Baselworld 2015 Wrap Up - Part 2 - Trending Blue Watches

Feelin' blue? Well my friend you're right on trend because out of the blue, this year blue is the new black according to the fashion forward set at this year's Baselworld. Blue watches is one of the dominating trends with many brands releasing a blue watch of some sort.

Here at tarts we have curated a quick selection of blue watches in a wide range of price points and varying degrees of complication, suitable for everyone from blue collar to white collar to no collar. That's right. You don't have to be blue blooded anymore to own a blue watch. Why with all these choices there's no reason to sing the blues no mo'. So why don't you take the blue pill and get yourself a blue watch this year?

In no particular order:

Faberge, the egg makers makes a watch

Edox Hydro-Sub

Chris Ward Trident Pro

Breitling Super Ocean

Oris Thelonium Monk Limited Edition

Omega Speedmaster X-33

Frederique Constant World Timer

Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Gravity

Blancpain Fifty Fathom Chronograph The Ocean Commitment

JeanRichard Terrascope Blue

Hublot Big Bang Unico Italia Independent

Sarpaneva Korona Northern Lights

Tudor Pelagos 

Glashutte Original PanoReserve and PanoMaticLunar

Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 007 Spectre

Konstantin Chaykin Diana

Omega Globemaster

Eterna Royal KonTiki

H Moser & Cie Endeavour Perpetual Calendar

Citizen Eco-Drive Divers

Top 7 Thinnest Ultra Thin Mechanical Watches

It looks like ultra thin is still very much in vogue, and given our love of listicles these days, we thought we'd do one based on ultra thin watches. However, we're not going to be lazy like some websites out there and just give you a random selection of so-called ultra thin watches just because they looked thin or might have the terms "ultra" and "thin" in the name of the watch. No. The Tarts readers expect more. Hence the reason why even though we really wanted to do a top 10, we couldn't find 10 watches that fit the below criteria.

So what was our criteria for choosing the ultra thin watches for this list? Well, they all have to be powered by a mechanical movement, be Swiss or German made, and are simple, time only watches with the only complication being that it's thin. How thin is thin, you ask? we needed to draw the line somewhere, so we chose 6mm as a limit for the thickness of the watch case. Granted, had we raised it to 7mm, we might have found 10 watches for a proper top 10 list, but then that's just being too all-inclusive isn't it?? and 7mm?? That's not ultra thin.


Here we go, starting from the *ahem* thickest:

A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Thin - 5.9mm

The "thickest" watch on this list is also the only watch from Germany.

Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Ultra Slim - 5.8mm

The only watch on the list that uses an outsourced, albeit very reliable movement, and the only piece with a pricing in the four figures. Low four figures, mind you... (the steel version that is. below image is obviously of the gold variety...)

Breguet Classique ultra thin - 5.4mm

Probably the most classical looking watch of the bunch. Featuring prominent Breguet design cues such as the hands and the guilloche dial

Bvlgari Octo Finissimo - 5.0mm

The only watch on this list featuring a running seconds hand. YOu gotta give them that. It takes up additional height to have an extra subdial with an additional hand. This is also the only watch that features a complex case (ie, not round).

Vacheron Constantin Historique 1955 - 4.1mm

It wasn't that long ago this Vacheron held the title for the thinnest mechanical watch in the world. How quickly times change and records tumble!

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin 1907 - 4.05mm

To show how quickly things change, JLC barely held the title for the thinnest mechanical watch (less than a year).

Piaget Altiplano 900P 3.65mm

Still the thinnest at the moment. I know I wondered whether it was possible to get any thinner. I didn't think it was. However, sources close to the watch industry suggests this record may be broken sooner than we think...

SIHH 2015: A Tale Of 2 Ultra Thin Chronos

So it looks like thin is still very much in vogue this year, with 2 companies both coming out with a thinnest of sorts. Piaget with their thinnest hand-wound flyback chronograph and Vacheron with the thinnest automatic split-second chronograph.

Here are the specs before we move on:

Piaget Calibre 883P:

Movement Height: 4.65mm
Watch Height: 8.24mm
Manually wound, 50 Hour power reserve

Vacheron Calibre 3500:

Movement Height: 5.20mm
Watch Height: 8.40mm
Automatic (peripheral oscillating weight), 51 Hour power reserve

That's pretty close, not much in it, although I think Vacheron managed to cram more into a similar watch height. (extra hand and automatic winding)

Hey no matter which way you cut it, it's damn thin. this is about half the height of your average Valjoux 7750 powered chronograph. Actually most 3 handed watch on the market are thicker than this pair. If you think about it, that's pretty impressive engineering and craftsmanship.

