VIDEO: Panerai 2017 collection overview and our 3 favourites *post may contain traces of bronze*
Panerai kicked off 2017 with a bang. The brand that artfully bolts together ‘Italian design and Swiss precision’ showed a cohesive range with a strong material focus at SIHH in January. At the collection’s core was the mighty Luminor Submersible in many shapes and sizes. Andrew and I picked our three favourite takes on this diver’s diver, and it quickly became clear just how versatile the Submersible is: from dressy to everyday to downright lustworthy. All that’s needed is a change of case metal and a new dial. The only question is, which watch wouldn’t Andrew shut up about?
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Happy Valentine’s Day! Now, for the downer. What are the words people use when a relationship starts to break down? American songwriter Ryan Adams suggests, “We need to talk.” “I’m confused.” “Maybe later, you can come over?” Elise, our French intern, may be searching for similar phrases right now, because her so-called ‘love letter’ to Swiss watches ends up in some, uh, different places…
Of all the Apples to Apples battles so far, this is pound for pound the closest fight. Today our airborne aces are the Breitling Navitimer 01 (46mm) and the IWC Pilot’s Chronograph. Both watches have histories – and credibility – written in the skies, both are priced at about the same price point, and both are worn with passion by real pilots. So, with a lot of curiosity and anticipation we’re sending this video down the runway. If you’d like to vote, hit up Facebook or comment on YouTube. We reckon this one will go down to the wire. Hope you enjoy the third episode of Apples to Apples! 
It’s a couple of sleeps until Valentine’s Day, which means the window for buying your beloved a watch is rapidly closing. If you’re thinking of pulling the trigger, congratulations, may the wind be at your back and the watch you want in stock. But before you buy, watch this 90-second refresher featuring someone you can trust. Her name is Brooke, her life revolves around creating unique and beautiful weddings over at farewell fiancé, and her message is short and sweet. What’s the mistake you’re most likely to make? How can you avoid it? Over to you, Brooke… P.S. – If you’re more inclined to try and score a watch for yourself on Tuesday, Ceri has some suggestions. Go forth and prosper selfish ones!
Felix and I are taking deep breaths. We’re getting plenty of exercise. Plenty of sun. And we’re changing our coffee order from latté to long-black, and – at least psychologically – replacing the contents of the water cooler with Cristal. Yes, Baselworld is only weeks away. For those that don’t know, the old B-W is the world’s biggest watch fair, held in Basel, Switzerland in March every year. We thought now would be the perfect time to post a caffeine-fuelled, EDM-powered flashback to begin to wind up for the big dance. What is Basel really like? Like this. If this post has led to questions about SIHH, please be our guest…
The buzzword is ‘pivot’. And at this year’s first major watch fair, SIHH in Geneva in January, IWC ‘pivoted’ in a big way with just about everything they did. The booth was fitted out to emulate a vast Florentine dome, the watches were Engineered for Women and, rather than safe sport-watch territory, the controls were very much set to ‘dress’. And in this single, boldly different territory, they did impress. These are the four watches that Felix and I couldn’t get out of our heads, now with extra-smoking fire effects and dance moves. Prepare yourself for Da Vinci (and some dramatic Felix voiceover effects)…
Gentlemen, start your envy… Spoiler alert, but it’s comforting that the CEO of Ferrari Australasia, Herbert Appleroth, has a watch collection befitting his station in life. And let me just say, his ‘watch box’ was the best we’ve ever seen. We’d discussed him coming in to share some of his more notable timepieces, but we weren’t fully prepared for the ‘watch box on wheels’ that he rolled up in. You’ll see what we mean, as well as what was inside – and honestly some of his watches are surprising, this is not just the usual suspects for your A-list CEO – in this high-octane four minutes of Ferrari power. It’s worth noting that in addition to this box of dreams, the magnificent Mr Appleroth also possesses several Hublot watches that will make Ferrari fans’ eyes water. You can see one of them in detail here. Perfect Saturday afternoon fodder, we hope you enjoy. 
In the first episode of Apples to Apples, I brought the proverbial boys to the yard by surprising Felix with a milkshake in the form of two very similar looking worldtimer watches by Frederique Constant and Baume & Mercier. To be completely honest, I thought Felix out-argued me. I thought he won. The results of the social media poll, where we opened the floor to you, told a very different story. And so, the scene is set for the series to play out. We flip. We make our cases. We hand over to you to be the final judge. In episode two, it’s a battle of wristborn titans; the mighty Panerai Luminor Submersible vs the Cartier Santos 100. 
There’s a case for letting the dust settle before you start writing lists after a watch fair. You know, the fullness of time, emotions recollected in tranquility, all that. Or, you could just ride the wave of enthusiasm/delirium while it’s still surging and put it out there, on the spot, from the ‘backstage area’ of one of the booths. Which is precisely what we did on the final day of SIHH 2017 after some frantic notebook scribbling and hurried discussion. We ended up not agreeing enough to do a team list just yet (after all, we’re different people). So we stuck to five each. We’re quite sure that when we get home and start poring over all the photos and videos with fresh eyes that things will change. But until then, these are some piping hot croissants, fresh from the SIHH oven. And boy, are the watches (and our photographer Marcus’ shots of them) toasty. Enjoy with a cup of coffee.