Panerai’s first experiment with bronze. The soft warmth of the PAM00507’s patinated case and unidirectional bezel play immeasurably well against the muted green dial. Powered by Panerai’s in-house P.9002 calibre, the PAM 507 carries a 3-day power reserve that can be counted down by glancing near the 5:00 marker.
Look at the watch reminds me of a pothole of a ship. I don’t care much about that image hence I don’t find this watch esthetically pleasing to me. Sorry.
The latest incarnation of the Tourbillon 24 Secondes Contemporain comes in white gold casing and a titanium dial. The design of the dial itself is exquisite and generates a three-dimensional effect.
To make the illusion that the regulator is floating in mid-air, the designers used a transparent synthetic sapphire bridge. Unfortunately, in the photo below, the bridge is obvious to see and the use of such a crystal when such material is not used in other parts of the watch makes it stand out like a sore thumb.
I also question the design philosophy for the display case-back. I don’t get it. Aren’t you suppose to use this opportunity to flaunt the engineering marvel? Why hide them behind sub-panels? Is the only interesting thing to see is the main gears???
I expected more and unfortunately Greubel Forsey disappointed me. I expected art in design, I expected to see exotic material, I expected to see engineering marvel……
Citizen has launched a new watch which features a self-winding mechanical movement. The Signature Grand Touring Automatic includes three hands and a date. Its unique crown protector system which contributes to the water rating of 200 meters. The series come in a mid-size steel housing with optional PVD treatment and coupled with a steel bracelet or a leather strap.
Citizen Signature Grand Touring NB0070-57E Watch
The movement used is the Miyota 9010 caliber, a 24 jewels self-winding mechanical movement with a power storage of 42 hours and operates at the frequency of 28,800 vph.
Citizen Signature Grand Touring NB0075-11F Watch
The width of the watch is 44 mm with a thickness of 15 mm. The front of the timepiece is protected with a thick sapphire crystal with double anti-reflective coating. The same material is used for the display case back.
Citizen Signature Grand Touring NB0070-06E Watch
The shape appeals to me. Out of the three, I like the Citizen Signature Grand Touring NB0070-06E Watch the most.
The Seamaster Aqua Terra > 15,000 gauss is a 41.50 mm stainless steel Co-Axial chronometer is a very special timepiece. At the heart of the watch is the OMEGA Co-Axial caliber 8508. It is resistant to magnetic fields greater than 1.5 tesla (15,000 gauss), far exceeding the levels of magnetic resistance achieved by any previous watch movement.
The technology developed by a team of ETA, Asulab, Nivarox FAR and OMEGA engineers led to the caliber 8508. This OMEGA movement does not rely on a protective container inside the watchcase but on the use of selected non-ferromagnetic materials in the movement itself. Even after exposure to a magnetic field greater than 15,000 gauss, still performs at a chronometric level as defined by COSC.
Traditionally, watchmakers use soft iron inner casings to protect the internals. This method has some limitations: There is a limit before the protective inner casing cave-in to stronger magnets and, from a design perspective, there cannot be gaps in the inner casing i.e. a date window display or a display case-back is not possible.
The Seamaster Aqua Terra > 15,000 gauss doesn’t face such limitations hence it is able to put in place a transparent sapphire crystal in its case-back as well as a date window.
The Seamaster Aqua Terra > 15,000 gauss is water resistant to 15 bar (150 metres / 500 feet). With the combination of its Co-Axial mechanical movement and its Si14 silicon balance spring, it also comes with an Omega four-year warranty.
When this watch first came out in Basel2013, I have decided to put it as one of my targets. Can’t wait for it to arrive on Malaysian shores.
The three-dimensional, black matte watch features numerals and hour markers in white Super-LumiNova, which contrast against the light-absorbing finished case, making it easy to refer to. This watch has an automatic movement.
With the help of a second barrel, the watch has a five-day power reserve. The dial is framed by a hand-finished circular grained bezel and the 42mm sandblasted stainless steel case is coated with anthracite DLC. The case back is solid and slightly domed with a message on it that reads “fight, love & persevere”.
