Let’s start 2017 with an old fashioned compact episode. Every year we see that the watch world is changing. Especially collecting vintage watches has become more difficult than around the 90’s or early 00’s. The watch pools are drying out and everybody is hunting after the same fish. What will the future look like? Besides […]
Just over a week ago we broadcast the first ever episode of Apples to Apples, where Felix and I pick two similar watches, flip a Swiss franc to decide which one we’re going in to battle for, and then argue for a couple of minutes. This is part A of the process. Part B is where you come in – because we invite all viewers to vote with their hearts, their thumbs or their comments as to which they prefer of the two watches. For the first episode, we pitted the Baume & Mercier Capeland Worldtimer against the Frederique Constant Manufacture Worldtimer. Click below for a refresher of the video battle, then scroll down for the results of our Facebook poll, as voted for by you guys. TOTAL VOTES: 751 BAUME & MERCIER: 604 FREDERIQUE CONSTANT: 147 Thank you for your votes, and see you soon for the next episode of Apples to Apples!
The post VIDEO: People’s choice votes are in after the first episode of Apples to Apples, and it’s a whitewash… appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
This year sees Montblanc introduce bronze into its watch collections for the very first time – and we have to say they’ve done it in an unusual and (as is typical for the brand) very smart way. With the exception of the high-end Villeret piece, Montblanc has avoided releasing full bronze-cased watches, instead employing the distinctive alloy in a much more tactical manner. In the case of the latest version of the 1858 Automatic, bronze is used on the bezel and crown, leaving the rest of the 44mm body in steel. Besides offering a very different take on two-tone, this approach is quite clever. The high-touch areas of crown and bezel will patina up quite nicely, but overall the watch won’t be as overwhelming as a full bronze case (which, we suspect, will mean it appeals to more people). The bronze elements aren’t the only vintage accents at play here – the black dial features the historic Montblanc logo, and numerals and hands painted in ‘bronze’ luminescent material. The final touch is the truly excellent strap, a supple cognac coloured calfskin number with double stitching in a style that has been very much in fashion among vintage collectors in recent years. Most models in…
The post HANDS-ON: A little bit of bronze goes a long way – the Montblanc 1858 Automatic appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Manufacture Royale doesn’t seek to be a small brand that does small things or a big brand that does all and knows all, but a brand that makes its own meaning and direction. The new 1770 Micromégas Revolution is a clear example of this thinking.
From 2005 to 2008 or so, so many incredible watches were sold publicly without much fanfare at all. This was the pre-HODINKEE days, pre-Instagram, pre-anything, really. The few watch magazines and sites that were around barely made mention of any vintage watches and because of that, many of us have forgotten these incredible piece. But just because the #internet wasn’t paying attention to the auction world, it doesn’t mean there wasn’t a small but dedicated set of collectors keeping a close eye – and because of it, some of the results from that period of time are still record holders to this day. One such example is lot number 83 in the Christie’s November 2007 sale – a platinum Patek Philippe Calatrava with enamel dial. It’s a reference 3428, a piece that few know much about, and just recently, the great collector-focused site Le Monde Edmond brought this watch to the foreground.
2017 marks the 60th anniversary of the Piaget Altiplano – a timepiece that is famed for its slim profile and elegant good looks. …
We recently had the chance to talk with Fabienne Lupo, Chairwoman and Managing Director of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH), the body that organizes the watch trade show SIHH. As SIHH 2017 has just concluded, this would be read more…
Editor’s note: Whether they know it or not, anyone in a highly visible profession is likely to have their wristwear critiqued by a cadre of hardcore watch geeks. Politicans, actors and athletes are all fair game. Today in a special guest post, Paxton Wong casts his ever-watchful eye over the watch choices of some of the world’s best tennis players, just as the Australian Open heats up in week two. They say tennis is all in the wrist. Perhaps here is where the secret lies? Looking a little closer, players appear to be balancing the weight of the racquet in hand with a timepiece on the other wrist. Should make sense – right? Back in the day it was fashionable for a tennis player to wear a watch on court. Tennis was a gentleman’s game. Funnily enough, John McEnroe was associated with Omega’s titanium watches at a time. Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg wore Ebel, and they wore them when they played. Boris even wore a TAG Heuer Kirium, though these days he’s more often seen wearing IWC and the Cartier Calibre de Cartier Diver. For whatever reason, there’s always been a close relationship between watches and tennis. Perhaps it’s…
The post WATCHSPOTTING: Which tennis player wears what in 2017? appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Though not part of the SIHH, the LVMH group’s three brands released new watches during an informal showing the industry calls “Geneva Watch Week”, with chief Jean Claude Biver presiding over the launch in a boat anchored in the Geneva lake where traditionally the Richemont Le Boat was. In fact, it is perhaps even the same…
Though not techincally part of the SIHH, the LVMH group’s three brands released new watches during the same week, with chief Jean Claude Biver presiding over the launch in a boat anchored in the Geneva lake where traditionally the Richemont Le Boat was. In fact, it is perhaps even the same boat, but now dressed in LVMH colours and open…