16 page watch special

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From clocking the latest launch to Tom Brady’s new arm candy, there’s no time like the present says, Laura McCreddie

Huawei hits LondonTHE worlds of MiC and Downton Abbey collided in the most unlikely of places — at the launch of new smartwatch on the block, Huawei.

Laura Carmichael, aka Downton’s Lady Edith (pictured left with Henry Holland), was joined by reality TV star Ollie Proudlock and fashion designer Henry Holland at the event at the Mondrian Hotel, held in association with men’s

style bible GQ.The watch, far left, described as a

“union of fashion and technology”, is now available in Selfridges, with more stores getting their hands on it at the end of November and priced between £289-£599, depending on the model. All you need to do now is work out how to pronounce the name…

IWC and the BFI light up LondonTHE brightest stars in the silver screen’s firmament were out for the BFI LUMINOUS in partnership with IWC Schaffhausen gala event, which kicked off the BFI London Film Festival last month. Dapper gent-du-jour Tom Hiddleston, right, trod the red carpet along with such screen legends as Joan Collins, left, and John Hurt, while Jonathan Ross was the master of ceremonies for the evening.

The highlight of the night was a charity auction to raise money for the ambitious Film is Fragile campaign, which is the BFI’s initiative to help protect the UK’s national film collection — one of the largest in film archives in the world, which is stored at the BFI National Archive in Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire.

IWC’s contribution was a very desirable bespoke version of its Portugieser Annual Calendar in platinum.

It may not be silver but it’s certainly a more-than fitting tribute to Britain’s sterling film industry.

Time for womenFROM Nicole Kidman, stage-fresh from playing Rosalind Franklin in Photograph 51, to Ruth Wilson (pictured far left with Kidman and Sir Ian McKellen), who is getting everyone hot under the collar in Sky’s drama The Affair, Claridge’s hotel was awash with most talented women around today for the Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year awards.

And, as partner to the event for the third year running, Audemars Piguet was on hand to make sure things ran according to schedule.

The luxury Swiss watch brand not only designed the trophies, but also donated a generous amount to the Save the Children charity, which was chosen by Lara Stone as part of a prize draw during the evening. In keeping with its reputation as the brand that knows how to throw a good bash, it hosted the after party, which had Isaac Ferry on the decks and Tinie Tempah in attendance, complete with his Royal Oak Extra Thin Tourbillon — a “Frisky” little number indeed.

Patek Philippe breaks records. AgainWE ALL know Patek Philippe watches are reassuringly expensive, but, at the weekend, one of its timepieces became the most expensive wristwatch in the world. The steel number (ref 5016), which features a tourbillon, minute repeater and perpetual calendar, complete with moonphase display and retrograde date hand, sold for 7,300,000CHF (approx £4.8 million).

The Patek was one of 44 unique watches, including one-offs from the likes of Hublot, Van Cleef & Arpels and Louis Vuitton, sold at the Only Watch auction, set up in 2005 to raise money for research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

ALSO known as Mr Gisele Bündchen, Tom Brady (below) is the latest personality to prove he doesn’t crack under pressure by becoming the face of TAG Heuer. In doing so, the New England Patriots quarterback joins a rather eclectic roster of names including model Cara Delevingne, superstar DJ David Guetta and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.

He was presented with the new Carrera Heuer 01 by Jean-Claude Biver at the launch of the watch in New York City last month.

Brady was a fan of the brand even before he became an ambassador — the first mechanical watch he bought after winning his first Super Bowl in 2002 was a TAG Heuer Carrera. The man obviously has taste as well as talent.

TAG signs Tom Brady as ambassador

IT IS rare that anyone can tell a Swiss watch brand what to do. However, The Watch Gallery has such a fantastic relationship with the brands it stocks that, for the past few years, it has been able to get such notable names as Hublot and Bell & Ross to make exclusive editions just for them.

This year’s collaboration is with thinking-man’s brand

Zenith. The chosen model is the gorgeously retro Pilot Type

20, left, with a dial that has been rendered in The Watch Gallery’s signature blue.

It’s a classic pilot watch design that works just as

well whether you’re sporting a three-piece or a flying suit and is a bargain at a mere £4,950. Pieces

are limited to just 75 so get to Selfridges now

while you still have a chance.

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Just step into a Salon…SALON QP that is: London’s premier watch showcase, which is on from now until Saturday at the Saatchi Gallery.

If you love watches, you need to bag yourself a ticket because this is your chance to get up close — and hands on — with some of this year’s most talked-about launches.

From names you will know, such as Vacheron Constantin, Cartier and Bell & Ross, to ones you might not, such as Halda, Bruggler and Sarpaneva, there will be something to tantalise, whatever your taste in timepieces.

It’s a little slice of horological heaven you won’t want to miss.

The Watch Gallery’s limited editions reach its Zenith

TAG HEUER CARRERA CALIBRE 16 DAY-DATEAyrton Senna is celebrated as the most in�uentialdriver in the history of Formula One. He was neverintimidated by the expectations of others, because hiswere even higher. He forever embodies the TAG Heuermotto – Don’t Crack Under Pressure.

