In Martin Green’s opinion, the Tudor Ranger has a timeless quality that some might look upon as being too plain but has a deeper charisma that reveals itself over time. At 39mm, the Ranger is neither too large or too small. And he looks at if it’s a better deal than the Rolex Explorer.
Colin Alexander Smith is reunited with his first watch and discovers an intriguing watch manufacturer that has been producing mechanical watches in Switzerland continuously since 1886.
Unless you have been residing under a large rock in recent years, you are most probably (and perhaps quite painfully) aware that the classic steel sports watches designed by Gérald Genta for Audemars Piguet (Royal Oak) and Patek Philippe (Nautilus) are both beyond the financial reach of most people and in many cases simply not available even if you can afford them. Here Colin Alexander Smith shares six more affordable and more available sports watches that have caught his eye over the last few years.
Tool watches continue their evolution among the watch industry’s most luxurious and coveted brands. Here Chris Malburg explores where their evolution has gone and might still go.
Every time Ian Skellern writes the words “relatively affordable” here on Quill & Pad, he braces himself for the stream of comments reminding him that he must live in an alternative reality to most of the world. So he doesn’t describe the Patria Brigadier Flyback Chrono as relatively affordable (though compared to most of the watches we review on Quill & Pad he thinks it well merits that description), but he does think that it’s fantastic value and the bargain of the year. And here he explains why.
On January 1, 2022, watch spotters were flummoxed by a photograph of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in their New Year’s Eve party dress. The former POTUS appeared to be wearing a black Royal Oak-style chronograph on a rubber strap. The watch in question turned out to be a collaboration between Teleport, a little-known U.S.-based fashion watch producer, and Actively Black, a U.S.-owned leisurewear company. Colin Alexander Smith managed to get his hands on one for a closer look, which he shares here.
The Saxon One Chronograph offers a lot of watch for the price (€4,600). It does so many things so well, but it is most of all, an original proposition. The big question for Martin Green is, strap or bracelet?
Joshua Munchow is the fortunate owner on a M.A.D.1 Red. Here he explains how he came to have a M.A.D.1 Red and what he thinks of it after a few months on his wrist.
Jacky Ickx and Chopard co-president Karl-Friedirch Scheufele have been friends for 27 years. In 1989 Scheufele and Ickx drove the Mille Miglia together. “We got to know each other there. He turned up and said, ‘Well, I have no intention of driving. You’re driving; I’m going to watch the scenery’,” Scheufele recently laughed. It is such shared events in addition to the legendary race car driver’s achievements that have inspired Chopard to continue to dedicate timepieces to Ickx, honoring a man who can certainly be called one of the world’s very best drivers.
After spending a few days with the Alpina Alpiner Extreme Regulator, Martin Green felt it was good looking, comfortable to wear and offers a lot of bang for your buck!