See more:

Hands-on: Vacheron Constantin Overseas Dual Time Everest Limited Edition - the best luxury sports watch.

Tudor has launched 4 new Black Bay dive watches this year already: Black Bay 925, Black Bay Gold, Black Bay Ceramic and now the Black Bay 58 Bronze. This is Tudor's first all bronze Black Bay and includes the same movement as in the Silver and Bronze versions, a new dial for the BB58 with 369 numerals and it also has a brand new clasp called "T-Fit". This is an on the fly micro bracelet extension system with 8mm of extension. Although 8mm isn't much, it does go a long way to fixing one of the biggest flaws of the BB range. Now they just need to remove the faux rivets and we have a near-perfect watch.

What size is it?

The new Sub is  41mm...but put down your pitchforks, its slimmer and less beefy than the case on the previous generation 114060. If anything, the case is more reminiscent of the enthusiast-favourite pre-ceramic reference 14060(M). While not yet confirmed by the press release (Rolex don’t like people putting straps on their new watches), from the pictures, it looks like the new Sub has retained its 20mm lug-width - hoorah! 

The difference in lugs between the previous no-date and the new one.

What metals/colour variants does it come in?

Ok, so we’ve got: a black no-date in steel (125060), a black date in steel (126610LN), a black dial green bezel in steel (126610LV), a black dial blue bezel in white gold (126619LB), a blue dial with blue bezel and gold accents in steel and yellow gold (126613LB), a black dial black bezel in steel and yellow gold (126613LN), a black dial black bezel in all yellow gold (126618LN) and finally, a blue dial blue bezel in all yellow gold (126618LB).

The glorious new Ref: 126610LV

Has it got a new movement?

Yes, the old 3135 and 3130 and their sub-par 48-hour power reserve have been ditched for the new 2020 Rolex Calibers 3235 (date) and 3230 (no-date). The headline changes come in the form of the addition of the Paraflex shock-absorber and an extended power reserve of 70 hours - that’s much more like it!

What is the Paraflex shock-absorber?

Paraflex is the name of Rolex’s own shock-absorbing technology. According to Calibre Corner, a great website if you like getting geeky about movements, Paraflex is a spring-loaded mounting system for the jewel bearings that support the movement’s balance wheel. Anti-shock devices help protect the balance wheel from damage in the event of dropping the watch or hitting it against something hard (e.g a door handle). This shock absorber was developed and patented in 2005, but it wasn’t rolled out until 2008 when it was first used in the calibre 3132 inside the Oyster Perpetual line. The technology has been slowly rolled-out through the years into new models ever since. 

What else is new?

There’s a little 5-pointed Coronet (crown) between ‘Swiss’ and ‘Made’ down at 6 o’clock - you’ll be able to distinguish a new Sub from the old ceramic Sub at a glance. 

The Ref: 126619LB - Nickname pending..

What’s the same as the older models?

The handset, the white gold Maxi indices, the gloss dial, 904L steel construction (or yellow gold), the Oyster bracelet, the brilliant Glidelock clasp, the ceramic bezel, the cyclops on the date models, Chromalight blue lume and the dial text.

How much do they cost?

Steel No-date: £6,450

Steel Date: £7,300

Steel Date Green Bezel: £7,650

Blue Bi-metal: £11,450

Black Bi-metal: £11,450

Black Yellow Gold: £29,650

Blue Yellow Gold: £29,650

Blue Bezel White Gold: £31,850

It’s been a brilliant release from Rolex - well worth waiting-up for. It seems that the brand may have done the least Rolex-y thing possible: disregarding forward-moving, trend-setting design and really listening to the enthusiast community and their preferences. I’m so pleased to see slimmer lugs, an overall sleeker case and a great range of colour and metal combinations, as well as my personal highlight of the release: the new Kermit!

Yesterday, Christopher Ward announced a new ‘go anywhere, do everything’ range of watches with a key focus on the idea of versatility in both style and functionality. The Sealander series is made up of three watches, all sharing impressive capabilities as well as surprisingly low price points. I sat down (virtually) with Christopher Ward CEO Mike France and Senior Designer Adrian Buchmann to talk through the new hyper-techy Elite, the familiar-looking GMT as well as the brand’s first attempt at an everyday watch. Along with a fun discussion on the launch with two of the brand’s most distinguished characters, I was able to get hands-on with two of the three new releases: the Sealander GMT and the Sealander Automatic.

