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FRIDAY WIND DOWN: Cliff diving with Mido in Paris, AP artwork and Greubel gorgeousness FRIDAY WIND DOWN: Cliff diving with Mido in Paris, AP artwork and Greubel gorgeousness

FRIDAY WIND DOWN: Cliff diving with Mido in Paris, AP artwork and Greubel gorgeousness

Zach Blass

Luke here – just popping into Zach’s Wind Down to tell you about a gravity-defying weekend in Paris with Mido.

Twenty-seven metres doesn’t sound that high. But as I edged out onto the diving platform towering over the Seine, I felt a lurching sense of dread in the pit of my stomach. The platform was about six metres long and 2.5m wide and wobbled very slightly in the wind. With the Eiffel Tower almost directly in front of me, I inched along in hesitant, half steps until I peeked over the edge at the river below. A few hours later, men and women in tiny swimming costumes would somersault off this platform as part of the Red Bull World Cliff Diving Championships. But my progress along the platform was so laboured and my fear so evident that former world champion cliff diver and Mido ambassador Johnathan Paredes offered to walk along with me. “Just enjoy the view,’ he told me as we looked out onto the city in the shimmering heat. “Not many people get to see Paris like this.”

Mido’s sponsorship of the Cliff Diving Championships works on two levels. The brand’s motto is “Inspired by Architecture” and this competition often takes part alongside one of the world’s most spectacular buildings. As mentioned, this Paris leg is held literally in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, while the Bilbao event that I attended in 2017 was staged right next to the distinctive curves of the Guggenheim Museum.

But Mido’s CEO Franz Linder explained he also decided to sponsor the event as it shares common values with the brand’s Ocean Star dive watches. “Why cliff diving? We saw cliff diving as a very good link because it’s about performance and it’s about precision,” he says. “If you make a crash from 27 metres, you don’t feel good.”

Fortunately no one did crash-land or even belly-flop that afternoon. But I still found myself watching the action through my fingers all the same. These divers leap, twist and somersault to nail wildly complex manouevres, hitting the water at speeds in excess of 85km/h. You don’t need to know your crow-hops from your half-pikes to marvel at their athleticism and grit.

I also got to spend a bit of hands-on time with the Mido Ocean Star GMT that’s coming out later this year in a fetching “Pepsi” colourway of blue and red. Given the globetrotting nature of the Cliff Diving tour that includes stops in Boston, Copenhagen and Mostar among other destinations before the October final in Sydney, that GMT function looks like it might get an awful lot of use.

OK, thanks for letting me slide in Zach, now back over to you.

I don’t know if I can top the scene of the Seine, but back in New York City we had a fun week as well that I’d like to quickly dig into. Audemars Piguet’s primary focus, of course, is watchmaking, but they are also heavily involved with the worlds of art and music. This week at the High Line, Audemars Piguet and High Line Art unveiled a co-commisioned sculpture from renowned artist Meriem Bennani. In her first ever public scuplture, Windy, Bennani captures the animation of a tornado.

Inadvertently, as Audemars Piguet and High Line Art gave Bennani creative freedom, the sculpture, in a way, ties into the world of Audemars Piguet with its engineering. Re-purposed e-bike motors allow foam cylinders to rotate at high speed to create the tornado animation, its movement and dynamic nature somewhat echoing the world of watchmaking. Windy will be on public display at the High Line until May 2023, so I definitely recommend checking it out if you are in the NYC area.

Ricardo and I also made a quick pit stop at the Horological Society of New York, to spend some hands-on time with Greubel Forsey’s intricate timepieces – one of which I can share with you today: the Double Balencier. The engineering and detailing here really is off-the-charts high. The bracelet alone is a work of art, which by itself (a cost of $40,000 USD) costs more than any watch I own, with its sunken frosted surfaces accompanying the more common satined and polished surfaces. The convex crystal gives a Dali-like sense, a luxurious warping that looks incredible. And, c’mon, two balance wheels at an incline… this is serious heavy-hitting watchmaking.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,

– Zach + Luke

Watch meme of the week: On your marks, get set, buy!

 

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In the wake of the LAVENTURE Automobile Chronograph, this meme feels only too true. These days, while watches are often crazily expensive you often have little to zero time to actually contemplate a purchase. With so many limited editions, and so many collectors looking to assuage their FOMO, these releases are really races to the checkout finish line. *Sigh*… oh *sigh*.

Wrist shot of the week: 🤤

Sorry, not sorry. Manifesting this gorgeous Gruebel on my wrist in another life where I am a hedge fund manager instead of a journalist.

Time+Tide Shop select of the week: DOXA SUB 300 Carbon Whitepearl

The SUB 300 in carbon remains true to its origins while cultivating an edgier, more technical, but also more urban look and feel. It takes the legend into the future with a high-performance overhaul, putting an advanced lightweight material at the service of function. Read more about the watch here, or click to purchase below.

Price: $5,490 AUD Buy it now at the Time+Tide Shop.

Our favourite Time+Tide coverage of the week:

HANDS-ON: The BALL Engineer III Marvelight Chronometer 40mm

BALL watches fit into a very versatile pocket of luxury. Having been updated with three fresh colour options, the BALL Engineer III Marvelight Chronometer 40mm could easily be a contender for a one-watch collection, or at least an incredibly durable daily wearer that looks and feels like quality. Read more about the watches here, or check out the video above.

The Nomos Ahoi Atlantik is a dive-capable watch with many tricks up its lugs

An unabashedly Bauhaus diver is an intriguing concept. Borna walks through the distinct dive watch that is the Nomos Ahoi, both in the video above and article here.

HYT reinterpret the classic moonphase with their futuristic Moon Runner Supernova Blue

Fortunately, after bankruptcy, the HYT brand is back in action, and with the new Moon Runner Supernova Blue we can already see HYT heading in a stronger direction. Learn more about the watch here.

VIDEO: The Cvstos Metropolitan PS Collection offers a fresh take on a luxury sportswatch

Cvstos don’t pop up on the radar of your average watch collector often, but the new collection of Cvstos Metropolitan PS watches is aiming to change that. Watch the video above, or read more about the watch here.

Here We Glow: The Speake-Marin Dual Time Lime

“The Speake-Marin Dual Time Lime is a dose of haute-luxury in a package unlike many others, smashing together lurid sportiness with traditional elegance”. Check out more of Fergus’ review here.