Introducing: The Ralph Lauren RL67 Safari Grand Date 50mm
The RL67 Ralph Lauren Safari models were introduced in 2013 as a sports-elegant, and relatively affordable, line of watches that would dovetail stylistically with Lauren’s idealized view of the safari as a vehicle not for hunting, but rather for seeing new worlds and reconnecting with nature. Pre-aged steel cases with gunmetal finishes and the case design from the Automotive collection are signature elements for the Safari watches, as well as automotive style dials and, usually, canvas straps. Although smaller models were introduced in recent years (and well received, at 39mm) this year Ralph Lauren’s gone the other direction, with 50mm cases.
SIHH is as common an abbreviation to us as YMCA. It doesn’t have dance moves, it’s not the Nutbush City Limits, but it does involve the team covering some serious mileage early in the year, every year. The question is, what happens at SIHH? What is it actually like? We made a video, to complete our two-part series revealing the truth about watch fairs (part one is here).
This year it appears that the Submersible collection is a major focus for Panerai, with the brand releasing a veritable pack of new models in all manner of materials and sizes. But there’s one watch above all else that has inflamed the passions of the Paneristi, and that’s the PAM 00671 – AKA the Blue Bronzo. For anyone not familiar with the legend of the Bronzo, a little backstory. In 2011 Panerai released the PAM 00382, a green-dialled Luminor Submersible cased in bronze, limited to 1000 pieces, though we suspect they wouldn’t have had too much trouble selling 10 times that number. While it wasn’t the first ever bronze cased watch, it was the watch that started the bronze craze. Well, this year the Bronzo is back, and blue. And what a blue! Forget any notions of in-your-face summer blue. Instead this is the darker, more mysterious hue of deep oceans. In fact, under the halogen lights of SIHH, the dial looked almost black, with occasional brilliant flashes at just the right angle. The colour of the dial might be the most obvious change, but it isn’t the only one. The luminous material on the hands, dial and bezel has been given a vintage creamy tone to match…