The C63 Sealander GMT

The vast majority of modern watch launches often provoke some form of an accusation from the community that’s usually along the lines of: ‘that watch looks like a X’. While I’m not going to argue that the Sealander GMT doesn't look a bit like an Explorer II, a Grand Seiko GMT or even a Glycine Airman, I can say that after more than a first glance, a number of details reveal plenty of originality.

The aspect of the C63 GMT that’s most in keeping with the aforementioned watches is the fixed steel bezel that features familiar black etched 24-hour markers around it. As mentioned, the more time spent dissecting this new watch, the easier it is to see it as its own thing. At a second glance, the bezel is noticeably thinner than that of the Explorer II with far more of the watch head being taken up by the dial. Like the C63 Auto, the GMT model features an attractive polished lacquer dial with stick indices starring diamond polished facets. This finishing results in both a dressy, formal appearance and increased legibility, especially on the white dial variant. The dial text is kept simple with ‘Automatic GMT’ and ‘150m/500ft’ at the 6 o’clock, just above the colour-matched date wheel. On the topic of dial printing, many CW fans will be pleased to see a return to a traditional 12’o clock logo placement on all three of the Sealander watches. The handset is also consistent across all of the Sealander models featuring a large arrow hour hand, a truncated pencil minute hand and a colour-tipped needle second hand featuring the trademark 3-pronged fork on the counterbalance. The GMT model features the additional 24-hour hand which is highly reminiscent of the large orange arrow from the Steve McQueen Explorer II 1655. The dial and handset are covered by a sapphire crystal with a pronounced bevelled edge and AR undercoating.

Flipping the watch over, we find a screw-down case back with a circular sapphire window exhibiting the Sellita SW330-2 that powers the Sealander GMT. This second-generation version of Sellita’s workhorse Swiss-made GMT calibre features a healthy 56-hour power reserve and standard accuracy of +/-20 seconds per day. The movement is finished well for the price point and features a custom ‘Twin-Flag’ engraving on the rotor. The watch is available on a plethora of fun and colourful rubber and leather straps, however, I’d highly recommend optioning these on as extras and going for the excellent steel bracelet which we’ll cover shortly.

Specs:

Dimensions - 39mm diameter, 11.85mm thickness, 20mm lugs

Dial Options - Black or White

WR - 150m

Movement - Sellita SW330-2 (+/-20 seconds per day)

Price - £795 on a strap, £900 on the bracelet

The C63 Sealander Automatic

The Sealander press release was notably honest regarding CW’s consciousness of the popularity of the Datejust, Oyster Perpetual and Aqua Terra lines. It stated how the brand wanted to offer something as comfortable, capable and as versatile but at the entry-level side of the market. These were the targets set for the least expensive offering in the new range - the C63 Sealander Automatic.

As mentioned, the C63 Auto features the same lacquer dial and handset as the GMT, except this time with red accents on the second hand, dial text and hour markers. Again, like the GMT, the C63 Auto features CW’s signature ‘Lightcatcher’ case with a balance of brushed and polished surfaces that really match up to the do-anything, everyday dress watch brief.  

The steel bracelet that comes on both watches is a real feat of engineering. The links are extremely well put together and the quick-release end links are solid and integrate really nicely with the case finishing. The clasp is free from any sharp edges, very well finished and feels as though it could be fitted to a watch 5 or 6 times the price of these CW watches. The clasp also makes use of a handy on the fly adjustment system that offers 10mm of extension for those warmer days where wrists can expand. 

The movement powering the C63 Auto is the venerable Sellita SW200-1. Based on the ETA 2824, the Sellita movement has powered hundreds of entry-level luxury watches for over a decade. Inexpensive to service, fair accuracy, good reliability, nice finishing (with that same custom rotor) and an adequate 38 hours of power reserve, the Sellita is a great movement to have in a £595 watch. 

