Seiko Heralds In the Second Coming of The King with The New King Seiko KS1969

Japanese watchmaking powerhouse Seiko recently took us through the novelties of 2024, leaving us fairly flummoxed as to what watch to feature (there are also embargoes to consider). A standout for us is the Seiko Brand 100th Anniversary King Seiko KS1969, which is the first new iteration to feature something other than the usual round shape. In itself, a watch that is not round from a major producer already counts as big news, even if the appeal might be limited. To backtrack a little, Seiko makes a lot of watches – certainly enough that it knows how to read and respond to the market. That said, the form of the four KS1969 models (SJE109, SJE111, SJE113 and SJE115) is surprising, though not as eye-popping as the return of the Credor Locomotive, but that is a story for another time.

The original King Seiko watch from 1969

Returning to King Seiko then, the KS1969 collection is in what one might call a cushion-shape, or shield-shape; it could even be called tonneau or barrel-shaped. We prefer the shield option, which is what we will use since Seiko does not describe it officially. You will see in the specifications that the diameter is listed at 39.4mm but the real measurement everyone will want is lug-to-lug but that is not given (we estimate it to be in the 45mm range, based on our own casual measurement).

Whatever the case (no pun intended), do note the overwhelming presence of polished surfaces, including the case sides; the bracelet with its 13-link structure goes with alternating brushed and polished surfaces, which you can just about make out here. At 9.9mm thick, the watch can probably manage to fit underneath most sleeves. The water-resistance of 50m signals that this is one of those urban beaters, the kind advertised for the man who needs to seamlessly transition from work to social settings, and perhaps back again.

For dial options, there are three to take note of, and one to seek out if limited editions are your thing. The silver dial option is meant to bring to mind the skyline of Tokyo; the Edo purple is an approximation of a shade of purple popular in the Edo period; and the green dial is of course part of Seiko’s continuing obsession with natural beauty. The fourth dial is in a trendy turquoise shade with a very specific texture that references a dragon. This puts the 700-piece limited edition in the mythic-inspiration category while also making it a late entry into the year of the dragon category (this is Japan-specific but it works with the Chinese zodiac too).

Chanel Embraces Their Couture Roots In An Inventively Unique Watch Collection For 2024

When it comes to Chanel’s watchmaking, they have always tried to differentiate this division from the fashion side of things. In fact, this is a common trend among fashion houses, where they feel the need to distance themselves from the fashion element to establish themselves as serious players in the watchmaking industry. Therefore, you can imagine that it came as quite a surprise when for 2024 Chanel, instead of hiding away their couture heritage decided to use it as inspiration for an entire capsule collection, and exhibit them in the heart of the biggest watchmaking fair, Watches & Wonders Geneva earlier this year. For the fair, Chanel struts down the catwalk with timepieces inspired by elements of fashion design including buttons, pin cushions, couture dummies, thimbles, scissors and much more, in a collection of watches they are naming Couture o’clock.

The Chanel J12 Couture in 33mm and 38mm. Image credit: Photography, Edmund Lee; Styling, Ervin Tan

Chanel Première Ruban Couture Watch. Image credit: Photography, Edmund Lee; Styling, Ervin Tan

Chanel Mademoiselle J12 Couture. Image credit: Photography, Edmund Lee; Styling, Ervin Tan

This is not to say that they have neglected the watchmaking side of things because even though the collection is fun in nature, the mechanisms behind them are still incredibly serious. For example, the hero watch for the year is a J12 timepiece which recreates a scene inspired by Gabrielle Chanel and her couture atelier at rue Cambon. To achieve their intended effect, the Chanel Watchmaking Creation Studio worked with movement makers Kenissi to create the first ever automaton movement, the Calibre 6, to animate the figurine of Mademoiselle Chanel, her scissors and her couture dummy.

In terms of complication, Chanel also made a one-of-a-kind mechanical sculpture that is at once a music box, automaton and clock to evoke the interior of Gabrielle Chanel’s apartment. When activated the couture busts come to life serenaded by the rhythms of "My Woman" by Al Bowlly, a melody that Mademoiselle liked to hum.

