FRIDAY WIND DOWN: Craig’s NTTD Sale, a unique Zenith, Showjumping with Longines, and DWW Horology Forum
Zach BlassJust got back from Zermatt last Friday evening, and right upon my return the action was nonstop throughout the week. With a moment to finally catch my breath, I can now catch you all up.
The next morning, upon arriving back from Switzerland, Longines invited me out to Governors Island in NYC to watch the best of the best compete in the Longines Global Champions Tour 2022. To be honest, the world of Showjumping is something I was definitely not familiar with prior to the event. I understood the basics of it, of course – riders jump their horses over gates. But, it wasn’t until I visited the grounds and watched the event that I fully understood the complexity and majesty of the sport. One aspect that really stood out to me is the fact that the courses are never the same each round.
A course designer, seemingly akin to a game director in Hunger Games, meticulously positions the various gates to test each rider and their skill. The riders, before each round, are allowed to walk the course – each four human strides apparently the equivalent of one horse stride – in order to map out their ride.
The horses, however, do not see the layout until the moment of competition. Different gates also pose different challenges. For example, one gate was effectively a solid wall painted to look like a Birdseye view of Central Park.
To the uninitiated, it seems a mere aesthetic addition to the course. For the horses, however, who get confused by what they see, it can be a tense moment that spooks them and their rider into disqualification. Quite fascinating, and seeing the height of the gates up close is a testament to the horsepower of, well, horses.
The following day, I headed downtown to the Dubai Watch Week Horology Forum: Moves New York event. As you would find during Dubai Watch Week in Dubai, the weekend was filled with engaging panels and masterclasses – such as a photography lesson with renowned watch photographer Atom Moore. A new format also debuted, ‘Click Clock’, in which two panelists engaged in a friendly yet heated debate on a prompted topic. Between panels and masterclasses, collectors were able to gather together and talk all things watches. It is events like these that allow the community to really come together, nerd out, and remember why the term watchfam is not just a cutesy label – rather a truth.
Later in the week, the Bond Sixty-Years charity auction at Christie’s took place. The most notable lot for watch lovers, Daniel Craig’s final film-worn Seamster NTTD Bond-watch, was finally hammered off – achieving a sale of GBP 226,800 for charity. Another Craig-worn bond watch, an Aqua Terra, also sold for GBP 119,700. Was the final hammer price on the Craig NTTD a bargain? That is something we will have to explore in a separate write-up coming soon.
Lastly, Zenith x Voutilainen x Phillips shocked us all recently with their resurrection of the legendary calibre 135-O in a limited edition of ten pieces. But, alas, there is now a new and unique chance to acquire this collaborative watch through a new piece unique that distinguishes itself from the previous set with a Niobium case, a material rarely used in watchmaking, and a striking salmon guilloché dial.
It will be auctioned at Phillips’ Geneva Watch Auction: XVI on November 5th and all proceeds of the sale will go to Susan G. Komen to support their fight against breast cancer.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
-Zach
Watch meme of the week: #SpeedyTuesday
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It seems like each day there is a ridiculous commemorative event. National doughnut day, national sibling day, etc. etc. But these days are once a year. In the watch community special days are weekly recurring. Isn’t it kind of incredible how tight knit the watch community is, that each Monday we have a #bluewatchmonday or, more notably, a #speedytuesday each Tuesday. More incredible is just how much these tags dictate what we wear. As much as we resist, we do many things for the ‘gram. And each Tuesday it is a sure bet Omega Speedster’s are going to flood your feed. Some Tuesdays are more special than others, especially when. Omega jumps in on the phenomenon and drops a new Speedy – like the new X-33 Marstimer from earlier this week!
Wrist shot of the week: Dimepiece wardrobe and watch match masterclass
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Brynn serves up an ace pairing of watch and wardrobe during her Net-A-Porter photoshoot. The green stone dial of the Hermes watch matches the green jacket perfectly, and the smizing at play here reminds us that how you wear the watch is ultimately as important as the watch you decide to wear.
Time+Tide Shop select of the week: NOW Magazine – The Watch Buying Guide – Issue 5
Some things are not improved by technology. Mechanical watches. Slow time, well spent. The tactility of a high-quality magazine. NOW combines all three wonderful things. Issue 5 is available now with a full buying guide that curates 207 of the best releases of the past year. Alongside the guide you’ll enjoy a ton of in-depth articles that include:
- An oral history of the MoonSwatch from the Swatch Group insiders that made it happen
- How Hublot leveraged the world’s biggest spectator sports to turbocharge brand awareness
- Why super-producer Mark Ronson signed up with Audemars Piguet
- How Konstantin Chaykin dreamed up the creative design of The Joker
- Plus much, much more.
Purchase Issue 5 of our magazine here. Price: $19.95 AUD
Our favourite Time+Tide coverage of the week:
VIDEO: The Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon AeroGMT II is colourful, robust and competitively priced
Ball is known for robust and competitively priced timepieces. We explored why the Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon AeroGMT II should be on your radar if you are in the market for a steel GMT watch. Watch the video above for more, or read the full review here.
HANDS-ON: The new Bulova Parking Meter delivers that wheel good factor
In this last decade, we’ve seen multiple brands go to the creations of their past in search of inspiration for their present. And with such rich histories, who could blame many of them? Especially when you’re talking about a brand as storied as Bulova. Which is why they’ve gone to their archives for their recent release; the Parking Meter. Click here for the full hands-on review.
Luke Combs: Down-home country star, high-end watch aficionado
Here’s a great example of finding a story in the last place you’d expect. Turns out country superstar Luke Combs isn’t just a down-to-earth singer/songwriter, he also happens to be an unlikely watch nut. You can find the full story here.