At 35,000 feet about halfway from Europe to the United States on a trip “home” for the holidays, the mind starts to get a little fuzzy. Call it the sweet return to drinking American craft beer or California Cabernet (yep, no matter where I live I’m still a “homer” and as a result, I’ve had […]
It might be stating the obvious, but this Aquaracer doesn’t have a tourbillon or a modular case construction. Nor is it a smart watch, or a reissue of a ’70s watchmaking icon. This is a plain old ‘new watch’ from a well known family. No bells, no whistles, just an absolute winner of a watch. On paper it’s a 43mm titanium-cased diver with a matt black finish thanks to the titanium carbide treatment and a matching black ceramic bezel, powered by a Sellita movement, and rated to 300m. The dial has distinctive horizontal stripes, reminiscent of the ‘garage door’ look popularised by Patek’s Nautilus. All the highlights, from applied numerals and hands to chunky nylon strap are ‘sand’ in colour, and the luminous material is generous. The bright orange second hand and triangle on the bezel are the only breaks from this utilitarian colour scheme. So that’s the by-the-numbers rundown. What this fails to capture is just how awesome this watch is on the wrist. It’s a well-designed, purposeful piece that looks killer. The black and tan colour scheme gives the Aquaracer a military vibe, but without the sense of earnestness you’d get from a comparable watch by the likes of Sinn or Luminox. And if…
The post HANDS-ON: Summer stunner – the TAG Heuer Aquaracer 300m Calibre 5 Titanium appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
The Moritz Grossmann Atum Pure M first debuted at Baselworld earlier this year and it instantly became one of those timepieces that would garner an “oh, that watch” from anyone you tried to talk to about it. It’s a sort of offbeat three-hander from Germany with an interesting time setting mechanism and a semi-transparent mesh dial. Me, I’m a fan, though I know that’s a controversial opinion, and I jumped at the chance to spend some time with the Atum Pure M a few weeks ago at Dubai Watch Week.
Jaquet Droz introduces new versions of two classic models with dials made of Muonionalusta meteorite: the Grande Séconde Quantième Meteorite and Grande Heure Minute Quantième Meteorite, which are exclusive, limited boutique editions.
At the time when Blancpain was busy developing the first true dive watch – the Fifty Fathoms came before the Submariner, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise – triple calendars with moon phases were all the rage. In the 1950s, it seemed liked every company had one in their portfolio, including Rolex. Today, you could say the opposite is true. Dive watches are everywhere, while Blancpain is one of a smaller group of manufactures with a complete calendar and moonphase still in its lineup. I spent a week with the Villeret Ultra-Slim Complete Calendar in white gold, the modern incarnation of a classic, and the results were nothing if not interesting.
As SIHH 2017 approaches, Ulysses Nardin has just teased three of its new watches that will bolster its Classic collection. See them here first.
Vacheron Constantin reinvents the historic Overseas Collection.
Unlike Oris’s two other recent releases – a limited edition Altimeter and a new silver-dialed Divers Sixty-Five – this new timekeeper is a classic dress watch in the less well known Jazz collection, a line dedicated solely to the legends of the musical genre. Previous watches have included tributes to John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Miles Davis, amongst others. What we have here though is the Dexter Gordon Limited Edition, a three-hander with a beautiful grey dial and subtle nods to the musician himself.
The accuracy of a watch is always subject to the influences of gravity. Changes in position can have significant effects on how effectively a watch keeps time, particularly disturbances in the balance wheel isochronism. Traditionally speaking, watchmakers have tried to counter the negative effects of gravity by using rotating devices to average out positional errors: the tourbillon – patented by Breguet in 1801 – and the carrousel – patented by the Danish horologist Bonniksen in 1892. Today, Monochrome goes hands-on with the stunning Blancpain Tourbillon Carrousel, which for the first time combines both systems, coupled by a differential gearing mechanism.
We caught up for tea with the extraordinary Karl-Friedrich Scheufele when he was in town for the official launch of the Chopard L.U.C Full Strike Minute Repeater and the F. Berthoud FB-1 watches recently. We chatted about divers issues and interesting things, and bring you this In-conversation series. Eavesdrop on our conversation. This is a 3…