Yet another milestone reached this year is the introduction of a movement by the Kenissi manufacture within their ultra-feminine 33mm collection. With the J12 33mm getting its own self-winding movement, the Calibre 12.2, the timepiece becomes so much more than just a fashion accessory. The movement had to be carefully redesigned to fit a smaller case and thankfully all of it is visible through the transparent caseback. The Calibre 12.2 is also equipped with an oscillating weight in the form of a perfect circle. And to show you just how serious Chanel is about their watchmaking, the 33mm J12 is even officially Chronometer certified by the COSC.

In addition to this, Chanel is also bringing a touch of pink to their collection for 2024. The J12 and J12 X-Ray get this accent through the liberal use of baguette-cut pink sapphires strewn across the bezel and on the indices. As for the Boy-Friend Skeleton collection, the skeletonised bridges and plates have been given a pink coating.

Rado’s Mastery of Their Past Paves the Way Forward for Their Future

Through a cursory glance at Rado’s catalogue, it is easy to mistakenly identify it as a relatively new brand. The watches on display are mostly imbued with ceramics, giving it a glossy demeanour signalling to the customer that these are modern, high-tech watches. While the watches of Rado are modern and made through high-technology processes, you would be surprised at just how much heritage can be revealed as soon as you scratch the surface. Well, technically speaking, most of the watches at Rado are near un-scratchable but you get the meaning. Beneath the glossy, ceramic veneer, lies a brand story that spans more than a hundred years, dating back to 1917.

It is surprising, isn’t it? that the story of Rado began that long ago. Put them beside any other watch brand that has been around for the same amount of time, and it is highly likely that their watches will look worlds apart. And this is because, ever since its founding, the brand has had a fascination with innovation. Their tagline sums it up “If we can imagine it, we can make it, and if we can make it, we will!” With such unrestrained creativity, it is no surprise that most of the watches to come out of Rado defy conventional watch shapes to produce avant-garde silhouettes. However, this is not to say that in moving forward, they have discarded their history entirely. In this story, we take a look at the latest addition to the Captain Cook collection which represents a prime example of how Rado’s past continues to guide their present, or as they put it – how their heritage masters their future.

Spirit of Innovation

Although not expressly stated, we think that Rado’s philosophy regarding constant innovation is deeply rooted within its origin story. Unlike most watch brands, Rado didn’t start as a brand. It was founded as the Schlup & Co. watchmaking factory by the brothers Fritz, Ernst and Werner in 1917. In the beginning, they simply converted a part of their parent’s home in Lengnau, Switzerland into an atelier and through their industrious spirit, the trio began to grow their list of clients. By the end of the Second World War, they grew into one of the largest movement manufactures in the world. During this time, they assembled and finished watches primarily for the American market, and mostly for other brands. It wasn’t until the 1950s that they began manufacturing watches under the name Rado.

Establishing the business and growing it to the size that Rado managed, for sure required an innovative mindset. At the time, industrial processes were not as streamlined as it is today and so most likely every watch manufacture had to continuously evolve to create the most efficient processes. This mindset prevailed and when Rado started creating watches under its own brand name in the 1950s, it brought with them the same spirit of continuous improvement. A case in point is the Golden Horse collection in 1957 which brought with it a waterproof case for the first time, improving the usability of the watch. Then, in 1962 they debuted the very first Captain Cook watch which took water resistance to the next level.

It was also around this time that their search for better, more robust and scratch-resistant materials led them to hard metals like those found in the Diastar case. Their foray into the material sciences then continued to evolve throughout the 1980s and by the 1990s they arrived at what many would call, Rado’s signature element, ceramics.

Quest For Hardness

Rado’s foray and subsequent mastering of Ceramics can perhaps be attributed to the continuation of what they managed to achieve with the ultra-hard Diastar back in 1962. The impetus for this collection was to create a case that could not be scratched and today, ceramic is one of the materials that offers an even greater level of hardness. 1,250 Vickers of hardness to be precise and just as a comparison, stainless steel clocks in at about 180 Vickers.