Hands on with the MB&F HM6 Space Pirate

I don't often let my jaw drop. Bad for the bone structure you see. But that one faithful Monday morning, courtesy of The Hour Glass Sydney, I carelessly let mine drop. Twice. The first was upon seeing the MB&F HM6 in the flesh. The second was when I heard the price.

After I picked up my jaw and clicked it back in place, (come to think of it, I probably didn't put my jaw back properly after the first drop, hence the ease with which it dropped a second time...) I gathered my wits about me and admired the creation as the MB&F Head of Communications, Charris Yadigaroglou, sang its virtues. To be honest I was only half paying attention. I was too mesmerised and captivated by the HM6. (Apologies to Charris) The moment I put it on my wrist I knew I wanted one. It was as if the HM6 was made for me. The tourbillon which resides top and centre was the eye, with the titanium shutters its hi-tech eyelids, met my stare and urged me on. "Buy me buy me" it conveyed subconsciously and telepathically to me.

I shook it off and returned to reality. Just the fact that it EXISTS is astounding. I won't go into the details but a few things certainly stood out for me. The turbines being connected to the rotor, at 90 degree angles. The shutters. By playing with it you know it wasn't easy making it work as smoothly as it does. The shape of the case. THAT could not have been easy to do. The shape of the sapphire crystals (count them- 10 of them!) Nothing in this watch is off the shelf. And it's so wearable.

Of course, the HM6 is not designed to appeal to everyone, nor do they want to. If everyone loved it, then to MB&F, it's a failure. And for a 50-piece run, they don't need too many people liking it. This keeps the circle small, and enables the brand to have a more personal contact with each owner. And like Panerai, it seems MB&F owners cannot seem to stop at just one. But unlike Panerai, each machine looks so completely different, whilst retaining somehow, a sense of familiarity. And calling them "machines"? I think that's underselling them a little. Especially the HM6, whose organic form is almost alive. (You cannot tell me the HM3 Frog isn't alive!) Plus I swear it was communicating with me. Something about selling the house. And a kidney.

What's also impressive are the lists of "friends" that corroborated on each project. You feel as though you're part of the family. You can put a name and a face to each part of the project. You know who did what. Just like those Mercedes AMG cars where the person responsible "signs" the engine they built. It's not done by some machine deep inside a factory somewhere inaccessible, like a Bond villain secret base. Each piece has the warmth and sincerity that is missing from today's mass-produced and mass-marketed production line commodity.

As we all know, this sort of craftsmanship, rarity, research and development and skill set all comes at a price. Price might be stupidly astronomical for something that could barely tell the time, and has no diamonds/precious metals but if you're looking at it as something to tell you the time, then I suggest you're looking at it all wrong. It's a collectable piece of art masquerading as a timepiece. And with this in mind, the odd quarter of a million dollars doesn't seem so bad.

Like art and wine, this is an investment. Even if I sold my home (something the wife might frown upon) and gave the bank its share, I'll still be nowhere close to having the funds to afford my favourite MB&Fs (HM4,5,6 and all the Legacy Machines), so here's what I propose. I'm looking for 50 people to buy shares in the MB&F Ownership Investment Trust Fund. $5000 buy in and this gets you a share of days to wear the HM6, (A second investment fund will be set up for other models) and the possibility to borrow against the equity for other lesser investments such as a property.* Leave your name and bank details below. I'll be in touch.


*details to be worked out later.

This is the eye, urging me to buy buy buy

Quick Look: Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Date

One of the most underrated watch in the current Jaeger-LeCoultre range is also one of its finest in my humble opinion. It is the basic Master Control Date, powered by the Caliber 899 movement. This is the entry level piece to the Master range and it is also the entry level piece to the Men's automatic range for Jaeger-LeCoultre. Competitively priced at $8,400. So competitive in fact that these pieces are quietly flying out the doors. A quick ring-around the AD network in Australia uncovers a not-surprising fact: the watch is back ordered and there is a waiting list! This is usually reserved for over-hyped sought after limited editions in other brands but something quite unheard of in a core range product. You know they have a winner on their hands when this is the sort of problem they have. I would've added my name to the waiting list had I the money to spend on such a classic.

I won't bang on about the movement. There are enough information on the interwebs about it. Suffice to say that it is a tough and reliable workhorse and it is the movement upon which many complication modules are built. This movement is also one of the thinnest around at only 3.3mm high, contributing to a svelte watch with a total case height of 8.5mm, and a very versatile 39mm diameter.

