How’s it going guys?

Zenith price increase

Last week I’ve updated our Zenith prices to reflect the price increase that’s set for February first. As with Rolex, I’ve also added a few missing watches here and there. Please find our Zenith watch database here.

IWC Big Pilot Black Carbon IW5061-01

I’ve also added a couple of rare and / or new IWC watches – among them this cool IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Edition Black Carbon, a limited edition of 100 pieces created with the help of Hong Kong IWC collectors. This watch, reference IW5061-01, has a case made of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (‘UD carbon’). Details here.

Other cool new IWC’s included the Portugieser Perpetual for Arije in red gold and white gold, and the Portugieser Automatic 100 Years Hübner.

This was a big one.

It might seem as if little has been done over the past few weeks, but it’s quite the contrary. I’ve been working hard on Rolex January price increase. The collection is quite vast to say the last – but it’s finished now.

ENJOY!

I’M SORRY – the past week has been fairly slow. And with the upcoming Holidays I suppose the next few weeks won’t be any different. This week nonetheless saw a notable and important addition with six new variations of the IWC Portugieser ref. IW3716.

A bit of background.

The IWC Portugieser Chronograph 3716 is an updated take on the 3714. The latter was introduced in 1998, itself building on the template that was introduced with the 1995 Portugieser Chrono-Rattrapante ref. 3712. The look would proof to become hugely popular and quite timeless. Proof? It looks identical to this day.

Both the 3712 as well as the 3714 saw their movements based on the Valjoux 7750 / 7760 platform. Not that anybody cared too much about the somewhat pedestrian origins of the movements: the Portugieser Chronograph remains popular to this day, and the Rattrapante was recently resurrected in the form of various boutique-specials after a sizeable hiatus.

In the mean while the 2011 Portugieser Yacht Club and the 2013 Portugieser Chronograph Classic were introduced. Positive: in-house movements, in-line with the demands of today’s collectors. Negative: whilst beautiful in their own right, neither of them looked much like the good ol’ Portugieser Chronograph.

150 years.

Then, in 2018, IWC celebrated its 150th anniversary. As part of this celebration the company brought three limited edition Portugieser Chronograph models; two in stainless steel, one in red gold. These paired the classic looks (though with faux enamel dials) with an in-house movement. Of course anybody could tell that it would only be a matter of time until the regular collection Portugieser Chronograph would receive these updates.

And now it’s finally here. In no less than six executions. In stainless steel there’s the IW371604 and IW371605, both with silver dials, the IW371606 with a blue dial, and the IW371609 with black dial. Looking for something a bit more sumptuous? The IW371610 and IW371611 feature red gold cases, paired with an ardoise or silver dial respectively. In stainless steel the premium over the classic 3714 is only 250 EUR. Not bad!

Hi there data-hungry watch freaks!

The past week I’ve once again added a respectable number of watches to our database. The big projects we’re working on are Tissot, Certina, Hublot and Longines. To keep things interesting (mainly for myself, that is) I’m alternating between these four brands – though still it can get quite repetitive. Luckily there’ve been a few odd new releases too. What stood out this week?

Longines Avigation Chronograph for Portugal

A bit of a passion of mine is uncovering obscure limited editions, often exclusive to specific markets. The Longines L2.668.4.21.2 is a prime example, being made in 225 pieces for the Portuguese market. More info!

NOMOS Tangente 35 for Antoine de Macedo – Paris Saint-Germain

The NOMOS Tangente 139.S50 for Antoine de Macedo (Paris Saint-Germain) is a limited edition of 75 pieces that’s subtly different from your standard 139. More info!

NOMOS Tangente Sport for Hodinkee

Another limited edition NOMOS introduced this week is the Tangente Sport for Hodinkee, reference 501.S6. The Tangente Sport was introduced in 2001 as one of NOMOS first attempts at a more robust, sportier timepiece. Its succes was fairly limited and it has since been replaced by watches such as the Club, the Ahoi, and the newer Tangente Sport neomatik. It’s a bit puzzling as to why Hodinkee went with this obscure, out-of-production watch – but it looks good if a bit tame. More info!

Certina DS-1 Powermatic

Alright, it’s neither new, rare or otherwise spectacular, but as an overall package I find this Certina DS-1 Powermatic quite convincing. A svelte case, classy dial and a ‘Powermatic 80′ as the source of motivation – at EUR 650 incl. VAT that’s not bad at all! More info!

