EDITOR’S PICK: The solid gold smart watch. Can TAG Heuer succeed where Apple failed?

rose-gold-th-connectedEditor’s Note: A few weeks ago I received a surprising email. It was a press release from TAG Heuer, announcing an 18-carat rose gold version of their Connected Watch. I was surprised because this came just weeks after all mention of the much-hyped solid gold Apple Watch Edition silently disappeared from Apple’s site, replaced by the much more attainable ceramic version. It begs the question, can TAG Heuer succeed where the mighty Apple didn’t? And what does success look like here? Then again, I suspect TAG aren’t doing this for sales per se, but simply because they can. Either way, we felt it was a good reason to take another look at the Connected, which,  according to Jean-Claude Biver, is the most successful single reference they’ve ever made. The story in a second: TAG Heuer’s Swiss-designed smartwatch has been touted as the ‘traditional’ watch industry’s much-hyped answer to the Apple Watch – but what’s it like in real life, on the wrist? And not just for a minute, a week… I’ve been reviewing watches for going on eight years now, and I’ll confess – the TAG Heuer Connected is the first watch I’ve worn that has stumped me. Not because of any concerns with comfort or quality, but…

The post EDITOR’S PICK: The solid gold smart watch. Can TAG Heuer succeed where Apple failed? appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

9 years ago

EDITOR’S PICK: The solid gold smart watch. Can TAG Heuer succeed where Apple failed?

rose-gold-th-connectedEditor’s Note: A few weeks ago I received a surprising email. It was a press release from TAG Heuer, announcing an 18-carat rose gold version of their Connected Watch. I was surprised because this came just weeks after all mention of the much-hyped solid gold Apple Watch Edition silently disappeared from Apple’s site, replaced by the much more attainable ceramic version. It begs the question, can TAG Heuer succeed where the mighty Apple didn’t? And what does success look like here? Then again, I suspect TAG aren’t doing this for sales per se, but simply because they can. Either way, we felt it was a good reason to take another look at the Connected, which,  according to Jean-Claude Biver, is the most successful single reference they’ve ever made. The story in a second: TAG Heuer’s Swiss-designed smartwatch has been touted as the ‘traditional’ watch industry’s much-hyped answer to the Apple Watch – but what’s it like in real life, on the wrist? And not just for a minute, a week… I’ve been reviewing watches for going on eight years now, and I’ll confess – the TAG Heuer Connected is the first watch I’ve worn that has stumped me. Not because of any concerns with comfort or quality, but…

The post EDITOR’S PICK: The solid gold smart watch. Can TAG Heuer succeed where Apple failed? appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

9 years ago

In-Depth: The Patek Philippe 1518 In Steel (Video, Live Photos, History, & Thoughts)

This weekend in Geneva, Phillips will auction off the Patek Philippe 1518 in stainless steel – arguably the most desirable wristwatch in the world. This special piece is clouded in mystery and could fetch North of $5 million when the hammer comes down. Little is known about its history, but today, our founder Ben Clymer, sheds a little light on the subject with three video interviews and a detailed history of each example of the world’s most collectible watch.

9 years ago

Our Nearly Unanimous Predictions For The Aiguille d’Or, The Best Of The Best At The 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève

Our panel members are nearly unanimous in their predictions for the winner of the top prize in the 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève: the Aiguille d’Or. While two members of the panel could not settle on just one winner, calling a tie between two and even three watches, for Ian the winner is crystal clear. Let us know which timepieces you think will be crowned with the Aiguille d’Or in 2016.

9 years ago

Hands-On – TAG Heuer Carrera Caliber 5 Ring Master Muhammad Ali

I hated every minute of training, but I said: Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion. Could this be the silver-tongued boxing champion’s own version of “Don’t crack under pressure”? Muhammad Ali was not just one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, he was also a vocal civil right activist with a legendary never-back-down attitude. Last month, at a charity boxing event hosted at Gleason’s Gym, Brooklyn’s legendary boxing club and Ali’s old stomping ground, TAG Heuer unveiled a collection of special edition steel watches to pay tribute to Muhammad Ali. Inspired by the brand’s 1950s Ring-Master watch – a stopwatch featuring interchangeable rings for timing different sports including boxing – we take a hands on look at the TAG Heuer Carrera Caliber 5 Ring Master Muhammad Ali.

9 years ago

In-Depth: The Breitling Emergency Orbiter 3, A Unique Kind Of Adventure Watch

The Breitling Emergency has long been a guilty pleasure of mine. For many watch enthusiasts, it’s seen as a bit of a gimmick—an oversized analog-digital quartz(!) marketing tool for guys who fancy themselves minivan test pilots or Scout Leader commandos. But as I’ve indicated in the past, I have a weakness for uncompromising watches that are designed for a singular purpose and the Emergency is definitely that. After circling them for years while continuing to tread a safer path largely littered with mechanical dive watches, I finally pounced. I bought the unworn number 1,869 of the 1,999 limited edition watches Breitling made back in 2000 to commemorate the first nonstop round-the-world flight in a balloon, the Orbiter 3. I’ve owned the Emergency for a little over a month now and it hasn’t been off my wrist for more than a day or two in that time. It’s that satisfying.

9 years ago

Introducing – Chopard L.U.C Full Strike – The Minute Repeater Reinvented

With the L.U.C Full Strike, the high-end collection of Chopard Watches welcomes a minute repeater, a complication never explored by the brand, and launched as the crowning point of the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of Chopard Manufacture. We’ve seen some tourbillons, some perpetual calendars with chronograph, super slim and eco-friendly watches, but never a striking watch. Well, you could easily imagine that it is just another minute repeater, and that, even if nicely-designed and superbly finished, it has nothing spectacular (in any case we can consider that a minute repeater is not spectacular…). However, this Chopard L.U.C Full Strike is featured with something brand new and innovative, and it makes it different from any other minute repeater we’ve seen before.

9 years ago

Lange Akademie Day 1: Tremblage Engraving

It was once stated that the Lange Akademie was, in the words of Luca Dondi, Brand Director atA. Lange & Söhne, “An exclusive event for experts and collectors to discover the excellence of Saxon watchmaking,” and so for over two days, I donned the overcoat of a watchmaker and remained in rapt attention as master watchmaker and…

9 years ago