Having had a somewhat stressful end to 2015, The Man About Time has been making plans for the new year with friends and family across the world. From holidays to business or even just keeping in contact, he is a man who enjoys keeping his eye on the time, both local and international. Today he discusses three watches that will keep you on time in every time zone.
So, the Christmas season is over and, as the decorations are boxed away and routines return, we look towards 2016 with excited anticipation of what the new year will bring. Here at The Male Stylist we discovered that this year will bring us some interesting challenges. With friends and relatives scattered all over the world the question of what time is it across various regions of the world assumes a new significance. Time plays a key role in planning and communication, so how do you keep yourself in the present when it occurs at different hours of the day?
As usual the mechanical watch makers have considerately taken our problem into account and have created world timer complications which will help ensure that you don’t lose friends or alienate relatives in the early hours of 2016. As ever you can pay eye watering sums of money for very high end offerings but there are some very satisfying examples available for a lot less and, although world timers are never going to be cheap, the three featured below represent some quite serious watch making skills and are all well worth parting with what remains of your credit card balance.
As usual, Christopher Ward weighs in with a different approach to the Worldtimer which, if not the most subtle in design, looks superb and represents tremendous value for money at £1085 and of course the Christopher Ward Warranty and moderate service costs just add to its attraction.
It isn’t just economics though; CW’s watchmaker Johannes Jahnke has done an exceptional job of transforming the ETA 2893 automatic movement, which has the time-zones indicated by individual airport codes with their geographic locations indicated on a 3-dimensional world map dial and all of the functions controlled by a single crown! Quite frankly; just superlative value at the price.
Advancing in price, if not in time, is Frederique Constant’s Worldtimer. This comes with beautifully finished silver guilloche or blue dials, stainless steel or gold and both leather strap and steel band options.
Frederique Contstant’s product range delivers highly versatile, modern interpretations of classic designs and the Worldtimer is no exception. Although not the oldest, having been established in its present form in only 1988, or most prestigious of houses, with its in-house movements and an independent ethos it has rapidly succeeded in creating a style all of its own. Again the Worldtimer functions are controlled from a single crown and whether on a strap or on stainless steel bracelet it wears beautifully and much more expensively than it actually costs. Although listing at £3,275 it is currently on offer for £1200 with a steel bracelet from Watchtag and handling both it and the Christopher Ward, the £2200 additional cost is money well spent at the full price and to pay only the £200 sale price difference makes it the best deal in January!
The final Worldtimer we looked at is the Nomos Glasshutte Weltzeit. At £3850 it is the most expensive of the trio but by far the most stylish. When it was first introduced with a plain white face it won acclaim for its superbly simple, pared back, design and ease of use. Recently Nomos have brought out a blue dial ‘True Blue’ version which has a slightly modified movement and Nomos’ in house ‘Swing’ winding mechanism. With either white or blue dial and housed in an elegant stainless steel case on a leather strap, it wins The Male Stylist vote on looks, usability and overall quality as well as being confidently individual. It is equally at home worn with casual clothes or when formally suited and booted and adds in indefinable European sharpness of finish to any outfit.
Three different watches with three different styles but one thing in common. Like Christopher Ward and Frederique Constant, Nomos Glasshutte demonstrates that independent thinking, innovation, and manufacturing excellence deliver watches that we all want to wear. Whatever your personal style or budget any one of these three watches will ensure that, whether you have friends in Murmansk or relatives in Melbourne, you will know precisely what time to call and plan out your year ease and style. On that note, may your 2016 be healthy, joyous and hopefully profitable enough to enable you to buy and wear some of the world’s most stylish watches.
A very Happy 2016 to everyone and may time always be on your side, as well as your wrist…
The Man About Time