WWW.TAGHEUER.CO.UK

TAG HEUER CARRERA CALIBRE 16 DAY-DATEAyrton Senna is celebrated as the most in� uential driver in the history of Formula One. He was never intimidated by the expectations of others, because his were even higher. He forever embodies the TAG Heuer

Edited by: Anish PatelEditorial assistant: Benedict BrownArt Director: Nick Cave


OmegaDark Side of the Moon Co-Axial Chronograph Calibre 9300 in Vintage black £8,205, Omega, (omegawatches.com)

THERE are very few creative directors who look good enough to wear the clothes they produce. Tom Ford, sure, and maybe Stefano

Pilati at Ermenegildo Zegna, but that’s about it. Thom Whiddett and Luke Sweeney, the handsome duo behind modern British tailoring house Thom Sweeney, are another addition to the fortunate few. Perfectly turned out in their self-made bespoke suits and with not a hair out of place, the pair — who founded their eponymous company in 2007 with a view to producing “grown-

up yet modern clothing” — now make suits for London’s young and discern-ing men; Michael Fassbender, David Gandy and Dermot O’Leary included.

While Sweeney (36) sharpened his shears working for his father on the high street side of the fashion industry, Whid-dett (35) acquired his taste for mens-wear during an internship at Esquire magazine in 1998. The pair met working for east London tailoring leviathan Timothy Everest in the mid-Noughties and the rest, as they say, is history.

Aside from being the best-dressed tailors in town, Sweeney and also boast

a rather impressive watch collection between them. “I got my first real watch in 2007 when I got married,” says Sweeney. “It was a really simple Rolex Datejust in silver. I started researching and reading and [watches] became a bit of an obsession.” He con-tinues: “[Tailoring and watches] go hand in hand, when you start making clothes for yourself it’s a really natural thing to get into. I’ve built my collection based on my outfits.”

Teo van den Broeke is style director of British Esquire and deputy editor of Esquire’s Big Watch Book

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GOING HAND IN HAND WITH TAILORINGCollecting watches is a natural fit with making clothes, the top designer duo behind Thom Sweeney tell Teo van den Broeke

BreitlingTransocean

Chronograph 1915 on brown

croc strap £6,710, Breitling (Breitling.com )

1 Patek Philippe 18ct gold Calatrava“This one has sentimental value, it was a gift from my wife for my birthday. I’m still a novice but Patek Philippe is the next level up from Rolex in terms of investment. It’s the ultimate for a watch collector. This is a great piece, it’s a dress watch with a black strap, it’s incredible and special, and it feels great with a tux. The level of work that goes into these things is incredible. It was new when I got it but people think it’s vintage, it’s got an understated, vintage look to it.” — Luke Sweeney

2 Vintage Omega Seamaster 1960s“I bought this watch during my old flatmate’s stag do in Amsterdam. It was our second day and I wanted to do something productive, so I randomly walked into a watch shop (probably when I was a bit drunk) and bought this 1966 Omega Seamaster. It was made in the year England won the World Cup

but that wasn’t the reason I bought it. I also liked it because it was slim and understated, it went with everything.” — Thom Whiddett

3 IWC Portugeiser“This was a 30th birthday gift to myself, it was the first proper watch that I bought. I didn’t wear them before that, I didn’t see the point if I couldn’t wear a nice one. I wear it as a casual piece now. At the time IWC seemed like the watch, it wasn’t too blingy or too big. It just seemed a bit understated for a new watch, and relatively small. It seemed like a watch I could wear in the future.” — Thom Whiddett

4 1972 Gold Rolex Datejust“All-gold Datejusts with gold faces are hard to come by. I’d been looking for one for about a year, with the box and papers they’re very hard to find. There’s a dealer from Sheffield whom I’ve worked with in the past, he called me and said he’d found one and that was that! This one’s got a black leather

strap; it’s kind of understated. I can’t wear all gold as it looks too pretentious. It’s a really cool watch, and because it’s vintage the gold has become a bit distressed, it looks like its got history.” — Luke Sweeney

5 1978 Vintage Rolex Red writing Sub Mark VI“When you read the watch collector’s rule book you learn that the Rolex Submariner is a good starting point for a collection. This is a great watch, I wear it casually, it goes with blazers and trousers and knitwear; it’s a beautiful piece. The Mark 6 has become a real collectors’ item. When I bought mine it was an investment piece and over the years it’s gone up in value. I put a brown suede strap on it but I’ve got the original strap (it’s really important to keep the original strap when you collect vintage watches). The only one I’ve kept the original strap on is Daytona. Most of mine have leather or Nato straps.” — Luke Sweeney

The best-dressed tailors in town: Thom Whiddett (standing) and Luke Sweeney boast an impressive watch collection between them

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WHERE once glossy magazines and flash window displays were the only places the world’s major watch

brands wanted their timepieces to be seen, now the digital world is beginning to gain traction. Blogs, Instagram accounts and online retail stores are becoming increasingly important in terms of customer engagement, a fact no one understands better than Anish Bhatt.

