Panerai sets sail for victory with 3 new Luna Rossa specials
Following on from the successful first collaboration between Panerai and the America’s Cup team Luna Rossa, which spawned the Submersible Luna Rossa, the Italian watchmaker has continued the relationship with the 36th America’s Cup challenger to create three completely new watches. Retaining the same fundamental aesthetic as the first iteration — most notably the dial, which utilises real pieces of sailcloth from the Luna Rossa — the three new watches are, however, distinctly unique from one another, and feature a host of different materials and complications. The Panerai Luminor Luna Rossa Regatta 47mm is the largest of the trio, and the substantial case, which measures 19.94mm thick, is resplendent with Panerai’s Carbotech case construction, which involves layering carbon fibre and then bonding the structure with polymers. The net result of this complex case material is that, although the dimensions of the Luna Rosa Regatta are among the biggest of any watch on sale today, the timepiece itself is comparatively quite light. Housed within the Luna Rossa Regatta’s distinctive case is Panerai’s Calibre P.9100/R, a self-winding movement that benefits from no less than 328 parts, 37 jewels, two spring barrels, Incabloc anti-shock device, Glucydur balance components, 72 hours of power reserve and 28,800…
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You might have missed the slick new updates to Omega’s dressy Trésor line amidst the cavalcade of Speedmaster and Seamaster releases this year but, trust me, they’re worth closer inspection. For one thing, steel joins the family this year, across a few versions. Of particular note is this gorgeous bleu number. Not only is the 40mm steel case an exercise in classic, everyday style of the old school variety, with a slender case and truly top-notch mechanical movement, but the dial is something else. For starters, the thin, long hands and hour markers are timeless. And then there’s the dial itself. It’s domed, which adds complexity and depth, and then there’s the pattern, a printed cross-hatched pattern that brings to mind the ‘linen’ dials of yore. And while it’s fair to say that the Trésor will never be the main arrow in Omega’s quiver — the Speedmaster and Seamaster families are far too strong for that — it’s an excellent, impressive take on a classic genre, and certainly one worth considering if a flexible dress watch is in your future. Omega De Ville Trésor 40mm Co-Axial Master Chronometer price Omega De Ville Trésor 40mm Co-Axial Master Chronometer, steel on leather, $9250.…
As brands continue to successfully look to the past as they design watches for the present, a number of stylistic elements from as far back as the 1930s can be seen in modern watches. One of these anachronisms is the sector dial, an attractive layout of the dial that is typically defined by closed concentric circles that segment the dial. In this layout, there is a sense of order and control that comes from the portioned spaces of the dial, which remind a little of the structured designs of Art Deco, blended with the minimalism of the Bauhaus movement. As Longines breathed new life into this dial with their new Heritage Classic that they released last week, I thought I’d have a look at some of the best sector dials of the last few years. Dan Henry 1947 Dress Watch The Dan Henry 1947 Dress Watch is possibly the best-looking sector dial you can find on a budget. At 40mm in diameter and 12mm thick, it is a little larger than would have been normal in 1947, but it is perfectly sized for the wrists of today. With the charmingly applied Roman numeral indexes that sit within the brushed chapter…
Omega has just opened their latest Museum in the heart of the “La Cité du Temps” in Biel, Switzerland. The museum, which has a decidedly modern aesthetic, was designed by the award-winning Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, who is famed for his groundbreaking work with paper and recycled cardboard. Housed inside the contemporary institution is a capsule of the Swiss watchmaker’s storied history, which dates back to 1848. The museum features several interactive showcases, as well as stimulating movies and exhibits aimed at celebrating and chronicling Omega’s amazing legacy in horology. One of the standout features is a 9-metre running track that pays homage to Omega’s long-standing support of the ultimate crucible of athletic prowess, the Olympics, which Omega has been the official timekeeper of on many occasions since the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. The running track features the Swiss marque’s iconic bright-red starting blocks and electronic starting gun, and participants can have their sprint to the finish line captured by Omega’s Scan’O’Vision MYRIA, a camera capable of recording up to 10,000 digital images a second. Fans of Omega’s inspiring history in space exploration can also enjoy a display commemorating the Omega “Moonwatch” Speedmaster, the first flight-qualified wristwatch ever to…