Specs:

Dimensions - 39mm diameter, 11.25mm thickness, 20mm lugs

Dial Options - Black or White

WR - 150m

Movement - Sellita SW200-1 (+/- 20 seconds per day)

Price - £595 on a strap, £700 on the bracelet

Observations 

After a good few days with both watches on the wrist, these are my thoughts.

Firstly, the 39mm case diameters of both watches is a great fit with the go anywhere, do anything vibe and wears particularly well on my 7.5-inch wrist with both casual wear and semi-formal outfits. It’s also genuinely refreshing to see two modern sports watches without slab-sided cases. The mixture of finishes and the different sections help both watches blend into your wrist, resulting in a cohesive feel where the watch looks as good on the wrist as it does sitting on a wet rock in a *Tudor* press release. 

The next aspect that’s hard to miss when evaluating these watches is the ultra-competitive price points. My daily wear watch is a 2015 TAG Heuer Aquaracer 41mm and as it’s similarly specced to these two Christopher Ward watches, I found myself comparing them - often with the Sealander’s coming out favourably (legibility, clasp, case finishing). It then struck me that the Aquaracer retailed for twice the price of these new watches showing the impeccable value for money offered by them. While the brand equity may not yet match up to some of the larger players in the market, the enthusiast fanbase and the prevalence of brand-customer communication from CW far surpasses that of many of the well-established ‘entry-level’ brands like Hamilton, Seiko or Tissot. You only have to join the independently-run CW Facebook group to see how many passionate fans there are out there on the web. 

As far as criticisms go, the list isn’t long - these are both highly impressive watches that I’d happily recommend to someone looking for a value one watch collection. With that said, the C63 Auto seems to lack a pleasing pop when unscrewing the crown. This can make it difficult to know whether you’re in the winding position, the date adjustment position or if you’re still attached to the thread. There were one or two occasions where I unscrewed the crown on the C63 Auto to wind the watch where I accidentally flipped the date change over or began screwing the crown down again. This could just be an issue with the crown stem on my press piece as I’ve never experienced it before with the Sellita SW line.

Finally, I do not enjoy sizing pin and collar bracelets and while I accept this is a process you’ll only have to do once (unless you pay the £10 for CW to do it for you), I’d much rather have screw links. I should follow that with an apology to CW: yes, I have lost one of the pin collars from the C63 Auto press piece. I’m sorry, it’s somewhere in my office carpet - if I find it, it’ll be in the post. 

A word on the C63 Sealander Elite

Retrospectively, I wish I’d been able to get hands-on with the C63 Elite as it looks to be one of the most interesting entry-level releases of the year so far (sorry NOMOS). It’s a handsome, automatic Chronometer with 150m of water resistance, pioneering crown-locking technology, full titanium construction resulting in a weight of just 45 grams and a price of £1,150. These specs speak volumes both for the extent of Christopher Ward’s technological innovation and the success of the direct-to-consumer sales model that allows the brand to charge incredibly decent prices. Later next week, we’ll release an article surrounding Mike and Adrian’s answers to the questions you asked on Instagram - stay tuned for that as we’ll go over some of the ways CW managed to get the weight so low on the C63 Elite. 

Specs:

Dimensions - 40mm diameter, 10.7mm thickness, 20mm lugs

WR - 150m

Movement - Sellita SW200 COSC (+6/-4 seconds per day)

Price - £1,150 on a strap, £1,380 on the titanium bracelet

To Close

So, the CW Sealander collection: incredible value, decent movements, well-finished and unique cases and disproportionately high attention to dial detail for the price. If you’re looking to add a capable sports watch that can handle the occasional Ivy visit, I think you’re safe in buying either of these watches. If you’re looking to silence your buddies when it comes to technical innovation in a sub £5,000 watch, go for the C63 Elite. 

What really sold me on these new pieces was something Adrian Buchmann said over the interview; he’s the first senior designer that I’ve ever heard actively encourage owners to look at their watch dial through a loupe - if that doesn’t scream confidence in the quality of finish on an entry-level luxury watch, I don’t know what does.

