Review – The Patek Philippe 5320g Perpetual Calendar, and The Inspirations Behind This Vintage-Inspired Piece
At Baselworld this year, Patek Philippe introduced again a surprising watch, a piece with a unique look and a clear vintage inspiration – without mentioning a case to die for. For a few years now, Patek has accustomed us with a certain creativity, with watches that go out of the brand’s comfort zone (see for instance the controversial Calatrava Pilot 5524 or the Annual Calendar 5960A in steel). The 5320g Perpetual Calendar is amongst these special watches, even if here, it prompted a unanimously positive response. Today, we take a closer look at this vintage/military-inspired piece and also to the different watches that inspired its creation.
Given how synonymous Omega’s Speedmaster is with space in general and the moon in particular, it’s quite easy to forget that the watch was originally designed with motorsports in mind. This year, Omega set out to remind us that the Speedmaster does not always equal Moonwatch, with the Speedmaster Racing Master Chronometer, a big, 44.5mm dual register automatic that honours the spirit of the Speedy, but also spices things up with numerous automotive touches. Starting with the perforated racing strap, with flashes of orange peeking out from between the lining. Then there’s the high-vis orange highlights on the dial, and finally, the roulette-style alternating minute track, which improves legibility (and coolness) by at least 20 per cent. With the Speedmaster Racing, Omega has taken an already winning engine and, once again, fine-tuned it for optimal performance. Omega Speedmaster Racing Master Chronometer Australian pricing Omega Speedmaster Racing Master Chronometer, steel on leather, $11,300
Bremont is a brand fuelled by avgas and the spirit of Icarus. The fledgling British brand has their roots in the sky, as it were. But that doesn’t mean that they’ve neglected other spheres of influence, including motorsports and as we can see here, diving. The Supermarine (even their dive watches have an aviation tie-in) first entered the catalogue in 2010, in the form of the Supermarine 500, a large 43mm steel piece with a distinctive ‘crown-at-two’ case design. This year the Supermarine has evolved, with several new references joining the family — the S300 and the S301. These divers — while still having plenty of Bremont DNA, such as the Trip-Tick case — are much more traditional. They’re smaller, at 40mm across, and slimmer, with a 13mm height. And if the proportions are constrained, so too is the style. The S301 plays the vintage card, with its printed hour markers, lollipop seconds hands and a general air of world-weariness. As with pretty much everything Bremont create, it’s a strong, smart, design that plays to their strengths and is suitable for a lifetime of daily wear. Bremont Supermarine Type S301 Australian pricing Bremont Supermarine Type S301, on leather, $5000
A few weeks ago, I spent the Melbourne Cup long weekend with some extra company, specifically two references from the Bulgari Octo collection. Now, let me just say right off the bat, when it comes to the Bulgari timepieces, the Octo Finissimo collection has had pretty much all my attention since the Automatic dropped earlier this year at Baselworld. So when the opportunity arose to test drive a couple of ‘other’ Octos, I was keen to explore what else was on offer. I decided on two (very) different pieces, with both work and play in mind, which stood out to my particular tastes. For ‘work’, I opted for the Octo Roma in 18 karat rose gold. I love gold, so it wasn’t exactly a hard choice. For my ‘play’ option, I grabbed an Octo Ultranero, which you can read about later this week. My first impression was … a big ‘wow’ when I took the brown dial into the sunlight. ‘Brown’ doesn’t do justice to this charismatic, dynamic, ever-changing dial. Depending on lighting, the lacquered surface would change from a very dark brown to more of a chestnutty colour. And, in the brightest of sunlight, even a rich burgundy. It really…