Luke Benedictus, Author at Time and Tide Watches

Luke Benedictus

Posts by Luke:

Jean-Claude Biver

25.02.2020

Jean-Claude Biver reveals "the most beautiful watch I have ever seen"

Jean-Claude Biver is a horological superhero. The legendary watch entrepreneur brought Blancpain back to life, resuscitated Omega and turned Hublot into a super-brand for which LVMH paid almost half a billion dollars. As a result, he's assembled a private watch collection that would do King Midas proud. Auction house Phillips understands the appeal, which is why they've launched a touring exhibition of Biver's personal timepieces. After stints in Hong Kong and New York, the collection has now pitched up in London until the end of the month (details here). Speaking in a WatchAdvisor video (see below), Biver reveals some random…

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Rodger Corser

24.02.2020

Actor Rodger Corser brings Ch.9 travel show Postcards into the Time+Tide office!

Whether he's playing a hard-partying surgeon in Doctor Doctor or a bewildered zombie in Glitch, Rodger Corser is a square-jawed fixture on Australian TV. But he's also a serious watch guy. So when Channel 9 travel show Postcards asked him to pick his favourite Melbourne venues, we were humbled that he picked Time+Tide. "I'm part of the watch community Time+Tide Club," he told host Shane Crawford. "I really liked the craftsmanship that goes into a watch and the fact they work for all budgets — you can have a great $500 watch or go all out with the big stuff." Noting…

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17.02.2020

What Sealed The Deal: Ben's Bulgari Diagono Scuba

Ben came into the Time+Tide offices to buy a NATO strap for his TAG Heuer Monaco. But the conversation quickly turned to the unusual Bulgari diver's watch on his wrist. Here, Ben explains the backstory behind the purchase and why — despite it contradicting everything he normally likes in a watch — he absolutely loves it. Originally, this was my dad's watch, but I think he only wore it twice in 10 years. Dad tends to like bigger pieces – he's also got a Panerai Luminor and a TAG Heuer Link Calibre 5. With this watch, he'd always just say it was…

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Kyle Chalmers TAG Heuer

11.02.2020

"As swimmers, everything we do revolves around time" Olympic champ Kyle Chalmers teams up with TAG Heuer

The worst brand associations feel like they've been hatched in drunken brainstorms at the end of a very long day. There seems zero reason to attach the celebrity to the product, beyond a marketing budget that urgently needs to be spent. Thankfully, TAG Heuer's decision to partner up with Kyle Chalmers isn't like that at all. In fact, it seems less like a marketing decision than intuitive common sense. Think about it, for a second. You've got a watch called the Aquaracer, so it's logical you buddy up with an Olympic gold-winning swimmer. And that's exactly what TAG Heuer have…

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08.02.2020

The Enabler: How to justify buying another watch (#10. The end of the world is nigh)

The Doomsday Clock started ticking in 1947. This was the brainchild of an international group of researchers called the Chicago Atomic Scientists who'd participated in The Manhattan Project – an R&D program that resulted in the production of the first nuclear weapons. Essentially, the Doomsday Clock was designed to calculate precisely how close we are to global catastrophe. Mankind's proximity to annihilation was simply expressed by the number of "minutes" to midnight. The people who determine the time on the clock aren't just a bunch of wild-eyed loons. The board is made up of scientists and other boffins with deep…

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horology house fake rolex daytona

04.02.2020

What we know so far about the alleged fake Rolex scandal engulfing popular YouTuber @horologyhouse

It's Australia's biggest watch scandal in living memory. Hell, if anything is going to end up with a '-gate' suffix in our world, it's this. Last weekend, Rolexforums.com broke the news that Christopher Essery — the man behind @horologyhouse, a popular YouTube Channel, website and Instagram account renowned for its macro photography — is alleged to have sold a fake Rolex Daytona for $29,000. The thread has more than a quarter of a million views and, at last count, 1452 comments. Based in Perth, Essery also sells watches and accessories through his website www.horologyhouse.com. This site, along with his social media…

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Brian May Seiko

01.02.2020

Fingerpickin' good: Queen's Brian May teams up with Seiko to make a watch inspired by his guitar

Poodle-haired rock god Brian May is world famous as the lead guitarist in Queen who shaped their sound with his nimble-fingered picking and razor-sharp melodies. What's less well known is that he's also a die-hard Seiko fan. For years, May has worn one of the brand's iconic dive watches on his wrist. He's regularly spotted wearing the Seiko 7548-7010, a diver he picked up while first on tour in Japan back in the 1970s. Now he's gone one better. May has collaborated with Seiko to create a watch that echoes the design of his homemade guitar that he built with…

