The Fascinating 1904 Napier L48 Samson Racing Car
Did you ever get stopped in your tracks by a single moment or a picture? Did you ever have an irresistible urge to drop everything and frantically try and find out more about it? I have, and I’m sure a lot of you will also have such memories. For me, the most recent time it happened was when I received a newsletter from Bonhams Cars, the famous auction house that is hosting another Amelia Island Auction next week. The car in question is not some edgy slice of modern-day supercar heaven or a highly praised vintage Italian with Le Mans winning pedigree. No, it is the 1904 Gordon Bennett Napier L48 “Samson” race car, a machine I never heard about before.?I must admit that being a kid from the 1980s and having a profound love for cars (and watches, obviously) I have a good knowledge of everything that came out since I was born. I also think of myself as quite up to speed with a lot of the stuff that went down from, let’s say, the 1950s to the 1980s. When it comes to

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon Chronograph 26622TI Review
Love it or hate it, call it a hype-collection, but the fact is that the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak (and all its offspring) remains one of the most desirable collections on the market. It is also by far the most important collection in Audemars Piguet's catalogue but the brand isn't simply resting on its laurels. Considering how much it has evolved from the original ref. 5402 presented in 1972, the signature DNA is still very much present. Two decades after first released, the Royal Oak received an update into the far more masculine Royal Oak Offshore, which caused a sensation yet again. Now, in 2021, we've had the fortune to spend some time with one of the latest and most complex models in the line-up, the (take a deep breath) Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Flyback Chronograph 26622TI.It takes a bit of time to wrap one's head around all the details of this very technical and complex iteration of the Royal Oak Offshore. It also marks a step into a new di

Introducing the Breitling Navitimer 01 in 46mm - Monochrome Watches
The Navitimer is Breitling’s most emblematic watch. Presented in 1952 with?the reference 806 as the ultimate pilot chronograph, equipped with a very useful slide rule, it was endorsed as the official timekeeping instrument of the?AOPA – the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. At that time, with its 42mm, it was already huge, especially when you consider that most watches were sized at 35mm. For years now, the Navitimer has shared the same spirit and design, with the same slide rule and its 3-sub-counter panda dial (black dial with white sub-dials). But the 43mm of the actual models are quite average now and an?update was needed, just to keep the?spirit of the original?one: a massive 46mm or 48mm tool-watch to wear over?your?flight jacket.Navitimer 806 – Photo by WatchFredThe Navitimer is one of the few watches that can really claim to be iconic. It even boasts a surprising link between an astronaut (Scott Carpenter), a French singer (Serge Gainsbourg), an American

Tribute To 1969 - 5 Great Watches That Celebrate 50th Anniversaries / Buying Guide
1969 certainly was an eventful year. It is a year I would have loved to live: this was the year of the legendary music festival Woodstock; 1969 witnessed the first flight of the supersonic plane Concorde; the Rolling Stones recorded Let It Bleed; the Beatles gave the world Abbey Road; and Easy Rider and Once Upon a Time in the West were the cult films of the day. And, of course, man took his first steps on the Moon. 1969 was also a great year for the watchmaking industry with the advent of the automatic chronograph and a well-known chronograph enjoying a view of the Earth from an unprecedented perspective… Fifty years down the line, watch brands have been busy celebrating these 50th anniversaries with commemorative watches.? Here are the best of the lot.Glashutte Original SeaQ 1969 LimitedLet’s start with the least expected model (obviously, you have an idea of what the other watches will be…) This year, Glashutte Original introduces a brand new line of watches, named

First Look: The Gerald Charles Masterlink Luxury Sports Watch
One trend that was once dominated by the big players in the watch industry and caught on with independent watch brands is the luxury sports watch. As one of the most popular, if not the most popular, watch categories, there are many candidates out there vying for your attention. While some flaunt their maritime or racing credentials, there are others that could be broadly categorised as dressy luxury sports watches, which is precisely the sub-genre that Gerald Charles enters with its brand-new Masterlink. Designed by Gerald Genta in 2006 for his Gerald Charles brand, the enigmatic contours of the Maestro case have been slimmed down and married to an integrated asymmetrical bracelet to become, the Masterlink.Although there have been sporty versions of the Maestro in Gerald Charles’ portfolio, like the GC Sport Titanium, the new, slimmer Masterlink with its integrated steel bracelet is a bona fide player in the luxury sports watch genre. The challenge for Octavio Garc¨ªa, creative d