Australian Watch Authority
Doubling down on the rainbow – the Franck Muller Double Mystery
Franck Muller’s tagline is “the master of complications”, and this watch delivers on that promise in dazzling style. This fully set Franck Muller Double Mystery from their Round collection (which goes to show that there’s more to the brand than Curvex cases) is a great example of working smart. The movement on show is the Double Mystery — the mystery being that there are no traditional hands at play here, rather two triangles nestled amongst the brilliance of the fully set… Read More
The stealthy excellence of the Rolex Yacht-Master 42 in white gold (ref. 226659)
If you weren’t paying close attention you could easily miss the new Rolex Yacht-Master 42 in white gold. And I mean that in the best way. It’s a handsome timepiece, with a quiet presence that (despite its newness) feels reassuringly familiar in some hard-to-define way. Despite being 2mm bigger than its Everose Gold brother (and a 42mm Oyster case wears quite big), it’s the opposite of in your face. In fact, thanks to the monochrome colour scheme of the dial,… Read More
HANDS-ON: Dressy but not delicate, the Blancpain Villeret Extra Flat 6605
Increasingly, I’m finding myself drawn to watches that are understated, unassuming expressions of classical perfection. Which goes a long way to explaining why I was so into the Blancpain Villeret Extra Flat. This is an exquisitely simple watch. Two hands, no date and a manually wound movement. A pure expression of classical watchmaking if ever I saw one. It’s also very classic in its proportions – the steel (also offered in gold) case is 40mm across by a svelte 7.4mm… Read More
HANDS-ON: The Golden Turtle – Seiko’s Prospex SRPC44
Seiko’s core Prospex diver, known as the ‘Turtle’, is a rock-solid watch that’s a well-deserved fan favourite. And it’s easy to see why. It’s a compelling mix of classic, conservative dive watch style and idiosyncratic design that’s downright charming. It’s also quite a versatile platform, as numerous colour combinations, and dials demonstrate. If the blacked-out Ninja Turtle and blue-textured dials of the Save the Ocean editions weren’t enough to convince you, I present the Seiko Prospex SRPC44, colloquially known as… Read More
HANDS-ON: Blacked-out – the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic ceramic
In 2014, with the launch of its first Octo Finissimo (hand-wound) models, Bulgari rewrote the rules of skinny. Until then, an ultra-thin watch was defined by discreet styling, a round case, precious metal – in short, the ultimate dress watch. Then along came Octo Finissimo, with its shape-shifting trick of looking both supermodel-skinny and swaggeringly muscular. Shamelessly modern! A sports-deluxe ultra-thin watch! Made of titanium! Jump to the 2017 version – the world’s thinnest automatic watch (until Piaget snatched the… Read More