Category: News

Batavi Atelier, €479 (early bird price) or €578 (standard price)

Sports watches and guilloché style dials might seem like unlikely bedfellows yet the Batavi Atelier proves that they work together surprisingly well. The 39mm stainless steel case has a field watch-esque aesthetic that provides a nice contrast to the intricate patterning of the vibrant fish scale dial.

There are multiple colourways available including dark black/purple, blue and a grey/beige tone. Powering the piece is the Miyota calibre 9039 with 44-hour power reserve which combined with the case and dial means that this is a lot of watch for the money.

Available at Batavi.

Stirling Fraser, £350

If you want to talk military field watches, you can’t get more authentic than Stirling, a brand owned and operated by a serving British Army soldier with the aim of creating the ideal watches for service people on the front lines as well as civilians back home. The Fraser is its military diving watch with 300m water resistance and a robust stainless steel case measuring 42mm in diameter. Powering the piece is a quartz movement due to the practical necessity of the extremely high accuracy quartz offers.

Available at Stirling.

Kienzle Poseidon, €198 (approx. £160)

The Kienzle Poseidon is designed to be a bold dive watch that stands out on the wrist while having a highly legible display. It achieves that with a 44.5mm diameter in rose gold-plated stainless steel case with 150m water resistance. The display features oversize hour markers with plenty of lume for low light legibility, there’s also a date window at 4 o’clock. It’s presented on a silicone strap for optimal comfort and safety underwater and houses the Japanese Miyota 2415 quartz.

Available at Kienzle.

BWG Bavarian Watch Isaria, €555 (approx. £490) for first 50 buyers, €1,555 (approx £1,375) standard price

BWG Bavarian Watch are a German watch brand that create watches inspired by the dual personality of Baveria. On the one hand you have soaring castles and on the other, you have the bustling, modern city of Munich. As such, BWG watches tread a line between luxurious design and practical utility, which is exemplified in the Isaria model with its 42.2mm case with 200m water resistance and bold design. The name and colourway options come from the river Isar, which flows through Munich.

Available at BWG.

Argos Watches Odyssey, PHP 17,999 (approx. £250)

Argos Watches are a young Filipino brand inspired by the concept that watches are meant to be lifelong companions. That’s why the brand itself and their flagship watch are named after one of the most popular stories in history, The Odyssey and Odysseus’ faithful dog Argos. They create utilitarian watches built to withstand the rigors of life. The Odyssey is a 38mm steel piece with a textured, quasi-sector dial in cream or blue, housing the Seiko NH35A automatic movement with a 41-hour power reserve.

Available at Argos Watches.

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Who is the most famous pilot of all time? Is it Santos Dumont, the legendary aviator who Cartier created the first pilot’s watch for? Or perhaps Amelia Earhart, the first female pioneer to solo fly across the Atlantic? Both of those would be good answers but for myself, having grown up watching the 1983 film The Right Stuff (it was always on between episodes of Top Gear on Dave), Chuck Yeager has always been the coolest – the first man to break the sound barrier.

Why is this relevant? Well, Avi-8 have launched the new Bell X-1 “Glamorous Glennis” Automatic Limited Edition, a pilot’s watch inspired by the plane that Chuck flew on that famous sound barrier breaking flight.

I also happen to have the watch on my wrist right now. Or to be more precise I have the Ref. AV-4106-33 Jet Black edition, which is the 41mm stainless steel version with gloss black coating. It’s also available in plain steel with either a blue or orange dial as well as a bronze-coloured edition with green dial. However, let’s focus on the watch that is quite literally at hand.

The case is pretty striking, based on the Hawker Hunter, the shape is tricky to describe because it’s so heavily facetted. It’s technically an irregular dodecagon with 12 sides of varying length, which results in something like a stylised form of cushion case, a facetted, angular interpretation of designs like the Farer Mansfield. Normally I’d find 41mm on the larger side, but the design leaves the lugs fairly short and point down sharply so it doesn’t feel as large on the wrist.

A half-hidden detail to discover on the case is that there’s an orange ring below the sloping bezel, giving it flashes of colour when viewed from specific angles. Orange is a very important colour for the Bell X-1 “Glamorous Glennis” Automatic Limited Edition. It’s used for the watch’s three hands, date, peripheral minute track, bar indexes, Arabic numerals, dial inscriptions and bi-material leather/rubber strap.