Additionally, ceramic is also chemically inert and biocompatible, which means, the material is hypoallergenic and completely complementary to the human body. In fact, Zirconium oxide (ceramic) was once used to create the femoral cap in hip implants due to these exact properties. This biocompatibility is also perhaps one of the reasons why people often remark that ceramic feels like nothing else to the touch. It has a sort of silkiness that gives the wearer a feeling of extreme comfort on the wrist. Last but not least, ceramic also doesn’t discolour when exposed to ultraviolet light. Meaning that Rado’s ceramic watches will retain their vibrant colours throughout the watch’s entire lifetime.

With that being said, however, it is these fantastic properties of ceramic as a material that also make it incredibly difficult to work with. Especially in the watchmaking industry when production tolerances can sometimes come down to mere micrometres in deviation. Like all ceramics, zirconium oxide also begins as an ultra-fine powder and with its melting point at 2000°C special processes are needed to shape it into watch cases. You can’t melt the ceramic and pour it into moulds because most ceramics melt at temperatures higher than metal.

Achieving their title of “Master of Materials” took more than just a few years of research & development and investment from Rado. Throughout the years, they created and perfected their ceramic-making techniques. Today the Rado manufacture has machines for injection moulding, specialised formulas that can processes that produce ceramics in a wide array of colours, ovens that can sinter ceramics at extremely high temperatures over many hours, and even an oven designed to discharge gas activated by plasma at over 20,000°C.

Cooling Off

The Captain Cook collection is currently one of Rado’s most celebrated models and for good reason. It is bold and rugged, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a watch enthusiast who can pass up a great dive watch. The modern Captain Cook watches we see today were only relaunched relatively recently in 2017. Before that, the watch was discontinued and laid dormant in Rado’s archives for almost 40 years. This fantastic dive watch was first launched during the same year as the Diastar in 1962 and was created to address the growing number of recreational divers thanks to the improvements and widespread acceptance of scuba diving equipment.

As with most dive watches of the past, the Captain Cook watches also had a uni-directional rotating bezel that would help divers keep track of time during their dives. These bezels played such a pivotal role in diving that they soon became the defining characteristics of a dive watch. Of course, this design feature had to be complemented by an equally precise movement and great legibility for it to become a functional tool for divers. Then, in 1968, the Captain Cook was discontinued, and it was surprising that it took Rado nearly 50 years to resurrect this storied collection.

In 2017, inspired by the past, Captain Cook once again hoisted its sails and was re-released, this time for a different type of diver, the desk diver. Today, nearly half a century later, the role of a mechanical dive watch lies in the fulfilment of emotional appeal as opposed to functionality, as digital dive watches can simply do so much more. However, this is not to say that these dive watches are not functional. It is a testament to the luxury watch industry that even if dive watches like this Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton will probably not be worn while diving to extreme depths, it is fully capable of doing so. It still has the unidirectional bezel, a precise mechanical movement to ensure accurate timekeeping, fantastic legibility and most importantly a water resistance of up to 300m.

The Korean actor and singer, Ji Chang-Wook, is a brand ambassador for Rado

This watch is the perfect embodiment of how Rado uses its heritage to master its future. Because even as the watch takes its design from an intrinsic part of Rado's history, these new Captain Cook watches have been given every update in Rado’s playbook. The most obvious of which is the high-tech ceramic case that bestows the Captain Cook with interesting colours not usually seen on dive watch cases. As with all Rado’s high-tech ceramic cases, this one also has the same scratch-proof properties which make it perfect considering the dive watch was created for more rugged use. The use of ceramic on a dive watch also provides one unexpected bonus, corrosion resistance. Saltwater is extremely harsh on materials and although stainless steel cases fare in the sea just as well, it doesn’t hurt to have this extra bit of assurance that the watch will stay as lovely as the day it came out of the box even with multiple dive excursions beneath the sea.