The watch is elegant in its simplicity. Everything you need to tell the time and date and nothing else. No superfluous writing on the dial. No, not even "automatic". The see through case back shows the finely decorated movement. It's not to the level of say, a Patek movement, but you're also looking at a price point that is two-thirds lower. It is however, miles ahead of other similarly priced watches. The case quality is sublime, and the sunburst dial exudes an understated elegance. I probably wouldn't have bothered with the tiny lume dots at the hours and tiny lume inserts in the hands. It's a dressy watch. I can go without the lume. Dressy watch it may be, but it can be easily dressed down by fitting a brown strap or gasp.. a NATO strap.

This is also a watch with a strong history within JLC. It is on this range, the Master Control, that the 1000 hour test began back in 1992. The watches are subjected to a rigorous testing regime over, yep- you guessed it- 1000 hours, or equivalent to 6 weeks, fully cased up. They go through a variety of tests including timing, shock resistance, water resistance, etc, and only by passing all tests will the watch be allowed to leave the factory. This test is now performed on all JLC watches, excluding Atmos clocks and Calibre 101 watches.

So, a classic versatile watch that probably won't date and will only get better with age, a watch that played a part in the history of JLC at a relatively affordable price point, I guess a waiting list for is isn't all that difficult to fathom. Now I just need someone to spot me the odd 8 grand...

On The Wrist: Stowa Flieger Black Forest Edition 1 Australian Review

We love black watches

Oh, yes we do

We love black watches

And we will be true.

When the watch isn't black

We're blue.

Oh, Black watches we love you. **

End flash back to my high school musical days. (Yes I was in high school musicals. What? I enjoy the performance arts...chicks dig guys who can bust a move and hold a tune... Really...)

But there is SOMETHING about an all-black stealthy sinister looking matte black anything isn't there? Matte black cars turns heads. Matte black sneakers are always on trend. Coco Chanel also said something about the colour black. Black will always be the new black no matter what the advertising execs tries to tell you. 

Especially a black watch named after one of the most delicious black-themed desserts- the Black Forest cake. Stowa will tell you a different "official" story about some forest close to their home but we know the truth .

It's the first time a DLC coated watch is offered by Stowa (we talked about this process here) and it's a limited edition of only 200 pieces worldwide. It is based on an existing model but modernized and made "better" by being all black (with the movement given the same treatment) and a splash of bright orange to give it that extra pizzazz (and to make time telling easier). Tongue-in-cheek aside we really do like the black/orange colorway (to steal a sneaker term). 

Stowa watches are produced under the guidance of watchmaker Jorg Schauer, and the case work is flawless. Really. At this price point (around 800 Euro. less VAT if you're outside Europe) there is no better case. Shame I can't say the same about the movement. The original plan was to make the eta 2801-2, essentially a 2824 minus the rotor, to be fully black with bright orange branding on it, but technical difficulties put that idea to bed. Personally I felt that if an all-black movement wasn't going to happen, I'd much rather they covered it up and offered a special case back. 

Having said that, the movement minus rotor meant less height and I was pleasantly surprised at just how thin the whole watch is. Dress watch thin. Not stupidly thin like a Piaget Altiplano but thin enough for everyday wear. It won't intrude and won't present itself to being caught on door frames and cuffs. 

The dial is very clean, the logo is only really visible at certain angles under certain lighting. Everything you need to tell the time and nothing you don't. Like, oh I dunno... Say... a paragraph on the dial saying how officially accurate this watch is... The strap is thick, soft and comfortable. Nuff said. Overall the watch feels great, sits well on the wrist and it is very light.

I do feel that a classic pilot watch is a must in every collection. And because so many brands make this style of watches, you really are spoilt for choice at every price point. You could go authentic and buy one from the original manufactures of the pilot watch or if you're less picky, even fossil makes one. 

So what about this Stowa Black Forest? It's not my first pick for a pilot watch. I'd go for something more historically correct in terms of aesthetics (for example, below right). But as a second? Most definitely. Problem is that this Black Forest edition 1 IS a limited edition of only 200 pieces and they're all sold out. (I was lucky enough to see and review this piece, thanks to the generosity of its owner). This piece COULD be the only one in Australia. But luckily, Stowa makes a wide range of flieger watches and they're quite reasonably priced. You can see the range HERE.

Here's the Black Forest next to its OG cousin. Photo courtesy of the owner

**By the way I plagiarised and butchered the lyrics to "Bye Bye Birdie" at the beginning of the post.