Casio U.K. sent out an email stating that the highly-coveted Casio CRW-001-1ER ring watch will be released online today (January 13) at 10:00 (presumably a.m.). The ring watch is limited to one per customer and will be sold on a first-come first-serve basis. The CRW-001-1 has been selling out very quickly all over the world, […]
G-Central G-Shock Watch Fan Blog
This year, Vacheron Constantin, the longest continually operating watchmaker in history, is pushing that physically unbeatable record even further by celebrating their 270th birthday. To put that in context, the French and Indian Seven Years’ War was only just getting going back when Vacheron started producing timepieces. Any time I feel old – which is increasingly these days – stats like that make me feel young again. Not one to let a celebration go unacknowledged, Vacheron are kicking off their anniversary celebrations in a big way: the relaunch of arguably their most sought-after model, the legendary Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222. And yes, this time it’s in steel.
In fact, it’s the watch we’ve been waiting for across at least the last two and a half years, ever since we caught wind of a revived 222 as part of the Historiques archival collection. And while the gorgeous, full-gold number we got back in 2022 was an absolute beauty, it was tinged with disappointment: the legacy of the watch has always been in steel.
The original 222, launched for the brand’s 222nd anniversary back in 1976, was part of that disruptive wave of sports models like the Royal Oak and Nautilus (with which it shared the impeccably finished Jaeger-LeCoultre calibre 920) that thrived in proving that steel could be just as prestigious as precious metal. Designed by German designer Jorg Hysek – who had previously served a 4-year stint at Rolex – the 222 was meant to be a sporty twist on early 20th century designs, complete with a then-impressive 120m water resistance.
While Hysek went on to design plenty more watches, like Vacheron’s famous Cuff Watch in 1984 and his own haute horology label in 1999, the 222 didn’t last as long. Despite its place in the pantheon of iconic watch designs, the watch stopped production just seven years after it burst onto the scene, having built less than approximately 150 pieces in gold, 100 in bi-colour and 500 in the hugely covetable steel. It’s not hard to see why you’d need to shell out anywhere between £50,000 and £100,000 for an original, these days, depending on condition.
Even with its relatively short lifespan though, the 222 has done a lot for Vacheron over the years. Sure, it’s not launched them into the mono-watch stratosphere quite like Audemars Piguet, but the 222 also laid the blueprints for what would eventually become the Overseas, the modern brand’s sleek, sporty bestseller. Fortunately for collectors though, the 222 itself is back once again and this time, it’s in steel.
First off, the monochrome look has been dropped. Instead, we get the classic luxury sports watch colourway of blue and steel. It makes sense; this is horological crack to a certain breed of collector and while I personally love a bit of retro monochrome – a steel-coloured dial would make this a grail watch for me – blue is the sensible direction. It also sticks with the vintage ‘automatic’ wording at 6 o’clock, yet another nod to the 70s in a watch full of them.
Otherwise, the Historiques 222 Steel has all the same dimensions and characteristics of its predecessor. The reimagining of the original 222 ‘jumbo’ is paradoxically a diminutive 37mm across, the same dimensions as the full gold. It still has the same notched bezel, flat planes and gloriously industrial feel, just in a more fitting metal.
It goes without saying that integrated bracelet sports watches live and die on their bracelets. Honestly, every watch should treat it as a design feature more than an afterthought, but here it’s a defining factor. It’s integrated. And the 222 might have the best one on the market. It does exactly what a luxury sports watch should – it feels the part. Beautifully machined and brushed, it’s angular links and hexagonal inner links fit snugly together in OCD-scratching perfection. It doesn’t quite have the weight of its yellow gold counterpart, but it’s certainly no lightweight, with a good heft of solidity to it.
Honestly, I could wax lyrical about the bracelet for far too long. It fits snugly on the wrist with enough give to sit comfortably if it gets a little warm; it tapers gorgeously into the main body of the case and, perhaps most importantly, it looks absolutely fantastic, right down to the engraved Maltese cross on the otherwise almost invisible clasp. It was the highlight of the 2022 watch and it still is here – potentially even better as it won’t immediately get scratched to high hell. I’d say it’s the best integrated bracelet around right now and before you get irate, wait until you’ve tried it on. You’ll see what I mean.
Inside is the in-house Calibre 2455/2, a svelte, 3.8mm thin movement that’s nonetheless beautifully finished, evidenced through the sapphire caseback. This is pure Poinçon de Genève goodness. While the finishing is impressive, the specs aren’t bad either, a 4hz frequency with a 40-hour power reserve, solid for a movement this small.
