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TAG Heuer Re-Lights Night Diver

TAG Heuer today expands its Aquaracer Professional 300 collection with three new watches. Two models with blue and black dials, first seen in April as steel bracelet models when TAG Heuer upgraded the deep-diving collection, are now offered with matching rubber strap options.

A third debut echoes a favorite bright-dialed TAG Heuer dive watch from the past.

TAG Heuer re-introduces an old favorite with Aquaracer Professional 300 Night Diver.

Return of the Night Diver

TAG Heuer’s highlight fall 2021 Aquaracer Professional 300 debut is the all-black, lume-dialed Aquaracer Professional 300 Night Diver. The watch recalls the TAG Heuer “Night Diver” first seen in the mid-1980s and re-introduced in numerous guises in the years since, most recently in 2018.

The Night Diver’s standout feature, then and today, is its fully luminescent dial, which TAG Heuer coats in green SuperLuminova. This is truly non-subtle lume, which may be too bright for some desk divers, but for others hits home.

TAG Heuer seemingly overfills the watch’s minute and central seconds with blue lume to clearly contrast with the green dial. That bright green color also appears on the hour hand and four primary hour markers. And critically, TAG Heuer fills the triangle at the top of the unidirectional rotating bezel with blue lume to match the blue of the minute and central seconds hands.

To emphasize the ‘night’ in the watch’s nickname, TAG Heuer coats the watch’s 43mm stainless steel case, bezel, crown, caseback and clasp with matte black diamond-like carbon. The bezel insert is black ceramic.

TAG Heuer’s ETA-based (or Sellita-based) Caliber 5 automatic movement powers all references in the new Aquaracer Professional 300 collection.

TAG Heuer fits the Night Diver with a black rubber strap
 with a black DLC steel folding clasp with double safety push buttons with fine adjustment system.

Full collection

You might recall that earlier this year TAG Heuer revamped its Aquaracer collection, displaying models with a more refined twelve-sided bezel, shorter lugs, slightly wider hour hands and more prominent horizontal engraved dial lines. The three new models debuting today expand the new Aquaracer collection to eleven references.

All three new Aquaracer models feature a unidirectional rotating bezel, a screw-down crown, are water resistance to 300 meters, feature a sapphire crystal and a double safety clasp. And they all have solid casebacks stamped with a diving suit sporting a twelve-sided faceplate.

Prices: $3,350 (Night Diver) and $2,700 (Aquaracer with blue or black dial with new rubber strap).

The new Aquaracer Professional 300 collection now includes blue or black-dialed models with matching straps. These models debuted in April with steel bracelets only.

 

 

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The Watches

Mondaine Updates EVO2 Automatic

Traveling through Switzerland by train means frequently sighting the source of Mondaine’s minimalist watch dial named for the Federal Swiss Railways (SBB).

At every train station you’ll see an easy-to-read black-and-white-dial clock originally designed by Hans Hilfiker in 1944 when he was working for the SBB. The design was enhanced in 1947 with the addition of a paddle-shaped seconds hand based on the stationmaster’s hand-held train signal.

The newest Mondaine EVO2 Automatic.

While today Mondaine features primarily quartz-powered models built using sustainable materials, the Swiss watchmaker recently gave its EVO2 Automatic collection (originally created in 1986) a design update, adding rounder curves that reach around the case to seamlessly fold into a clear caseback, exposing a nicely SBB-branded Sellita automatic movement.

Mondaine has also refined the case lugs and has carefully updated EVO2’s crown to balance the watch’s design.

The newest Mondaine EVO2 models, with their genuine and classic Swiss-design dial, are available in 35mm and 40mm case sizes, are offered with a choice of a black or red straps ($665) or on a steel mesh bracelet ($720).

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The Watches

Bomberg Celebrates Mexican Spirit

By Steve Huyton

Over the years I have written about many brands that sadly haven’t stayed the course. The watch industry is a very competitive environment and only the fittest survive. By that, I mean having a good marketing strategy and supply chain is a prerequisite.

So many watchmakers I’ve featured have exceptionally high manufacturing costs and pedestrian designs. Certainly, in these extraordinary times, buyers want something extra special at a very competitive price.

One of my recommendations would be to take a closer look at Swiss brand Bomberg.

I first became familiar with Bomberg in 2012 when the company was first established. Originally, the company marketed itself as a unique, ultra-creative lifestyle brand with flair. At that stage, they released three exciting quartz models called the Maven, Semper and 1968. Over the years I have followed the progress of the company and I’m delighted they are still buoyant. In fact, they are now producing some pretty decent Swiss mechanical timepieces, including the BB-01 Automatic Mariachi Red Limited Edition.

The Bomberg BB-01 Automatic Mariachi Red Skull Limited Edition.

Mexico-inspired

Interestingly, a brand based in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, has drawn inspiration from Mexico for their latest watch. However, Mexico is one of the company’s largest markets, and the brand offers several models with historical Mexican designs.    