A former pharmacology student and fashion industry businessman, British born Bhatt gave up his job in 2011 to found the Tumblr blog watch-anish.com — a glittering stream of super-saturated iPhone shots featuring the world’s most exclusive timepieces. The blog spawned the Instagram feed @watchanish in 2012, and it’s this

account that has quickly transformed Bhatt from unknown bedroom blog-ger into watch industry mainstay. Today Bhatt’s account boasts some 1.5 million followers and a long list of watch brands clamouring to be fea-tured.

Bhatt’s personal watch collection is unsurprisingly vast. “I own around 50 or 60 [watches] but it chops and changes,” he tells me.

“I add to my collection every so often. Some months I might buy two watches; some months I buy none, so it depends. [My collection] is made up of a lot of vintage Rolexes and Patek Philippes but I also have many modern pieces from independent brands.”

Teo van den Broeke is style director of British Esquire and deputy editor of Esquire’s Big Watch Book

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‘SOME MONTHS I BUY TWO WATCHES. I OWN 50 TO 60’

Anish Blatt is the man behind Watchanish, the Instagram feed whose 1.5 million followers every watch brand wants to reach. Teo van den Broeke meets him

1 Linde Werdelin Spidospeed full 18k rose gold“So this is an independent brand, the watches are designed in Copenhagen and made in Switzerland. I really like the ideology of the brand. It’s very sports-orientated. This watch is specifically a ski watch and the skeletonised case allows the wearer to attach a ski computer (which holds all the guides for all the European slopes) to the top of it. Linde Werdelin was one of the first brands I started working with on @watchanish and I get on really well with the owners. This piece was also the first watch I bought when I started @watchanish, so it’s sentinmental to me for that reason. I have it on a custom Goyard strap, which was made for me by a friend.”

2 Rolex 1675/8 from 1970s“Another vintage Rolex, this model has a full yellow gold GMT. It’s known as the ’Root Beer’ because it has a brown bezel and dial. This was the most recent piece in my collection. I purchased it a few weeks ago in New York. I’ve always been a fan of vintage gold Rolexes as through wear and age the gold turns a rosy colour. It’s not quite as exceptional as some of my other pieces, but it’s a very cool watch.”

3 Romain Jerome unique piece Moon Invader“This was the first unique piece that was made for me by a brand. Romain Jerome made this for me with my logo on the dial — it’s also the seconds indicator. I’m a big fan of the lugs of the Moon Invader as they shape to

your wrist — it doesn’t matter your wrist size, this watch will always fit very comfortably. I loved the design of the watch.”

4 Hublot Classic Fusion Visions II with Arabic dial“The watch was given to me as a birthday present two years ago by the Seddiqi family in Dubai. The Seddiqis own the biggest watch retail group in the UAE. The watch was limited to a run of 100 pieces and I was given number 10. Mohammed Seddiqi is a close friend and he designed this watch with Hublot to resemble the watches commissioned by Middle Eastern people in the Fifties and Sixties from brands such as Rolex. The text on the dial is Arabic. A few weeks ago a piece went to auction in Dubai for $87,000— around 10 times its

retail price. It’s already in very high demand.”

5 Rolex 1680 with Sheikh Maktoum signed dial“This is a watch from the 1970s. The 1680 is my favourite Submariner reference because it has a plastic crystal which stands a lot prouder than a sapphire crystal. The dial also ages better, there’s a mix of matte and gloss. This piece special because it was one of only five pieces commissioned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for him to give as gifts to important political figures or heads of state. His name is actually on the dial in red text. If you imagine a regular 1680 is worth around £4-5K, the value of this piece is probably somewhere around £70-75K+.”

WITH its Omega, Swatch and Hour Passion boutiques, the Swatch Group has been slowly establishing a little watch mecca on Oxford Street.

And, this month, it will be adding Longines to the list, just in time to tempt Christmas shoppers.

This will be the brand’s first stand-alone store in the UK and will showcase iconic heritage pieces as well as modern classics from the collections.

One such number that will be on sale there will be the recently launched Heritage Military COSD. This stylish slice of a reissue has proper military heritage, genuine Nato strap and hasn’t tried to gussy up its ruggedly functional look. In other words, it’s bang on trend and demands a space in your watch wardrobe and on your wrist.

LONGINES BRINGS A TOUCH OF LUXURY TO OXFORD STREET

Proper military heritage: Longines’Heritage Military COSD has a genuine Nato strap and hasn’t tried to gussy up its ruggedly functional look

Anish Blatt: “My collection] is made up of a lot of vintage Rolexes and Patek Philippes but I also have many modern pieces from independent brands”R

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WHAT MAKES BOND TICK? From Sean Connery to Daniel Craig, 007 has always killed it in the style stakes — with cool timepieces to match. Ken Kessler chronicles half a century of horology with a licence to thrill

HERO worship being what it is, the watch industry knows how to use its ambassadors — whether paid for or inci-dental. From Paul Newman

to JFK to Steve McQueen, a sprinkling of stardust gives a watch a level of appeal that all the technological might in the world cannot endow. The best thing ever happen to any wristwatch was the ben-ediction of a fictional character, rather than a flesh-and-blood celebrity.

