Full list of Panerai 2012 releases

For those who have found it hard to find a complete list of Panerai’s SIHH 2012 offerings, here’s a run down of OP’s new models for this year.


HISTORIC

RADIOMIR CALIFORNIA 3 DAYS
Ø 47 MM PAM00424

MOVEMENT
Hand-wound mechanical, Panerai P.3000 calibre, executed entirely by Panerai, 16½ lignes, 5.3 mm thick, 21 jewels, Glucydur® balance, 21,600 alternations/hour. Incabloc® anti-shock device. Power reserve 3 days, two barrels. 162 components.

FUNCTIONS
Hours, minutes, date.

CASE
Diameter 47 mm, polished steel with removable wire loop strap attachments (patented). Screw-down winding crown personalised OP.

BEZEL
Polished steel.

BACK
See-through sapphire crystal

DIAL
Black with luminous Arabic and Roman numerals and hour markers.

CRYSTAL
Sapphire, formed of corundum, 2,8 mm thick. Anti-reflective coating.

WATER-RESISTANCE
10 bar (~100 metres).

STRAP
Leather strap and large-size polished steel buckle.



RADIOMIR S.L.C 3 DAYS
Ø 47 MM PAM00425

MOVEMENT
Hand-wound mechanical, Panerai P.3000 calibre, executed entirely by Panerai, 16½ lignes, 5.3 mm thick, 21 jewels, Glucydur® balance, 21,600 alternations/hour. Incabloc® anti-shock device. Power reserve 3 days, two barrels. 160 components.

FUNCTIONS
Hours, minutes.

CASE
Diameter 47 mm, polished steel with removable wire loop strap attachments. Screw-down winding crown personalised OP.

BEZEL
Polished steel.

BACK
See-through sapphire crystal

DIAL
Black with luminous hour markers.

CRYSTAL
Sapphire, formed of corundum, 2,8 mm thick. Anti-reflective coating.

WATER-RESISTANCE
10 bar (~100 metres).

STRAP
Leather strap and large-size polished steel buckle.




RADIOMIR 3 DAYS GMT ORO ROSSO RED GOLD
Ø 47 MM PAM00421

MOVEMENT
Hand-wound mechanical movement, Panerai P.3001 calibre, executed entirely by Panerai, 16½ lignes, 6.3 mm thick, 21 jewels, Glucydur® balance, 21,600 alternations/hour. Incabloc® anti-shock device. Power reserve 3 days, two barrels. 210 components.

FUNCTIONS
Hours, minutes, small seconds, date, second time zone, power reserve indicator on the back, seconds reset.

CASE
Diameter 47 mm, polished red gold with removable wire loop strap attachments. Screw-down winding crown personalised OP.

BEZEL
Red gold steel.

BACK
See-through sapphire crystal

DIAL
Brown with luminous Arabic numerals and hour markers. Date at 3 o’clock, seconds at 9 o’clock.

CRYSTAL
Sapphire, formed of corundum, 1.4 mm thick. Anti-reflective coating.

WATER-RESISTANCE
5 bar (~50 metres).

STRAP
Alligator strap and polished red gold buckle.



LUMINOR MARINA 1950 3 DAYS
Ø 47 MM PAM00422 

MOVEMENT
Hand-wound mechanical, Panerai P.3001 calibre, executed entirely by Panerai, 16½ lignes, 6.3 mm thick, 21 jewels, Glucydur® balance, 21,600 alternations/ hour. Incabloc® anti-shock device. Power reserve 3 days, two barrels. 207 components.

FUNCTIONS
Hours, minutes, small seconds, power reserve indicator on the back, seconds reset.

CASE
Diameter 47 mm, AISI 316L polished steel.

BEZEL
Polished steel.

BACK
See-through sapphire crystal.

DEVICE PROTECTING THE CROWN
Brushed steel.

DIAL
Black with luminous Arabic numerals and hour markers. Seconds at 9 o’clock.

CRYSTAL
Sapphire, formed of corundum, 3 mm thick. Anti-reflective coating.

WATER-RESISTANCE
10 bar (~100 metres).

STRAP
Leather strap and large-size brushed steel buckle. Supplied with a second interchangeable strap and a steel screwdriver

SIHH 2012 : Quick look - Baume & Mercier, Greubel Forsey

Here I am in the Salle de Presse at SIHH 2012, which looks like this -

I have been very busy with press presentations, with very little time to upload and post-process my shots, so for this phase of SIHH I am using a newly purchased Panasonic Lumix GX1 with the Lumix G 14-42 X power zoom lens. It's great for quick snaps and I think it can do more than that too, but for really detailed and accurate watch shots I will be reverting to my Nikon D700 and 105mm Micronikkor macro lens later in the week.