Hi guys! It’s been another great week for Watchbase, with a lot of new watches added to our database. The bulk of them Tissot, but there’ve been a few others here and there. Below my favorites:

Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph Japan

This Japan-only edition of the Breitling Premier B01 sports a mother-of-pearl dial, which is a first for this collection. It goes surprisingly well with the elegant, vintage looks of the Premier! MORE

IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Mercedes – AMG Petronas Motorsports
IW503003

A limited edition of just 10 pieces, the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch
Mercedes – AMG Petronas Motorsports reference IW503003 sports a carbon fiber dial with emerald green accents. MORE!

IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun Lewis Hamilton
IW503002

Two in a row! The IWCBig Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar reference IW503002 was designed in cooperation with Lewis Hamilton. For a watch with a matte black ceramic case it’s fairly flashy – the dial is burgundy while the crown and case back are made of red gold. MORE!

Hublot Big Bang Meca-10 Nicky Jam High Jewellery

Like Nicky Jam? Got EUR 364.000 burning a hole in your pocket? We’ve got your back with the Big Bang Meca-10 Nicky Jam 414.OX.9101.LR.9904.NJA18. MORE!

Tissot Seaster 1000 Powermatic 80

I’ve added so many Tissot I swear I can’t see another one. But still, this Seastar 1000 looks pretty cool with its gradient blue dial. Powermatic 80 too! MORE!

While the week before was all about TAG Heuer, this week we’ve made some big steps in our Tissot database. Hundreds of watches have been added, and over 900 are waiting to be put live still. Bonkers. It’s not all Tissot though – I’ve also added a few other gems here and there. My favorites?

Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tadao Ando

Wow, wow, WOW! The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic is easily one of my favorite watches from the past few years in whatever form, but this one might be one of the coolest yet. The case and bracelet remain unaltered from the original 102713, but the dial now has ridges radiating outwards from the small seconds axis – designed by Tadao Ando no less. It’s furthermore doesn’t have any writings or logos. Stunning!

Bulgari Octo Finissimo Arabic Blue

Another cool Octo Finissimo, this time with Eastern Arabic numerals on a blue base, housed in rose gold. We’ve seen these numerals on the Octo before, but this is a particularly lush execution. More!

Rose gold a bit much for you? it also comes in titanium.

Omega Seamaster 300M James Bond Set

It must’ve been at least a few weeks since the last Omega limited edition, so about time they did another one! Here we have the ‘James Bond Set’, which consists of two takes on the Seamaster 300M – one in stainless steel, one in yellow gold- sold as a set limited to 257 pieces. The design is similar to the 7007-piece 210.22.42.20.01.004 though there’s no date. My favorite of the two is the yellow gold; the contrast with the black dial, bezel and strap is particularly striking. More!

Tissot PR 100

Confession: I CAN’T SEE ANY MORE TISSOT! But there’s still over 900 to go. Anyway, here’s a completely harmless PR 100. 39mm, 100m water resistant, EUR 240 incl. VAT. What more does one really need? INFO!

For the past two weeks I’ve mostly been working on our TAG Heuer database. It needed a lot of work – apart from a few high-profile releases I hadn’t really updated it in years, plus we had a huge amount of references still in draft, most notably watches powered by quartz movements. A few of my favorites (plus two Zenith for contrast) below;

TAG Heuer Formula 1 WAH1113.FT6025

The Formula 1 is TAG’s entry-level collection. Still, I quite like this green-on-green number. Looks like a fun watch for summer holidays. Simple, robust, and relatively inexpensive. Wear it & forget about it. MORE!

TAG Heuer Professional Sports Watch WAE1113.FT6004

Another TAG, another quartz. BUT!!!! the Professional Sports Watch – originally introduced as the Professional Golf Watch – has such a unique case, designed for optimal ergonomics while playing sports. The case serves as the buckle for the bracelet too, not unlike Piaget’s fancy Upstream watches. MORE!

TAG Heuer Formula 1 David Guetta WAZ201A.FC8195

Remember this? I almost forgot about it. I don’t care much for David Guetta but the blue-on-black makes for a strong look. That strap though! MORE!

TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 01 CLEP CAR201J.FT6087

Carrera’s. There’s so many of them. The wild number of movements, cases, dials -and combinations of these three elements- makes it hard to really understand the collection [/rant]. Anyway, one of my favorite Heuer 01-powered Carrera’s is this CLEP limited of 100 pieces. MORE!

Zenith Defy Classic Rainbow 3.9002.670/96.R587

Yes, yes, I’ve uploaded the Phillips A386 retro pieces this week too, but by now I think we’ve seen about enough El Primero 50th Anniversary watches. So, here’s something different: the black ceramic Rainbow Defy 41, made as a Greater China (and Zenith boutiques) LE of 150 pieces. MORE!

BUDDIES! It’s been a while since I posted an update on our blog – though of course new entries to our database have been plentiful. Anyway, I’m back with a few notable uploads of the past week(s).

Omega Constellation Master Chronometer 39 131.13.39.20.06.002

How about an entirely new full-size Constellation – with Master Chronometer movement nonetheless? I like it! This is my favorite dial, though I’d rather have it on the bracelet. The Constellation deserves another round, especially with all the hype surrounding stainless steel watches with integrated bracelets. MORE!

Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Master Chronometer 41 Green 220.10.41.21.10.001

Green is the new Blue. This Aqua Terra looks stunning! MORE!

Patek Philippe Worltimer: Bye Bye Hong Kong

Did you notice? Patek Philippe exchanged Hong Kong in favor of Beijing on all of its worldtimers. Politics! For an example, see 5230R-001 versus 5230R-012.

TAG Heuer Autavia Calibre 5 – but no more Isograph

Well, that’s a disappointment: no more ‘Isograph’ tech for the Autavia. TAG is experiencing some production difficulties and has dropped the tech from the watch that was launched with it – for now. MORE!

A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus 363.179

Another week, another stainless steel sportswatch praised by those flown in, wined & dined to ‘review’ it. MORE!

Hi guys!

Over the past week I finally finished my Datejust 28 and 31 update – which comprised an awful lot of watches. Here and there I added a few others too though, and below I picked a few of my favs:

Tudor Black Bay Ceramic One

This week saw the introduction of [nearly all of the] watches for Only Watch 2019. Among them the Tudor Black Bay Ceramic One, the first Black Bay with a ceramic case and bezel insert – though the case back is made of stainless steel, and the bezel itself of titanium. It’s a murdered-out stunner, and I can’t wait to see if any of these traits will trickle down to the regular production models. LINK!

Zenith El Primero A386 Revival Only Watch

Another Only Watch stunner – the A386 Revival in white gold with an added dash of color. LINK!

Omega Speedmaster First Omega in Space The Met

Ok, this one is not that spectacular, but our Speedmaster database is a source of great pride to of course I have to mention it: the First Omega in Space The Met. LINK!

Longines Legend Diver 36

We got our first glimpse of the Legend Diver 36 at BaselWorld 2018 (!) but it’s been awfully quiet since. Until now – LINK!

A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Up/Down for Wempe

The 1815 is back in a (okay, two) limited edition of 25 pieces for Wempe. The navy blue dial with contrasting silver sub dials looks particularly good when housed in white gold. LINK!

Hi guys!

Skipped a week again, but don’t worry – I still added a ton of watches. As always, here’s a few cool and notable ones;

IWC Pilot’s Watch Racing Green

The IW377726 is a limited edition of 1000 pieces with a Racing Green dial. Pretty cool right?! LINK!

TAG Heuer Monaco Eighties Edition

The TAG Heuer Monaco Eighties is the second model introduced in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Monaco. I’m not sure if you noticed, but it features a bold red dial. LINK!

Breitling Premier B01 Wheels and Waves

Breitling is doing all sorts of cool stuff with brands such as Norton, Colnago, OuterKnown – and now the Wheels and Waves festival. It’s almost as if Georges Kern is living out his midlife crisis through the winged B… LINK!

Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep

BOOM – from outer space to ocean’s deep. The Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep -created for the The Five Deeps expedition- has 15.000 meters of water resistance. Sick. LINK!

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph The Hour Glass

The Hour Glass is turning 40 and they’re gonna do a whole lot of limited editions to celebrate. First is this APRO. In full platinum nonetheless. That’s baller. LINK!