The first reference for Rado’s Captain Cook novelties for the year comes in a stunning version with a blue high-tech ceramic case for the first time. This blue high-tech ceramic case of the Captain Cook will also be paired with either a blue bezel for the core collection and a red or yellow bezel for the limited edition of 250 pieces worldwide. The version with the blue bezel will offer a matte blue ceramic case while the other two will come with a polished blue ceramic case. This isn’t your grandfather’s dive watch, that’s for sure. Its modern and conspicuous design language was made to suit those who like to make a statement with what they choose to put on their wrist. For instance, instead of a traditional three-link bracelet, Rado has decided to offer these watches with a more dynamic rubber strap, also in blue. And with fashion tipping towards the more casual end, the watch will most likely transition from the workday to a night out without a problem.

For those looking for a Captain Cook with a little more subtle case, there is also a version of the Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton that will be available in an olive green colour. This reference was inspired by the world’s cities that have become a fair bit greener as compared to before. Thus, the green chosen for the watch is in a little bit of a darker hue and is paired with an extremely elegant PVD rose-gold detailing perfect for those ‘diving’ into an urban playground. Additionally, this version of the watch will also come with the signature ceramic three-link bracelet. And as mentioned before, with comfort being one of the benefits of using ceramic materials, this is now even more apparent through the use of a ceramic bracelet as it drapes effortlessly on the wrist of the wearer.

Compounding the complexity of these Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic models is also the skeletonised movement, the Calibre R808, fully revealed by the transparent dial. This movement is leagues beyond the calibre present in the first Captain Cook from 1962, bringing with it all the advancements in movement technology. The inclusion of a Nivachron™ hairspring within the calibre means that the watch is now resistant to magnetic fields and thanks to updates in the powertrain, the R808 is also capable of a massive 80 hours of power reserve. To ensure that the watch performs with the utmost precision, it has undergone accuracy adjustments in five different positions.

IWC Unveils The First Ever Luminous Ceramic Watch Prototype

IWC Schaffhausen has announced the debut of Ceralume®, a groundbreaking luminous ceramic technology that marks a first in the watchmaking industry. This innovation allows for the creation of fully luminous ceramic watch cases, an achievement realized through a patent-pending process developed by IWC’s engineering division, XPL.

Ceralume® integrates high-grade Super-LumiNova® pigments into ceramic powders, resulting in a material that emits a bright blueish light for over 24 hours. This advancement cements IWC’s position at the forefront of ceramic watch technology, a field where the company has demonstrated expertise for nearly four decades. Just imagining the possibilities for what IWC can do with a material like this is exciting not only for the brand but also for its collectors around the world.

And just as a teaser to hint at possibly what is to come, quite recently, at the previous Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix, Sir Lewis Hamilton was spotted with a this concept piece on his wrist as he stylishly made his way around the paddocks.

“Creating the first fully luminous ceramic case is a testament to our pioneering spirit and innovative prowess,” said Dr. Lorenz Brunner, IWC’s Department Manager for Research & Innovation. “The development of Ceralume® involved overcoming significant challenges to ensure maximum homogeneity and adherence to our stringent quality standards.”

Breitling’s Limited-Edition Collaboration With Victoria Beckham Combines Elegance And Craftsmanship

This year, Breitling teams up with fashion icon Victoria Beckham to introduce the Chronomat Automatic 36 Victoria Beckham collection, a thrilling new take on one of Breitling's most versatile timepieces. Limited to just 1,500 pieces, this series encapsulates the best of both worlds, featuring

Beckham’s unmistakable chic signature melded seamlessly with Breitling’s legendary watchmaking prowess. Beckham, now the matriarch of a legitimate empire, shot to fame as a member of the famed, Spice Girls, and subsequently established herself as a major voice in British fashion with her eponymous label. Both commercially and creatively successful, the Victoria Beckham brand represents a sleek, unfussy aesthetic that sits well with Breitling’s approach to watch design.

“It has been wonderful watching Breitling’s craftsmanship and innovation come together with my ideas to create something so elegant and fresh,” Beckham shares, to which Breitling's CEO Georges Kern agrees. “The Chronomat is already a versatile watch with a classic form. With Victoria Beckham’s signature style, this collection is a modern, radiant expression of that timepiece.”