The first booth to the right of the Salle de Presse is Baume et Mercier. Their presentation is tomorrow, but from my first quick look at the display cases outside the booth, I would say that they are upping their game.

New chronographs -

A new, more elegant and classic range of time-only watches with really nice sword hands, subtle dial guilloché and other details -

A closer look at one of the chronos -

Here is last year's Capeland chronograph, which has from memory a Dubois-Dépraz movement -

The thing about Baume et Mercier is that they are NOT attempting to go upmarket by developing their own movements, or worse, grabbing someone else's movement and calling it their own. What they do instead is take good reliable ETA and other third-party movements, finish them beautifully, and put them in high-quality cases.

SIHH 2012 : Philippe Dufour/ Robert Greubel/ Steven Forsey collaboration

Before you all fall off your seats, no, this is not a collaboration on a new watch.

Instead, it's a joint venture by the three individuals in the title to establish a training program for established watchmakers to learn the "old skills" which are rapidly disappearing as a result of increased automation, CNC machines etc.

For now I will just post some quick snaps. A separate room has been set up at the Greubel Forsey booth at SIHH 2012 and in it, I found the maestro himself with his new disciple (whose name I did not record, but he is an established watchmaker and teacher at a watchmaking school).

As I was snapping, Steven Forsey turned up to inspect things.

Will report more about this when I have a little more info.

Much more to come...stay tuned....same Tart-time, same Tart-channel.

[Tony P]

SalonQP 2011 – a #watchnerd round-up for Down Under

Our horological friend #watchnerd kindly agreed to share some of his thoughts about SalonQP 2011 for Australian readers.

Apologies for the delay in writing this for you – your hosts asked me shortly after SalonQP ended, but I’ve only just got round to putting fingers to keyboard.

I’ve no doubt you’ve already seen some coverage of this event online, on Twitter or even in the press. In my opinion, it was phenomenally successful, capturing the spirit of QP in an environment (the Saatchi Gallery in London’s Chelsea) that seemed to breathe life into everything on display.

The list of exhibitors really was quite extraordinary – there were many brands that had never before displayed in the UK, and it included everything from the hand-made (Dr George Daniels’ final pieces) to the ultimate in haute-horology, MB&F and De Bethune. All in all, it was a very, very good weekend. Apologies for the brief canter through the halls, but here are five of my highlights:

First up, a brand that has been getting a lot of press recently, following its Aiguille d'or at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève: the De Bethune DB28.

This space age, Star Trek-like piece seemed to capture the imagination of many visitors who were enamoured as much by its look as for the opportunity to closely admire the perfectly formed platinum and blued-steel moon phase rotating on its own axis below the dial.

Secondly, a new name: Heritage Watch Manufactory. Exploring the many patented devices that watchmaker Karsten Frässdorff has developed as part of the TENSUS and MAGNUS watch movements, while handling the beautifully designed Eric Giroud case, was pretty much as good as it gets in terms of watch-geekery. Whether it was the discussing the SEQUAX escapement or the VIVAX movement, I was pretty much out of my depth from the start, but found myself swimming in that huge balance, admiring the perfect weight of the movement. At one point, I think I forgot to breathe for about a minute…

Thirdly, the incredible Legacy Machine No1 from MB&F. For me, this is pure steampunk. I know it’s an overused word, but surely, if there’s any watch that deserves the moniker, it’s this one. Max Busser asked his friends a question: what watch would they be making if they’d been born 150 years ago, but had the knowledge and technology available to them today. The answer is the LM1, a truly astounding piece that elevates (quite literally) the balance wheel to the pinnacle of horology. Spinning away, it hovers like some tiny little UFO above the dial. A vertical clutch shows the power reserve, while the whole face of the watch is encased in a highly exaggerated domed sapphire crystal that reminds me of the glass cases in which specimens are sometimes displayed. Truly unique. Truly lovely.

 

Fourthly, the never-before-shown Spirit Pioneer from Peter Speake-Marin. The Pioneer is, perhaps, best described as an entry-level PSM. Built around the last of Peter’s FW2012 movements, the watch is quite different to any other model I’ve seen previously. On the wrist, it looks far more masculine than I expected – and the military influence comes through very strongly, whether it’s in the massive roman numerals, or the oversized, highly lumed hour markers. Of course, the fit and finish is superb as always, with the topping-tool-inspired rotor clearly visible through the display back. Hurry – I hear they’re nearly all gone.

Finally, and my favourite piece on display, the Ressence Series One, Type 1002. I first saw this model reported last year, and absolutely loved the concept. I therefore emailed the creator of the Ressence – Benoît Mintiens – before QP to secure some time talking to him. The concept is relatively simple: a watch without traditional hands, that prioritises the language of time. The hour “hand” (in fact a rotating dial) is top-left in the photo, subservient to the large minute indicator, with a small, sub-seconds dial turning constantly below it. 