It's been two whole weeks since the rapid-fire of releases from Watches & Wonders 2021 hit our feeds. It's safe to say that while 38 brands (plus sneaky Breitling) launched watches the week before last, the vast majority of media and enthusiast attention has been set on 6 brands: Rolex, Patek, Tudor, Cartier, Bulgari and IWC.

Today, we're taking a step away from the hype to look into three new releases that deserve a closer look.

1. The NOMOS Club Campus 729

NOMOS is commonly misunderstood as a bit of a one-trick pony. 'They make simple, heavily Bauhaus-inspired watches that all look good, but are all basically the same, right?'. Not so with this latest Club Campus refresh. 

A number of small deviations from the traditional NOMOS formula and an attractive price tag of £1,100 really steps this Club Campus up into a watch that's sure to help expand NOMOS's presence at this entry-level side of the luxury watch market. 

For starters, the polished bezel is slightly thicker than those on the Orion or the Ahoi resulting in a beefier look that places the Club Campus more into the daily-wear category of watches - this classification is further backed up by a handy 100m of water resistance.

Initially launched at Basel World in 2017, the Club Campus is powered by the in-house NOMOS Calibre Alpha, a German-made, manually-wound 17 jewel movement with a 43-hour power reserve. While those specs are nothing to get too excited about, it's the superb quality of finishing that sets the Alpha above comparable ETA movements. Having handled a Club Campus with an exhibition case back, it's easy to say that the Alpha Calibre has the highest quality of finishing that I've seen on a watch for less than £2,500 - its truly marvellous and the press pictures don’t do it justice. If you're going to get yourself a Club Campus, be sure sure to option-on the sapphire case back over the steel one.

While the case, movement and pricepoint are all impressive factors for the Club Campus, none of them are what initially drew us towards the piece, it was that dial! A reverse California numeral layout would ordinarily be the main talking point on a 36mm sports watch, however, what really demands attention is the exotic hue of orange that NOMOS has opted for on this graduate-oriented 710 model. The precision of the crisp, white numerals, minute track and pencil handset is nicely juxtaposed by the wild papaya dial, the fiery small-seconds hand and the icy blue minute markers - it doesn’t sound like it should work, but it really does.

For many, the marketing bumf, aimed mainly at parents looking for a graduation gift for their offspring, feels overly specific. This is just a great watch at a broadly accessible price point. Despite its name and the marketing connotations that NOMOS have presented, the Club Campus will be enjoyed and appreciated by college/uni students, middle-aged professionals and OAPs alike - I can’t wait to get it on-wrist. If you’re interested in either this 36mm, or the 38mm model, hop over to NOMOS’s website to find your nearest dealer. 

Specs:

Dimensions - 36mm/38mm Diameter, 8.5mm Thickness

WR - 100m

Movement - In-house α (Alpha) Calibre

Price - £1,100

2. The Hermès H08

Luxury retailer and double stamper-turned manufacturer, Hermès, have been producing luxury watches since 2016. Unlike what we see from many other fashion brands attempting to make a fine watch (gaudy, 45mm, Sellita-powered submariner-esque posing pieces), the brand new line up of H08 watches offer a truly unique aesthetic and exciting use of exotic materials. What we have with this H08 line-up is three 39mm sports watches with a cushion case, 100m of water resistance, completely original designs and some funky quirks that cut them far above the likes of the aforementioned lazily-designed ‘luxury’ fashion watch.  

The line-up features a graphene-filled composite case on a black rubber strap, a two-tone DLC-coated titanium option with either a blue or trademark Hermes orange rubber strap, and lastly, a satin-brushed titanium option with either a black rubber strap or an impressive full titanium bracelet with H-style links.

Our pick of the bunch is this two-tone DLC titanium. The futuristic octagonal case is perfectly matched with a sci-fi-inspired set of black nickel-coated Arabic numerals which surround an untextured, deep black sector ring. The arrow-tipped second hand offers a pop of colour to an otherwise monochromatic dial - a very clean and sporty look. 

