Longines Heritage 1969
As a brand, Longines produce some really novel pieces that are
wallet-friendly and don’t normally break the bank. Their latest piece,
the Heritage 1969, is a charming little piece that looks subtle and
restrained, but still boasts wrist presence. Its cushion-shaped
stainless steel case wouldn’t look out of place at all if you wore it in
the 60s, while its rose-coloured stainless steel hands and hour indices
thrust it back into the 21
st century. The obscurely shaped
date-window is, as usual, a welcoming addition and doesn’t inhibit the
dial’s aesthetic. Powered by a modified ETA caliber (Longines now lays
claim to it being called the Calire L888.2), you’ll get a decent 64
hours’ worth of wear. Its appeal, to me at least, is the fact that it
looks incredibly understated and is easily overlooked. Something that
won’t sit well with a lot of people, but hey, that’s the watch-game for
you!
Check it out
Bomberg Bolt-68 3-Hands Automatic
New from Bomberg, the Bolt-68 3-Hands Automatic, available in 4
different versions is a dynamic release from a brand that you either
love or love to hate. Elaborately designed, the Bolt-68 is eye-catching
and indeed super cool. The dial looks messy, but in-keeping with the
brand’s “in-your-face” ethos, it sits extremely well with me. The case
is a massive 45mm, but with the crown sitting at an unobtrusive 12
o’clock, I feel that its width will be quite understated and it’d sit
fairly well on your wrist. Its engineering ingenuity is probably the
overarching reason why I decided to feature it (I don’t think I’ve
featured Bomberg since I began writing these articles), and I respect
the brand’s direction. Not at all subtle, definitely aggressive looking,
but still a solid piece of kit that you can dress up or down. Either
way, expect some stares.
Check it out
Seiko x Nano Universe
In collaboration with the Japanese fashion label, Nano Universe,
Seiko have created military-inspired blacked out timepiece that is
actually very impressive. Its no secret that I love Seiko. They offer
mechanical timepieces that mere mortals, such as ourselves, have direct
access to and can afford without hurting the souls of our loved ones.
And its no secret that I have a close affinity with blacked out
timepieces. Well anything blacked out. The beauty of blacking out a
watch is that it becomes a thousand times more versatile. The
black-coated 42mm steel case is the fantastic. The blacked out dial,
hour numerals and hands look awesome. The touch of white on the Seiko
logo and in the date-window, 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock, respectively, is
pretty sweet. And the oddly shaped crown, also black, perfectly
compliments the case. Add an automatic movement, namely the Seiko 4R35
caliber, and what you get is a hugely impressive watch that you don’t
need to sacrifice several paychecks for. Limited to Nano Universe stores
in Japan only, I kind of wish they had been released when I was there
earlier this year. Oh well.
Check it out
Sinn 910 Anniversary
The 910 Anniversary from Sinn is a remarkable piece that celebrates their 55
th
birthday. It utilises a split-seconds chronograph, a super complicated
movement that more often than not costs tens of thousands of dollars.
The dial is a bit of vintage and a bit of modern, but both facets work
incredibly well together. The black hands and hour markers, along with
the subtle red hints of the seconds hands and outer chapter ring against
the beautiful cream dial warms my heart and does wonders for my
nostalgia of vintage chronographs. The case, measuring at just under
42mm is appropriately sized, and the mushroom pushers and exposed crown
really add to that vintage-esque appeal. Powered by the illustrious
Valjoux 7750, its simply decorated but super functional. Its well
polished and you can see that the movement has been attended to even at
its deepest parts. Limited to only 300 pieces and priced at a bit under
$10,000, this is going to be a very specific piece intended for a very
specific collector.
Check it out
Chopard L.U.C Perpetual Twin
I just want you all to stop and look at the picture that sits before
you. Just take it in. Before I go on and on about Chopard and how I
think they deserve more attention and how good their pieces are and blah
blah blah, just look at it. I feel as though I could fill a solid A4
sized page about this piece. But I won’t, because the guys will kill me.
