It’s Friday. It’s five o’clock in London. That means it’s time to down tools, pour yourself a drink and look back at what A Prodigal Week it has been.
Glass in hand? Let me offer you some canapés of news and views.
WATCHES
King of Chunk
I have a penchant for chunk. And the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore is surely the King of Chunk. So (and, yes, I know I’m repeating myself) the model continues to catch my eye. This week, Jack Forster over on Hodinkee delves deep - as is his custom - into the new models and their in-house caliber 4404. He writes:
The titanium models make wearing an Offshore about as low impact weight-wise as an Offshore is ever likely to be – they're extremely comfortable – but there is something very handsome about the steel model with the black ceramic bezel and as there isn't the added mass penalty of a bracelet, that would probably be my choice. After all, what's an Offshore without at least a little heft to it?
Exactly! The heft is part of the charm, right? I want to believe but…whenever I’ve indulged this penchant of mine in the past - my ill-fated Panerai purchase springs to mind - I’ve ended up regretting it. Then again, I really do think that this latest iteration of the Offshore is the most compelling yet.
Also worth your time
Bremont Longitude limited edition introduced: “In all probability, the Longitude will become a footnote in Bremont’s history, leaving the focus on the company’s rapid and hugely admirable evolution into a British manufacturer and assembler of high-end mechanical watch components.”
Zenith Defy Extreme Desert Edition reviewed: “It has a massive presence on the wrist and is extremely protected all-around, but it’s also a watch of mechanical exception, with the impressive double-regulator chronograph movement inside.”
CARS
Re-elect Mayor Goldie Wilson!
Porsche doesn’t need to spend a penny on marketing to sell me a Taycan. The product - alongside its sister car, the Audi e-tron GT - is the most compelling electric vehicle on sale today. But this week it looks like our friends in Stuttgart did spend a euro or two. And…wow.
Also worth your time
Range Rover Mk5 leaked: “A wider, lower and more aerodynamic silhouette, a more steeply raked windscreen and a more three-dimensional evolution of the current, slab-sided form.
GADGETS
A brace of failures
I was quite taken with the Surface Duo when it was announced last year but - quite apart from the fact that I’m addicted to the Apple ecosystem like a crack whore - overall it felt just a little two expensive and a little too underpowered. What I really liked about it though was its focus. Microsoft had eschewed a massive camera or an external display, in favour of slick lines and an apologetically ‘notebook’ aesthetic. That made it stand out and, to my eyes at least, imbued it with a huge ‘cool’ factor.
The Surface Duo 2 that launched this week fixes the original’s mediocre tech specs but in trying to impress in other areas, loses the original’s purity and cool. The Verge writes:
If the first Surface Duo felt like it was 50 percent complete, the Duo 2 is perhaps maybe 75 percent of the way there. I can see the potential. But it does not live up to it, unfortunately.
Having spent some time with Samsung’s Fold 3 this week, I came away incredibly impressed. There’s no doubt in my mind that folding phones have a future. But this isn’t it. Close, Microsoft.
Don’t miss…
🍎 Apple’s October event was its best in a very long time. Not least because we finally got the MacBook Pro we’ve been begging for.
Discover the highlights >
🎧 Prodigal Persiflage turns its attention to the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore, the Gérald Genta Arena Retro Mickey Mouse Disney, the Greubel Forsey GMT Earth Final Edition, and…er…the Breitling Top Time Classic Cars Capsule Collection.
Have a listen >
🍾 Talking Hands is back after a six year hiatus (not counting the NOS episode we unearthed). Eric and I sat down over a bottle of wine to discuss the vintage Omega Speedmaster and Breitling Navitimer.
Watch it here >