Hodinkee
While companies often focus on their most iconic watches and let old models flounder, Zenith has built the Defy line back into a strong pillar of the brand.
Revolution
The Bell & Ross x Alain Silberstein BR 03-92 KLUB 22 is the time-only model of the Grail Watch 4 Trilogy. Housed in a 42 x 42mm matte black ceramic case with a pared down ampersand logo and only three hands, it is the most distilled expression of Bell & Ross and Alain Silberstein’s design […]
Hodinkee
Sure, Cartier designers are known for more angular watches like the Tank and Santos, but could their more daring option be a traditional round watch?
SJX Watches
With 2022 revenue of S$716.9 million (equivalent to US$532 million), Cortina Watch is one of the world’s biggest watch retailers. It was founded in 1972 as a single store but has grown into a regional giant with stores across Southeast Asia as well as outposts in Taiwan and Australia. Cortina marked its 50th anniversary this year with a slew of limited editions that reflect its importance, including the Patek Philippe Calatrava ref. 5057 made specifically for it. Though publicly listed, the company remains controlled by the founding Lim family, with the third generation having recently joined the business. A crucial member of management is Jeremy Lim, the younger son of Cortina founder Anthony Lim. Jeremy helms the business alongside his siblings Raymond and Sharon. I spoke with Jeremy recently to uncover the factors behind the longevity and success of Cortina. Three generations of the Lim family, with Jeremy Lim second from left. Image – Cortina Watch SJX: When Cortina was founded 50 years ago by your father, it was one of many watch stores in Singapore. But now Cortina is one of the few left, in fact it’s one of the biggest in the region. What is the secret to the longevity and success? Jeremy Lim (JL): We were lucky that we had a lot of help from the family when my dad started the business with my mom. [My brother] Raymond started early in the business, then my sister got interested in the business as well, and subsequently I was reeled in. The old school method o...
SJX Watches
We’ve gone through the year’s best watches from independent watchmakers and establishment brands, as well as the most notable complications. Nearly all of the watches on those lists, however, are pricey. So now we round up the best affordable watches of the year, namely those under US$5,000. Put another way, these are the best value proposition of 2022, both in nominal and relative terms. As has become the norm, Tudor is shoo-in when it comes to value propositions. A streamlined version of its deep-sea dive watch, the Pelagos 39 is compact, lightweight, and minimalist. The case is 39 mm and all titanium, while the dial does away with the date but includes a line of red text in a nod to vintaged dive watches. While much about the watch has been simplified, the details of the Pelagos 39 are fancier than usual. Both the dial and bezel insert are radially brushed – a matte metallic finish for the dial and brushed ceramic for the bezel – giving the Pelagos 39 a more reflective finish than its peers. When it comes to dress watches, the Longines Master Collection “190th Anniversary” is amongst the best, particularly at its US$2,000-ish price. It features a dial that appears to be highly elaborate with Breguet hour numerals that appear to be hand engraved. Naturally the dial is made by machine, but it is done convincingly enough that has a strikingly appealing aesthetic. Thanks to the dial, the watch certainly punches above its price segment. And like many Longin...
Time+Tide
Anyone who knows me knows I’m a sucker for all things 007. The action, the intrigue, the charm, the gadgets… and most of all, the watches. The Rolex Submariner, the Breitling Top Time, the Omega Seamaster, the Seiko Golden Tuna, and even the Gruen Precision dress watch from Dr No, they’ve all shaken my martini. … ContinuedThe post The TAG Heuer Aquaracer Night Diver recreates a cruelly overlooked Bond watch appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
With its name first appearing on watches as early as 1927, Tutima have had a tumultuous yet resilient history. You may not be as familiar with them as some other German watchmakers, but they nonetheless excel in all corners. This latest release for the brand is quite a unique take on a traditional dress watch, … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Tutima Patria Small Second Blue & Gold appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
Last chance to add an expertly curated vintage watch to your collection before the year is over!
