A new moon rises with Frederique Constant x Time+Tide, and Studio Underd0g makes a big in-house move
Jamie WeissFor many Aussies, December is the silly season, a time for tying up loose ends as we wind down for the Christmas break. Not so at Time+Tide: we’re still at full throttle as we hurtle towards 2026. Last week saw the biggest moment in our retail journey yet, the launch of our Tudor x Time+Tide Library & Lounge. We also opened our NYC Ghost Kitchen, which is already cheffing away, and now, we’ve just pulled the covers off our latest and greatest limited edition collaborative watch: the Frederique Constant x Time+Tide Highlife Moonphase Manufacture Onyx Moon.
This watch marks a few firsts for both Frederique Constant and T+T: it’s the first time a stone dial has been used on a Highlife, and our first onyx-dialled LE; it’s also our first moonphase watch and the first Highlife equipped with a manufacture moonphase calibre; and it’s also the first Highlife with a Jubilee-style bracelet. We’re pretty proud of this one, and we think you’ll be a fan of it, too. Read more here.
Studio Underd0g acquires Horologium
It’s also been a big week for our friends at Studio Underd0g. Not only did their collaboration with Christopher Ward, the Alliance 02 pocket watch, go on sale, but Richard and his team have just announced their acquisition of the British watch workshop Horologium – a big boost to SU’s in-house capabilities. For those not familiar with Horologium, this Maidenhead-based firm assembles whole watches, including their dials, hands and movements, as well as provides servicing and repairs.
As Oracle Time relates, “Horologium already assemble 1,000 – 1,200 watches for Studio Underd0g per month, accounting for up to 90% of the workshop’s revenue. Plus, since July 2024, Studio Underd0g has held a minority stake in the company, so eventual ownership has been a possibility for a while. They’ve simply gone from a minority holder to 100% holder… It is clear from the set-up of the workshop that they are well-positioned to scale up production capacity.” More Watermel0ns? Exciting stuff.
A$8.5 million in watches stolen in Canberra heist
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Canberra’s not known for being a particular horological hot-spot, but turns out there’s some real heat in our nation’s capital… And crooks are targeting it. In a statement released yesterday by ACT Police, four French men will face court today following the theft of jewellery, luxury handbags and other items worth millions from a Canberra home. The crooks allegedly made off with more than 70 items, including luxury handbags, watches, and jewellery, with the estimated value of the stolen items posited at approximately A$10 million – 8.5 million of which is watches.
Police have asked for public assistance in tracking down these watches, which include a Richard Mille RM88 Smiley, a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 40th Anniversary and most shockingly, a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 Tiffany – which alone is worth over A$2.5 million, according to current listings for the coveted piece on Chrono24. Police also suggest that the alleged offenders travelled to Australia specifically to commit these offences. I guess that’s what it takes to get tourists to come to Canberra…
Hope you all have a great weekend!
Jamie and the Time+Tide Team
Watch meme of the week: holiday gift ideas
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If you’ve never lost a spring bar, you’re not a real watch enthusiast.
Wrist shot of the week: a Bulgari beauty
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One of the best watches I’ve seen all year has been this little rectangular Bulgari that photographer Tim Vaux was wearing at Geneva Watch Days – and I’m sure I’m not the only person to have complimented his watch. But it gets better: turns out it’s a little-known Genta design, which Tim ended up unearthing – read his journey with this watch here.
Time+Tide Shop pick of the week: Frederique Constant x Time+Tide Highlife Moonphase Manufacture Onyx Moon
Shameless plug alert, but of course this was going to be our shop pick this week! In the stillness of black onyx, a new story unfolds. What began as a whisper of an idea has become a Highlife that breaks its own rules, introducing new materials, new colour, and a new calibre for the first time. In a first for Frederique Constant, the elegantly bare onyx stone dial brings depth and clarity, setting the stage for the moonphase to glow against an inky black background. Red detailing adds contrast against steel and stone, adding small details that make a big impression.
At its heart beats the Calibre FC-716, the first Manufacture moonphase ever fitted to a Highlife — developed in-house, and built to be seen. It’s also the first and only Highlife to feature the 5-link stainless steel bracelet, bringing a new level of elegance and refinement. From the purposefully minimal onyx dial to the red ‘GENEVE’ text, each carefully considered element of our Highlife Onyx Moon has a story to tell. Brought together, they create a Highlife that feels familiar at first glance, yet completely new in the details.
The Frederique Constant x Time+Tide Highlife Moonphase Manufacture Onyx Moon is a limited edition of 100 pieces, and will be available exclusively through Frederique Constant and Time+Tide Watches, and in-store at our Time+Tide Watch Discovery Studios in London and Melbourne. Price: US$5,695, £4,350, A$8,695, €4,895
Our favourite Time+Tide coverage of the week
The Time+Tide holiday gift guide: all the best gift ideas for watch enthusiasts
The holiday season is upon us, which for the increasingly global Time+Tide team, means very different things. For our Australian team, it means time for sun, surf and barbeques. For our UK and US teams, though, it means breaking out the winter warmers and hoping for a white Christmas (or at least a break from the rain).
But no matter where you are in the world, we can help answer a question you’re no doubt asking yourself: what do you get for the watch enthusiast who has everything? I mean, more watches, obviously, but which ones? And more importantly, what about things that aren’t watches? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. I’ve assembled a motley list of watch and watch-related gifts that will help you solve all your horological gifting conundrums, regardless of your budget. Peruse it at your pleasure here.
How the Australian watch community helped create the TAG Heuer purist’s ultimate Carrera
if you had the chance to design your own TAG Heuer Carrera? Would you go for something minimalist, like Hiroshi Fujiwara has just done, or lean into preppy vibes like Hodinkee or Rowing Blazers and Bamford did for their collabs? Or would you stay true to the spirit of the Carrera and the (TAG) Heuer brand, and create something that pays homage to the glory days of motorsport, in which this watchmaker made its fame?
Well, that’s exactly what’s been done with the latest Australian-exclusive Carrera limited edition: one of the most thoughtful takes on the iconic chronograph to date, that is also the product of unheard-of levels of community engagement for a big box brand, having been co-designed by a passionate group of Aussie watch collectors and pays homage to two of the most collectible and historically significant Heuer references of all time. Read Jamie’s in-depth piece here.
We chat with Jialing Cai, 2025’s Female Fifty Fathoms winner, on blackwater photography and her new Blancpain watch
Jialing Cai’s journey to becoming an acclaimed rising star in the world of ocean photography has been somewhat unexpected. The 27-year-old Chinese marine biologist and underwater photographer didn’t grow up by the ocean – she grew up 1,500 kilometres from one, in landlocked Chongqing, China – yet today, her blackwater photography reveals a world most divers never see: trillions of plankton and tiny organisms ascending from depths of 500 metres or more, every night, in waters around the globe. It’s these tiny creatures that she’s become a specialist in photographing, with her vivid shots of these curious animals having secured her the prestigious Ocean Photographer of the Year award in 2023, and now the Female Fifty Fathoms prize in 2025.
Jamie had the chance to chat with Jialing about her amazing photos (and new Blancpain watch!) as well as what inspired her to become an ocean photographer and how she wants to inspire other female ocean photographers when she was in Sydney for the opening of the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 exhibition at Australia’s National Maritime Museum. Watch on YouTube above, or read more here.