Once in a while a watch maker will take the initiative to use exotic materials for a watch design they have in mind. Generally done in very small production runs, these watches are unique because of the special production process they have to go through to be made.
Richard Mille’s RM 056 Filipe Massa Sapphire is one such timepiece. The case of the watch is entirely constructed from Sapphire Crystal involving over 1000 hours of machining. Functionally the timepiece features a tourbillon movement with split second mechanism.
The caliber RMCC1 comprises 35 Jewels and oscillates at a frequency of 21,600 vph (3 Hz). The dimensions of watch measures 50.50 mm x 42.70 mm x 19.25 mm. Only five pieces were made.
This watch may be difficult to scratch but will it be able to withstand any impact such as being dropped?
This particular piece seek to represent the 24 hours of Le Mans endurance race. Inside the steel case, a Calibre 36 movement runs at the speed of 36,000 vibrations (or a frequency of 5 Hertz). The COSC-certified TAG Heuer movement’s unique annular oscillating mass is visible through the wide sapphire crystal caseback.
An “Advanced Dynamic Absorber System” protects the movement by suspending it inside the case with 4 shock-absorbing arms. The manifold arms, also visible through the crystal caseback, collect vibrations and direct them away from the movement and into the composite filter, which absorbs and dissipates their energy. The award-winning construction, tubular design and extreme shock-protected components are directly inspired by Formula One race-car technology.
“The Three Apes” with reference CH-6721R-OW2013, is a piece of art dedicated to the traditional crafts of guilloche main, skeletonization and fire enamel.
The casing is a solid 21-part case in red gold (18-karat). It is polished with a width of 44 mm and a height of 11.10 mm. Covering the dial is sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating. The crown is typical of a number of Chronoswiss previous offerings, solid onion-shaped. Meanwhile, screw-in back with sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating allows you to see the movement in the watch. Water-resistant to 3 atmospheres.
The unique thing about this piece of art is the incorporation of various demanding techniques in one watch. The dial of the watch is lavishly decorated with guilloché main and topped with a transparent fire enamel. The three apes featured on the dial are a symbol of denial.
Using the ETA 6498, manually wound, 17 jewels, 40-hour power reserve as a base, Chronoswiss lavishly decorated and later embellished it with guilloché décor. All this made purely by hand.
The Challenge is a big watch. The dimensions of the Tonneau-shaped case is 53.7mm long and 41.0mm wide. It is available in a choice of grade 5 titanium or orange aluminium. Below is the orange aluminium example.
Meanwhile, below is the titanium example. The see-through dial allows you to see the intricate gears of the automatic movement. The power reserve indicator is a nice touch and this alone give it an additional star in my book. Functionality wise, a tachometer is available.
Powered by the Calibre CVSTOS 577, the movement is a 25 Jewel self winding chronograph engine operating at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. This movement which uses a tungsten and titanium rotor is visible through the sapphire crystal exhibition case back. The propeller like rotor is a beauty.
This side profile shows the 3D effect that was designed into the watch. A real art piece.
It is a pity that this is a LE model. If Cvstos to make a standard production run on this watch with stainless steel as the base material, I’ll bet it can create a strong following to the brand (plus business of course!).
Fortis has added new watches to its Spacematic collection. The new models are powered by the automatic ETA 2836-2 movement. The models come in brushed matte steel case measuring 40 mm, with a sapphire crystal and screw-down steel case back. Each of the new Spacematic watches is water resistant to 100 metres and is available with a choice of straps: silicone in black, white, grey or blue; a textile strap in black, olive or sand; a black leather strap; or a steel bracelet with folding clasp.
The first set of new models is the Fortis Spacematic White-Red and Spacematic Black-Red. They feature a modern dial design with day and date discs at the centre, aligning at 3 o’clock. The day indication is bilingual, with the days in both English and German. Hour markers and hands are coated in white Superluminova with a blue afterglow.
The second set of new models is the Fortis Spacematic Classic, available in black or white. The classic dial design features a bilingual day indication at 9 o’clock, and a date indication at 3 o’clock. Indices and the date indication triangle are in white Superluminova with a blue afterglow.
Personally I like the Fortis Spacematic White-Red with bracelet.
My Watch Appreciation Hobby 