I spoke with Bomberg Marketing Director Frédéric Layani about the conception of the BB-01 Automatic Mariachi Red Skull Limited Edition. He informed me that Bomberg wanted to create the essence of Mariachi, which is far more than just a genre of Mexican regional music. The brand’s interpretation embodies the notion of celebration.

Certainly, wearing this flamboyant timepiece would give you a sense of exaltation.

Aesthetically the BB-01 Automatic Mariachi Red Skull Limited Edition has a really strong visual identity. I love the vibrant red multi-layered skull shape dial that makes this timepiece really distinctive. Other refined features include flower-shaped eyes, a cross on the forehead and a central hoop.

There is also engraved detailing on the 43mm stainless steel case and “glass-box” anti-reflective sapphire crystal, which is a really classy touch. Overall the composition has been well executed and the finishing is superlative.

At the heart of the watch is a high-quality movement from Swiss manufacturer Sellita. Functionally, the BB-01 Automatic Mariachi Red Skull Limited Edition features hours, minutes, seconds and a date indication at 6 o’clock. The watch also has a power reserve of thirty-eight hours and is water-resistant to a depth of fifty meters. To complete the picture the timepiece is presented on a black silicone strap with a deployant buckle.

With a suggested retail of CHF 1,775 (approximately $1,900), the BB-01 Automatic Mariachi Red Skull Limited Edition is very competitively priced. (Note that Bomberg also offers a brown-dialed version of this model at the same price.)

Bomberg also offers a brown-dialed version of this model.

Steve Huyton is an industrial designer, illustrator and author who publishes Total Design Reviews.

 

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The Watches

Ulysse Nardin Adds Rose Gold Diver Trio

Ulysse Nardin updates its already extensive dive watch collection with three dive models that add rose gold to existing favorites. Two of the updates include a new rose gold bezel atop a steel or a titanium case.  A third debut includes diamonds set in a rose gold bezel atop a 39mm rose gold case.

Diver 42mm Grey and Rose Gold

The new Ulysse Nardin Diver 42mm Grey and Rose Gold.

This latest 42mm steel-cased PVD-satin-finished ‘shark grey’ dive model boasts a 42mm case with nicely contrasting rose gold and gray rubberized, unidirectional rotating, concave bezel.  

Beneath the clearly domed sapphire crystal Ulysse Nardin offers a dial with a contemporary sandblasted finish. Ulysse Nardin has engraved its logo on the solid grey PVD back.

Inside you’ll find a Sellita-based automatic UN-816 movement (outfitted with a silicon escapement wheel and anchor) protected down to 300 meters under water. Finally, Ulysse Nardin secures the watch’s gray alligator strap with a stainless steel grey PVD buckle. Price: $10,400.

The new Ulysse Nardin Diver Chronometer 44mm.

Diver Chronometer 44mm

With a larger (44mm) case, the Ulysse Nardin Diver Chronometer 44mm, with a classic ocean blue dial and blue PVD-coated titanium case, offers a more feature-filled option for nautical adventurers.

Its rose gold unidirectional bezel is appropriately easy to read with gold markers and luminous 0 at the top to mark dive time. The dial, itself well lit with SuperLuminova ands and markers, displays a power reserve indicator at 12 o’clock and a substantial small seconds hand in a subdial at 6 o’clock.

Inside, Ulysse Nardin fits its own Caliber UN-118, which boasts a Diamonsil (a diamond-silicon alloy) escapement wheel and anchor and a silicon balance spring, much of which is visible through a see-through sapphire caseback.

And despite the clear back, Ulysse Nardin assures us that the Ulysse Nardin Diver Chronometer 44mm, like the full Diver Chronometer 44mm collection, is built to withstand up to 300 meters of water pressure. Price: $13,300.

The Ulysse Nardin Caliber UN-118 Manufacture movement.

Lady Diver Rose Gold

Set with forty diamonds, this glittering 39mm watch may be a fashion-forward mother-of-pearl dial watch, but inside it’s all business.

The Ulysse Nardin Lady Diver Rose Gold, on an alligator strap.

Within the full rose gold case Ulysse Nardin fits its automatic UN-816 movement, the same one powering the Diver 42mm Grey and Rose Gold described above. That sharp-looking dial glows with eleven diamonds; the white alligator strap is held in place by a rose gold buckle. If you’re sporty, opt for the model with the white rubber strap.  Price: $25,800.

The Ulysse Nardin Lady Diver Rose Gold, here on a rubber strap.
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Featured News

Fifteen Years of Ochs und Junior

 

A small watchmaking venture started as an experiment continues to design watches that offer simple solutions and unorthodox displays for complex timekeeping functions.   

By James Henderson

This year marks the fifteenth anniversary of one of the longest running experiments in the watch business. Back in 2006, Ludwig Oechslin (of Ulysse Nardin fame and until 2014 curator of the Musée International d’Horlogerie (MIH) in La Chaux-de-Fonds) and his fellow Ochs und Junior co-founders asked the watch world a contrary question – if you could buy a watch with complications that were distilled down to their most basic level, would you?