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28.01.2020

Stunning video footage of a (fantasy) yellow gold Rolex 'Hulk' Submariner emerges, prompting Basel predictions

"Forecasting future events is often like searching for a black cat in an unlit room, that may not even be there," wrote Steve Davidson in The Crystal Ball. The art of predictions, in other words, tends to be an absolute mug's game. When you're trying to make forecasts about Rolex – a company that shrouds its plans with MI5 levels of secrecy – it's even more of a challenge. But these lousy odds haven't stopped YouTuber Jenni Elle from peering into her crystal ball to predict Rolex's new releases for Baselworld 2020. What's more, she's created an impressive concept video…

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25.01.2020

The end of the road – Luke's exit watch

You'll be familiar with the misadventures of Spinal Tap over their 1982 album, Smell The Glove. The original cover artwork is problematic. Featuring the image of "a greased, naked woman on all fours wearing a dog collar", the cover is knocked back by retailers who flatly refuse to display such a sexist image. Without the band's knowledge, an alternative is secretly arranged by the record company. When the heavy metal album is eventually released, it comes with a cover that is completely black. In the film, as guitarist Nigel Tufnel evaluates the new record sleeve, he utters the legendary line:…

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2019 $20K fantasy watch collection

23.01.2020

Luke's 2019 $20K fantasy watch collection

Sometimes you've got to face the bitter truth. Between small children, a house needing urgent renovation and a woeful inability to pick the winning lottery numbers, I can't spend big on a new watch for the foreseeable future. Luckily, right now the "premium economy" end of the market is stronger than ever. Here are five watches that collectively add up to $18,740 from my $20K fantasy budget. The remaining $1260? That's getting lumped on Powerball tickets to hopefully swell next year's coffers. DOXA SUB 200 $1590 I've got a hankering for a no-nonsense diving watch that I can wear to…

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20.01.2020

WATCH DISASTERS #2: This is why you shouldn't drown your Omega in Berocca

Wear and tear often bolsters the appeal of a vintage watch. Picture a chronograph dial aged to a warm tropical hue, or a pilot's watch overshadowed with caramel patina. Rather than signs of decay, such well-worn details are celebrated as adding character and authenticity. Like the laughter lines on an old man's face, they're testimony to a life well-lived. Yet there are limits … It wasn't an expensive watch. I'd picked up my Omega Seamaster about 20 years ago in Melbourne's Block Arcade. Hailing from the 1950s, this was a pleasantly discreet timepiece, a steel-cased dress watch with gold hands…

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best gold watches Rolex Daytona Rainbow

18.01.2020

The Enabler: How to justify buying another watch (#9. "But it's an investment…")

NOTE: We understand that you've found a new watch to add to your collection (congratulations!). But rationalising this fact – coupled with the fact that it'll cost a bucketload of cash – may not always sit well with the less horologically minded. That's where we come in … Use The Enabler's advanced levels of sophistry to validate your latest acquisition. Sadly, it's time for The Enabler to bow out. Over the last few weeks I've furnished you with a stack of irrefutable reasons to justify blowing your pay-packet on yet another watch. To testify on your horological behalf we've called to the…

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11.01.2020

The Enabler: How to justify buying another watch (#8. The Punctuality Excuse)

NOTE: We understand that you've found a new watch to add to your collection (congratulations!). But rationalising this fact – coupled with the fact that it'll cost a bucket-load of cash – may not always sit well with the less horologically minded. That's where we come in … Use The Enabler's advanced levels of sophistry to validate your latest acquisition. Mahatma Gandhi whittled his life down to the barest possible essentials. When he died he owned fewer than 10 possessions. Captured in an iconic photo, these included his wire-rimmed spectacles, two pairs of sandals, a metal bowl and a plate. But the…

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06.01.2020

Ice, ice, baby: Ronaldo just wore the most expensive Rolex ever made

Making the right choice for your left wrist is never easy. But at least your options are generally curtailed by the size of your budget. That isn't a problem for soccer deity Cristiano Ronaldo. That's because the Juventus superstar is satanically rich. According to Forbes magazine, Ronaldo was soccer's highest-earning player of the last decade, pocketing a colossal 548 million pounds ($A1.033 billion) during the 2010s. How do you tackle the stern challenge of spending all this loot? Well, Ronaldo was recently spotted at the 14th Dubai International Sports Conference wearing the Rolex GMT-Master II Ice (ref. 116769TBR), a timepiece…

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Justify Buying Another Watch