For more than a half-century, boys of all ages have wanted to be James Bond. None of us will own his Beretta or Walther PPK. A lucky few might secure an Aston Martin. But his wristwatches are accessible, and there’s a delicious buzz when looking at the time and seeing what one of the Bonds — whether in the books or in one of the 24 films — saw when he needed to know the hour.

What most people do not realise, unless they’re fans of both the books and the entire cinematic canon or above a certain age, is that 007 was issued a plethora of watches other than Omegas. That brand, however (which celebrates its 20-year association with Bond with the release of Spectre), has done more to exploit the connection than any other, so for an entire generation, an Omega is the Bond watch to own. But before we deal with the latest, here’s a look back at what Bond wore, and what you might like to look for in second-hand shops or at auction.

Literary BondPurists such as me, who think of Bond as a figure from books, regard his first watch as the definitive. Although only identified as a Rolex, the money is that it was an early Explorer, because that is what author and Bond creator Ian Fleming wore.

I’m happy to go along with it: my Explorer dates from 1956 (admittedly a few years later than the publication of the first Bond novel, Casino Royale, as was Fleming’s), but I suspect that the Bond/Fleming connection has upped its value considerably. Why the E x p l o r e r ? B e c a u s e i t f i t s t h e description, and the model was born around the time of Casino Royale, based on a Rolex worn by Sir Edmund Hillary when assaulting a mountain called Everest.

Photos show Fleming wearing his Rolex Explorer, which still exists. Now called an Explorer I so as not to be confused with the later, more butch Explorer II with second time zone, the first Explorer was and is a model of horological purity, an automatic with only hours, minutes and seconds on display, with a “Mer-cedes” hand and numerals at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock, a stainless steel case and Oyster bracelet.

Bond on screenIn the early Sean Connery-era Bond films, he was wearing a watch now so

lusted after that I am kicking myself for flogging at least a half-dozen for under £300 before the craze for it material-ised. It is the early Submariner, the model without the protective guards on either side of the crown. According to legend, the watch belonged to the mov-ie’s producer, Cubby Broccoli, when Rolex declined to be involved with the films.

[Anorak Detail: Instead of a bracelet, Bond’s had a striped over/under cloth strap, incorrectly called a “Nato strap” when it is nothing of the sort: Nato straps didn’t appear until 1973 and are issued only in shades of grey.]

Prices for Submariners without crown guards are all over the place: it depends on who’s bidding in the auction, or who has deep pockets and no concept of restraint. I’ve seen them as low as £6,000 this past year, but double or treble that is more likely. And if the actual watch worn by Connery went on sale, I have no doubt it would crack the £1,000,000 mark. And why not? Some-one paid more than that for a Rolex once owned by Eric Clapton, of which three exist.

Bond watch experts suggest that Connery may have worn any one of four models, including the references 6538A, 6538, 5510 or even the 6200 with “3/6/9” numerals. Even today’s high res and Blu-ray playback do not allow one to zoom in on the dial, but all

that it ought to go down in the annals of product placement as a watch too far.

Seamasters And Seamaster Planet Oceans have served Craig’s Bond since Casino Royale, through Quantum of Solace and Skyfall. But Spectre has brought about a change because, for the first time, Omega has issued a lim-ited edition precisely like the one Bond wears in the film, as opposed to a model simply festooned with 007 logos. And it’s a honey.

The best Bond watch of them all?By now, you know that Spectre just may be the best Bond movie ever. Yeah, I’m still a Connery fan, and feel that Messrs Brosnan and Dalton are underappreci-ated, but Spectre nailed me to my seat. And when I saw it at a showing hosted by Omega, the chap next to me was a customer who had just purchased one of the fabulous Seamaster 300s as fea-tured on screen — but I will not spoil the plot by saying what the watch does for Bond, beyond telling the time.

Along with an Omega Seamaster AquaTerra 150M worn in the early scenes, Craig sports this sublime, revised version of the Seamaster 300, launched in 1957. A serious diving watch, it has all the classic touches needed to make it suitable for the task, including rotating bezel and high legibility, with superior resistance to water ingress. Inside, however, is the latest Omega Co-axial movement, while the film’s logo is engraved on the caseback.

Omega has paid homage to the Connery era by fitting it with a cloth strap in the same stripes as the

watch in Dr No. One might speculate how Omega will top this, but we’ll have to wait two years or so for the next instalment.

Alas, the Spectre model is a lim-ited edition of 7,007 watches. If it

doesn’t sound all that limited to you, factor in that the Bond movies form

the longest-running franchise in his-tory, and the third most successful after

Harry Potter and the collective Marvel films. Then think about how all those 10-year-olds who have been hooked on Bond since Dr No are now senior citizens who can raid their pensions. Trust me, 7,007 — as Bond once said of the world — is not enough.

versions lack crown guards and any would serve the enthusiast well.

Rolexes continued to feature into the Roger Moore era, while the list of detours for Bond and others used as plot devel-opments embrace brands you might not suspect as 007-worthy. The Breitling Top-Time seen in Thunderball was an early example of a gadget watch, as it featured a Geiger counter. The actual watch was found at a boot fair for £25 and was sold in auction in 2013 for £103,875.