SJX Watches
While Blancpain is best known for its retro dive watches and triple calendars, the brand’s catalogue includes a surprisingly broad range of complications, especially for a brand of its scale (but the fact that the brand is part of Swatch Group clearly helps). One of its most interesting recent complications is the Villeret Tourbillon Heure Sautante Minutes Rétrograde, the first Blancpain watch with either a jumping hours or retrograde display. Despite the lengthy name, the Tourbillon Heure Sautante Minutes Rétrograde, from now on simply THSMR, is a simple watch on its face, but one executed in an elaborate manner with details that speak to its quality. The dial is champlevé enamel with a symmetrical time display and “floating” flying tourbillon, while the movement has a six-day power reserve and bridges finished with guilloche. Initial thoughts Unlike most of Blancpain’s complications that formal and busy, the THSMR is an elegant watch with an almost minimalist design. The fired enamel dial has a figure-of-eight display that gives it almost perfect symmetry, except for the charmingly quirky hour window that is off-centre but just right. And up close the tourbillon appears to be “floating” thanks to a clear sapphire lower bridge. It is a fairly large watch as most Blancpain watches now are, though it’s not too thick at just over 11 mm high. But the size is grounded in its mechanics: the cal. 260MR is a sizeable movement with an impressive six-day power r...
Revolution
Time+Tide
There is a strong allure to the simple time-only watch. Without all the complications to distract us, these watches instead rely heavily on their design. And more than anything, the design of a watch is what stays with us the longest. Just think about it. History is littered with such enthralling references; from the Panerai … ContinuedThe post Go modern vintage with the Nivada Grenchen Super Antarctic 3/6/9 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
Led by a stunning time-only Audemars Piguet, this week's drop is our best in December by far.
Time+Tide
Netflix’s Addams Family spin-off Wednesday has taken the world by spooky storm, with Jenna Ortega’s self-choreographed dance scene going certified viral. But, while much attention has been given to Ortega’s performance as Wednesday Addams, watch enthusiasts may have clocked Game of Thrones actor Gwendoline Christie sporting a Cartier Tank Louis Large in her role as Nevermore … ContinuedThe post Gwendoline Christie never felt more beautiful on Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’ set wearing Cartier Tank Louis appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
End the year in style.
SJX Watches
IWC has a suite of instantly recognisable models synonymous with the brand, namely the Pilot’s Watches and of course, the Portugieser. But one collection does get as much recognition as its peers, despite being almost 40 years old. Named after the famous seaside city in Italy, the Portofino was introduced in 1984 (though the inaugural model didn’t yet have the Portofino name at the time) as an oversized pocket watch-style wristwatch, something of a clarion call to persist with mechanical watchmaking after the Quartz Crisis. Now the brand has revived one of the classics from the line with the Portofino Perpetual Calendar. At 40 mm in diameter, it’s the most compact of IWC’s perpetual calendars and is equipped with an in-house movement from the 82000 family. Initial thoughts The perpetual calendar is a sought-after complication for its utility but also its aesthetics, especially when it includes a moon phase, which adds a touch of romanticism to the design. IWC’s latest take on the complication is straightforward, practical, and priced reasonably enough. In fact, it’s essentially a visually-simplified version of the Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42, which uses the same movement but inside a larger case. While not revolutionary in technical terms, the Portofino Perpetual Calendar is a solid performer with a concise design. It retains all the features that made the 1990s original appealing but adds a few contemporary touches in both design and the in-house base m...
Hodinkee
Put your JLC down, flip it and reverse it.
SJX Watches
For almost as long as I’ve been interested in watches, I’ve tried to find an objective way to visualise the stratification of the various luxury watch brands. I’m as fascinated by the process of watchmaking as much as the products themselves, and I wanted to find a way to differentiate brands based on the production techniques they employ, yet do so objectively. I believe you can tell a lot about a brand’s values and capabilities by looking at their methods, but it can be difficult to penetrate the smoke and mirrors of luxury watch marketing to see what’s really going on behind the curtain. An objective measure: watchmaker-hours per watch In my review of the Saxonia Thin last year, I used the metric “watches per watchmaker” to illustrate the economics of A. Lange & Söhne. While this is not a perfect metric, it is simple and quantitative, and crucially, it can often be derived from publicly available information. Taking this analysis one step further, I added Swiss, German, and Japanese national statistics for working hours to calculate the maximum possible number of watchmaker-hours per watch for more than 50 luxury watch brands. The start of the map, the Saxonia Thin How to interpret this metric The watchmaker-hours metric is not the number of hours that a watchmaker spends on every watch. Rather, it’s the theoretical maximum number of hours that a brand’s watchmakers could possibly spend with each watch. This workrate can be viewed as a simple proxy fo...
