AW20 WATCH JOURNAL

30th November 2020

A must read for gents looking to update their watch collection. Dive into the world of luxury watches and discover Alex’s Doak’s definitive buying guide for right now.

Green, mean, and not so lean, Audemars Piguet upholds its uncontested status as the originator of oversize with this latest update of its ‘Offshore’ – the Brute From Le Brassus (our nickname) that back in 1993 injected controversy as well as steroids into the Royal Oak, which 20 years prior to that had ruffled feathers simply by being a steel sports watch with a luxury pricetag. The mighty Oak’s octagonal form is now rendered purely in black and green ceramic, in Hulk-like 44mm proportions, topped by an equally sinister smoky dial.

75979 | £34,000

This issue of ROX Magazine, complete with three-page feature on the Chopard Alpine Eagle, had almost gone to print when news of the latter’s XL Chrono update landed. To be fair, we should have expected it – as the Swiss watchmaker’s fresh new take on the outdoorsy lifestyle (an update of Eighties jetset favourite, the St Moritz) it was always going to have a stopwatch version. What’s especially gratifying though, is that the Alpine Eagle’s innards are upgraded to a fully integrated chronograph engine derived from Chopard’s top-flight ‘L.U.C.’ atelier, with flyback function into the bargain too.

75669 | £16,800

The fact we see rubber so frequently in rebellious ‘fusion’ with gold can be credited entirely to Carlo Crocco. Forty years ago, this scion of the Italian Binda dynasty, best known for making Breil watches, struck out to create what’s become an icon of 20th-century watch design: angular case, mounted by a circular bezel and 12 exposed screws, looking just like a boat’s porthole (the French for which he adopted as the brand name). The rest is history, which is why it’s so wonderful to see the now-LVMH-owned Hublot paying tribute to Signore Crocco’s original gamble so faithfully.

75945 | £20,800

As you’ll see from our exclusive interview with Carl Cox, the thinking everyman’s chronograph specialist, Zenith is flourishing with exciting new technological twists to its El Primero workhorse, going even further than the Defy 21’s flagrantly epic addition of a secondary powertrain driving a 100th-of-a-second blur of a stopwatch. DJ Cox’s special edition threw glow-in-the-dark carbon into the mix; this one’s exposed bridges and winding rotor glow vividly in noble violet.

75187 | £11,000

It’s no secret that Jack Heuer’s last-ditch efforts to save his family firm in the Sixties were not only successful, but gave fruition to the driver’s chronograph as we know it, mucking in with the pit crews of Europe and America’s major race series and giving them what they needed: the Carrera chronograph, named after Mexico’s lethal road race. Its cult successor, made famous by Steve McQueen’s character in Le Mans (1971) is the square-jawed Monaco (no prizes for working out that name), which now boasts the Heuer 02 calibre, keeping time for 80 straight hours.

75737 | £5,050

There’s not a single plucky, British airborne exploit that would overlook Bremont as their timekeeper these days. The Henley-on-Thames watchmaker has, in less than 20 years, established itself as the go-to high-end alternative to standard-issue military-issue wristwear, with tie-ins stretching from Martin-Baker ejector seats to the restoration of the Wright Brothers’ original flying machine. This year, Rolls-Royce is building the fastest-yet, fully electric aeroplane and keeping time on the 300mph attempt will be Bremont. This titanium-clad GMT tribute is just the start…

75978 | £4,495

No intro required when it comes to the Black Bay. Having facilitated Tudor’s long-overdue stride out of the shadow of big brother Rolex, the diving collection’s greatest hits of vintage details, in combination with modern manufacturing nous has become a phenomenon itself. This year, things are understandably understated, reined in at 39mm, painted precisely in keeping with the French Navy’s favoured colourway from the Seventies, and – given those in-house mechanics – irresistibly priced.

75074 | £2,760

CONTINUE READING

Welcome to a ROX Magazine that, like everything this year, is rather different. Despite finalising this issue amidst Lockdown 2.0, without the upside of 1.0’s kindly weather, the theme we conjured for a consolidated ROX Magazine back in the summer still feels as poignant: ‘Together’.

Even through lockdown and with the continued closure of nightclubs, DJ Cox remains hyperactive from his base in Melbourne, as ROX Magazine’s co-editor Alex Doak had the pleasure of finding out…

Why bother braving the great outdoors this winter, when you can have restaurants deliver deliciousness to you.