanical watches? Do we just have to miss out? Well, we may have found a solution. Introducing; the Smart Buckle.