Time+Tide
Let’s not beat around the bush. If you’ve spent any time lusting over releases from Jaeger-LeCoultre, chances are that you’ve fallen in love with a few different versions of the Reverso Duoface. Similarly, if you’ve been following Cartier’s releases, the colourful additions to the Tank Must revival have had watch enthusiasts absolutely smitten from the … ContinuedThe post MICRO MONDAYS: The Vario Versa is two-faced in the best possible way appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Revolution
When the BVLGARI Octo Finissimo Ultra launched earlier this year, it was a horological mic drop that blew the minds of everyone in the industry. At only 1.80mm thick, it is the eighth record breaker in eight years and the culmination of the Octo Finissimo’s journey to explore the heights of ultra-thin watchmaking. In the […]
Hodinkee
Demonstrating how a shared philosophy about watchmaking can produce different, but complementary, expressions.
Time+Tide
Most people associate IWC with pilot’s watches, which makes total sense due to their rich aviation history and classics like the Mark and Big Pilot series. But with their Portugieser and Portofino collections, IWC prove they still know how to appeal to dressier sensibilities. The latest duo of Portofino watches, the IWC Portofino Perpetual Calendar … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The new IWC Portofino Perpetual Calendar IW344601 and IW344602 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Descended from Piaget’s ultra-thin dress watches that first emerged six decades ago, the Altiplano is the brand’s quintessential dress watch in the modern day. Minimalist and refined, the Altiplano is pared back, legible, and well-proportioned – not to mention very thin – as expected from a brand that launched its first ultra-thin watch in 1957. The latest addition to the ultra-thin lineup is the 21-piece limited edition that emerged from a collaboration between Piaget and auctioneers Phillips, the Altiplano Origin China Special Limited Edition. It will be available only at Piaget boutiques in China with the exception of the prototype numbered “00/21” that will be sold at Phillips’ upcoming Hong Kong sale on November 28. Initial thoughts Ordinarily found with a conservative and somewhat plain silver dial, the Altiplano gets a major makeover with a lacquered green dial paired with pink gold hands and indices that liven up its usual monochromatic look. It’s clearly a dress watch yet manages to stand out against all the other dress watches. That said, the dial is almost perfect, but not quite – the date window with a white date disc looks out of place. I would have preferred the dial to do away with the date altogether. The case remains the same as the standard model with a wearable and modern size of 40 mm matched with a thinness of just 6.36 mm that’s further enhanced by the slim lugs. Its height, or lack thereof, is thanks to the cal. 1205P, among the...
SJX Watches
Having covered highlights from the independent watchmakers at Phillips’ The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XV, we now dive into the complicated timepieces in the sale that takes place on November 28 and 29 – an appropriate theme given that the three most valuable lots according to the estimates are complicated watches from Patek Philippe. In this roundup, we look at nine lots that stand out. Some like the ref. 5207P with the uncommon mahogany guilloche dial are six-figure, headline lots, while others are value propositions that might slip under the radar but worth noting, like the Cartier Privé Tonneau XL Skeleton Dual Time. Registration for bidding and the entire catalogue for sale can be accessed here. The ref. 5207P with a brown guilloche dial and matching obsidian inlays in the case and slide Lot 817: A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Time Zone “Buenos Aires” Here, we have the Lange 1 Time Zone that was first introduced in 2005. With the trademark Lange 1 dial layout and oversized date, the Time Zone maintains the recognisable Lange 1 style with its “Golden Proportions” despite being able to do much more than a standard Lange 1. This particular variant came about when Buenos Aires retailer Simonetta Orsini requested a limited edition for Argentina. The cities disc thus has Buenos Aires (“B. AIRES”) to indicate UTC-03:00, instead of Rio de Janeiro as is the norm for the model. But more significant for the Lange enthusiast is the silver dial with blue hands and ma...
Hodinkee
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