The collection retains the Chronomat’s well-loved features like the sleek metal rouleaux bracelet and the distinctive rider tabs at the 15-minute mark, while introducing an array of elegant new colourways inspired by Beckham’s Spring/Summer 2024 line. These include sophisticated shades like peppermint, midnight blue, dove grey, and sand, which add a touch of runway glamour to the watch’s robust functionality. With a decent water resistance of 10 bar, this watch is a great candidate for a wellrounded, sturdy and stylish everyday watch. It boasts a nice heft with a case height of 10mm, introducing a muscular element into the watch’s overall feminine appeal.

Each model in the collection boasts refined details that speak to connoisseurs of both fashion and horology—Victoria Beckham’s initials grace the seconds hand, while a discreet VB logo also embellishes the bracelet. Limited edition numbering, with exclusive inscriptions such as “One of 400” for the stainlesssteel models and “One of 100” for the yellow gold variations, has been specially revived by Breitling for this collaboration.

The technical aspects are just as impressive, with the Chronomat Automatic 36 Victoria Beckham powered by Breitling’s Caliber 10. This robust engine ensures a power reserve of approximately 42 hours and, like all Breitling watches, achieves the highly-coveted Contrôle officiel suisse des chronomètres (COSC) certification, confirming its accuracy and reliability. True to the spirit of luxury, each piece comes in a specially designed co-branded box, and the gold versions include an exclusive travel pouch, enhancing the unboxing experience to delightful new levels.

This collaboration is more than just a merging of two brands; it's a celebration of style, precision, and innovation. The Chronomat Automatic 36 Victoria Beckham is bound to appeal to collectors with a penchant for fashion and style, and a good indication of what can happen when two masters of their crafts unite to create something quite spectacular.

Expedition Hublot – The Fusion in Art of Fusion

In an industry where tradition often takes more precedence over experimentation, Hublot is an outlier. They are proud of the fact their claim to fame began when they started ‘fusing’ unorthodox materials together. Over the decades, Hublot went from combining gold cases with rubber straps to fusing materials at a molecular level resulting in some never before seen within the industry. Today they are the only brand that can offer a watch case made with unscratchable gold, and ceramic and sapphire ones with colours that no other brand has managed to achieve. They are more science lab than a watch manufacture so when Hublot invited me behind the scenes to tour its facilities, how could I refuse?

ART OF FUSION REDUX

The last time I was at the doors of the Hublot manufacture in Nyon, Switzerland was in 2016. I remember it because one, it was the first manufacture I visited as a fresh-faced journalist all those years ago, and two, the building I was standing in front of, had just been inaugurated in late 2015. At the time this was a major indicator of the brand’s success. Because, consider this, it was in 2008 that the LVMH group acquired Hublot and in 2009 it opened the first building which was around 6,000sqm. Then, to need a new building, not even six years later, which, by the way, is 8,000sqm, more than doubling the size of their facilities, if that is not a sign of success, I don’t know what is.

Views of the first and second building of Hublot

At the time, all of this flew over my head, but now, with a little more experience, I realised that the reason for this expansion was the Unico movement. In 2010 they made the manufacture movement, Unico, and with ‘in-house’ being the buzzword it still currently is, it was no wonder that Jean-Claude Biver wanted this expansion to focus on making these movements. I mean, the man’s foresight is practically the reason behind Hublot’s Art of Fusion, not to mention why Blancpain is still around today and why James Bond only wears Omega.

Now in 2024, Hublot have settled nicely into this new building, and as we move through the facilities for the tour, I noticed a large space being cleared right next door. You can guess what is coming next. No, it was not a new neighbour moving in, but rather once again Hublot has outgrown its current setup and is looking toward expansion. Their CEO, Ricardo Guadalupe wants to double down on in-house movements so they are building the third facility, this time with 15,000sqm of space.

 

This new building for Hublot will not only be focused on their in-house movements but will also bring with it an automated logistics system to transport parts within and between Hublot’s manufacture. Currently, this process is done manually where once a component is done, it is packed into boxes and transported by staff members. To make the process more efficient, an automated system with robotic elements will replace the manual parts of the logistics process. The new building is set to be complete by 2026 and when that happens, Hublot will be loaning their oldest building to the LVMH group.

WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENS

By and large, when it comes to assembly, the Hublot manufacture is practically like every other one we have seen. Just rows of watchmakers going about their day with their loupes over their eyes, focused looks on their faces, Swiss countryside outside the window, you know the drill. Where Hublot is interesting however is seeing the various contraptions that it uses to machine and cut their cases from. And because Hublot is one of the very few brands that work with such a diverse amount of material, you can imagine the selection of machines in their manufacture.

Where most brands work with stainless steel, some precious metal and maybe titanium within their manufactures, Hublot has a selection of case materials which include the aforementioned along with some other unorthodox options like Magic Gold, the world’s only scratch-resistant gold, ceramics and sapphire. And what do all of these have in common? An extremely high level of hardness.

Hublot Big Bang Unico Pink Sapphire

As you would imagine, this puts an immense strain on their CNC machines which sometimes, as the Hublot representative tells me, have to work throughout the night to complete the workload. The great part of this is that the process can be automated so the employees of Hublot can still keep regular hours while the machines keep milling away. Additionally, because the range of material is so diverse, these machines are also often used to make tools for other machines, it's all very Matrix-esque. Currently, there are roughly 25 to 30 machines within Hublot’s manufacture and each costs around about a million Swiss francs and have a lifespan of about 10 years. Apparently, it's not just the watches that take time to make, even these machines have to be ordered sometimes a year in advance.

Hublot Big Bang Unico Orange Ceramic

Next, we move away from the machining of the watch components to the reason why it was imperative for them to have so many different types of machines in the first place, Hublot’s emphasis on material innovation. There is a lab within the Hublot manufacture where mad scientists dream of things like gold that cannot be scratched. With gold being one of the softer metals, to the point it normally has to be made into an alloy before it is remotely useable in jewellery or watchmaking, scratch-proof gold was at some point unthinkable. Hublot however managed this in the form of their proprietary Magic gold. And because they make this material themselves, they can explain exactly how they did it. First, they had to make a tube of boron carbide by compressing the powder at 200 bar and sintering it at about 2,700°C. The control of temperature along with the recipe of the boron carbide powder makes a material that looks smooth but is actually porous. Then, molten gold is injected at high pressures and temperatures so that it fills these minuscule holes like how a sponge soaks up water. The result is gold that is so hard that it can’t be scratched.

The tubes of King Gold before it is milled into Hublot's cases

It is also in labs like this that Hublot dreams up ways to create ceramics in the most vibrant colours. Traditionally, ceramics can’t be made with these bright colours as the pigments usually burn during the sintering process resulting in dull shades. Hublot on the other hand patented a process that sinters the ceramics in higher pressures but lower temperatures so in the end the colours that emerge are still as brilliant as intended.

Up until now, Hublot is the only brand that has managed to industrialise the process of making sapphire cases. Unlike ceramics that get their colour from pigments, sapphire gets its colour through the addition of trace elements like cobalt and chromium, which are roughly the same principles that give natural diamonds and sapphires a variance in colour. In Hublot, they play god in growing and controlling the exact hue that a sapphire material is formed within their facilities. Interestingly they must make a reasonable amount of sapphire cases for them to even consider making these cases in-house. The way this is done is by heating alumina to a molten state and then introducing a ‘seed’ which is usually a piece of sapphire with the exact monocrystalline structure Hublot wants. As the molten alumina cools, the molecules will automatically mimic this monocrystalline structure giving the material its transparency. Then, tubes are cut out of these sapphire blocks before being fed to the CNC machines to get cut into Hublot’s cases.

Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Sang Bleu Sapphire

Visiting the Hublot manufacture is practically part science lesson and part introduction to machining, but it did leave me with a renewed sense of awe. The brand's flashy demeanour with its celebrity ambassadors and colourful watches may somewhat detract from the fact that Hublot really is a serious innovator in this space. Perhaps when 2026 rolls around, I will need that reminder once again and I am more than certain that the new 15,000sqm space will scarcely disappoint.

