Tissot Le Locle Automatic Regulateur
I love the Regulateur complication. The split between seconds,
minutes and hours appeals to my inner watch-nerd and its application,
although arbitrary, is respectable. Tissot have released three new
pieces all based on this fantastic complication. There’s a stainless
steel case with leather strap variant, a stainless steel case with a
bracelet as well as a slightly more expensive two-tone stainless steel
edition. The dials are legible, and the differentiation between the
three split functions is easy to read and easy to understand. The hours
are shown on the sub-dial at 12 o’clock, the seconds at 6 o’clock, while
the main hand indicates the passing minutes. I would’ve preferred a
sweeping seconds hand on the central axis with the minutes-hand taking
its original position at 6 o’clock, but beggars can’t be choosers. Its
powered by the ever-reliable ETA 2825.2 automatic calibre which is
exposed only slightly through the ornately shaped sapphire caseback.
Everything seems fine so far, right? Yes, but I have one small OCD-type
issue. Why has Tissot decided to add Roman numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9
o’clock for a minute-hand indicator that obviously requires 60
divisions? Slightly frustrating, and something that I probably won’t get
over any time soon. But otherwise, a solid piece at a great price.
Check it out
Bulgari Hora Domus Dual Time Zone
Let’s get one thing straight, this is so obviously a
love-it-or-hate-it piece. There’s no grey area, no fence-sitting with
this one. I’ve been looking at it over the past couple of days and I can
safely say that I’m pro-Hora Domus. I think. Nope, definitely pro.
Obviously this piece won’t appeal to everything, aesthetically speaking.
Available in pink gold with either a black dial or a silver dial (black
being my choice), the Hora Domus’ aesthetic is both eye-catching and
kind of subtle. Subtle in the sense that there is nothing excessive on
the dial. You see what you need to see: local time hours, minutes,
home-time indicator, home day/night indicator, local time am/pm, local
city indicator and just for the heck of it a season indicator. Seems
confusing, I know, but once you get your head around the absurd amount
of information coming at you, you’ll realise just how simple it is. The
Hora Domus isn’t all show no go either, and with the in-house automatic
calibre BVL 191 powering the 45mm beast, you have no slouch in the
engine bay. Priced high (it is Bulgari, remember..), but for the person
looking for “different”, I really don’t think there’s anything better at
the moment.
Check it out
Vacheron Constantin Historiques Cornes de Vache 1955
When I first look at a watch, I ask myself the very confronting
question: Yes or no? Yes or no answering several immediate questions. Do
I like it, would I wear it and can I see why someone would wear it? So
with the VC Historiques Cornes de Vache 1955 I came to a very simple
conclusion. Yes on all three fronts. And now we wonder why. First off,
its gorgeous. Everything about the watch is beautiful. From the flawless
dial to the blued steel chronographs, from the perfectly sized rose
gold 38.5 case to the distinctive cow-horn lugs, everything is sublime.
Then you turn the piece over, and what you see is the epitome of
efficiency and no-nonsense time-telling accuracy in the form of the
in-house made manually wound calibre 1142 (based on the Lemania 2310).
Although not ornately finished as that of a Datograph, its still superb
and you’d be hard pressed to find a more beautiful movement in VC’s
collection. Although I wouldn’t call it a grail watch per se, its
striking aesthetic backed by such an incredible movement would place it
high up on a purist’s list of must-haves. Priced respectably with all
things considered, but still certainly something that is out of reach
for many of us. Another winner from a pillar of the watchmaking
industry.
Check it out
DWISS M2 Automatic
Its fun to trawl through Kickstarter, looking at all the prospective
pieces that are hoping to be backed. The DWISS M2 is a piece that’s
caught my attention. Not for the fact that they’ve long surpassed their
original goal of 30,000CHF (they’re on 407,000CHF as I’m writing this),
but because of their unique design directives. The inverted (or
semi-skeletonised) dial shows a unique way of telling the time, of which
you can read more about on their website.
From a visual standpoint, the piece is super polarising. I for one
enjoy its modern design, but I can see why people would avoid it. At
43mm, it isn’t as large as you’d imagine a truly modern-designed watch
to be, and I can appreciate the constraint the engineers exhibited
during its design. Powered by the respectable ETA 2824.2 which boasts
almost two full days of power reserve, the choice of a true Swiss made
movement is fantastic and will do wonders for the brand’s authenticity
and standing amongst the fanatical watch community. I wouldn’t call them
pioneering, but I will call them daring.
Check it out
Ball for BMW TMT Chronometer
For the BMW enthusiast, the Ball for BMW TMT Chronometer is your
perfect driving companion. Or is it? I don’t know, who cares. It looks
great. There’s something about pulling off a blacked out watch that I
love, and Ball does this extremely well. Their latest piece (available
with or without the BMW insignia at 6 o’clock) looks badass and has the
ability to stand out amongst a stacked line up of competitors. The dial
utilises different textured finishes, and the addition of the blue dial
hints adds another dimension of clarity. Interestingly, there is a
temperature gauge at 6 o’clock that Ball announced to be supremely
accurate throughout its measuring spectrum. Unfortunately, it doesn’t
seem to be available in “Degrees Celsius”, so you’d have to get used to
converting the displayed temperature. Powered by the ETA 2892 (that’s
three so far, are you also seeing a theme here?) automatic movement, its
been COSC chronometer certified so you can expect reliable
time-telling. All in all, it’s a very niche piece that will appeal to a
small market segment, but being limited to only 1,000 pieces I expect
them to sell quite well.
Check it out
TAG Heuer 100th Anniversary Mikrograph 1/100th of a Second Automatic Chronograph
As the name implies, the Mikrograph has the ability to measure a
1/100th of a second, which is no easy feat. The convertible watch (you
have the ability to wear it as a normal watch or use it as a pocket
watch) measures a large 45mm in diameter, but with its irregular
positioning of the onion crown and mushroom pushers at 12 o’clock, it
seems a tad smaller. The white dial is complemented beautifully by the
ornate blued steel hands, while the printed numerals also display
similar ornate properties. The vintage inspired piece has the Heuer
namesake inscribed at 6 o’clock in the old-school stylized font which I
personally love, and the addition of the date window adds to its
functionality, but I can foresee the Heuer purists being displeased with
it being there. Limited to only 100 pieces and priced in the high 20s
(thousand, that is), it’s a purposeful watch that will appeal to the
Heuer fanatics.vedere di piu
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