Ben – Page 3 – Wristworthy

Articles 14th December 2018

Not all NATOs are created equal

In the inimitable words of Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, “ … there are dinner jackets and there are dinner jackets….. this is the latter….” she was of course referring to the truth that not all things are created equal! The traditional and somewhat humble NATO strap was purely utilitarian by creation – there to ensure that the watch head wasn’t lost in the event of a spring bar failure. However nowadays, few of us undertake frequent activities that are likely to cause this (as well as the quality of spring-bars improving over the years) so nowadays most of us are buying and wearing NATO straps as watch accessories to complement both the watch itself and our attire. Indeed watch manufacturers have themselves caught on to this with Omega having launched a NATO configurator on its website allowing you to see what various straps will look like on a variety…

Articles 16th November 2018

The problem with an SKX…

They say that there are in fact only two kinds of watch enthusiasts, those who have discovered the Seiko SKX, and those who are yet to discover the SKX! The Seiko SKX is one of the worlds most ubiquitous watches. Universally loved by so many around the world, it manages to achieve the seemingly impossible. Let me explain the problem… As a divers watch it is inherently robust, yet the case of the SKX has curved sides ensuring the watch is extremely comfortable when you flex your wrist. The lug to lug dimensions are modest at 46mm meaning it can be comfortably worn by wrists of all sizes (for comparison the 38mm NOMOS Club campus has a considerably larger lug to lug distance of 48.5mm). The crown is offset to the 4oclock position ensuring it doesn’t dig into the back of your hand. The dial is extremely legible and includes both…

News 1st November 2018

Seiko Launch two “Dawn Grey” Limited Editions for Europe

For the first time ever, Seiko have released two limited edition watches specifically for the European market. These are the Seiko Prospex “Dawn Grey” Turtle SRPD01K1 and Seiko Prospex “Dawn Grey” Samurai SRPD03K1. Each watch is Limited to just 2018 pieces each and available exclusively in Europe. The Dawn Grey theme pairs a silver/grey dial, bezel and chapter ring with a highlight burst of orange marking the initial dive time on the bezel, orange tip seconds hand, and subtle orange markers at the 3,6,9,12 on the chapter ring. I visited the only UK Seiko boutique to take a look. The Dawn Grey Turtle (SRPD01K1) is priced at £470 and comes with both a steel bracelet with divers extension as well as a Grey colour matched silicone strap in a Limited Edition box. The dial is a beautiful metallic silver/grey dial with the dive time marking running round to the 20…

Spending time 29th October 2018

Stowa Flieger Classic 40 Ikarus

The German Flieger or Pilots watch in the form it exists today is more a modern interpretation of traditional pilots watches produced and worn during world war II where these watches were strapped to the outside of flight suits. Although the flieger watches available today are much smaller than the 55mm watches produced during wartime, they carry many of the same features and specifications, drawing their identity from their heritage in producing clean, functional and reliable watches. While many brands might be accused of producing year after year the same watch, Stowa have continued to evolve and innovate their take on the traditional pilots watch and have more recently introduced a more contemporary model called the Ikarus. So we reached out to Stowa who were kind enough to send us one to spend some time with. A little history of Stowa… In 1927, Walter Storz founded Stowa in Hornberg, Black forest,…

News 24th October 2018

Bremont Unveils the ‘Supersonic’ Limited Edition

This evening at an invitation only event at the Design Museum in Kensington, Bremont launched a new limited edition timepiece – The Supersonic. The launch of the Supersonic celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Concorde, and 100 years of British Airways. This is the eighth historical limited edition timepiece from Bremont and incorporates a ring of aluminium from Alpha Bravo – Heathrow’s last remaining Concorde in its construction. [su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WZI0dyvGf0″ showinfo=”no” rel=”no” modestbranding=”yes”] The Supersonic contains Bremont’s first ever manual wind movement which features an 8 day power reserve with an indicator on the dial at the 12 o’clock position, an exhibition caseback and an elaborately decorated movement featuring the silhouette of Concorde within its construction. The Bremont Supersonic will be available in three flavours. Stainless Steel (limited to 300 pieces) for £9495 Rose Gold (limited to 100 pieces) for £16,995 White Gold (limited to 100 pieces) for £17,995 …

Articles 5th October 2018

Haveston’s re-engineered NATO Strap

Earlier this year we wrote an article calling out the issues with traditional NATO watch straps – namely that they add unnecessary bulk to a watch as well as lifting it further away from your wrist. We were quite surprised by quantity of positive feedback on the article. It seems that we were not alone in our views and one UK Company ‘Haveston’ have continued to innovate, evolving the design and implementation of the humble NATO strap without losing its two principal benefits – the ease of which you can change a strap and the added security ensuring you don’t lose your watch if a spring bar fails. We contacted Haveston to take a look at their A2-Single pass layout straps, and Alex kindly sent us a selection. The design of the A2-single pass layout straps has evolved the humble NATO into a truly modern strap. Firstly, the lack of…

News 28th September 2018

Wristworthy is now available on Flipboard!