The reason for this is that the Bell X-1 aircraft that the watch is dedicated to was itself orange. In fact, the limited edition comes with a small model of the plane that can be displayed on a special stand (it caused quite the stir in the office) with a decorative base commemorating the achievement of the Bell Aircraft Company – the stand also doubles as a watch holder. On top of that, the watch is actually built in collaboration with Bell as well.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that orange is my favourite colour so there’s no surprises that I quite like the dial display. The contrast between the black, grain textured inner dial, smooth outer ring and bright orange accents is very satisfying. Although I will hold my hands up and admit bias in that regard and understand that others may find it too bold. I can also admit that the fact the seconds hand is plane shaped is perhaps a bit kitsch and risks the watch being regarded as toy-like.

Taking the watch off and turning it over reveals the exhibition caseback, through which you can see the movement housed inside. It’s the Seiko TMI-NH35, a trusted movement used widely across the industry. It has a 41-hour power reserve and beats at 21,600 vph – I could probably recite those specs in my sleep. What makes it more interesting to look at is the custom rotor which has been designed to look like the X-1’s jet engines.

The Avi-8 Bell X-1 “Glamorous Glennis” Automatic Limited Edition is available from today, October 14th 2023, in homage to the fact that Chuck Yaeger’s historic flight took place on October 14th 1947. The plane’s nickname (and as such the watch’s nickname) “Glamorous Glennis” comes from Yaeger himself, who named it after his wife.

In terms of price and availability, the watch is limited to 150 pieces in each colourway at a price of $435 for the plain steel version or $455 for the Jet Black and Army Green (approx. £350/£370). Ultimately, this is a watch where the horology of the piece is less important than the heavy theming around the titular plane. As such, I think it’s a solid collectors’ item for the right buyer.

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A recent article by GQ states that the one-of-one gold G-Shock G-D001, which was designed with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), will be sold at auction in December by auction house Phillips. According to the article, designers used AI “to develop the exterior aesthetic and to help make the overall structure as light and […]

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It turns out that the G-Shock watch musician Ed Sheeran was spotted wearing in New York City and during performances earlier this year is actually an upcoming release in collaboration with Hodinkee. The yellow DW-6900 is inspired by Sheeran’s latest album Subtract, with a print from the album cover art on the face of the […]

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I don’t know how many times I’ve written the words “2023 has seen a resurgence in integrated bracelet sports watches” but the statement has continued to be true all the way from spring to autumn. There’s been the Tissot PRX 35mm, the Christopher Ward The Twelve, the Citizen Tsuyosa and now Certina are getting in on the action too. They’ve just launched the brand-new DS-7 collection featuring 10 references split across two models, the DS-7 Powermatic 80 and DS-7 Chronograph.

Certina DS-7 Powermatic 80

In terms of shape, the DS-7 Powermatic 80 clearly riffs on iconic designs from the 1970s and early 1980s. It has a round dial circled by a flat, brushed bezel and the case flows seamlessly into a new integrated bracelet. The tapering of the case towards the bracelet gives it that signature tonneau profile that integrated sports watches are known for. It measures 39mm in diameter and has a 100m water resistance rating. Worth noting as well that while the majority of the collection is steel, there’s two with gold PVD coatings and one titanium reference.

As for the dial, it’s very understated in its display. There’s a peripheral minute track accented by classy bar index hour markers, the hands are straight with a lumed strip down the centre and there’s a date window at 3 o’clock. It makes for a classy display that suits a wide variety of colours and styles, which is fortunate because there are six variants.

To list them you have: gradient green dial with black rimmed bezel, black dial with black rimmed bezel, turquoise in full steel, blue in full titanium, silver dial with PVD bi-colour case, gold dial with full gold PVD case. I predict a lot of people will like the turquoise but I feel like I’ve been oversaturated with the colour recently and actually I prefer the rich gradient green.

Powering all six versions regardless of colourway or case material is the ETA Powermatic 80.611. This is a fantastic movement on specs alone. It’s automatic with a whopping 80-hour power reserve and is equipped with a Nivachron anti-magnetic hairspring. But what makes it truly great is that it’s very accessible, the DS-7 Powermatic only costs £720 for the plain steel version, £780 for those with a hint of PVD, £815 for the full PVD edition and £835 for the titanium.