02.01.2020

The Enabler: How To Justify Buying Another Watch (#7. You Can Pretend You're Into Mindfulness)

I once knew a glamorous magazine editor who presided over one of the big fashion monthlies. On the inside of her delicate wrist, beneath an impeccably curated collection of designer bangles, resided a small tattoo. Inked in block-capital letters was the single word: "NOW". This tattoo was a strategically placed reminder for her to stay "in the moment". Instead of catastrophising about the future or getting hung up on the past, this tattoo was a note-to-self that emboldened her to stay anchored in the "here and now". Focusing on the present, she explained, was a way of staving off anxiety.…

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Watches Of 2019

28.12.2019

Luke's 5 favourite watches of 2019

I've certainly had less turbulent years. In 2019, I quit a stable job, hurled myself into start-up life and lived with my in-laws for 10 months (!) before moving into a house that can euphemistically be described as "a renovator's delight". I changed a gazillion nappies and failed miserably to persuade my two sons — aged one and two — to sleep through the night. Over the last 12 months I've rarely worked so hard or slept so little. That's probably why I was particularly drawn to vintage-inspired pieces this year. Their nostalgic designs hark back to a simpler time that, we…

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Kanye West

24.12.2019

The Enabler: How To Justify Buying Another Watch (#6. The Kanye West Contention)

Kanye West is many things: hip-hop superstar, fashion designer, maverick genius, not to mention Kim Kardashian's other half. What he is not often recognised as is a beacon of sound common sense. It turns out there's a very good reason for this. Yeezy's public comments suggest a man who is not only a full-blown egomaniac ("By 50% I am more influential than Stanley Kubrick, Apostle Paul, Picasso…") but also slightly deranged ("I would never want a book's autograph. I am a proud non-reader of books.") Oh dear. Nevertheless, there was a moment when the 42-year-old rapper uttered the most profound truth imaginable.…

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22.12.2019

LIST: Luke Benedictus' 5 favourite stories of 2019

It's that time of the year where we sift misty-eyed through the archives, getting nostalgic about the horological highlights from the past 12 months. From Instagram watch clichés to the "unholy shitstorm of hurt feelings" provoked by Audemars Piguet, this is my top five. Sandra Lane on why hype and high prices are killing it for watch collectors Decade-long waiting lists. Manufactured shortages. "Gentlemen dealers." Steel sports watches being listed at 200 per cent of their RRP… The inimitable Sandra Lane takes aim at the money-chasing mania that is ruining things for genuine watch collectors. 5 Instagram watch cliches that…

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The Cost Per Wear Argument

13.12.2019

The Enabler: How To Justify Buying Another Watch. (#5: "The Cost Per Wear Argument")

NOTE: We understand that you've found a new watch to add to your collection (congratulations!). But rationalising this fact – coupled with the fact that it'll cost a bucket-load of cash – may not always sit well with the less horologically minded. That's where we come in … Use The Enabler's advanced levels of sophistry to validate your latest acquisition. There are times in life when you don't want to come across as some hairy-arsed chancer. You need to bestow yourself with the veneer of credibility and moral judgement. In short, you have to present yourself as halfway convincing. How to pull…

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How To Justify Buying Another Watch. (No.4 “The Milestone Celebration”)

09.12.2019

The Enabler: How To Justify Buying Another Watch. (#4: "The Milestone Celebration")

NOTE: We understand that you've found a new watch to add to your collection (congratulations!). But rationalising this fact – coupled with the fact that it'll cost a bucket-load of cash – may not always sit well with the less horologically minded. That's where we come in … Use The Enabler's advanced levels of sophistry to validate your latest acquisition. Phony enthusiasm. Beleaguered smiles. Rank insincerity. No, we're not discussing politicians' attempts to pass themselves off as genuine sports fans. What I'm talking about is why receiving Christmas presents leaves me increasingly cold. To explain this "bah humbug" mindset, a week or…

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The Enabler No. 3

30.11.2019

The Enabler: How To Justify Buying Another Watch #3 … "It's A Symbol Of Moral Resistance Against The Spiritual Decay Of Modern Life"

NOTE: We understand that you've found a new watch to add to your collection (congratulations!). But rationalising this fact – coupled with the fact that it'll cost a bucket-load of cash – may not always sit well with the less horologically minded. That's where we come in … Use The Enabler's advanced levels of sophistry to validate your latest acquisition. "How have men's attitudes changed towards their watches in the last 50 years?" This was a question I asked Walter von Känel, the veteran Longines CEO, a few years back. As a hallowed fixture at the brand since 1969, his…

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