The whole face of the watch revolves within the subtly curved sapphire, creating an illusion of orbiting moons, or planets. I found it fascinating, and not that difficult to read at all. Powered by an ETA2824, the dials are mounted on geared wheels and ceramic bearings to allow for smooth passage around the module. There’s been mention previously that this watch is “only” an ETA, but, like PSM, this merely provides power to the watch. Personally, I loved the 1002 model, with its anodised titanium dials. The lugs have been slightly modified from the original prototype and now grip the wrist in a far more welcoming manner. The softly curved, convex sapphire back is also remarkably sensual to wear and touch. It’s probably not for everyone, but it’s certainly for me.

Hermès "suspends time" with 'Le Temps Suspendu'

Hermès is not normally my first (or even tenth) port of horological call, but the announcement at Baselworld 2011 of the Arceau Le Temps Suspendu grabbed my attention for its whimsy.

With Les Temps Suspendu, Hermès’ Arceau watch, created in 1978 by Henri d’Origny, has been horologically upgraded by the brand’s partnership with Agenhor and its founder Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, most well known for the MB&F HM2, Harry Winston’s Opus 9, Van Cleef & Arpels Pont-des-Amoureux, and the True North for Arnold & Son.  

The name means “suspended time”, and this retrograde complication is demonstrated through the pressing of a pusher at 9-o’clock which ‘suspends time’ by bringing both the hour and minute hands to the recessed area at 12 o’clock, hiding the retrograde date hand in the process. 

Despite appearances however, the movement continues running and keeping time. If you press the pusher again, the hands will then fly back to the correct position as at that moment. Interestingly, the hands may stay suspended for hours, days or even weeks, but so long as the movement is wound, the watch keeps on ticking.

A bit of Moonshine and some Northern stars from Stepan Sarpaneva

My fondness for Stepan Sarpaneva's moon continues unabated. Many find it too gloomy or despondent in appearance, but to me it's a contemplative, poignant, and only slightly mournful moon, reminiscent of Georges Méliès.

Finally, after much anticipation, the moon's latest appearance, courtesy of the Korona Moonshine, has been formally launched at Basel, though photos of it started appearing late last year. Here is the beautiful short film created for it.

The Moonshine shows the time via a single rotating disc that moves around the periphery of the dial; you read the time through a display window at 6 o'clock which reveals the moving disc. It's not a method of time display for those for whom accuracy to the minute is paramount, but it will appeal to fans of jump hours and direct read displays.

This 42mm watch will come in three versions. One in 18k red gold, and two in steel, with one of those being DLC coated in black.

Glashütte Original - Living in the '70s

Most of the Tarts are old enough remember the 1970s, some as adults, most of us as children, but the fashion and design of that decade may well be ones that some of us prefer to forget.

Baselworld 2011 has brought a new offering from Glashütte Original, who are moving from the ‘Sixites’ to the ‘Seventies Panorama Date’, with its instantly recognisable stylistic nod to the eponymous decade, and featuring GO’s distinctive panorama date feature. The squarish shape, the bracelet, they both remind me of some of the watches my father had during that period.

Credor Spring Drive Minute Repeater

A little while ago I blogged about a very special Seiko, the Limited Edition Astron. BaselWorld 2011 brings another new commemorative watch from Seiko, which is celebrating its 130th anniversary this year.

Meet the almost half a million dollar (yes you read correctly) Credor Spring Drive Minute Repeater, the brand’s first minute repeater, and what a way to start.

This special timepiece has two cases; an inner one for the movement, and an outer one. The gongs are located in the space between these two cases, to achieve a clear and rich sound. The gong itself is made by Japanese steelmaker Munemichi Myochin, a 52nd generation master blacksmith, using the same steel as used in traditional Japanese wind chimes, and replicating its pure sound.

While most minute repeaters follow the traditional hour, quarter and minute system, the Credor Spring Drive Minute Repeater has a decimal system. The hammers strike the hour, ten-minute and one-minute sounds. This system was chosen as being more in keeping with the high technology character of the movement. It is perfectly logical and simple. At one fifty nine, the hour sound is struck once, the ten-minute sound is struck five times and the one-minute sound is struck nine times.

SPECIFICATIONS

Ref. GBLS998
Movement : Caliber 7R11. Manual winding. Decimal minute repeater.
Jewels : 112 jewels
Power reserve: 72 hours (without using the minute repeater mechanism)
Accuracy: ±15 seconds per month
Movement : Diameter 36.6 mm, thickness: 7.8 mm
Case: 18 carat rose gold. See-through caseback with sapphire crystal. 42.8mm diameter,14.0mm thickness
Band: Crocodile with 18 karat rose gold three-fold clasp and push button release
Crystal: Dual-curved sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating

Recommended retail price in Japan: JPY 34,650,000 (USD 426,389 at today’s rates)

You can watch the gong and listen to this beautiful clear sound at Seiko’s website here (bottom of the page) and you can listen to the Credor Grand Sonnerie, also a creation of the Micro Artist Studio from a few years back, here.