But I’ll try and jam as much into this little analysis as I can. Okay,
the dial. I hate Roman numerals, but this is only one of a handful of
exceptions that I can take. Arabic numerals simply would not fit the
overall aesthetic of the piece. The big-date window, beautiful. The
leap-year indicator, genius. The sub-dials depicting the month and date,
3 o’clock and 9 o’clock respectively, flawless. The sweeping-seconds
hand at 6 o’clock, no complaints. The frosted look of the dial, with the
super polished Roman numerals and hands looks incredible and really
shines light on just how brilliant this piece is. The thickened and
rounded bezel and integrated slender lugs look phenomenal, and then you
turn it around. I promise you when I first saw this piece I gasped. No
Seal of Geneva, but that’s okay (it is COSC certified, though). You have
a beautiful micro-rotor, an exposed balance wheel and quarter
mainplates that remind me of Lange’s best. The L.U.C. 96.51-L’s
decoration is crisp and clean, with Geneva striping adorning the
superficial bits of the caliber. On the micro-rotor’s rack, you can see
finely brushed circular contusions, while the rotor itself is sharp and
stupidly sexy. Expensive, yes; but undeniably perfect. One of my top
five perpetual calendars.
Check it out
Oak & Oscar Sandford GMT
Its always good to see micro-brands that have the guts to create what
they imagine. And its even better when they can pull it off. I’ve been
paying a lot of attention to Oak & Oscar, and their most recent
piece, the Sandford GMT, is definitely something that I would like have
on my wrist one day. It’s the perfect combination of casual-cool and
art-deco styling that sits well with today’s market. The dial is highly
legible, from the over-szied hour numerals to the orange
sweeping-seconds and and orange-tipped GMT hand. The minute and hour
hands are as legible at night as they are during the day, thanks to the
generous lume application on the interior portion of the hands. The
added date-window gets a big thumbs-up from me, too. The twin crown
system is functionally ideal, and does wonders for a case that would
otherwise look stock-standard. Oak & Oscar have opted to use the
Soprod C125 automatic movement that allows for a decent 42-hours worth
of power reserve and can be viewed from the open caseback. Pricing is
extremely competitive and puts the piece at a very attainable distance,
but move quickly because they are extremely limited.
Check it out
Tempus Machina Watch Company Limited Edition Ref. 809H
Now a lot of people may disagree with the premise of re-creating a
vintage piece using a modern foundation. Considering today’s absurdly
pricey vintage market, I have no problem with that. Tempus Machina have
gone to painstaking lengths to re-create the legend that is the Rolex
Submariner 5512 by introducing to the world the 809H. It reintroduces
the iconic negative-relief gilt effect throughout the dial’s aesthetic,
thinned lugs to replicate its original profile and pointed crown guards
that take several days of hand grinding and polishing. Every millimeter
of this piece has been attended to with the upmost respect for what its
been designed to represent. A lot of vintage purists won’t agree with
what Tempus Machina are doing, but that’s fine. They’re not made for
you. They’re made for the people that want the vintage appeal of a 5512,
but not the mechanical issues you’d inherently get when buying
decades-old watches. Pricing is high, availability is low, but execution
is on point. Well done guys.
Check it out
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe
New from Blancpain, the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe is now available in
a blue ceramic iteration. A sunburst blue dial that changes colour in
different lighting, with a matching blue bezel, really sets the tone for
the watch. The hour indices are circular and match the colour of the
broadly shaped rectangular hands. The subtle red-tipped sweeping seconds
hand breaks apart the mass of blue as it travels around the watch. My
only hindrance with the dial is the blue background of the date window.
Had Blancpain left it in white, or completely removed it, then this
piece would be a classically gorgeous piece. The ceramic case looks
fantastic, and the elongated lugs and oversized crown add to that
overall appeal of the piece. The exposed movement, Blancpain’s caliber
1315, is on full display through the sapphire caseback. And while I’m
not a huge fan of automatic movements, when a rotor looks as good as
this one does, then I’m not one to complain. A solid piece from a
brilliant brand. But I just can’t get over that date-window.
Check it out
IWC Big Pilot’s Heritage 55
Okay, so IWC calls this a Big Pilot. And they’re not wrong. Its big. In fact, its enormous. At 55mm, unless you’re Bigfoot Silva
I can almost guarantee you won’t be able to wear this. But let’s look
at the piece objectively for a second. The dial’s space has been
utilised quite well by IWC, with oversized Arabic hour numerals taking
up a lot of the space. The rest of the expanse has been covered by the
massive hands and oddly small sub-dial at 6 o’clock. The heritage
triangular hour marker is also enlarged at 12 o’clock, and this makes
for a watch that seems well sized despite its enormity. Less practical,
more novelty, the IWC Big Pilot Heritage 55 might do better as a clock
on your office desk, albeit an expensive one. A piece for the Big Pilot
diehards.vedere di piu
Swiss Rolex e
replica Chopard