Franck Muller Serves Up A Refreshing Long Island For 2024 and Beyond

The Asian region has long been an important market for Franck Muller. Just how important? We got an inclination when we made our stop at Watchland earlier this year for WPHH. Every year during the Watches & Wonders Geneva week in April, Franck Muller runs an independent fair in tandem, inviting retailers, customers and the media to Genthod, Switzerland where there is a large enough space on the grounds of their manufacture to host a mini-exhibition of their own. There, we were introduced to the most important novelty of the year, for us in the Asia Pacific region at least, the Long Island Evolution.

This new collection, dubbed Long Island Evolution, will be a regional exclusive for the next two years. The Long Island collection was first debuted in 2000 and today it returns with a case construction reimagined by the cofounder of the brand Vartan Simarkes. This new Long Island adds an inner case to the design giving the watch a new level of complexity.

Long Island Evolution Master Jumper

Three complications have been launched with the debut of the Long Island Evolution. The first and of course, most impressive is the new Long Island Evolution Master Jumper which comes with a movement capable of a triple jumping display. This unique take on time indication offers the wearer a jumping hour and minutes along with a jumping date complication. And because it is housed in a rectangular case, the engineers could fit all three display apertures vertically in a straight line.

What Franck Muller collection would be complete without a tourbillon and for this purpose, they chose the biggest one they have, the Giga Tourbillon. At a diameter of 20mm, this thing dominates the lower half of the Long Island Evolution case and creates drama all on its own as it just casually goes about its business of regulating the time.

Last but certainly not least is the most wallet-friendly version of the Long Island Evolution the 7 Days Power Reserve which is pretty self-explanatory. Because of the shape rectangular shape of these watches, however, all three of these watches are equipped with manually wound movements.

Besides the Long Island Evolution collection, another novelty we were surprised by was the Cintrée Curvex Double Retrograde. If you can move past the slightly busier dial, the complication within is actually quite intriguing. It splits the 24-hour day into 12-hour intervals and uses two retrograde displays to help the wearer distinguish between night and day. From 6 am to 6 pm the top half of the display ticks on and as it reaches the end of its tenure it seemingly passes the baton over to the hand on the lower half which then continues the task of indicating time.

Omega Celebrates the First Human Flight to Orbit the Moon with A New Speedmaster

Despite how large the sun appears in our sky, the moon is the closest celestial body to Earth. And for thousands of years, it has remained a great source of intrigue for all civilisation. One year before man was able to set foot on the moon, however, in 1968, Apollo 8 became the first ever human flight to orbit Earth’s only natural satellite. More than 50 years ago these pioneering astronauts were the first human beings to experience the dark side of the moon and it has been well documented that all of them wore Speedmasters.

To celebrate this milestone for humanity, in 2018 Omega launched the first Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 and this year they have updated the watch with even more mooninspired details. The most noticeable of which is the relief of the moon’s surface that you will find on the dial side of this watch. Fantastically, on the back of the movement, Omega has also created a laser-ablated moon relief on the blackened mainplate and bridges. While the dial side represents the view of the moon as seen from Earth, on the back, through the transparent caseback, one will see the other side of the moon.

Interestingly we only ever see one side of the moon even though the moon itself rotates on its own axis. This is due to a phenomenon called tidal locking where the gravitational pull of the Earth adjusts the moon’s spin so that it is in perfect sync with the rotation of Earth. Therefore, it was only when Apollo 8 orbited the moon, that we managed to catch a glimpse of the “far side of the moon” as it is often called.

The other cool feature, and I think most posted on social media, is the fact that instead of a traditional small seconds hand, Omega has managed to swap it out for a tiny little rocket modelled after NASA’s Saturn V. As the seconds tick away, this little rocket spins around on the subdial almost as if it is weightlessly floating in space. This tiny little miniature also has a patent-pending status because it has been engineered from grade 5 titanium, sculpted via a laser turning process and the colours were achieved through white varnish, ablation and laser blackening. Talk about high tech.

 

As for the case, it is made from black ceramic along with an anodised aluminium dial which is fitting with this whole aerospace theme. Its lightness, at only 99 grams, is also welcomed because even though the movement is a manualwinding Calibre 3869, it still sits quite hefty on the wrist at 13mm high and 44.25mm in diameter.