Moore’s Bond — which signalled the more commercial and deliberate prod-uct placement we now take for granted, as opposed to watches and cars that were actually right for the role — wore Seikos. It’s in the Moore era, too, when many of the watches were “weapon-ised” — but not all. Hard-core watch connoisseurs might balk at Seiko’s dig-ital timepieces, but the prop-masters of the films were always cognisant of the latest “tech” and digital watches define the Roger Moore era.

Bond wore Rolex Submariners in Dr No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Live and Let Die (the one with magnet and buzz-saw) and The Man With the Golden Gun. Seiko emerged as the Bond watch for The Spy Who Loved Me (the watch featuring a ticker-tape printer), Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only (presaging the Apple watch with a Seiko that included a satellite phone), Octopussy (again, the prescient Seiko included a homing device) and A View to a Kill.

In The Living Daylights, Timothy Dalton had a TAG-Heuer Profes-sional Night Dive, while Licence to Kill brought back the Rolex Sub-mariner Date. From Goldeneye onward, Bond has worn Omegas, Pierce Brosnan donning Omega Seamaster Professionals, usually gadget-equipped, for Tomorrow Never Dies (the watch featured a detonator), The World Is Not Enough (an Omega fitted with piton wire) and Die Another Day (with a watch-based detonator and laser cutter).

A decade into the Omega era, in the first film to star Daniel Craig, product placement reached its apotheosis — or should that be “crossed the line” — in the scene where Vesper asks Bond, “Rolex?” and he replies, “No, Omega”. Some feel

Dangerous times: right, Sean Connery wears a Rolex Submariner in Thunderball (1965). Top left, Roger Moore’s Seiko contained a ticker-tape printer in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Top right, Pierce Brosnan sports an Omega Seamaster in The World Is Not Enough (1999)

Precious moments: above, Daniel Craig in Spectre with the Omega Seamaster 300 that can now be bought as part of a limited edition of 7,007, below. Top right, the Rolex Submariner used by Roger Moore in Live and Let Die that has just sold at auction for £240,000 and, below it, an Omega Seamaster Co-Axial diver watch as worn by Craig in Casino Royale

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of sleek style that could have been passed down from your grandfather, but would still look right at home in 2015 whether it was poking out from under a grey sweatshirt or a smoking jacket.

And while the monochrome models are perhaps most indicative of the era that inspired the brand, many of the models have been brought right up-to-date with bold dials and eye-catching straps. Want a blue-faced Milanese Chronograph or a plum-strapped three-hander? These guys have got it covered.

However, it wasn’t just the throwback style of the watch they found in Notting Hill that has become a cornerstone of the brand — it’s also the element of personalisation. Whichever watch you go for, they can all be engraved with a name on the back of the case in a

variety of fonts to suit your style.

Don’t get us wrong, these watches look great from the front but, just like a great fitting Savile Row suit, it’s

those details no one else sees that make all the difference.

ALL A MODERN MAN SHOULD WEAR ON A WELL DRESSED WRIST

THE BEST OF BRITISH DESIGNERSThey may be made with Swiss expertise but the inspiration for some of today’s finest pieces is homegrown, says Nick Carvell

Uniform WaresIN 2009, at a time when men were in the grip of a craze for bling-out watches that dwarfed the wrist (barely) supporting it, Uniform Wares burst onto the British watch scene with its sleek, beautifully Bauhaus-inspired models— and quickly became one of the country’s most coveted quartz timepiece makers. Founded by two product designers, Oliver Fowles and Patrick Bek, the line’s killer combination of slimline cases, straightforward faces and sleek straps has become the label’s signature, winning fans across the world (Mos Def owns one) — not to mention spawning plenty of pretenders to their throne.

Ironically, it is the watches’ lack of branding that has become the trademark of the brand itself. The only mention of the company name you’ll find on their un-numeralled faces is a small “Uniform Wares” that straddles the six o’clock marker, written small enough that it’s almost illegible unless your nose is pressed up to the (sapphire) glass.

However, brand fans will tell you the brand’s true USP is the quality of mate-rials these watchmakers use: straps crafted from Louisiana alligator skin, Italian shell cordovan leather, Veronan nitrile rubber or German metal mesh, beautiful brushed metal cases and premium Ronda or ETA Swiss quartz movements — all assembled in Switzer-land with Swiss expertise.

It isn’t all about the looks — it’s about

what’s under the hood too. And while it’s hard to deny the beauty of these minimalistic models, Uniform Wares is known for making design-led watches that are more democratic in pricing than many of its rivals. While you can spend up to £800 on one of these timepieces (the generously appointed, sporty C41 Chronograph with Milanese mesh bracelet), the seriously stylish M37 starts at a very reasonable £250.

However, if you’re keen to get one of Uniform Wares’ products on your wrist, you’d better act fast. Unlike many other watch companies, Fowles and Bek tend to make only small runs of their models, testing and tweaking materials, f inishes and design improvements with each new iteration. The good news? This means each becomes a limited edition as soon as it emerges from the workshop — but you might just have to beat a worldful of fans to get your favourite.

