The watch industry turns its attention to Australia’s summer of tennis
Jamie WeissSummer in Australia is a glorious thing: beaches, barbeques, getting sunburnt and of course, lots of sports. We’ve just been blessed with a cracking test cricket series between Australia and Pakistan – and now our summer of tennis is in full swing ahead of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year and the highest attended in the world.
Of course, tennis and watches have a close relationship (and not just because our editor Zach loves the sport). Perhaps due to tennis’ individualistic, upper-crust nature, watch brands are a perennial fixture at tennis tournaments across the world, either as official timekeepers or on tennis stars’ wrists. Rado, Richard Mille and Rolex are three names that immediately spring to mind, the latter of which is the official timekeeper of the Australian Open.
However, more upstart brands are also eyeing tennis as a way to draw attention to themselves – and even perhaps telegraph their international expansion. For instance, Gerald Charles has been appointed the official timekeeper of the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, the premier lead-up event for the Australian Open. Gerald Charles has just expanded into the UK and the US – could this also be a hint that they’re planning to launch Down Under, too?
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Jamie
Watch meme of the week: bend (the truth) like Beckham
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A very prescient meme in light of Borna’s excellent takedown of the watch hobby’s obsession with “in-house’ movements he penned this week. Read more here.
Wrist shot of the week: not quite Goldeneye
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This glorious shot of an Omega Seamaster Diver 300M 60 Years of James Bond Edition comes courtesy of Australian watch collector Peter Mizzi. I’d argue that Australia’s coastlines are infinitely prettier than those of Ian Fleming’s Goldeneye estate in Jamaica… But I might be biased.
Time+Tide Shop pick of the week: Wolf Axis Single Travel Watch Stand
Designed for travel but equally as elegant as a permanent fixture in your home, this Axis Travel Watch Stand in copper from luxury watch accessory specialists Wolf is the ideal way to show off your watch. Handcrafted from vegan leather, it features a compact, lightweight design: the soft padded top cushion will keep your watch secure and scratch-free, while the secure base features a tray for coins or cufflinks. Wolf’s patented mechanism allows you to fold the watch stand flat to fit inside its matching travel pouch, ready for your next adventure.
Order now from the Time+Tide Shop or at the Melbourne Discovery Studio. Price: A$225.
Our favourite Time+Tide coverage of the week
The 10 best watches from the 81st Golden Globe Awards
The 81st Golden Globe Awards – which honoured the best film and American television productions of 2023 – captivated us this week, with the show feeling particularly glamorous and high-stakes. It was a big year for film and TV, with heavy hitters like Barbie, Oppenheimer, Succession, Killers of the Flower Moon, Poor Things, Beef and Saltburn all vying for awards on the night. It was also a great night for watch spotting: here are the ten best watches worn by Golden Globe attendees that I spotted.
HANDS-ON: The IWC Ingenieur Titanium is Genta in the 21st century
Although we’ve already taken a hands-on look at the new IWC Ingenieur 40 range, a substantial piece of the puzzle was missing from the collection: a closer look at the titanium Ingenieur, which D.C. voted for this integrated bracelet darling as the best watch of 2023. It’s arguably the most ‘pure’ take on the new Ingenieur: titanium is the ultimate material for an engineer’s watch, but given that the use of titanium in watch cases has only really been popularised in recent years, it represents the ultimate bond between retro design and modern tastes. Read our full review here.
OPINION: Why the emphasis on in-house needs to end
A bugbear many of us on the T+T share about the watch industry is the current obsession with “in-house” movements. Our deputy editor Borna very eloquently explains why we think the emphasis on in-house needs to end, as well as demystifies some of the marketing hype about this frequently misused and misunderstood term. Give it a read here.