The Ocean Star Worldtimer

From Mido -

Courtesy of Mido

Okay, just to be clear right out the gate - this one is nice on many levels, but a wee bit disappointing. Disappointing because by adding an actual GMT functioning movement it would have been so much more.

                                                                        Courtesy of Mido


I love the aesthetics - in particular the original Mido logo which yes, they should revert to for all of their watch dials!

Courtesy of Mido

I realize that I might be in the minority, as it is a "tribute" watch and that yes, you can get the second timezone (after a fashion), but it is work, and in truth? The reason why the advancements were made to incorporate second time zone indicating functions into movements was because honestly? It's a pain to do the constant calculations. I realize that watches are more than mere function - I bang on about it constantly, but I also sometimes think selfishly about what I would want, and what I would want would be a fairly effortless glance down to capture the time at home, or my next destination. But then maybe that's just little me ; )

Mido didn't share all of the pertinents that they do with their "preferred" media partners, but from checking up on the big dogs that got the early drop, it appears that the asking price is 850 CHF (sans tax).

Anyway, here are the pertinents -

The Classic Worldtimer - In Green!

From Frederique Constant -

Courtesy of Frederique Constant

Here are the pertinents -

FC-718GRWM4H6

MOVEMENT

FC-718 Manufacture caliber, automatic with date and Worldtimer function adjustable via the crown. Perlage & Circular Côtes de Genève decoration on the movement. 26 jewels, 42 hours power reserve, 28’800 alt/h.

CASE

Polished stainless steel 3-parts case, diameter of 42 mm, Convex sapphire crystal, See-through case back, Water-resistant to 5 ATM.

DIAL

Green color dial with worldmap in the center and luminous indexes. Hand-polished silver-colored hands with white luminous treatment. Date counter at 6 o’clock. 24h disc with day-night indication. City disc with 24 cities.

STRAP

Green alligator strap with white stitches.

The Cayman Worldtimer

From Delma -

Courtesy of Delma

Here are the pertinents, straight from the source -

Mechanism:
Automatic

Caliber:
ETA 2896, Delma custom rotor

Power reserve (h):
50h

Number of jewels:
21

Frequency:
28'800 A/h

Case material:
Stainless steel

Case back:
Stainless steel with transparent mineral crystal

Size in mm:
42

Height in mm:
13.6

Weight in grams:
120

Water resistance:
50 ATM / 500 m / 1650 ft

Bezel:
Bidirectional bezel with reference cities

Lug size in mm:
22

Bracelet material:
Stainless steel

Functions:
24 hour hand, Worldtimer, Date

Available direct from Delma -

Delma Cayman Worldtimer

The 19.02 Worldtimer

From Ming -

Courtesy of Ming

This is the latest offering from the collaborative at Ming, the 19.03 Worldtimer.  It has been created in partnership with Manufacture Schwarz Etienne.

Courtesy of Ming

And as befits a watch with it's inspiration in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur holds pride of place on the dial's location chapter ring.  

A gradient sapphire dial sets off a truly stunning effect.  But this world-time machine is just as beautiful under the hood -

Courtesy of Ming

A wonderful confection of precision, a micro rotor automatic.

Courtesy of Ming

This is the latest offering from the collaborative at Ming, the 19.03 Worldtimer.  It has been created in partnership with Manufacture Schwarz Etienne.

Courtesy of Ming

And as befits a watch with it's inspiration in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 

• Functions: hours and minutes, 24 hour world time, microrotor automatic winding
• Case, dial & hands:
• 39mm diameter, 11.2mm thickness, grade 5 titanium
• Double box sapphire crystal with double-sided antireflective coating
• Sapphire dial, radial gradient from opaque black to transparent
• Chapter ring, logo and rear markings laser-etched into the sapphire crystals
• Polished bezel and lugs; finely brushed caseband
• Hands and dial ring with Superluminova X1
• Rigid case without spacer rings
• 50m water resistance
• 20mm lug width
• Movement:
• Schwarz-Etienne for MING Cal. ASE220.1
• Partial skeletonization with 5N rose gold coating and bead blasted bridges
• Hand polished anglage
• Hacking function
• ~70 hour power reserve at full wind
• Bidirectional automatic winding with high-mass tungsten microrotor
• Movement adjusted to five positions
• Straps:
• Includes 2x calf leather straps by Jean Rousseau Paris
• 20mm width, curved bars with quick release
• All straps come fitted with signed stainless steel buckles
• Will fit 160-210mm wrist circumference
• Travel pouch:
• Handmade in Kuala Lumpur from vegetable tanned natural leather
• 1-year warranty against defects
• Made in Switzerland
• MING continually aims to improve aesthetics and functionality of products where possible; to this end we reserve the right to make changes prior to final delivery.

