As you may know, last week we were busy at SIHH reporting on all the new releases, but this week we are back with some great vintage pieces for you. The timepieces range from simple two-hand dress watches to classic multi-scale chronographs, with brands like Rolex, Omega, and Jaeger-LeCoultre all represented. Read on to see the full selection.
SIHH 2017 has come to a close and the Executive Editor takes time out over the weekend to ponder his Top 5 SIHH 2017 picks. Overall, prices have trended down to more manageable but still not completely accessible levels; that said, this new development has made several brands more interesting from an accessibility standpoint and this group of…
If you read Monochrome on a regular basis, you should know that the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda 1950 is a favorite of ours. Reasons are simple: it is a superb watch, with a great design, both elegant and slightly original (it sets apart from the masses of dress watches, without being too original) and it features a great, technical and hand-finished movement. For this 2017 edition of the SIHH, the brand comes with a great gift: the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda 1950, now in steel (good for the wallet), still with the same micro-rotor movement and its beautiful decoration (good for amateurs) and with a few updates. Overview.
How often do you need to explain your love for watches? I’ve noticed that I don’t mind explaining why I like watches so much, or explaining what I am exactly doing all day as a watch journalist. It is understandable because – believe it or not – not everyone is into watches or even familiar […]
When I opened the box in the hotel room, after arriving in Queensland for the Rado-sponsored Brisbane International tennis tournament, I was taken aback. This was not the watch I was expecting. Perhaps years of indoctrination and the current advertising campaign – with a ball bouncing around in a 3D model of a Match Point dial – made me assume it would be a Hyperchrome chrono of some kind, but nevertheless it was a pleasant surprise. Considering the program includes actually playing tennis and that my suitcase was full of laid-back summer clothing, a simple, ultra-light (the name does not lie) three hander on a grey canvas strap was just right. My first impression was… What? This is Rado? Although we shot this watch at Basel 2016, it had slipped under my radar. A closer inspection revealed a very cool concentric engraving pattern on the dial and the trademark ‘floating’ logo; some nice nuances to the overall sporty, simple design. Once I put it on I felt… Comfortable. This is a watch that’s extremely light, but not unsubstantial; it’s still solid enough. The light ceramic case construction and canvas strap make it extremely comfortable and appropriate for summer, when bulky clothes and bulky watches…
The post MY WEEKEND WITH: the RADO Hyperchrome Ultra Light Limited Edition Automatic XL appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
One of the biggest complaints among watch enthusiasts is that luxury watch prices are too high. The truth is that watch prices and increases thereof depend on which side of the US Dollar you sit on and which economy you live in.
The cool and elegant Vacheron Constantin booth at SIHH was packed with highly complicated pieces (including the most complicated piece), and their top-line SIHH releases were a mass of brain-bending masterpieces, heavy on the sonneries, sidereal time and celestial maps. But amid all this mechanical splendour I found myself coming back to a simpler – but by no means simple – option: the Patrimony Perpetual Calendar, in a pink gold case with a new, slate grey dial. The colour combination is all that’s changed, but sometimes a fresh new look is all you need to fall in love all over again with an old favourite. Until now this distinguished 41mm watch (which is quite slender at 8.96mm) was available in pink gold with a silver opaline dial, or in platinum everything as a special Excellence Platine edition. Both watches were exceedingly formal takes on a traditional complication. Very Vacheron Constantin. This version, though, is much more contemporary in look and feel – you might almost say it’s trendy. The contrast between the warm gold case and the cool grey domed dial is to die for, and the way light plays across the myriad of polished surfaces is more than a little…
The post HANDS-ON: What a difference a dial makes – the Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Perpetual Calendar appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
SIHH was a mighty birthday celebration for the now-60-year-old Piaget Altiplano. Looking at the new releases from Piaget this year, almost all are are from the Altiplano collection, save a few limited edition PoloS models (more on those later). We have already shown you the two Altiplanos explicitly dedicated to the 60th anniversary, but these new references with automatic movements and date function further demonstrate that Piaget is doubling down on its history. Let’s see why this is both great news and a bold move.
You’d be hard-pressed to think of two more influential men in the world of watches than Richemont’s Franco Cologni and LVMH’s Jean-Claude Biver. They are both bastions of the old guard – working their way up from the bottom in the 1970s to become true visionaries and decision-makers in this space today. Cologni began his career selling licensed Cartier-branded cigarette lighters and eventually became not only CEO of Cartier for some time, but also later chairman of Vacheron Constantin and Panerai, both of which he was instrumental in bringing into the Richemont group. A board member for some time, Cologni is responsible for a lot of what we see at Richemont. And Biver, well, you know his story. And so when one ribs the other, and publicly no less, you have to take note.
Though this cautionary example of buying a new watch online is not new, with the current influx (or perhaps “flood” is a better word) of grey market watches to mainstream channels it’s perhaps more poignant today than ever before. Read how you can protect yourself when buying pre-owned timepieces from unknown online sources.