Buffy Acacia
There has been a lot of grim news in the past week, and while the wristwatch hobby can be a meaningful mental escape for some, not everyone can be so lucky. Thankfully, there are watch brands that are glad to give back to communities, knowing that collectors will splash out for charitable causes. Fires in Los Angeles have now destroyed more than 10,000 homes, displaced tens of thousands of people, and killed at least 30 people with an indirect death toll that may not be clear for months to come. It's a horrifying ordeal and a disaster event that will only continue to occur more frequently as a result of climate change and lack of intervention funding. In aid of the LA Fire Department Foundation which is currently organising recovery efforts, British brand William Wood is auctioning a unique edition of its Fire Exit Watch.The auction will take place on February 1st, with details still being finalised – however, the watch being auctioned off has been finished. I reviewed the Fire Exit Watch back in March last year and absolutely adored its creative whimsy, incredible attention to detail, and colour scheme based on British fire exit signage. This Special US Version 1 of 1 naturally takes after the US red and white fire exit signs instead, but still depicts the running man going about various daily tasks in the place of a weekday wheel. It's also hard to go past the unique rubber strap, made from upcycled firehose. William Wood itself is certainly no stranger to charity, having raised over 150,000 for firefighters over the years, and participating in our Watch & Act! charity auction back in 2020 which raised over A$200,000 in the wake of some of Australia's worst bushfires.Given the extremity of the fires and the vast reach of their impact, I have no doubt that there will be a significant donation come February 1st. And whether or not you can participate in the auction, now is a good time as any to ask yourself what you can do to support your community. Place compassion above reason, let your actions speak for themselves, listen when others are asking for help, and every week will be better than the last. Have a wonderful and generous weekend!Buffy and the Time+Tide TeamWatch meme of the week: from the Ginza district of Geneva“Not Intended to be a factual statement.”byu/MontiBurns inWatchesCirclejerkGrand Seiko isn’t the only non-Swiss brand Watches of Switzerland sells: they also stock Glashutte Original and William Wood. Perhaps Switzerland is more of a state of mind…Wristshot of the week: Our SeaView this post on InstagramA post shared by Justin Hast (@justinhast)Watch commentator, top bloke and friend of Time+Tide Justin Hast shared this great shot of the underrated Panerai Mare Nostrum, the brand’s often-forgotten-about chronograph. We’d love to see the Mare Nostrum make a comeback.Time+Tide Shop pick of the week: D1 Milano CeramicaFounded in Milan (no duh) in 2013, D1 Milano flies the flag for Italian minimalism, taking 70s integrated luxury sports watch design codes and paring them back to their bare essentials. You might know them for their polycarbonate, Joshua Vides-esque Sketch models, but you might be less familiar with their Ceramica collection, which features silky, glossy ceramic cases and bracelets in monochromatic colour schemes. Powered by a Seiko TMI VJ21 quartz movement and available in white, black, green and blue, these are style-forward pieces that are a cut above your average ceramic fashion watch.The D1 Milano Ceramica collection will be available for a limited time exclusively in-store at our Time+Tide Discovery Studios in London and Melbourne. Price: A$720Accessory of the month: Heist Watch Cleaner KitLife’s too short to wear a dirty watch. Australian brand Heist's Watch Cleaner Kit is affordable, effective, highly portable and a must-have watch care accessory for any suited and booted watch collector. The kit contains three elements: an 80ml spray bottle of Heist's proprietary cleaning solution, a bendable nylon soft-bristle brush, and a silky microfibre cloth. The kit comes in a durable ziplock pouch to prevent leaks and is good for around 200 applications (depending on how gross your watches are, obviously). The best bit though? The fun microfibre cloth.The Heist Watch Cleaner kit retails for A$59 and is available directly from Heist with free international shipping on all orders.?Find out more at Heist's online store here.Our favourite Time+Tide coverage of the weekLVMH Watch Week 2025 recap: key takeaways from CEOs and novelty highlightsWhile it’s only a two-day event (which kind of begs the question of why it is referred to as a watch ‘week’) and only contains brands from one luxury conglomerate, LVMH Watch Week 2025 gives us a strong indication of the trends in watchmaking for the year ahead from all brands. Zach shares highlights from each of the participating brands and some interesting insights from his conversation with their CEOs here and in the video above.Andrew reveals plan to open a Time+Tide NYC Discovery Studio to Financial TimesIn case you missed the big news from us this week: Time+Tide is seeking to raise 3 million in private investment to open a retail space in New York, off the back of the successful opening of our Discovery Studios in Melbourne and London, which opened in August 2023 and October 2024 respectively. Financial Times did a big write-up about it: find out more here.I got hands-on with Tudor's hyped Black Bay Chronos, and now I have a lot of thoughtsUnless you've been living under a rock recently, you'll have seen the watch world go a little crazy over the new?Tudor Black Bay Chrono Flamingo Blue, as well as the similarly pastel-toned Black Bay Chrono Pink that dropped last year. But is the hype justified? Russell tried on these two colourful chronographs ‘in the metal’ – check out his thoughts about what they say about the brand in 2025 here and in the video above.
31.01.25