Dr. Ludwig Oechslin

Then they took it a few steps further. What if the case was not polished, but somewhat, well, basic?

In other words, what if you could buy a watch conceived by one of the most famous watch creators of recent times, one that possessed marvelous complications that apart from the dial of the watch, remained hidden away beneath a solid caseback?

In a world where watches are meant to be highly polished and eerily similar in look and feel, what if you went a different way?

The famed 39mm Ochs und Junior Annual-Calendar. Check out this video of Ludwig Oechslin explaining the date spiral for his perpetual calendar, which is also relevant for his moon phase watch.

Fast-forward to 2021. While the experiment continues, it appears to be a resounding success with Ludwig Oechslin and Ochs und Junior continuing to swim against the mainstream. Here’s a short, three-part history of the idiosyncratic watchmaker.

The Foundation

 This period involves Ludwig Oechslin, Beat Weinmann and Kurt König (the owner of Embassy, the Lucerne-based jewelry store that Beat Weinmann was working for at the time). Ochs und Junior produced a very small number of esoteric watches. These were known to a small group of collectors.

The Ochs und Junior Two-Timezones Date with rose gold PVD.

The Growth Period

This was when Ulysse Nardin was brought in as a partner and Ochs und Junior set up shop in a studio space, a little bit off the beaten path in Lucerne.

The Ochs Period

In 2019, after a lot of thought and consultation within the family, Kornelia Imesch and Ludwig Oechslin bought all the shares of Ochs und Junior. But it is important to note that this was only done once it was clear that some of the “Junior Ochs” would join the company.  And to that end, it has been agreed that two of the younger Oechslins will be joining the team, which is now based in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

Inside the Ochs und Junior Annual Calendar.

Ochs und Junior today is a family company, led by Dr. Ludwig Oechslin. The rest of the band includes Christian Gafner, who is head of brand and design, Violaine Baudouin, the marketing chief, and Louise Krank (a junior), communication designer. The company’s watchmakers are Jost Schlatter and Masaki Kanazawa, who is a Master Watchmaker for Ludwig Oechslin’s special projects.

Ludwig Oechslin’s ideas will continue to set the tone moving forward, which is really what has made Ochs und Junior what it is today. As the company evolves, it continues to grow through experimentation. Below are some of Ochs und Junior’s most recent designs.

All three Ochs und Junior Calendario Cent’anni models.

The Calendario Cent’anni

This 100-year calendar, designed by Ludwig Oechslin, features a dial with indication of hours, minutes and seconds in addition to correct date, month, leap or non-leap year. The 40mm watch is titanium and is powered by a Ulysse Nardin UN-320 automatic movement. The Arabic character or indices with hour/minute hands are coated with SuperLuminova.

The Calendario Cent’anni (CCAII), a 100-year calendar.

Here’s how it shows the time and date:

  • The dates (28, 29, 30 or 31 days of any month) are visible for 100 years, without needing correction for the length of any month (including February in leap years), and are displayed via a traveling, rectangular dot on the date spiral.
  • The month and leap years are on a central rotating disk. The leap year and the three following years are displayed on a decentralized disc, rotating together with the position of the month-display. Finally, the central hour and minutes with the seconds rotating are seen on a small disk at 6 o’clock.

    The Calendario Cent’anni (CCAI), or 100-year calendar.

Prices begin at CHF 15,230 (approximately $16,600).

The Settimana Limited

This watch is designed to help savor a favorite day of the week, allowing the wearer to set six “standard” days and one “extra special” one. It colorfully indicates hours, minutes and seconds, and all seven weekdays by clockwise rotating dot between 1 o’clock and 7 o’clock.

The trio of Settimana models. They colorfully indicate hours, minutes and seconds, and all seven weekdays by clockwise rotating dot between 1 o’clock and 7 o’clock.

The titanium-cased Settimama measures 36mm in diameter and is powered by a Sellita SW 200-1 automatic movement. The watch is available in three limited color versions of 11 pieces each. Prices start at CHF 3,046, or approximately $3,300.

The new Moonphase Trilogy. All are 39mm and cased in titanium

Ochs und Junior moonphase

This special edition of the Ochs und Junior Moon Phase is available for pre-order in three 39mm variations, and can be purchased as a trio or individually.

The 39mm moonphase Emerald Green model features a lacquered dial with black galvanized moon disk and golden markers and hands. It also features a jade-stone as the sun at the 12 o’clock position.

Option one features a black galvanized dial and red lacquer-coated moon disk with red markers and hands with a case of black PVD-coated titanium. Another option has a red lacquer-coated dial with black galvanized moon disk, black markers and hands in a titanium case. Option number three has an emerald-green lacquer-coated dial with black galvanized moon disk, and gold colored markers and hands. This emerald green watch will feature a jade sun at the 12 o’clock position. The straps are made from red or black textile with a titanium buckle. Prices: CHF 7,400, or approximately $8,100.

The Ochs und Junio Moonphase with black galvanic dial.

And there are more interesting developments to come, but suffice it to say after fifteen years Ochs und Junior is here to stay.

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