So, the bottom line, is the Historiques 222 up to the legacy of that original, 1977 model? Yes, I’d say so. A lot more than the full gold version is. This is going to be a grail watch for a lot of collectors out there and for good reason, it’s the missing steel piece in the 70s, Genta-esque wave of sports luxe pieces. It’s also just a damn fine watch in its own right, sleek, beautiful and exquisitely made. As for price, it’ll set you back £30,800, which is a good deal of cash, but not an unexpected one. Given the limited numbers you can expect the Historiques 222 Steel to be made in, that’s a number plenty of collectors will be willing to spring for – especially compared to the up to £100,000 you’d pay for an original. What better way to kick off 2025?
More details at Vacheron Constantin.
Oracle Time
The GA-010 and GD-010 are newer G-Shock series with a practical back-to-basics approach featuring a large display, Carbon Core Guard case, and an approximate ten-year battery life. Although the cloth bands on the newly unveiled blue GA-010CE-2A and brown GD-010CE-5 watches may initially resemble the organic Truecotton bands of the GA-B2100CT and GMD-S5600CT models, they […]
G-Central G-Shock Watch Fan Blog
Home is where the heart is and, for most of us, our watch collections. Some of us have them neatly arranged in their boxes, complete with papers as orderly as any archive; others of us are, shall we say, a little more free-spirited on the organisational front. But we all have them somewhere safe – at least, relatively safe.
But that word, safe, has a lot of different meanings to a lot of different people. Are you keeping your watches somewhere actually secure or just somewhere you can keep track of them? I’ll let you think about that for a second because deep down you probably already know that if someone came into your house, it wouldn’t be too difficult for them to leave with your watch collection.
Honestly, it’s not just watches. There’s probably a lot in life you want to keep safe and secure, but as we’re a watch magazine we don’t need to speculate. We know the kind of timepieces you’re likely to have. You have great taste, after all.
Before you get to selecting the right safe, you’ll need to understand your options. We won’t get into size here, but there are a number of styles available depending on the kind of look, placement and secrecy you’re after.
This is the classic, corner of the room, completely visible safe. A safe doesn’t need to be hidden if it’s secure in its own right – just out of easy eyeline from outside – and is by far the simplest type of safe to install. Made from steel and a mix of concrete and armouring, they can range from light to immovably heavy. They can also be a bit of an eyesore, though there are some rather handsome options out there too. This is where you’ll be choosing your safe for aesthetics as much as security.
The classic safe-behind-the-painting technique, with or without the tastefully artistic camouflage. They’re normally on the smaller side, and as they can be set directly into the wall, are often most suitable for smaller spaces – apartments, offices, anywhere a freestanding safe would be too domineering. As alluded too, the biggest benefit of wall safes is that they can be hidden, even in the back of a wardrobe, offering an additional layer of security. This will likely mean extra work installing them, but they do offer just as much variety (if on a smaller scale) as freestanding.
Take all the benefits and downsides to wall safes and amp them up. Floor safes are necessarily hard to install, requiring chunks of floor to be removed completely. That means they can also only be installed in solid, concrete floors, not the floorboards of a second-floor home office. Unless you’re considering this while building a new house, it also means the installation will cost a lot more than other types of safe. The benefit however is that these are arguably the most hidden and secure types of safe around. It’s unlikely anyone but you will be able to find it, no matter how much they searched, and the structural security of being surrounded by concrete can’t be overstated.
Sometimes you don’t just want a practical necessity; you want to have some fun with it, too. Luxury safes have all the characteristics of other safes, depending on how you want to install them, but the reason they’re different is that they’re built to be seen and used, not just locked and forgotten. These are the sorts of safes that are covered in exotic woods, with chrome hardware, leather-clad interiors, and are generally bespoke to your needs. That includes sections for jewellery, winders for watches, even humidors for cigars if you’re worried your son might be getting a taste.
They’re expensive, of course, as they offer the same level of security as other safes but with more bells and whistles. So, if you’re just getting a safe for insurance purposes (which we’ll get onto), you may want something simpler just to tick a box. But if you want to use your safe on a daily basis and not only have it suit the rest of your home, but make it a statement piece in its own right, the luxury options are quite literally endless.
Should the worst happen to your watches, you’ll want to make sure you can recoup the loss. Even if they’re unique or sentimental, getting reimbursed at least takes a bit of the sting out of it.
As the experts at safe specialist, Johnson’s of Lichfield suggest, “all individual special, rare/sentimental items should be ideally photographed and professionally valued, and this information should be saved (email copies to yourself and share with your insurer). This proves ownership. Insurance underwriters normally require any high-value item to be either on ‘your person’ or locked away secured in an appropriate insurance-approved graded safe.”