Certina DS-7 Chronograph

In addition to the DS-7 Powermatic 80 we have the DS-7 Chronograph. Now, these are quartz chronos so we won’t dwell on them quite so long as their mechanical cousins. Structurally they’re notably larger than the automatics at a size of 41mm in diameter but have the same overall shape with round displays that taper in towards the integrated bracelet.

There are four references here, again with a mixture of dial colours and case finishing/materials. The standard version is the black dial piece with black PVD embellishment on its steel case. There’s then a silver bi-colour version which is almost an exact counterpart to the 39mm one. A gradient blue dial one in titanium and lastly a full black PVD edition that comes not on a bracelet but a fabric style strap.

As a chronograph, it’s equipped with hours, minutes, chronograph seconds, 12-hour timer, 30-minute timer, small seconds and date complications. The three subdials are clustered around the central handstack at 10, 2 and 6 o’clock. It’s nice that a Chrono version is available for those who want it, but I definitely rate the Powermatic 80 much higher. And that’s despite the DS-7 Chronograph being more accessible at £575 in full black PVD, £620 in steel with PVD and £725 in titanium.

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When you think of Japanese brand Citizen, chances are you immediately think of hyper accessible timepieces like the Tsuyosa. However, that doesn’t mean they’re incapable of turning up the luxury every once in a while, as the Citizen Limited Edition Washi Paper Dial proves. It combines Citizen’s ultra-precise eco-drive movement with traditional Japanese crafts and a healthy dose of platinum leaf powder.

Kicking things off is the case, which is based on previous Super Titanium time and date models. It measures 38.3mm in diameter with a fairly sporty design featuring facetted lugs, a smooth sloping bezel and metal bracelet. The metal in question for both the case and bracelet is Citizen’s Super Titanium, which is what they call titanium treated with their Duratect surface hardening treatment to increase the lightweight material’s scratch resistance and durability. What makes the Washi Paper edition special is that they’ve used Duractect Platinum, giving the titanium a high lustre akin to the precious metal.

However, while the case is nice, the main focus of the piece is the dial. It’s made using Tosa washi paper, a material that’s often used in paper screens in traditional Japanese homes to diffuse light through a living space. It makes for an incredibly delicate texture of interweaving fibres.

On top of that, Citizen has used a traditional technique called Sunago-maki to apply a platinum leaf powder, whereby the powder is carefully sprinkled onto the surface using a bamboo tube. Each application of Sunago-maki is unique and no two of the 500 limited editions are the same.

It almost takes a bit of mental gymnastics to get over the juxtaposition of saying Citizen and platinum in the same sentence. Though compared to a watch like the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar in platinum the overall amount of the material present is dramatically lower. But there’s still enough that in combination with the washi dial and Super Titanium case it warrants the Citizen Limited Edition Washi Paper Dial having a price of £3,595.

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Do you know what the first ceramic watch was? Richard Mille, Hublot perhaps? Surely Rado? The self-proclaimed Master of Materials loves the stuff on every watch it does. But no, it’s a watchmaker that, while it certainly has expertise in materials, it’s better known for its heritage designs. I’m of course talking about those incredibly German Swiss watchmakers over in Schaffhausen, IWC. And it probably wasn’t a collection you might expect – as you’ll discover as we delve into world of the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun Lake Tahoe for a thorough review.

Ceramic is incredibly scratch resistant and hard-wearing. It makes sense that it would be in something designed to be tough, to survive a serious impact. Something like a pilot watch or sports watch – words which encompass about half of what IWC does between the Pilot’s and Ingenieur. Instead, the first ceramic watch ever built was a Da Vinci.

While less high-profile than its other collections, the Da Vinci line has historically riffed on its namesake inventor as testing ground for crazy horological ideas. In 1969, it was the first collection to feature the Swiss quartz would-be Seiko killer, the Beta 21, inside the reference 3501. In 1985, it welcomed IWC’s first mechanical perpetual calendar (designed by the inimitable Kurt Klaus) and a year later the world’s first ceramic timepiece.

Now, quick technical aside. I mentioned Rado in the introduction and the 1962 Diastar was billed as the world’s first scratch-proof watch, made from ceramic. Sort of. Its make-up was actually tungsten carbide, a metal-ceramic mix used for machining. It’s a lot easier to work with than zirconium oxide ceramic, the purest form of the material used in the Da Vinci. Now you know.

The Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar in black ceramic set off a series of ultra-hard, kiln-fired innovations for IWC, including a white edition just a year later – a colour of ceramic that has kicked off a bit of a ceramic renaissance for the brand recently.

When the bright white and forest green ceramic Top Gun pilot’s watches launched last year, there was plenty of discussion in the office about which we preferred. I loved the white version, dubbed the Lake Tahoe after the body of water near the Top Gun base. Most of the others seemed to opt for the green, the slightly safer option. Well, I don’t want to say I told you so, so I’ll just write it here and hope my colleagues don’t read it because the white version was by far the bigger hit.

In fact, I’ve spotted the Lake Tahoe’s magnesium white case in the halls of Geneva’s Palexpo (outside of the year it was launched, of course) and the beaches of Marbella. One of my colleagues even spotted it on a brewery tour of New York. You can barely find them in an IWC boutique and pre-owned they’re going for a solid percentage above retail. Apparently, its big, bold and unapologetic look struck a chord. Now it’s back and equipped with a perpetual calendar, bringing IWC watchmaking full circle back to that 1986 white ceramic Da Vinci model, in the Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun Lake Tahoe.

Side note: this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this watch. Well before its actual launch, there were rumblings of a shiny new watch on Lewis Hamilton’s wrist. It was hard to miss as it was downright massive, enough that IWC must have known word would get out. In fact, they probably hoped for it. Apparently IWC’s design ethos is: does Lewis like it? Now I’ve got it on my own, slightly less famous wrist, it turns out it’s a solid approach.

A Big Pilot part of IWC’s collection aimed at the Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor programme – better known as Top Gun (yes, the very same) – the new Lake Tahoe Perpetual Calendar is a big chunk of white ceramic. In essence, it’s a recolour of the previous, sandy, Mojave version but while that kept things toned-down, that’s not the case here.

The high contrast look covers everything, from the indexes and numerals to the calendar functions. Those functions, just so you know, are date and power reserve at 3 o’clock (date on the outer ring, reserve on the inner), month at 6 o’clock, day and minutes at 9 o’clock and dual hemisphere moon phase at 12 o’clock. The year is nestled out of the way at 7:30.

It’s a lot of information, about as much as can be displayed on a watch face, even when it’s a piece as big as this – a hefty 46.5mm across. But between the size and the high contrast colourway, it’s as legible as can be. And yes, it feels just as big on the wrist as the specs suggest, with its oversized, fluted, cockpit-ready crown.

Honestly, while Lewis can pull it off, I cannot. I want to, I adore the eye-catching white and black, the sheer impact of the watch, but it’s just not comfortable for someone whose go-to is 38mm. Still, given IWCs do tend to err large, for most collectors used to the watchmaker, you’ll get on with it nicely.

Onto the movement and it’s a serious heavyweight. I’ve already run down the functions, which goes some way to explaining the amount of watchmaking that goes into a perpetual calendar, one that won’t need setting for 577.5 year – aside from the usual chronometric drift inherent in mechanical movements. It’s a real successor to Kurt Klaus’s groundbreaking 80s calibre.

I do have a slight issue with the inclusion of a perpetual calendar in a pilot’s watch, especially a military one. They’re meant to show only vital information and be easy to read at a glance. The only complication that regularly crops up is a chronograph and even that’s idiosyncratic in what’s generally a field watch for the cockpit. I understand why brands do throw the kitchen sink into their pilot’s watches (there’s a market for them), but I guess I’m just a bit too much of a purist to be entirely comfortable with it.

Personal gripes aside, the real issue with a perpetual calendar is having to set it again when the watch runs down, but with IWC’s calibre 52615 that’s less of an issue. The phenomenal movement has a full seven-day power reserve and quick, efficient winding with IWC’s signature Pellaton winding system. In short, you only need to wear it once a week to stop it winding down.

Obviously, all this means the Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun Lake Tahoe has a serious price tag: £34,900 to be precise. Though honestly, given the sheer size and high complication here, that’s not as bad as I was expecting. Thanks to the power reserve and winding system of the movement, it’s one of the most practical perpetual calendars out there (albeit one that probably doesn’t belong on a pilot’s watch), while the bright white, Lake Tahoe ceramic is as stunning as it was when we first saw it last year.