Farer As you might guess from the name, Farer is a new British watch brand with adventure in its DNA — look through the collection and you’ll notice all of its seven models are named after notable homegrown explorers: (Amy) Johnson, (Martin) Frobisher, (Howard) Carter to name three.

Designed in Britain and made in Switzerland, Farer’s timepieces set themselves apart from the crowd by giving modern design with a retro edge.

Inspired by vintage shapes from the Fifties and Sixties, the watches have been brought right up to date with electric bursts of colour, arrowhead second hands and sporty-yet-sleek straps — straps that, we should also add, can easily be snapped off and swapped out to suit the occasion. You want a watch as adept at multitasking as you? You’ve found it.

The contrasting brass-coated crown is a perhaps the brand’s most eye-catching trademark, but it’s also notable for only offering one case diameter (39.5mm) intended to hit the sweet spot for both sexes — reflecting

a recent Baselworld trend we’ve noticed of men opting for smaller dials (bye-bye, oversized divers) and women opting for bigger, more traditionally masculine-sized ones.

And while there are only seven models on the books right now, expect big things from this adventurous brand in the future. Click into the “classic” section of Farer’s site and you’ll notice that there’s also a small, curated selection collection of classic cars from the Seventies that you can buy to match your timepiece. And here you were thinking that the watch was the accessory...

Henry LondonIn perhaps the most romantic founding story of any watch company, the design duo behind Henry London were inspired to start the brand when one stumbled across a beaten-up but beau-tiful Swiss watch at Portobello Road market with the words “Henry, August 1965” engraved on the case back.

The result was a watch company dedicated to producing mid-Sixties style timepieces with unashamedly sophisti-cated styling. Think double-domed lenses, curved dials, elongated second hands and tall, elegant numerals float-ing over a quartz movement — the sort

Making it: Uniform Wares, left and far left, has won fans worldwide with its killer combination of slimline cases, straightforward faces and sleek straps

Adventures in time: Farer o�ers modern design with a retro edge while Henry London (near left) combines mid-Sixties style with unashamed sophistication

UNDENIABLY, the rise in popularity of men’s wristwear has never been more evident and now more than ever there seems to be the obligation to pair your timepiece with an accessory that highlights its opulence. Thankfully Links of London is here to assist you and its latest SS16 collection does the trick.

First of all start by working around your watch, deciding whether you would like to dress it up or down while remaining true to your personal style. A great starting point is Links’ Sterling Silver and Leather Venture Bracelets, minimal, sleek and they won’t take any of the justly

deserved attention away from your watch.

For the more outgoing and adventurous, either the Camden Skull or the 20/20 would work well, both together if you do so please, and if you are after a classic then look no further than the Friendship bracelet,

which is timeless. Less is certainly more in this scenario, so try not to equip your wrist with more than three items, it will only distract the onlookers. Lastly, keep those charity bands of yours to your bedside drawer.

Ben Browne

Well armed: from left, Links of London’s leather Venture bracelet and Camden skull bracelet, from £85


Christopher WardC9 Moonphase 40mm watch,£1,375 (christopherward.co.uk)

SWISS AIM TO OUTSMART SILICON VALLEYTAG Heuer aims to succeed where Apple stumbled with its new Connected Watch. John Arlidge assesses its chancesBlueprint for a breakthrough: “It’s a watch, not a computer on your wrist”

WHEN a popular electron-ics company based in Cupertino launched a digital watch last year, posh Swiss watchmak-

ers scoffed. Stephane Linder, then chief executive of TAG Heuer, the venerable brand owned by LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods group, told the Evening Standard that the Apple watch was “not a luxury product”.

He explained: “Luxury is about being unique and rare. At $350, the Apple watch looks more mass market. Luxury is about longevity. A smart watch will be outdated and replaced every year. Luxury is about ease and elegance. There is nothing easy and elegant about carrying around another charger. Oh my God!” TAG Heuer had no plans to make a smart watch, he added.

What a difference a year — and a change of CEO — makes. In New York on Monday Jean-Claude Biver, the new boss of TAG Heuer, took to the stage with Bernard Arnault, le patron of LVMH and the richest man in France, to unveil the TAG Heuer Connected Watch, with, yes, a new charger.

“This is a milestone for us and for the Swiss watch industry — the marriage of Switzerland’s watch valley and Silicon Valley. The Swiss watch industry is con-nected to the future,” Biver bellowed in his trademark bombastic style, before cutting up a giant cheese from his own farm in Switzerland and hand-ing out slabs to bemused-looking jour-nalists and fashion folk.

At first glance, Biver’s timing looks as lousy as his cheese is excellent. Apple won’t say how many watches it has sold but analysts and casual observers — look at the wrists of people in your office or on the train you take to work — say it’s far fewer than the firm had hoped. The iPhone it certainly ain’t. It’s a brave man who says “I can do what the most successful consumer electronics firm ever can’t” but Biver is convinced he has created the first smart watch that will have mass appeal. The funny thing is, he might be right.

Biver has studied the Apple watch closely — he has five — and has addressed what he regards as its short-comings. First and most important, “it’s a watch, not a computer on your wrist,” he says.