We are proud to announce that from today our Wristworthy online magazine is now available on Flipboard. Since starting Wristworthy, we have wanted to deliver a unique perspective and journalistic narrative on watches to the broadest possible audience. As part of our strategy to deliver quality watch content, we feel its important not only to build relationships with brands and readers alike, but to also ensure our content is delivered on the best platforms and in the most accessible and appropriate way. For the last two months we have been working with Flipboard to satisfy their criteria as a professional publisher. Before being approved, Flipboard’s editorial team take time to personally qualify each and every publisher to assure the content and prioritise quality over quantity. Only once approved can publishers deliver their content directly through Flipboard to their community of more than 100 million monthly active users. This achievement has…

Articles 22nd September 2018

The Pro’s & Cons of Watch Water Resistance

So you’ve gone out and bought yourself a new watch and after having looked at the water resistance rating declared by the manufacturer you’re confident that it will stand up to the daily lifestyle that you’re accustomed to. However after having worn it in relatively light situations, you’ve now noticed that the watch is showing signs of water inside the case. Surely this cant be right?! Well, depending on the rating you could be in for a nasty surprise. There are in fact two international standards for the water resistance of watches. These are ISO 22810:2010 and ISO 6425. ISO 22810:2010 (which as the designation implies was revised in 2010) defines the standard by which watches are tested and denotes the applied markings allowed to be placed on the watch. The table below is an extract of ratings and their suitability for proximity or use in water (also available at…

Spending time 14th September 2018

NOMOS Club Campus 38

In the world of watchmaking a brands’ quality & heritage is usually measured by how many centuries it has been in existence. Brands most often considered ‘high-horology’ such as Vacheron Constantin and Breguet have heritage stretching back to the 1700’s with over two century’s of history and the majority of swiss watch brands you recognise today including Omega, Heuer, Zenith, IWC, AP & Breitling were all founded in the 1800’s. And in the eyes of many, heritage equals quality after all we learn from experience right? The thought that through time a brand or product matures and improves leads to the thought that older companies produce better products. But is that a fair assumption that older is better and newer lacks the experience, finesse and charm? Founded in 1990 and located in Glashütte, there is no doubt that NOMOS is a newcomer to the watch industry. Glashütte is a small…

News 6th September 2018

HODINKEE 10th Anniversary Limited Edition Omega Speedmaster

On Wednesday this week, HODINKEE launched a limited edition Omega Speedmaster celebrating a decade of HODINKEE called the ‘H10’. While it is unsurprising that Omega would take the opportunity to produce a Limited Edition watch, the timing of the release marks the second “Limited Edition Speedmaster” Omega have released in less than 2 months (the Speedmaster Ultraman was released on the 10th of July). Omega have often fallen foul of criticism relating to the number of ‘Limited Edition’ watches they produce and releases like this further contribute to that criticism. However,with a production run of only 500 pieces, this marks one of the few releases from Omega that are not produced in the thousands despite being a Limited Edition – the Seamaster ’40 Years of James Bond’ was limited to 10,007 pieces! The watch itself takes its proportions from the ‘2998’ at 39.7 mm with no crown guards. The bezel…

Articles 25th August 2018

The five main watch types…

Almost all watches we see today are rooted in one of the five main watch types that have evolved throughout the course of the 20th Century. Today we will take a brief look at what personifies each of these historic and iconic watch types, what makes them different and the natural setting and purpose of each. Although I’ve been collecting watches for decades I often wish that i had understood this fundamental perspective before I got very lost in the world of watches. There is little direct science in creating the boundaries between watch types and i’m sure you will find examples of watches that bridge more than one type however these are broad guidelines that can be helpful in understanding appropriate styles and help refine your decision as to what might suit you well. The Dress Watch The Dress watch is the most formal of watches. At its core…

Spending time 10th August 2018

Hamilton Khaki Field Automatic

The Hamilton khaki field mechanical (reference: H69429901) is a great example of simple, well executed design, implemented at an accessible price point. The aesthetics deliver an everyday watch with classic proportions coupled with a seemingly unbeatable value proposition including sapphire glass, drilled lugs and a Swiss movement all for £375. Indeed there’s no shortage of blogs, articles and magazines singing its praises and recommending it as unbeatable at this price. However, although the Hamilton Khaki Field mechanical represents fantastic value for money, is there a higher value proposition with its bigger brother? We take a look at the Khaki Field Auto 38mm (reference: H70455533). Firstly lets start with the visual appeal. We found the slightly dressier aesthetics of the auto made for an extremely versatile watch. The watch had an uncanny ability to be suitable with almost any attire. The stepped dial adds a level of texture and detail without…

