All the latest watch news, from Tudor to Vacheron Constantin
Tudor x Red Bull F1
While Rolex bows out of Formula One, vacating its seat for TAG Heuer as F1’s overall timekeeper, the sister brand to ‘The Crown’ of Geneva continues to ride shotgun with Red Bull. And appropriately enough for Tudor watches, it’s with Red Bull’s own sister team, ‘Visa Cash App RB Formula One’ – formerly ‘AlphaTauri’ from the 2020 to 2023 seasons, and before that ‘Toro Rosso’.
The good news for Tudor’s ardent collector base is that the ceramic watch worn by the constructor’s two pilots – Oz’s legendary Daniel Ricciardo and younger Yuki Tsunoda from Japan – is now available on Civvy Street, complete with a racy Visa-blue dial that thankfully doesn’t try to squeeze-on the team name.
True to the future-forward spirit of F1, the ‘Black Bay Ceramic Blue’ that Ricciardo and Tsunoda wear in the paddock and at HQ in Faenza, Italy is relentlessly test-driven. Not only by Tudor’s crack QC team in Switzerland, or even by the ‘COSC’ facility down the road, which certifies millions of watches per year for ‘chronometer’ precision, but also by the Federal Institute of Metrology or ‘METAS’.
Its own ‘Master Chronometer’ certification was developed in cahoots with Omega and is an open-source specification. This is refreshingly democratic for the cagey world of Swiss watchmaking, at least until you realise what it really takes to pass muster: nothing less than maintaining near-flawless accuracy using metal micro-mechanics resistant to 15,000 Gauss of magnetism. An MRI scan in other words, where ‘anti-magnetic’ is usually a spec’ afforded to a watch that can survive proximity to a fridge door seal.
As the model name implies, Tudor’s tiny engine is mounted within a lightweight chassis of its own, forged from matt-black monobloque ceramic. So anyone can now shop for a Bull in china.
Vacheron Constantin new members’ club
Switzerland’s most venerable watchmaker has cut the ribbon on a new member’s club (of sorts) high in the treetops of Mayfair. Named after the watchmaker’s founding year, ‘Club 1755’ is a so-called ‘experiential space’ for clients of Vacheron Constantin to convene, located a few doors down from its 37 Old Bond Street boutique. It will also host a rolling calendar of installations – inaugurated this summer by seven Nick Hornby sculptures exploring the intersection of classical horology and art.
For a brand steeped in tradition, Club 1755’s series of lounges, bar and – unusually for Bond Street – a roof terrace all feel surprisingly contemporary. Vacheron Constantin continues to reassert itself as the more ‘Latin’ contemporary to Geneva’s other grande dame, Patek Philippe. Objects have been handpicked that celebrate British craft too, such as marquetry backgammon boards courtesy Alexandra Llewellyn.
Even more unusually, Vacheron UK’s in-house master watchmaker Celine is lucky enough to call the club her new office. Previously working from the basement at no. 37, her workbench is now flooded with natural light. Should they be unimpressed by whatever art is on display, VIP clients can ‘watch’ their own kinetic work of art being serviced or repaired, glass of claret in hand.
• Club 1755, 45 Old Bond Street W1S 4AG, by appointment only
Bell & Ross’ artificial horizon
On the quiet, Bell & Ross has phased-out their circular pilot watches launched in 1997. In their place, the titular Messieurs Belamich and Rosillo have proven it really is hip to be square. Their entire, Swiss-made catalogue now apes the quadrangular format of every screwed-in fighter-jet cockpit instrument.
It’s no gimmick, since the French Navy’s aces really do rely on Bell & Ross’s no-nonsense, monochrome timepieces at Mach 1. But being French, there’s always room for whimsy and you’re looking at it: the latest in a long line in literal interpretations of a pilot’s dashboard.
The ‘artificial horizon’ that inspires 2024’s 999-piece special allows spatial orientation for a pilot, where the actual horizon might not be readable, especially at night or in cloud. Thanks to a vertical-axis gyroscope, the pilot can always control the aircraft’s attitude and tilt, combining a ‘floating’ spherical illustration of the earth overlaid by the silhouette of the aircraft. The new ‘BR 03 Horizon’ (£4,300, bellross.com) necessarily flattens things, but how?
The outer dial graduation indicates the aircraft’s lateral tilt angle, while the centre one shows the pitch. The large white hand indicates the minutes, the large striped hand marks the seconds and a large central arrow indicates the hours.
Readability is one of the primary concerns and, true to form, Bruno Belamich, Bell & Ross’s creative director has ensured there is still function in its form.
Certina x Sea Turtle Conservancy
In parallel to its growing presence on the padel court (mostly in Spain where the sport has overtaken tennis), Certina continues its valiant CSR efforts in another blue world: that of the sea turtle. The Swiss watchmaker unveiled the new DS Super PH1000M STC, dedicated to its partnership with Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC), based in Florida since 1959.
They’ve worked together since 2017 to help fund the protection of sea turtles and their natural environments. But this is no badge-slapping exercise: the special-edition watches are utterly fabulous SCUBA-diving throwbacks with unbelievable pricetags. Inspired by the historic DS SUPER PH1000M from 1970, the latest funkadelic timepiece features a teal dial with orange accents and luminous indexes, driven within by 80-hour-power-reserve self-winding mechanics. Throw in 1,000 metres’ of depth resistance and you have quite the package at just £885.