FRIDAY WIND DOWN: New Grand Seiko 9F GMTs, gift-giving footballers and Louis Monet x Fratello
Luke BenedictusZach has just departed on a well-deserved holiday and is currently basking on a sun-lounger wearing a Hawaiian shirt loud enough to make your ears ring. So it’s up to me to pick up the Wind Down slack and bring you a few bulletins from the watch world this week.
First up, take a minute to praise the lord that Grand Seiko isn’t your work colleague, beavering away at the neighbouring desk. Because can you even imagine how woefully bone-idle they’d make you look in comparison? I mention this because Grand Seiko continues to maintain frankly deranged levels of productivity thanks to a work ethic that generates a blizzard of new releases every month.
The latest of these are two new GMTs — SBGN027 and SBGN029 — basically updates on the popular SBGN003 and SBGN005 versions. Powered by the Caliber 9F86 quartz movement, they’re true GMTs with the sort of stainless-steel bezels that one member of the T+T team (yes, I’m looking at you, Ricardo) is an absolute sucker for.
Sized at 39mm, the SBGN029 pairs a blue sunray dial with a red GMT hand, while the SBGN027 opts for a starker look with a black dial and a white fourth hand. They’re priced at $3,300 USD and available on pre-order now with shipments starting at the beginning of next month.
In other news, in the north-east of England, Newcastle’s Allan Saint-Maximin has emerged as one of the most exciting players in the Premier League – a relentlessly sparky footballer full of hard-running creativity. Turns out, he’s also a kind-hearted soul to boot.
After Newcastle’s win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Saint-Maximin went out to sign autographs and randomly presented one gobsmacked fan with a new CasiOak G-Shock. Sure, it’s not the world’s most expensive watch. But this is the second time of late the player has donated items of his watch box to supporters, with the Frenchman also giving away a TAG Heuer Aquaracer a few months back. Easier than going through the rigmarole of flogging it on eBay, I suppose.
Another new release this week is the Fratello × Louis Moinet Memoris Spirit 40 Chronograph Limited Edition. Louis Moinet is a high-end independent Swiss watchmaker often credited with inventing the first chronograph timing mechanism. This Fratello collab is bright and punchy with sexy dashes of blue and orange to enliven the dial components. If you like the look of it, don’t hang about – only 25 pieces will be produced, each priced at €29,500. The watch goes on sale here on August 16.
Hope you all have a great weekend,
Luke
Watch meme of the week: X-Forcing a military watch at work
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In your mind, you carry yourself with a military man’s rugged swagger and wear a super-tough watch complete with altimeter, barometer, compass and thermometer to reflect your gung-ho spirit. In reality, you’re a middle-management accountant who works in an office and lives in a pleasant, leafy suburb. With this meme, Brodinkee nails the mismatch between our watches and our daily lives, skewering how our wristwear can serve as a dreamy (and ultimately harmless) form of wish fulfilment.
Wrist shot of the week: Green with Crash envy
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This post from @arabwatchguide is a flex of Schwarzeneggerian levels. The Cartier Crash is such a hot watch right now that even merchandise bearing its image is increasingly hard to obtain. Yet Hassan takes the one-upmanship here to the next echelon, having commissioned a bespoke Crash in green and gold that, suffice to say, wouldn’t have come cheap. In the comments section, @thewatchrookie sums up the frenzy of jealousy that Hassan’s watch provoked in three short words: “I hate you”.
Time+Tide Shop select of the week: The Fortis Flieger F-39
Using their characteristically robust quality and phenomenal fit and finish, the Fortis Flieger F-39 is as “tooly” a tool watch as they come. Forits take the flieger watch trope and adopt it to suit their design language with a tall, brushed, handsome case, which despite being 39mm wide, wears larger than you’d expect due to the lugs that stretch all the way to 50mm. Click here for a full review.
Price: $3,125 AUD. Buy it now at the Time+Tide Shop.
Our favourite Time+Tide coverage of the week:
Ben Affleck’s watch collection is choc-full of surprises
Ben Affleck has been seen wearing multiple Rolex, G-Shock, and Breguet references in film, but, when you dig into what he has been sporting lately off-screen, it reveals that he wears anything but the usual suspects in his personal life. Check out Zach’s story that shows how J-Lo’s other half is a watch lover of unusually discerning taste.
Ibiza! Capri! St Tropez! The Hublot Loves Summer Collection captures the feel-good holiday spirit
With record-breaking temperatures searing Europe this summer, it’s safe to say the beaches are an incredibly popular destination right now. To celebrate the launch of pop-up boutiques in three of Europe’s most beautiful coastal areas – Ibiza, Capri and St Tropez – Hublot have released a limited-edition watch for each branch. Read the full review here
Four watches that look great on their own, but are hard to pair with an outfit
There are pretty watches that go with everything, and watches so ugly that they go with nothing. But, how about the watches that are pretty, yet present the nigh impossible challenge of pairing them with an outfit that matches their aesthetic? Borna explores some of these tricky customers in this story