This Week (in Watches) Today, 2 August 2022: 7 things you should know

August is upon us, and July ended with a bang! At least in the watch world. We had a depressing auction where Hitler’s watch was sold, a more upbeat James Bond centric auction announced, and lovely releases from Laurent Ferrier, Ming, Zenith x HODINKEE, Casio G-Shock and CW that Misael, Ralf and Mark take us through respectively. These are the top 7 things in the world of watches; let’s get into it.

Hitler’s watch sells under estimate

Photo Credit: WatchPro

In a period where luxury watch auctions have been blazing a trail of records, it is rare that you find a watch with genuine history and provenance coming in below the estimate. Of course, if that history traces back to a monster like Hitler, all bets are off. This past week, we’ve seen a gold Andreas Huber reversible watch belonging to Hitler go under the hammer at Alexander Historical Auctions and sell for US$1.1 million. Now that to me is still US$1.1 million too much, but the silver lining is that the watch came in way under its estimate for US$2-4 million. The watch unsurprisingly is rather controversial with Jaeger LeCoultre distancing itself from even making the movement for the watch, despite how similar it looks to a Reverso. Let’s hope nothing else of his ever comes up for auction.

Bond watches & cars galore !

Photo Credit: WatchPro

It’s a good week to be a Bond fan and a watch enthusiast with a Bond focused auction of 60 lots hosted by Christie’s together with Eon’s Production to mark the 60th Anniversary of the franchise. The auction will be divided into 2 parts, the first being a live event to specially invited guests on 28 September in London, with the second part to take place online from 15 September to 5 October. Most of the 60 lots will comprise of special watches released in conjunction with the franchise, like the pair of Seamasters (one steel one gold) developed for the 50th Anniversary of On Her Majesty’s service. The highlights though will be the actual titanium Seamaster worn by Daniel Craig in No Time to Die, as well as an Aqua Terra the actor used in the same movie. There will also be 10 cars from the movies up for auction. This surely has to be one of the coolest ways to get movie memorabilia, and for a good cause too, so start saving up.

Laurent Ferrier Classic Traveller Meteorite

“We talked about the elegance of the Classic Traveller Magnetic Green a month ago and now Laurent Ferrier has released a US exclusive that keeps a lot of that elegance but is paired with a meteorite, toning down its dressiness. The Classic Traveller Meteorite limited edition of 15 pieces, uses a fragment of the Muonionalusta meteorite that struck Scandinavia about 1 million BCE. It’s one of the oldest known and just imagine how long it was traveling through space before encountering our blue jewel.

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Speaking of blue, the fragments have been given a deep blue color, while maintaining their natural pattern, through a galvanic bath. To maintain legibility the polished applied marker is substituted by a white printed one and the hand’s Assegai in 18k white gold has received a white coating.

The dial is expertly paired with hand made midnight blue cork strap with grade 5 titanium hardware matching the case construction.

The case, dial layout, and the amazing caliber LF230.02 are in keeping with previous models. I see this appealing to people that like the LF design but want a casual piece. For me, I love everything LF.” – Misael Alves

Ming 37.07

“The Ming 37.07 comes five years after the original Ming 17.01. Like all Ming watches the design is distinctive, recognizable with rather simple dial designs, not in intricacy, but as a general design philosophy. Nothing is ever overladen with elements. In other words, Ming watches have “style”.

The star of the show is the latest mosaic dial that has been created with multiple layers of sapphire on top of a brass dial. Ming even sprinkles in some lume to create a gradient effect. It’s an amalgamation of all signature designs applied by Ming so far and certainly something you would keep looking at, assuming you get this watch on your wrist. The rest of the watch is Ming through and through with a 38mm diameter, 44.5mm lug to lug, and 10.0mm thickness.

Would I get one? No. 38mm is in general not my cup of tea and while I appreciate the design, it’s not for me.” – Ralf aka @koolpep

Check out the full article here.

Zenith HODINKEE Chronomaster Salmon

“I appreciate how Hodinkee usually brings something cool and different to the table. Ok, except with travel/desk watches maybe. But they didn’t disappoint this time with the latest collaboration with Zenith.  The “Zenith Chronomaster Original Limited Edition for Hodinkee” features Zenith’s latest movement, a classic case of 38mm, and an incredibly cool Salmon color dial. And for all the critics out there – yes, the date wheel is in dial color. Which makes the date window at 4:30 disappear should you be in the camp: “date needs to be at 3 or 6”. I appreciate the date at 4 as it gets out of the way of the indices and subdials in this particular watch. The dial is really well done with color tones that work extremely well together, the salmon works great with the grey and silver subdials.

This is a great watch for a fair price – the limited edition is priced exactly like the permanent collection. Two thumbs up from me. I am hoping to get a salmon-dialed Chronomaster Original in the future – maybe with black subdials….Congratulations to Zenith and Hodinkee for a very successful model! ” – Ralf aka @koolpep

Check out the full article here.

Christopher Ward C63 Sealander 36mm

“This week, Christopher Ward has released two regular production C63 Sealanders and a double brace of limited editions with some bright and oddly familiar colors. The 39mm C63 Sealander is a delicate thing. As someone who likes properly sized watches, it is a small and delicately proportioned thing. The 36mm takes this a step further. It will fit a lot of wrists now but is probably not for those with a wrist greater than 7”. It is a slim watch with a height of 11.75mm. The Light-catcher™ case is at its best with slimmer cases and its combination of surfacing looks great in this new size.

The new smaller C63s will be available in the traditional black and white colourways. The new size will be launched with four new, limited edition colourways. They are Lucerne Blue, New Forest Yellow, Jura Green, and Acer Red. I’m not sure why CW is supporting a Taiwanese maker of laptops though. These colours may look familiar. I’m sure I’ve seen Lucerne blue somewhere before. Perhaps I had breakfast there, who can say. The colours are vibrant and perfect for the summer.

Overall, these watches represent great quality and great value and are sure to make your summer much more stylish and colourful.” – Mark Wheeler

Check out the full article here.

 All metal Casioaks

“Finally, we have Casio out to ruin us all G-Shock collectors! How else could one explain the latest release from today? A CasiOak with the latest module (tough solar and Bluetooth smart link) in full metal. It’s basically the Metal Square sibling in octagonal form. Premium case back, premium metal colors (for now), and a steep price of $749-$849 depending on color.

The only omission made for this watch is the lack of the 6-band radio wave time keeping but since the watch can adjust the time a few times a day via your phone…no issues. One thing it gained over the old versions of the CasiOak is the amazing new LED light and since it recharges via the sun – you can allow yourself to shine bright.

My favorite is the steel version so far but I am sure we will be graced with a lot of limited and special editions in the future.” – Ralf aka @koolpep

So that is it for this week. As always, get in on all the action on the Scottish Watches website, and of course, the podcast on your podcaster of choice. Till next time, take care everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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