You could say that between its Da Vinci flavoured heritage and combination of aviation, ceramic and high watchmaking aspects, the Big Pilot’s Lake Tahoe Perpetual Calendar is the ultimate sum of IWC’s parts. I mean, I wouldn’t, but you could.

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The G-Shock DW-5700NH-1 is the tenth collaboration with Japanese fashion brand N. Hoolywood, from a partnership that started in 2014. The watch continues the annual tradition of a military-themed watch. It has a partial blackout style with stealth bezel logos and a black wire face protector, but with silver buttons, white painted button labels, and […]

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LAVO

Part of the Tao Group, the arrival of LAVO marks the brand’s London debut and joins its already impressive number of fabulous Italian-style restaurants around the world. Located at the BoTree, it offers an atmospheric environment in which to enjoy your meal. The menu includes dishes such as tagliatelle al limone infused with marjoram, sweet butter and Kaluga caviar, whole-grain, single-source flour pizzas and a showstopper Wagyu meatball.

Where: 30 Marylebone Lane, Mayfair, W1U 2DR
Bookings: taogroup.com

EVE

Calling EVE a restaurant doesn’t quite do it justice. From 7am to 4pm it’s a lovely café serving pastries, cakes and freshly made sandwiches before converting to a rich south Mediterranean restaurant in the afternoons and a slick bar in the evening. The Mediterranean atmosphere is fully realised in the dinner menu that includes Za’atar fried chicken, herb falafel and charred mushroom skewers grilled to order on the plancha, Zhoug stonebass and ras el hanout lamb belly.

Where: 202-220 Cromwell Road, Kensington, SW5 0SW
Bookings: evekensington.com

Sushi by Masa at Harrods

Back in June we themed this Restaurant & Bar section around the “Most Expensive Fine Dining Experiences Across the World” and one of the restaurants we included was Masa in New York by Masayoshi Takayama, one of the world’s most famous sushi chefs. Well, it turns out you don’t need to travel to New York after all because he’s coming to London to launch Sushi by Masa in the Harrods dining hall. The menu, naturally, centres around omakase, a Japanese concept where the chef is in full control of choosing the food placed in front of you.

Where: 87–135 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, SW1X 7XL
Bookings: harrods.com

Geode

Geode, just like the rock it’s named after, is all about hidden treasures and gorgeous design. That’s why they bring a fusion of Mediterranean and Asian cuisine to the table to surprise your taste buds. This is a menu where “beef tartare on a bone marrow landscape” sits next to “King crab gunkan”, reaching all the way from the Med to Japan. The interior décor is inspired by a geode as well with a terracotta and lavender theme showcasing the earth and gemstones.

Where: 14-15 Beauchamp Place, Knightsbridge, SW3 1NQ
Bookings: geode.london

London Stock

London Stock is upping roots and moving location from Wandsworth to the centre of Mayfair, taking over the site that used to be Amethyst (a restaurant we covered the opening of with a crazy central table that has since closed when its chef moved on). London Stock is a tasting menu specialist with an 8-course seasonal menu with dishes such as glazed rabbit leg and barbeque beef fillet. With prices at less than £100 per person, it’s one of the less bank-breaking Mayfair tasting menus out there.

Where: 6 Sackville Street, Mayfair, W1S 3DD
Bookings: londonstockrestaurant.co.uk

Raffles London at the OWO

I was tempted to make this entire article about the following opening but that would feel a little bit like cheating because when Raffles opens its first-ever hotel in London at The OWO (Old War Office), it’s opening nine new restaurants and bars too. There’s Café Lapérouse, Langosteria, Paper Moon, Mauro Colagreco, Mauro’s Table, Saison (pictured), Creative Restaurant, The Drawing Room, The Guards Bar and The Spy Bar. There’s a wide range of cuisine across them all, from Paris to Italy to a speakeasy type bar in an old MI5 bureau. The John Le Carré vibes are immaculate.

Where: 57 Whitehall, Whitehall, SW1A 2BX
Bookings: theowo.london

Daroco

The incredibly trendy Parisian restaurant Daroco is set for its debut in London, coming to a location in Soho that at the time of writing is undisclosed. While Daroco may be French, the menu is Italian with baroque pizzas and fresh pasta. The setting is vibrant and colourful, inspired by the iconic artistic movements following the renaissance. The centrepiece to the restaurant will be its ginormous mirrored ceiling.

Where: Manette Street, Soho, London W1D 4AL
Bookings: daroco.com

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