Articles 3rd August 2018

Getting into rubber…

Over the last decade, more and more watch companies are supplying rubber watch straps and with good reason. Once chunky rubber straps were the staple necessity for a divers watch, however as technology, manufacturing processes and design and all have improved, rubber is no longer the cheap offering but a practical and luxurious alternative. With the hot weather upon us, a good rubber strap can be a life saver. Unlike canvas and leather straps, rubber straps are far more resilient to wear and tear. There is an inherent amount of give in a rubber that helps maintain its comfort as your wrist expands in the heat and in addition, it’s not made of a porous material, it doesn’t absorb sweat or other liquids. What follows is in our view the most comprehensive look at rubber straps we think anyone has ever done. We have covered a plethora of price points…

Articles 27th July 2018

The problem with NATO straps…

Over the years I have had many interesting conversations with people who extoll the virtues of NATO straps, however its amazing how many people simple regurgitate what they have been told. While its true that by the inherent design of a NATO strap it secures the watch by passing a single piece of material through both spring bars, the additional piece of material behind it is simply not necessary and serves no useful purpose on a modern watch. The idea of a NATO is that in the event of a single spring bar failure, the whole watch doesn’t fall of your wrist but the strap remains attached to your arm, and the watch head will still be there attached by the remaining single spring bar – and while this is not ideal, it means you haven’t damaged your watch by if falling off your wrist or worse still lost it…

Articles 20th July 2018

The chrono-trinity

Chances are if you were looking to buy a chronograph, you would probably choose one of three chronographs. These three watches are the most iconic, most famous and easily recognised chronographs in the world. That’s not to say that there aren’t other hugely iconic or famous chronographs, but put simply they are not in this league. Let me introduce you to the “Chrono-trinity”. The Rolex Daytona, the Breitling Navitimer, and the Omega Speedmaster. Each with its own unique heritage, these are the worlds most desirable chronographs. In October last year the watch world went slightly crazy as Paul Newman’s own Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ‘Paul Newman’ came up for auction with Philips and sold for a record breaking $17.75m. Making this watch arguably the most desirable watch in the world. The Daytona’s fame was solidified by the romance and ownership of the watch by Paul Newman, who was photographed for an Italian…

News 13th July 2018

Speedmaster “Ultraman”

It never ceases to amaze me how much anticipation, excitement and then outcry follow an Omega release. A year ago in recognition and celebration of the huge community of watch enthusiasts dedicating a specific day of the week to their beloved Omega Speedmaster, Omega launched the Speedmaster “SpeedyTuesday”. This was Omegas response to a conversation with Robert-Jan Broer the founder of Fratello watches who asked Omega to do something special and “not a cap or a T-shirt or a pen or a button..”. So omega agreed produced the ‘SpeedyTuesday’ watch. The release went public on their website and their Instragram page and as Omega chose to release 2012 watches – the year ‘#SpeedyTuesday’ started, and these sold out in hours. However Omega are renown for producing limited edition watches. Quite probably more so than any other brand in the industry. The limited editions of just the Speedmaster’s alone borders on…

Articles 6th July 2018

The pointless valve

…..or “why no one needs a helium release valve but everyone has one!” If you’ve been reading articles in the watch world for a year or more it’s likely that you will have come across at least one article discussing the presence of helium release valves in modern watches. What most of those articles will quite rightly explain is that you simply don’t need one as most divers don’t dive with their watches – mainly because they now use dive computers, and for those who do, less than 1% are ‘saturation divers’ (the type of diving where a build up of helium on a watch is possible and likely). However what I’m going to explain is why they don’t need one either! Firstly let’s cover the basics of what it is for and why a divers watch might need one. When divers operate at great depths, they either live in…

Articles 29th June 2018

An evening with ORIS

This week I had the privilege of being invited to an Oris VIP evening where I had the opportunity to meet with their Chairman Urlich Herzog. I must admit that until very recently, Oris was not a company that I knew much about so this was a great opportunity to dispel myths, learn about the brand, and spend a little time in good company with some beautiful and somewhat unusual timepieces. Ulrich is not your typical Chairman. He’s warm, friendly and approachable, and certainly not what you think of as a typical “chairman of the board” but then again he’s not come from that corporate culture. You see, unlike many Swiss watch manufacturers, Oris is still a privately owned business and one of the few remaining Swiss watch manufacturers that maintains its independence and is not subject to the influences of a parent group. And to this extent Ulrich leads…

Articles 22nd June 2018

Movement snobbery

Have you ever looked down at your watch and either felt a sense of pride or dismay at the movement that it contains? For many buying their first “proper” watch, there may be many things that they consider including size, style, aesthetics, complications, and much more but usually there’s a romance with the mechanical. The feeling that inside your watch an array of tiny springs, cogs & gears engineered to the tiniest of tolerances are capable of displaying the current time with incredible accuracy all powered by the movement of the watch on your wrist. I find it interesting that the discussion of a watches’ movement brings great opinion and controversy. Movements generally speaking fall in to two camps. Those that have been developed in-house to which a great sense of admiration is expressed and contrastingly those that have been “bought in” with many feeling a sense of disdain as…

Articles 15th June 2018

A Very Rare Tudor…

The rarest Tudor ever made.