That last point is incredibly important. It might surprise you to know however that not all safes are built equal and not all are certified by the AiS (Association of Insurance Surveyors) and/or ECB-S (European Certification Board – Security). If your safe doesn’t have either of these certifications, your insurer might not cover your watches. You can find lists of approved safes through both organisations, so make sure the one you are considering is on there.
It’s also worth noting that different safes are rated to different cash values and your insurance will require you to have one that at least matches what you put in it. What they perhaps don’t make clear is that valuables- in this case, watches – are rated differently from cash.
“For non-cash rating,” explain Johnson’s of Lichfield, “you would multiply the cash element x10 to give you the valuable rating. For example, a Grade 0 Safe covers clients for a cash rating of £6,000/£60,000 (£6k x10) valuable rating. This is a total, meaning that if you held £2,000 cash in the same safe, this would mean you could still hold £40,000 valuables.”
Honestly, if that sounds like a lot to work out, then you’d best talk directly to your insurer – and that’s what we’d suggest anyway. I don’t want anyone getting stung from our advice. But it is a helpful rule of thumb around what you might be expected to keep, security-wise.
Obviously, a safe can be a big metal box you put things in. But it likely comes as no surprise that there are plenty of options out there catering to watch collectors specifically, usually by including batteries or winders. The question that crops up a lot is simple: is there any point to winders?
This is something there’s no definitive answer about. Watches, like classic cars, were traditionally made to last forever with regular servicing, and they were meant to actually work for that whole time. The thinking therefore is that keeping your watch wound, keeping the lubricants moving so they don’t solidify and essentially keeping the whole thing ‘warmed up’ is what watches are built for.
On the other hand, wear and tear is a simple fact of life. Gears can lose wheels; springs can become misshapen and age can set into a watch’s bones. Both are fortunately problems that can also be solved with regular servicing, so really there’s one main reason to opt for a winder: complications.
As veteran watch writer Ken Kessler puts it, “watch winders will always be a divisive topic, half of the watch community thinking they are absolutely necessary, the other half thinking they’re totally unnecessary. But there is no denying that they are essential if you have a large number high complications with perpetual calendars among them, which would need constant resetting if they were allowed to unwind. This I especially true if you keep watches in a safe, which deserve to be equipped with winders.” A bunch of rare automatics? Probably not. A handful of perpetual calendars though and those winders become less of a debate, more of a necessity.
Safes are big, heavy and take up some space. While they don’t necessarily need to be hidden for insurance purposes (though they may need to be out of line of sight from a window), they still take some careful placement – placement which may be dictated as much by the structure of your home as where’s convenient.
“Safes should really be installed by a base fixed to a concrete floor,” say Johnson’s of Lichfield. “But often clients don’t have that, whether it’s because of underfloor heating or they’re not on the ground floor. In these instances, we prefer to fix the back to an external, preferably thick brick wall. Either way, the safe should be attached to the very fabric of the building.”
Before installation, you’ll need to have some serious survey work done to make sure that not only is there somewhere for your safe, er, safely secured, but that its weight won’t damage your home. That includes being able to take it up the stairs. It might be easier to have it somewhere fit for purpose – a basement, perhaps – than where’s most convenient, like your first-floor office. This balance more than anything else may limit the actual size of safe you go for.
You might know precisely what size and grade of safe you need to cover your watch collection and valuables right now, and that’s great. But nobody’s watch collection remains static.
“Where insurance companies insist on a safe because of an individual item,” explain Johnson’s of Lichfield, “we would always recommend the client looks at future-proofing their safe purchase as watches and valuables increase in value overtime and often collectors buy more items. This means if they purchase a graded safe of a level to cover the one item, then they will be required again by their insurance company for an additional safe. Therefore, it is best to assess their entire collection and consider any future purchases.”
Basically, installing a proper safe is as disruptive as it is necessary, so do yourself a favour and make sure you get it right the first time. You don’t want to lose cover for your Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar because you didn’t plan ahead.
More details at Johnson’s of Lichfield.
Oracle Time
Two new G-Shock models for January that were not revealed by leaks include the DW-5600KHK24-1 and DW-5600KHG24-1, which are now available for pre-ordering in Japan. Like the recent Shiba Inu series, these models are inspired by Japanese culture and are made in Japan. The faces of these origin-style DW-5600 watches feature the art of Katsushika […]
G-Central G-Shock Watch Fan Blog
After getting hands on with Martin Design’s Supernatural Triskel over Christmas, I can confirm that they’re well made and bags of fun. The Supernatural Tonaros is a lot more refined in its looks thanks to its frosted salmon, multi-layered dial. It also has the characteristic asymmetrical regulator display of the collection which adds a lot of charm and whimsy to the piece. Which is fitting because each of the core models in the collection is named after an old Celtic deity.