It certainly looks like a watch. It comes from the Carrera family of TAG Heuers, so is round. The dial is digital but looks analogue, with hour and minute markings and even shadows under the hands in bright light. It is always on, with the hands turning. By contrast, the Apple watch is square and only turns itself on when you turn your wrist to your face, so you walk around most of the time with an inert, black slab of glass on your wrist that critics say is far from chic.

“I said to my team, ‘If the Connected

Watch looks like the Connected Watch and not a watch, then we have failed’,” Biver says. “I wore the Connected Watch for three weeks before the launch and I’m glad to say no one spot-ted it was a Connected Watch.”

Critics say the Apple watch is hard to use. The icons are too small to read, even on the larger of the two models. Using the crown to help to navigate is remarkably fiddly for the company that popularised touch-screen computing with the iPhone and the iPad. By con-trast, the TAG Heuer Connected Watch is instantly easy to understand and operate. A few taps and swipes take you to your Calendar, email, messages and key apps. The large screen is easy to read.

The Connected Watch does a lot untethered to your mobile phone, unlike the Apple watch which only really works when you have your iPhone with you. Calendar, email and messages are cached and generate alerts even if your phone is switched off. Music can be downloaded and streamed via Bluetooth headphones.

Better still, the Connected Watch has its own wifi connector, unlike the Apple watch. That means that provided you keep your mobile phone connected to wifi or the GSM network — say in your office, home or hotel room — you can use all the functions of the watch on any wifi network you encounter. That enables you to go out and relax, say by the pool, without taking your phone, safe in the knowledge that you won’t miss anything important.

And it does not matter if your mobile is an iPhone or a Samsung, Nexus or HTC or any other handset that runs on Google’s Android operating system.

The Connected Watch, that comes with 4G of memory and textured rubber or leather straps, works with both iOS and Android.

After Apple was lambasted for offer-ing less than a day’s battery life, TAG Heuer, aided by chip-maker Intel, says it has ensured that most users will have around 30 per cent charge left at the end of a 16-hour day. TAG knows the last thing any of us wants to carry around is another bulky charger, so it has made its Connected Watch charger light and very small.

THE Apple watch has been marketed largely towards women, leaving many men feeling it is too feminine. Three-quarters of TAG Heu-

er’s sales are to men and Biver has deliberately made the Connected Watch “larger than it strictly needs to be to accommodate the electronics” — 46mm to be precise — to appeal to men. “It is a big, strong, sexy state-ment,” he says. Yet it is still light, thanks to its titanium body. A smaller

Connected Watch for women will be launched next year.

Of all the criticisms of the Apple watch, perhaps the most pertinent is that while Apple claims it is a luxury product — it hired former Burberry boss Angela Ahrendts, and former Yves Saint Lau-rent CEO Paul Deneve to create special luxury sections of its Apple stores and allowed modish retailers, notably Colette in Paris and Selfridges in Lon-don to sell the watch — it is not because it is outdated the moment you buy it and has to be thrown away when a new bet-ter model arrives every two years. Pri-vately, Jony Ive and Marc Newson, the designers of the Apple watch who are both lovers of traditional mechanical watches that get better and more cher-ished with age, admit they have no real answer to this question.

The same could easily apply to the Connected Watch but Biver has lever-aged his firm’s watch-making history to find a neat solution. When a new model of the Connected Watch comes out, owners can pay to have TAG Heuer install a mechanical movement to con-

vert their old Connected Watch into a traditional Carrera.

“The TAG Heuer Connected watch gives you the means not only to connect to the future, but also to connect to eternity,” Biver says. “A computer com-pany cannot do that because they do not have the movement.”

Converting a Connected Watch into a mechanical one “will end up costing only $200 more than if you had bought a mechanical Carrera to start with,” Biver says.

To drive home its luxury pedigree, the Connected Watch is reassuringly expensive. It starts at £1,100, compared with as little as £300 for the Apple watch. New red gold models for men and women will come soon and will cost around £7,000.

The Connected Watch, which goes on sale in two weeks, is not perfect. Although it works with iOS, it works better with an Android phone. Crucially, while you receive all messages and alerts via an iPhone, you cannot

respond to anything other than Gmail. At the launch, nobody, not even the cocksure Biver, seemed sure whether you can swim in it or not. That’s not good enough for the most sporty watch brand on the market. How easy it is to read the screen in bright sunlight remains to be seen. Battery life also awaits the crucial real-world consumer test.

Although receiving alerts and mes-sages is simple, responding to them is as tricky as it is on any tiny screen with no keyboard. Biver insists you can speak your response to an email or a text message but talking to your watch does not make you look like Dick Tracy. It makes you look like a dick. And, for those who care about these things, it is not made in Switzerland, merely “assembled” there.

One thing, however, is certain. After all the hundreds of millions of dollars spent making and marketing the Apple watch, it has taken a good old-fash-ioned Swiss watchmaker to come up with the first desirable smart watch. Over to you, Apple, for the iWatch 2…

Only connect: TAG Heuer’s new boss Jean-Claude Biver is convinced he has created the first smart watch that will have mass appeal

HublotClassic Fusion Ultra-Thin All Black Skeleton watch (45mm), £12,600 (Hublot.co.uk)

Patek PhilippeWorld Time watch, POA(patek.com)

IWCPortugieser

Perpetual Calendar in 18ct

white gold, £31,900

(IWC, 138 New Bond Street)


THERE is a long and proud history between the world of watches and that of explora-tion and adventure. For decades, the wristwatch

was the pre-eminent piece of go-everywhere tech, able to perform the potentially life-saving func-tions of measuring time, navigat-ing and performing calculations in pretty much every environment known to man.