Editor’s note: It should come as no surprise that Hublot know their way around ceramic. I mean, seriously, just look at the vibrancy of this red. It really is magic. Read on for our review … The story in a second: It’s big. It’s red. It’s Hublot. Red is a colour with some pretty specific cultural meaning — danger, passion, excitement and love. And most of these emotions or associations are pretty applicable (danger, not so much) to Hublot’s latest hot piece, the Big Bang Unico Red Magic, a statement piece par excellence that impresses on so many levels. The case Yeah. We’ve got to start with the case. There’s just no avoiding it. This is an incredible watch case on many levels, including sheer brightness. This is a case that definitely lives up to the Big Bang name. And for all that this incredibly vivid, bright watch is as eye-catching as a red fire engine barrelling down main street with sirens and lights blaring, there’s more to this 45mm watch than ‘mere’ surface appeal. For starters, ceramic isn’t the easiest material to work with, and regardless of colour, the highly polished ceramic front and back plates, as well as…
If you’ve been around watches for more than a few years there’s a decent chance you’re familiar with the watch designs of Alain Silberstein. They’re bold, bright and very much of their time — crazy shapes and primary colours that go to show that Bauhaus design is far from boring. It’s minimalism, but in the most maximal way imaginable. Silberstein had his own eponymous brand, which is no more, but thankfully he’s still involved in the world of watches — he was one of MB&F’s friends a few years ago and now he’s popped up in this cool, colourful collaboration with Louis Erard. Louis Erard is another name you might not be familiar with, even though the name has been around for 90-odd years. It’s also a name you might be hearing more of in the years to come, as they seem to be picking up steam, as evidenced by this very funky fresh take on the classic regulator. Regulator is where the hours and minutes appear on separate sub-dials — a design originally conceived for accuracy of time reference. The movement used in this 40mm steel regulator is a manual Peseux base with an exclusive Soprod module on top. And…
Editor’s note: Razor-sharp details, timeless style and a solid new movement make the Baume & Mercier Baumatic an excellent option for an everyday dress watch that doesn’t break the bank. The story in a second: Classic on the outside, contemporary on the inside. Baume & Mercier are onto a winner here. I’ve always thought Baume & Mercier were at their best when they were playing with the classics. The Clifton, with its classical proportions, vintage inspiration and strong value offering, is a proposition that was hard to beat. But beat it they did, with the deceptively simple Clifton Baumatic, and its powerful movement. The case An elegantly proportioned case is a hallmark of the Clifton family, and this Baumatic version delivers, with neat and tidy dimensions of 40mm across by 10.3mm tall. But even though it’s a Clifton, it’s not quite the same Clifton as before. The regular — non-Baumatic — Clifton is a shade wider at 41mm. It’s not just the overall width here that’s slimmer, the lug shoulders are more slender too, giving a greater air of timelessness overall. As you’d expect, the crystals are sapphire on the front and the rear, and it’s rated to 50 metres…
There was a lot going on in the middle of the 1960s. The space race was in full swing, the Australian dollar was introduced, and the launch of the Girard-Perregaux 1966 Collection. This collection was launched alongside a number of other projects that Girard-Perregaux were working on, including being aggressively competitive in the Neuchâtel Observatory chronometry trials, and producing the first watch movement to beat at 10 beats per second or 36,000 times an hour. Today, the Girard-Perregaux 1966 Collection lives on as cleanly sophisticated dress watches that have their designs rooted in the middle of last century, with movement technology that is firmly planted in the 21st. We were recently lucky enough to get a closer look at two attractive references from the 1966 Collection, the Full Calendar and the Date & Small Seconds. Both have their own very different charms despite being clearly from the same design DNA. Girard-Perregaux Full Calendar and Girard-Perregaux Date & Small Seconds The Girard-Perregaux Full Calendar is $16,000 AUD. The Girard-Perregaux Date & Small Seconds is $25,500 AUD. Made in partnership with Girard-Perregaux. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own in accordance with our Editorial Policy.
Hublot has just dropped the Big Bang MP-11 SAXEM, once again demonstrating why they are the vanguards of the horological industry when it comes to innovating new materials for wristwatches. The stunningly green case of the new Big Bang MP-11 is hewn from a material that has never been used before in a timepiece’s case – SAXEM. An abbreviation of Sapphire Aluminium Oxide and rare Earth Mineral, the high-tech material receives its brilliant emerald green colour as a result of the Hublot Manufacture mixing materials such Aluminium oxide, which is the basic component of sapphire, with rare-earth elements such as thulium, holmium and chromium. The outcome of this process is a case material with several benefits. For example, SAXEM is not only far stronger than emerald, it also possesses a much richer and deeper colour than sapphire. Housed inside the revolutionary new case, which measures an impressive 45mm, is Hublot’s highly technical Caliber HUB9011, a manually wound skeletonised movement that features no less than seven barrels and a whopping 14 days of power reserve. Speaking about the watch, Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO Hublot said: “With this new Big Bang MP-11, Hublot once more asserts its regal mastery of innovation, at both…