Watch brands are rushing to open Australian boutiques before the end of 2024
Jamie WeissWe’re just about to head into the holiday season, so things are slowing down a little where watch news is concerned. But something interesting to observe is that several big-name watch brands have decided to open brand-new boutiques Down Under just before the year wraps up – a last-minute rush to get in on some of the Christmas shopping mania, perhaps?
First of all, Omega has opened a new flagship boutique in Perth, the brand’s first retail space in Western Australia. Perth is one of the most isolated capital cities in the world: it’s quicker to fly from Sydney or Melbourne to Auckland in New Zealand (or Bali if you get a good tailwind) than it is to fly to Perth. However, Perth is increasingly becoming a ‘watch city’: it’s a prosperous city fuelled by Australia’s mining wealth, and many passionate collectors call the Western Australian capital home.
Omega has taken over a beautiful 19th-century building in Perth’s Murray Street luxury precinct and has honoured the heritage of the building by restoring original fixtures including exposed sprinkler pipework and metal pressed ceilings. An expansive space, I have no doubt it will become a bit of a mecca for Perth’s horologically inclined. They’ve also got all those new Seamasters in stock. Read our round-up of our favourite Omega watches of 2024 here.
Omega’s great rivals Rolex have also just opened another Melbourne boutique in partnership with major jeweller Kennedy, marking the Crown’s ninth store in Australia. Located in Chadstone Shopping Centre – the largest shopping centre in the Southern Hemisphere and one of Australia’s great luxury shopping spots – it might be the place to go if you want to achieve the impossible and snap up a desired Rolex before Christmas. Read our round-up of our favourite Rolex watches of 2024 here.
Finally, we have it on good authority that Tissot also plans to open its new Melbourne and Sydney boutiques before Christmas, with the store on Melbourne’s Collins Street (just across the intersection from our Discovery Studio) looking just about ready to go when I popped my head in yesterday. Grand Seiko’s Melbourne flagship, also on Collins, is also reportedly close to opening, which is something that we’re very keen for as well. Anyway, hope you have a great weekend and enjoy this holiday season!
Jamie and The Time+Tide Team
Watch meme of the week: AP x PAWS
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The Audemars Piguet x KAWS Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “Companion” has proven to be a particularly controversial watch… People seem to like it even less than the Black Panther ROC, which has surprised me. But forget the panthers, what about puppies – the Paw Patrol puppies? This would definitely be a watch for the young at heart…
Wrist shot of the week: reflecting on the year
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This one’s not so much a wrist shot as a wrist twirl, but this footage of the Patek Philippe Retrograde Perpetual Calendar Rare Handcrafts ref. 5160/500 that Borna and I captured during a Kennedy novelty showing a few weeks ago… I’m not trying to toot my own horn but I can’t stop watching this. The way the movement is reflected in the hunter’s caseback is just drool-worthy. Santa, can you leave one of these under the tree?
Time+Tide Shop pick of the week: Atelier Wen Perception
As we head into 2025, we want to be bringing more and more diverse and interesting independent brands into our Discovery Studios. We’ve already exhibited select Dennison, echo/neutra, Junghans and Micromilspec models – and the latest brand to take up residency is Atelier Wen. Founded in 2018, this Franco-Chinese brand has done much to elevate the perception of Chinese watchmaking, in no small part thanks to their model aptly named the Perception: a distinctive integrated bracelet piece with a gorgeous guilloché dial. We have their latest range of Perception V2 models in-store, including the Piao (blue), Xia (salmon), Ying (grey-brown) and Millésime Mù (purple, titanium case) – a rare opportunity to see these in the metal.
The Atelier Wen Perception range will be available for a limited time exclusively in-store at our Time+Tide Discovery Studios in London and Melbourne. Price: A$5,280 (Millésime Mù, pre-order), A$5,450 (Piao, Xia, Ying)
Our favourite Time+Tide coverage of the week
Leica strikes a pose with the ZM 11
Leica has long been a byword for quality when it comes to cameras, but in recent years, Leica has also become a watchmaker. They made their horological debut with the ZM 1 and 2 – elevated, manual-winding pieces with complications and designs inspired by photography – and have now followed up with the ZM 11, an integrated luxury sports watch that nods to the Leica brand more specifically while also aiming for a broader watch audience. Read Jamie’s thoughts on this disruptive watch here, or watch his video review above.
The 6 things we wish all watch brands told us
A picture might say a thousand words, but there’s still no substitute for trying a watch on in the metal. That’s not always possible (and is something our T+T Discovery Studios have tried hard to change), and many of us buy watches online, sight unseen. As a community, watch lovers have never been more educated and curious to learn the deep cuts of the horological world. And while things have improved, some brands are just better than others when communicating particular details crucial for evaluating a purchase. Zach shares six things all watch brands should be telling us here.
Two weeks on the wrist with the Louis Vuitton Tambour
In something a bit different for our YouTube channel, Russell and Andrew took two different versions of the Louis Vuitton Tambour out around London for a week, to see if it fit into their very different lifestyles. Not only did they want to get to grips with this integrated bracelet watch from LV, but they both had questions we wanted to ask of it, having had only short exposures to this watch in the past, and being impressed – but still sceptical. Andrew took the solid rose gold Tambour with a chocolatey brown dial, while Russell opted for the classic steel and sharp blue – read his thoughts here, or watch above.