Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Liquidmetal Watch: High-Tech Dive Bezel Merges Ceramic With Metal

An interesting new Seamaster Professional Planet Ocean watch is in the offing from Omega.  According to preliminary sources, the timepiece features a bezel in which the graduated ring is crafted from a specialized ceramic-metal hybrid material described as “Liquidmetal”.  Apparently composed of titanium, copper, nickel and beryllium in addition to significant amounts of zirconium oxide, the Liquidmetal bezel has a very attractive and rich appearance, combined with superior shatterproof qualities and excellent resistance to environmental factors–superior traits indeed for a timepiece that is both a luxury object, and an instrument with true capabilities for diving and sports use. Continue Reading… »

Mere Request Gets Former Russian President Vladimir Putin To Gift His Blancpain Watch

Is that all I needed to do? Just ask? Well apparently that was all that Russian weapons factory worker Viktor Zagaevsky needed to do to get a new (for him) Blancpain wrist watch. Russia loves its former Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and he spends a good deal of his time touring around the country. While visiting the weapons factory recently, Putin was stopped on his way out. In a ballsy gesture Zagaevsky asked for something as a souvenir to remember Putin’s visit. Putin is commonly beloved in his country and tends to draw much fanfare. Apparently taken back by the request, Putin simply asked what the blue collar metal worker wanted. Who reportedly responded with “how about your watch?” Continue Reading… »

IWC Aquatimer Chronograph Rose Gold Watch

A timepiece such as this makes the same type of sense that a decadently appointed off-road worthy SUV does. Why do you gild a device meant to go off the beaten track and be exposed to the elements? Just as most Cadillac Escalade owners don’t tread their pampered big-wheelers off road, such is the case with the owners of gold cased IWC Aquatimer Chronograph watches. “Strong enough for the sea, but made for cruising in the Bentley,” as I say.

The watch is still pretty as sin though, and for this Ref. IW3769 watch, IWC gave it their in-house made automatic caliber 89360 chronograph movement – beautifully decorated and finished as visible through the caseback window. The chronograph is special because it has a bi-compax array of subdials, but retains timing of up to 12 hours. The top subsidiary dial has two counter hands in it, for the chronograph minutes and for the hours. The chronograph hands are in all red for clarity, while the lower subdial is for the watch seconds and also has an integrated date window. Continue Reading… »

Ulysse Nardin Black Ocean Watch: Super-Stealthy Maxi Marine Diver Limited Edition

When a timepiece gets an exciting (and slightly ominous) name like “Black Ocean”, how can you not be at least a little curious?  I’m referring to one of  the hottest new limited edition variations of the Ulysse Nardin Maxi Marine Diver.  UN’s 200-meter rated dive watch with crown guards, a massive screw-down winding crown, and a beautiful wave dial that borrows charm from the 1846 Chronometer has worked its charms on many a lover of luxury watches, and the addition of a number of colorful variants has only added fuel to the fire.  With stealthy all-black sports watches being incredibly hot right now (witness the number of custom PVD-coated Rolex models that have surfaced) it was only a matter of time before Ulysse Nardin entered the fray. Continue Reading… »

Blancpain 500 Fathoms Watch No. 1/1 For Only Watch 09

There’s nothing like a noble cause to stimulate the creativity of luxury watch brands.  I’m making reference, of course, to the annual Only Watch auction, which stars some exceptional and one-off timepieces from a spectrum of Switzerland’s finest–all of which are going to be auctioned off next month for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research.  One of the most interesting to me from this year’s crop–at least in the sport-themed genre–comes from Blancpain. Continue Reading… »

IWC 2009 Aquatimer Watches Defeat Early Gripes To Win Over Watch Collectors

No matter what their preferred watch brands may be, devotees of sports watches all seem united when it comes to the issue of dial design. Make ‘em big, make ‘em bold, and oh yes–make sure there’s plenty of luminous applications that keep a brilliant glow for more than just a few minutes.  With that last point in mind, I have to sing the praises of the IWC’s 2009 Aquatimer line, which I’ve recently been able to see live for the first time this year.    (Click here to read a summary of the 2009 IWC Aquatimer collection) Continue Reading… »

Omega Ploprof Watch Is Back In 2009; Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea, Move Over!

Word of an Omega Ploprof dive watch reissue was exciting 2009 news to me, because like many sports watch fans, Omega’s legendary 1970’s dive timepiece has always fascinated me.  I was therefore delighted to see it front and center at Omega’s Baselworld 2009 exhibit, as bold and distinctive as the original, yet with considerably enhanced water resistance over the 600 meter original, and bearing within its monocoque case Omega’s brilliant manufacture 8500 caliber movement with the Co-Axial Escapement.  Continue Reading… »

Bulgari Diagono Professional Acqua: Nicely Updated In 2008

I’ve always harbored a fair share of admiration for the “Acqua” dive watches from the Bulgari Diagono Professional watch collection.  Sober, as a dive instrument should be, yet subtly stylish, these self-winding timepieces have always seemed a very reasonable luxury watch alternative to the sometimes overwhelmingly profuse Rolex Submariner and Omega Seamaster.  

This year, Bulgari did a bit of freshening for the Diagono Professional Acqua, and the results are outstanding.  Continue Reading… »

Chopard L.U.C Pro One: The Range Rover Of Dive Watches

The Chopard L.U.C Pro One is a dive timepiece whose primary design focus is elegance and refined workmanship.  In contrast to archetypal tool-oriented dive watches like the Rolex Submariner, the L.U.C Pro One seems designed under the assumption that the bottom of the swimming pool is probably the deepest water its owner will experience.

This is not in any way a detraction of the L.U.C Pro One.  Nor is it an assertion that this Chopard watch isn’t fully capable of undertaking demanding dive duties; it is pressure-tested to 300 meters, after all, and features both a protected screw-down crown and a unidirectional bezel–all essential elements Continue Reading… »

Panerai Special Editions 2008 Luminor 1950 Pangaea Submersible Depth Gauge Watch

One of the coolest Panerai watches to debut this year has to be the limited edition Luminor 1950 Pangaea Submersible Depth Gauge model. The combination of a mechanical movement with a high-tech electronic depth gauge makes this watch unique, and really underscores the heritage of Panerai as a maker of really serious dive instruments. You might say this is the ultimate modern Panerai dive watch.

Continue Reading… »