Now in fairness sports fans, this is not an inexpensive item.  Ming are offering an "early bird" incentive for pre-orders, and it is my understanding that in order for the project to be fully realized, enough pre-orders will need to be realized as well.  Should it be of interest to you, the purchase information can be found here:

MING 19.02 Worldtimer

 

The Executive Moonstruck Worldtimer

From Ulysse Nardin -

Courtesy of Ulysse Nardin

Limited to 100 pieces, the case measures 46 mm in diameter and is constructed of either platinum or rose gold.  The movement is the UN-106, enabling these function:

Astronomical timepiece
Indication of position of Sun and Moon in relation to Earth
Indication of Moon phases
Indication of tides
Worldtimer function for 24 cities
Hours, minutes, date
Instant time zone adjuster with patented quick setting device

The Seamaster Aqua Terra Worldtimer Master Chronometer

A new limited edition from Omega -

Courtesy of Omega

I got a chance to see it at BaselWorld, and it is an intriguing take on a world timer layout.  Although it is not really my cup of espresso, it was well received by the horological cognoscenti this past March. 

Courtesy of Omega

And that's not all!  

Eddie Redmayne is apparently an Omega ambassador.  And, apparently, the folks in Biel/Bienne believe this is somehow important for you to know, so stop the press! 

A World Timer from the Tintin Boutique

Courtesy of the Tintin Boutique

Okay, it is a well-known fact that I am a fairly devoted follower of Brussel's most famous reporter, Tintin.  I have visited Tintin boutiques in Tokyo, London, San Francisco and back in 2014 I got to visit the "mother ship" in Belgium.  And I love the idea of this world timer because it displays all of the fictional cities that Tintin and Snowy have visited in their travels.  And at €49.50 it is very reasonably priced.  If you want to order one, here is a link to the OFFICIAL Tintin Boutique which has an online store -

https://boutique.tintin.com/en/tintin-home-and-fashion/tintin-watches.html

However...

Wouldn't it be great if the folks who hold the license to all wonderful things Tintin would be willing to do a licensed product with a higher end watch?  I think of Frederique Constant's beautiful world timer, but maybe with the Tintin "Globe Trotter" image in the middle circle -

Shamelessly borrowed from the world wide info-web

The with your watch making partner who could create a beautiful mechanical watch that would be more affordable -

Courtesy of Tempus Fugit

You could mix the standard world times with the various cities and "territories" that Tintin and Snowy have traveled to.  

Courtesy of Swatch and Beyond

 The Tintin license holders have licensed the rights to other companies before - such as SWATCH.

They have also passed on licensing possibilities such as the Omega Speedmaster. 

Well, just a thought ; )

 

Wrapping Up - Seven Days with the Frederique Constant Manufacture Worldtimer

Seven days have come and gone.  And the time has come to warp the review up.

Courtesy of Frederique Constant

There are a lot of watches and a lot of watch brands out there vying for our attention.  

Seven Days with the Frederique Constant Manufacture Worldtimer

Starts now.

Stay tuned!

BaselWorld Necessities - Frederique Constant's Solution!

At BaselWorld you will find that you are the master of NOTHING! You will be running from appointment to appointment. Very few regular meals, long train rides (if you, like me, don't enjoy deep financial backing for your travel), little sleep.

BUT the nice folks at Frederique Constant have got you covered!  When the entire watch world converges on one location, there will be MANY time zones to be consulted ; )

Courtesy of Frederique Constant

So on behalf of Frederique Constant, allow me to introduce the Classics Manufacture Worldtimer in its new blue version.

Personally, I am a sucker for any multiple timezone watch with an image of the world on the dial.  Don't know why, just always have been.  But this is more than a mere GMT model.

Courtesy of Frederique Constant

Under the hood beats the FC-718 Manufacture automatic caliber, offering hours, minutes seconds and date, as well as the world's major cities.  

Courtesy of Frederique Constant

So go ahead and make those travel plans for March - Frederique Constant has got you covered!

Santa, if you're listening, I know it's early but I've been REALLY GOOD these past 3 weeks and I'm willing to commit to my best behavior for the remainder of the year...
 

Tourneau Exclusive Limited Edition from Baume & Mercier

I started out my watch career at Tourneau in San Francisco.  I remember a lot of reps coming in, some nicer than others.  I must say that whoever the Baume & Mercier rep for our district back in 2003 was probably one of the nicest people I ever met, and he in turn inspired me to pursue a job in the industry.

Courtesy of Baume & Mercier 

Arnold and Sons - Hornet James Cook

It seems to be a British themed week!

This is Arnold and Sons Hornet James Cook.  This particular version is "Death in Hawaii".

A 47 mm rose gold case, and a truly unique dial!  To call this a "world timer" is something of an understatement.  Time, large date, second time zone and world time outer ring.

I WANT ONE!

www.arnoldandson.com