FRIDAY WIND DOWN: If you want to buy the new Bamford G-Shock right now, you’d better read this quick…
Zach BlassAndrew here! We’re comin’ in hot to this week’s Wind Down because we have a small allocation of Bamford G-Shock DW-6900BWD watches AVAILABLE HERE in the shop right now!
We don’t need to tell you how hot this watch is, or the Bamford G-Shock legacy it carries on, but we DO need to tell you that this purchase comes with a couple of exciting extras, including an exclusive that George Bamford himself designed for the Time+Tide Club.
There’s another bit of merch that comes with the deal, but we’ll leave that as a surprise. The Time+Tide Club were the first to hear about this and have had two days access. To make sure you’re at the front of the queue behind the velvet rope next time, join the Time+Tide Club HERE for under $100 USD. Now back over to Zach.
In other news this week, a new free and centralised platform is on its way for watch lovers searching for authoritative information on the timepieces they love and what makes them tick. It’s name is Horopedia and its aim is to become the Wikipedia of watchmaking.
“Twenty-one years after the birth of Wikipedia, it is now time for the watchmaking industry to create its own participative online encyclopedia,” the non-profit Horopedia foundation explains. “Baptized Horopedia, its aim is to share all the knowledge and highlight the know-how with its technical and artistic skills accumulated by the industry over the centuries.”
Understanding that these days watch education is expressed in multiple mediums, and with a growing younger audience that consumes content differently, the platform will be home to written, visual and video content. With a stacked board of industry figures, including legendary watchmaker Philippe Dufour (President), Dr. Helmut Crott, André Colard, and Marc André Deschoux of WatchesTV (Executive Director), it is safe to assume HOROPEDIA will provide an incredibly rich resource to watch lovers of all levels – whether burgeoning collectors or even watchmaking students.
How will this multilingual encyclopedia work? “Horopedia is more than an online encyclopedia. It defines itself as a true watchmaking eco-system, first of all through the entire watchmaking community which will contribute to the content, on a voluntary and unsolicited basis – in addition to the content produced by the Foundation itself – and, secondly, by offering students in continuing education the opportunity to pursue their studies in the watchmaking field, or by supporting projects and activities related to the preservation of the watchmaking culture.”
The platform is set to be unveiled August 30 during the Geneva Watch Days festivities, and I am eagerly anticipating the moment I am able to go down the Horopedia rabbit hole. You can access the platform right here.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
– Zach
Watch meme of the week: Do you have the watch spotting moves?
Brodinkee has done it again with what was, by far, the team favourite of all the memes we passed back and forth in our WhatsApp thread this week. Unfortunately I don’t think I have SpongeBob’s flexibility, short of being a contortionist I don’t know who would.
But in a weird, eerily coincidental, turn of fate this Tik Tok appeared in my feed – which may as well be the live action version of the meme.
Wrist shot of the week: Everything I love about the MoonSwatch concept
When the MoonSwatch launched, it is fair to say boutiques were enveloped in excitement and chaos. Unfortunately, in the beginning it did seem like MoonSwatches were ending up in the hands of opportunistic flippers – and that many who really wanted one were unable to score one of the 11 variants. But the above capture of a father and daughter both wearing a MoonSwatch is everything I hoped the collection could be for the community, a price approachable means to bring people who love watches, or who are just discovering them, together.
Time+Tide Shop select of the week: Isofrane and Tropic rubber straps
In the ’60s rubber straps emerged, but some available options were rather plasticky and became brittle over the course of wear. That is when ISOfrane came in and considered trying the rubber compound that is used by the automotive industry to manufacture tyres. Tyres are always exposed to heat, rain, ice and all types of chemicals on a daily basis and effortlessly shrug off the challenges. Fast forward to 2010, the Synchron Group brought back the world’s most famous rubber dive watch strap and ever since, ISOfrane has become an acronym for quality, durability and comfort of wear.
Trusted by the world’s most iconic dive watch manufacturers since the 1960s, Tropic remains the foremost tropic strap choice for discerning vintage or modern dive watch collectors. The brand’s story rose to legend in the mid-1960s as explorers, divers and outdoorsmen sought a sportier and more comfortable alternative to the traditional steel bracelets of the time. They found their answer in the super-soft, waterproof, and ultra-durable Tropic straps, which could be purchased as alternative OEM (Original Equipment Manufacture) watch straps from authorised retailers of the most iconic sports watch brands of the era.
Explore our selection here at the Time+Tide Shop.
Our favourite Time+Tide coverage of the week:
HANDS-ON: How the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Skeleton changed my perception of openworking
“The human brain is a curious thing. Having written many a review and introducing post, I feel like I’ve become increasingly more selective about the type of watch I really like. While my interests evolved, one constant has been my aloofness towards skeletonisation. Then the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Skeleton happened, and completely blew me away.” Watch the full hands-on video review above, or you can also read Borna’s written review here.
“They wanted $50K, I gave them $2M” – Jean-Claude Biver on how he got Bond for Omega
If you haven’t been watching or listening to the About Efffing Time (AET) podcast, co-hosted by Adrian Barker of Bark & Jack, George Bamford of Bamford Watch Department, and our very own Andrew McUtchen, well… it is about effing time you did. The latest installment tackled the best watches within the Bond franchise, and, during the discussion, Andrew dropped the mic with a revealing quote from watch industry G.O.A.T. Jean-Claude Biver. Click here for the full story.
Jennifer Aniston has a far better watch collection than you do
You probably know Jennifer Aniston as Rachel from friends, but do you know Jennifer Aniston the watch collector? You can read the full story here.