 (Credit - Hodinkee)

The Calibre H1837 inside the H08 is manufactured by Vaucher - a company in which Hermès own a 25% stake. Fun additional fact - Vaucher also make movements for Richard Mille. The H1837 features a 50-hour power reserve, a 4hz sweep and slightly more slender dimensions in comparison to similarly-specced ETA Calibres. The movement is nicely finished for the price and is visible through a screw-down exhibition case back. 

 (Credit - Hodinkee)

The transition from luxury retailer to respected manufacturer is not a fast one, but Hermes looks to be throwing some pretty sizeable punches to get to that status and the H08 is evidence of this. Check out the Hermès website for a full price list on all the variations of the H08.

Specs: 

Dimensions - 39mm Diameter, 10.6mm thickness

WR - 100m

Movement - H1837 (Made by Vaucher)

Price - £4,620

3. Chopard's L.U.C. QF Jubilee 

The final pick in this trilogy of new, underappreciated W&W 2021 releases is the Chopard L.U.C QF Jubilee. The watch has been created to celebrate 25 years of in-house movements from Chopard. While production is limited to just 25 pieces, Chopard will be hoping that the launch of the L.U.C. QF Jubilee will increase both awareness and appreciation of the brand’s vertically integrated movement design and manufacture, a fashionable quality in the modern watch industry.

The Jubilee features a handsome tuxedo dial that’s made up of a royal blue band with a sunburst silver inner section and outer minute track. The stainless steel case measures 39mm in width and features spider lugs that add to the art-deco, daily-dress look nicely. 

 (Credit - Monochrome)

Flipping the watch over, an exhibition case back reveals the finely-executed automatic calibre L.U.C 96.09-L. Featuring stunning perlage work, angled polishing and Geneva striping, this in-house movement is truly spectacular to look at. 

The beauty is more than skin deep, too. Featuring twin barrels, this COSC-certified chronometer features a noble power reserve of 65 hours. Furthermore, due to the inclusion of a 22ct white gold micro-rotor, the Jubilee sits on-wrist at just 8.9mm thick. For reference, that’s only a hair thicker than the teenie-tinnie Casio F91-W.

The final topic of note on this Chopard is its Fleurier Quality certification. Similar to the Geneve Seal, Fleurier Quality watches must pass a number of tests monitoring accuracy, durability and quality of finish. The foundation was established by Chopard, Bovet and Parmigiani in the early 2000s to localise the quality of their watches. The Foundation also ensures that all manufacturing takes place exclusively in Switzerland. You can check out what else classifies a watch as Fleurier Quality here.  

 (Credit - Monochrome)

With a versatile dial and case size, a superb movement and a rising reputation, there’s no reason why the Chopard L.U.C. QF Jubilee shouldn’t have the likes of JLC and Patek Phillipe worried for future competition in the high-end steel dress watch market.

Specs:

Dimensions - 39mm Diameter, 8.9mm Thickness

WR - 30m

Movement - L.U.C 96.09-L

Price - £12,600

These are just three of a few dozen watches launched at W&W 2021 that haven’t, in our opinion, had the media/enthusiast attention that they deserve. What was your favourite under-the-radar release of this year’s W&W? Let us know in the comments section below.

2021 is different from other years. This year we know one of the Rolex Steel Sports watches that will be launched, the 50th Anniversary Rolex Explorer II 126570.

The first Rolex Explorer II was launched in 1971 with the reference number 1655. Unlike the modern versions, the first generation only came with a black dial. This version of the Explorer II has the nickname "Steve McQueen" after the actor was spotted wearing one. Although McQueen didn't actually own an Explorer II, it was simply lent to him for press photos.

Rolex Explorer II ref. 1655

The current version of the Rolex Explorer II reference 216570 was launched in 2011. When this version was launched, it was one of the biggest changes to the model range in recent years. The case size was increased, both the diameter and depth. Along with the case, the dial and hands were also increased as well.

Rolex Explorer II ref. 216570

 2021 will mark the 50th anniversary of the Explorer II range. With the exception of the Rolex Explorer, Rolex has always celebrated the 50th anniversary of their watches and often with a touch of colour. The Explorer II is already one of the more colourful Rolex sports watches, so it will be interesting to see what they do to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Rolex Explorer II.

Here is a prediction of what Rolex might release in 2021 for the Explorer II: