Machete-wielding crooks! Daredevil mountain rescues! A shed-load of watches! Yes, it’s Issue 8 of NOW, the Time+Tide Watch Buying Guide…

Luke Benedictus

In China, eight is widely considered to be the luckiest number of them all. Not being numerology experts, we’re not best-placed to comment on the specific rationale behind any of this.  Still, it’s probably worth hedging your bets anyway, by picking up Issue 8 of NOW, the Time+Tide Watch Buying Guide. That’s not the only news about our buying guide – you can now subscribe to all future editions of the Time+Tide Watch Buying Guide. Choosing the subscription option will land Issue 8 in your mailbox ASAP, and automatically register you for Issue 9 to be sent out once complete.

Find it in the Time+Tide Shop

By now you’ll be familiar with the magazine’s concept. If you’re in the market for a new watch, you want to make sure you’re across all the options before you pull the trigger. NOW brings together all the best new releases of the year over two issues, allowing you to peruse a wide variety of brands and price points to help you make the right choice for your left wrist (unless you’re buying a destro obviously).

But that’s not all you get in the latest edition.

High in the mountains of Switzerland, T+T jumps into a helicopter with Air Zermatt, the world’s top aerial search and rescue team, to find out why Hamilton continues to team up with this elite unit.

Jean Arnault may be the son of a multibillionaire (and have a girlfriend who’s both a model and a countess). But the 24-year-old is also a serious watch guy with a level of horological know-how that he’s now bringing to overhaul Louis Vuitton’s watch division.

For most of the world, the noble sport of cricket is totally unfathomable. But a growing number of watch brands are now belatedly discovering the delights of hearing leather on willow.

You know that watch thefts have become a regrettable part of life when they appear as storylines in mainstream TV cop shows. Here’s why crooks are increasingly fixated about what’s dangling on the end of your wrist.

And, yes, NOW magazine obviously includes its famous buying guide. We’ve compiled 164 of the best timepieces from the last six months that range from bargains for under $500 to mega-buck rarities that you can buy when you finally get around to scooping that lottery jackpot.