Since the Second World War put a watch on the wrists of soldiers, sailors, divers and pilots, the concept of the tool watch was born. Swiss brands were justly proud of the service their time-pieces had provided to the world’s military forces, and from the 1950s

onwards, no expedition, challenge, adventure or extreme sport was com-plete without a watch manufacturer eager to prove the virtues of its latest model. Most famously, Rolex put the Explorer on the wrist of Edmund Hil-

lary as he scaled Everest. Today’s brands continue to engi-

neer hard-as-nails watches for situations where computers can’t

or won’t work, serving a purpose for those men and women brave (and

foolhardy!) enough to throw them-selves into the wild.

One such example is Tudor, which has partnered up with British explorer and film-maker James Bowthorpe as he undertakes a winter trek up the course of the Hudson River — followed by

canoeing back down. Bowthorpe’s project has environmentalism at its heart; intended to highlight the one-sided nature of New York’s relationship with its river. Building a boat — equal parts kayak, coracle and, er, bicycle — from waste he finds on Manhattan’s streets, Bowthorpe will carry his craft all the way from the city to the river’s source, 1,400m high in the Adirondack mountains, then use it to travel back down to the river’s Atlantic estuary.

The 650-mile round trip will see Bowthorpe traverse some of Upstate New York’s most difficult terrain, at the height of winter. Fittingly, then, the watch on his wrist will be a Tudor North Flag — a model that has its roots in Arc-tic expeditions half a century ago.

Like its big brother Rolex, Tudor started backing intrepid adventurers in the post-war years. It provided Oys-ter Prince watches to the British North

Greenland Expedition. The point of the exercise was to prove that Rolex’s more affordable sibling could make a watch capable of toughing it out with the best of them — a theme that’s unchanged with 2015’s North Flag.

Aesthetically simple, the North Flag does bear a passing resemblance to Rolex’s Explorer I, with its large 12 and 6 numerals and plain bezel. But it’s a whole lot more dynamic, with bright yellow accents to the ultra-legible hands, a chunky, almost cartoonish power reserve at nine o’clock, and a ceramic, knock-proof bezel insert. Inside it boasts Tudor’s first-ever in-house movement, calibre MT5621. It’s certified to chronometer levels of accu-racy, and the watch is water-resistant to 100m. Although, given the winter temperatures of the Hudson, that’s one attribute Bowthorpe will be eager not to put to the test.

ACROSS A WORLD OF ADVENTUREFrom Everest to the Arctic, watches have been a vital piece of kit for the hardiest explorers, says Chris Hall

Time travellers: top, the America’s Cup: above left, Jimmy Spithill, skipper of Team Oracle USA. Above right, explorer James Bowthorpe

Two more watches on the wrists of daring yachtsmen

Bremont Oracle IIThis GMT-equipped model is most commonly found on the wrist of Jimmy Spithill, skipper of Team Oracle USA — current champs of the America’s Cup, gearing up to defend their title in 2016. Descended from Bremont’s Terra Nova (which earned its exploring stripes on a 2013 expedition to the South Pole), it’s cased in titanium, water-resistant to 500m, shock proof and chronometer-certified for accuracy.

IWC Portugieser Yacht Club ChronographIWC’s “Ocean Racer” limited edition is the sportiest of the Portugieser range by far — which makes sense, as it’s given to the crew of the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team, winners of this year’s 39,000-mile round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race. The 45mm watch adds protective crown guards and a rubber strap to the standard Portugieser. Water resistance is just 60m but inside beats one of the most robust and reliable flyback chronograph movements — vital for timing legs of the race.

Bell & RossBR X1 Carbone Forge£14,900, Bell & Ross UK, (Burlington Arcade W1)

PiagetPiaget Altiplano 38mm bracelet watch£42,000, Piaget(169 New Bond Street W1)

RadoCentrix Black

CeramicSkeletal Bracelet Watch

£1,440, Rado, (rado.com)

1. HublotClassic Fusion Ultra-Thin Skeleton All Black (45mm)£12,600, Hublot (31 New Bond Street W1)

2. IWCPortugieser Hand-Wound Eight Days Edition ‘75th Anniversary’£8,250 (Available from the IWC Boutique, 138 New Bond Street W1, iwc.com)

3. PiagetAltiplano Chronograph 41mm manual-winding bracelet watch£30,700, Piaget (169 New Bond Street, W1)

4. Patek PhilippeSplit second chronograph,POA, Patek Philippe, (patek.com)

5. Romain Gauthier: Prestige HMS in titanium with black crocodile strap£42,500 (williamandson.com)

CartierRotonde de

Cartier Astrotourbillon

Skeleton POA

(cartier.co.uk)

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