On Monday, Patek Philippe canceled its 2020 new product launches. There’s no point generating sales buzz for new watches the shuttered company can’t make. Does this mark the beginning of the end for our New Watch Alert? Maybe. Anyway, we’re not there yet. We’re here, with this week’s cream of the crop . . .
New York Times writer flags the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore, A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1, Vianney Halter Antiqua, F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance, Richard Mille RM 001, Ulysse Nardin Freak, Urwerk UR-103, MB&F HM4, Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon and the Apple Watch. As they say on Sesame Street . . .
Posting a Gruen ad based on bombing Tokyo probably won’t endear me to Grand Seiko’s PR department. Never mind. I do so to point out that this country has faced greater threats than Coronageddon (Dust Bowl ad next week). Survivors will emerge smarter and, in many ways, better. Meanwhile, the New Watch Alert remains spoiled for choice. But choose I did . . .
The Grand Seiko SBGA229 Spring Drive Diver is emphatically not an OMEGA Seamaster or Rolex Submariner. But it is priced that way. So why would anyone spend their hard-earned and increasingly scarce money on a fancy Seiko rather than one of the Swiss stalwarts? Let’s be clear . . .
In the presence of the coronavirus epidemic, time suspends itself. As we get used to a different pace of life, as watchmakers and watch sellers shut down operations, all eyes turn to the Internet. And so our New Watch Alert continues – based on product roll-outs scheduled before Coronageddon. We’ll see how long this lasts, but it’s somehow comforting. Rock and roll . . .