For example Tonaros is the god of thunder so the textured golden tone of the salmon dial makes sense. Powering the regulator display is the Miyota 82S7, one of the Japanese manufactures more obscure references though still with a 42-hour power reserve.
More details at Martin Design.
The Deutsche Uhrenmanufaktur Glashütte (DUG) Purist wristwatch is available in two variations. The Typ 1 (that’s not a spelling error typ is German for type) has a minimalist array of baton hour markers while the Typ 2 swaps those out for a combination of Arabic numerals alongside batons at the cardinal points. Beyond the change in hour markers, the two Typs are identical with ultra-clean cases measuring 40mm in diameter with smooth bezels and large, fluted crowns.
There are also a couple of colours available but by far the best is the Königsblau with its blue fumé. Beneath the surface is the DUG 400 calibre, which is a base Sellita 400 that’s decorated and finished in Glashütte.
More details at DUG.
Eoniq are a watch design and calibre manufacture who have revolutionised watchmaking in Hong Kong. They have brought the complete elements of design, production and assembly into the city so that for the first time in history a watch movement can receive the Hong Kong Certificate of Origin, essentially the ‘Made in Hong Kong’ equivalent to ‘Made in Switzerland’.
The movement in question is the manual Calibre 852, which can be found in the sleek integrated bracelet sports watch Eoniq Signature Cornwall. It measures 40mm in steel with a skeletonised display showing the inner workings of the movement. The skeletonization has a lovely fluidity to its lines.
More details at Eoniq.
Paradisi’s new RP 02 Titanium Grade uses grade 23 titanium for its case, which has better corrosion resistance than other grades and also better ‘human compatibility’ whatever that means. It’s a simple design that will impressively dive to 1000m if you want it to. As you’d expect from a dive watch that serious it has substantial presence on the wrist with a diameter of 43mm, but it shouldn’t be overwhelmingly heavy due to the lightweight properties of titanium – ah, perhaps that is the human compatibility?
One of the most striking design choices is to go for a completely plain, brushed bezel sans diving scale, similar to the Heron Marinor Ghost. It’s an unconventional decision but one that really makes the watch stick in your mind after you’ve seen it.
More details at Paradisi.
With a case shape inspired by a samurai sword guard, tsuba, the famous British watchmaker Peter Speake-Marin’s latest creation is high end and inspired by Asia. Specifically, the design of the watch is a hybrid between two popular style of tsuba, the octagon and the quince. Essentially the 38.3mm case is an irregular octagon that places huge emphasis on four of the sides in the same way that the quince shape (named after the fruit) has four sections.
That’s then paired with an integrated bracelet for a bold appearance that could be straight from the 80s. The dial is also an interesting fusion of vintage and modern design codes. Powering the piece is the Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier calibre 5401 with micro-rotor. In a limited edition of 100 pieces and a price tag approaching 20k, this is the type of watch that makes you ask where the line between microbrand and independent really sits.
More details at PS Horology.
Oracle Time
Tokyo-based street culture brand BlackEyePatch is releasing its second G-Shock collaboration, which was announced for an international release in July 2024. The G-Shock DW-5610BEP-2 features a BlackEyePatch logo printed in orange block letters on the lower face, and the Shock Resist logo appears on the upper left. Under the Casio and DW-5610 logos on the […]
G-Central G-Shock Watch Fan Blog
British rapper Central Cee garnered some attention recently for his front row appearance at the Louis Vuitton fashion show at Paris Fashion Week, in which he shared his Nintendo DS with Sabrina Carpenter. British GQ noted that, along with a Louis Vuitton coat and sneakers, he was wearing a glossy black Casio G-Shock DW-6900SP-1 watch, […]
G-Central G-Shock Watch Fan Blog
Coming in July is the G-Shock Two Tone Utility Color Series featuring black bezels, brown bands, and orange or yellow accents. Also notable is that each model has a positive LCD display, which is a welcome trend in recent utility series. This series also includes the first GX-56 model (GX-56TU-1A5) with a positive LCD display […]
G-Central G-Shock Watch Fan Blog
New in Japan for July, the analog-digital G-Shock GMA-P2100BB-1A and GMD-S5610BB-1 are smaller versions of the best-selling GA-2100-1A1 and DW-5600BB-1 featuring a minimalist blackout colorway with an inverted LCD display. The GA-2100-1A1 essentially kicked off the “CasiOak” era in 2019, and the DW-5600BB-1 is consistently one of the best-selling DW-5600 “Square” models around the world. […]
G-Central G-Shock Watch Fan Blog