This is a stunning watch, with a similarly stunning price. Only three will be produced per annum. I am just intrigued as to whether they will in fact *sell* three in a year.

[AP]

Baselworld 2011 - Thoughts so far...

Basel 2011 - The biggest watch fair of them all.

It's only been a couple of days, but thanks to the speed of the interweb, those of us who weren't fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to attend, can keep up to date with the latest and greatest.

And my pick so far?

Let's rewind a little. For me, Omega has lost its way in terms of design in the last few years. They were producing some of the weirdest, strangest, overstyled watches in the market. There's no style or sense to these designs. This is coming from someone who has owned more than 20 Omegas (on and off) so I do speak as a great appreciator of the brand. I didn't like where they were headed and I hoped they would one day return to their glory days.

That day was to be today. Or, to be precise, whichever day they released the new Planet Ocean with the in house chronograph.

We won't dive (pun intended) into details about what constitutes "in house". There's enough debate on this subject on the various fora. But this chronograph has been a long time coming. They mentioned, at the launch of their in house caliber 8500, that they planned to do a chronograph based on this movement and 5 years on, here it is.

What really took my breath away is just how good the design is. Yes, there are hints to other dive watches from other companies, but the Planet Ocean look is based on their dive watch from back in the '70s. This new chrono has 2 subdials, yet still shows the chrono seconds, minutes and hours. The subdial at 9 is the constant running seconds, and the subdial at 3 features both the hour and minute chrono counters, so you can see the elapsed time in hour and minutes in one glance. IWC did the same thing when they introduced their own in house chrono a few years back. You know what they say about the most sincere form of flattery...

Hublot Big Bang Leopard

Dear Hublot,

I think that you may have met Rolex -

Perhaps once was enough?


All the best,

AP.


[Note : RRP is $40,800]

FORTIS B-47 BIG BLACK Limited Edition 2012

Really. What is the point of having a blog if you're just going to regurgitate what was written on the press release and copy and past the specs? A monkey can do that. If you want to know the source of my rant, Google "Fortis B-47 Big Black" and you'll see what I mean. Twenty different websites and blogs, all saying exactly the same thing. Why won't the watch companies take bloggers seriously? It's a 2-way street. quid pro quo. If you're not going to put effort in, neither are they. But of course, that is another debate for another time...(or, if you do have the time, have a look at the post and comments on this very subject here)

Back to the topic at hand. I saw this watch maybe a week to two weeks ago online. It hit me hard. Its very existence is completely impactful (to use a term favoured by the mass media in recent years. Note, it's NOT an actual word).

Its style? I reckon it's about as "love-it-or-hate-it" as it gets. It was talked about on watch forums and there were no in-between comments. I for one, love it. If you're going to make something like this, make it like this. As something that will stir people up, cause debates and generate controversy. That's how you sell watches.

I think the picture doesn't do the watch justice. I'm sure it'll look much better in person, and I'm sure many people will change their mind once they see it in real life. This goes for a lot of publicity shots. They really just don't do the watch justice.

This is the publicity shot. I mean, come on. It's not even cropped properly.

The watch is 47mm, but in this day and age that's barely considered oversized anyway. I don't like all black watches that aren't legible, as that defeats the purpose of the watch itself - which is telling the time. Yes I know that as a watch geek, more often than not I need to look at a watch several times before I notice the time.  But this is something else. It's taking the idea of a "skeletonised" watch, but with a different take on it. I really like the idea of using the date and day discs as a kind of "rotating" dial, meaning it'll look slightly different every day. Sort of.

Geneva Time Exhibition (GTE) 2011

SIHH, GTE, and a Geneva pilgrimage for a Sydney Tart

For most, SIHH (Salon International De La Haute Horlogerie) is a trade fair, an opportunity to catch up with old and new in the watch business, see the latest editions, plan the years' inventory and, at a guess, plan to part with six figure numbers in the process.

GTE ( Geneva Time Exhibition), on the other hand, is the independents' watchmaking exhibition with a somewhat different spirit, but at the same time I am sure if the truth be told hoping to achieve the same goals as my last statement regarding SIHH.

SIHH has been covered extensively on various fora and blogs. I can't offer nothing new because whilst I was physically was there, I didn't get across the barrier, owing to a registration glitch. However, I met and hung out with plenty of watch mates who kept me fed with press hand outs and happy watch conversation. From what I did get to see, the show is a trade delight, with every request beckon and every facility laid on. This is not a show for the faint hearted, no half measures, but then again what would you expect from the Richemont Group.

Literally minutes down the road from the SIHH trade fair is Geneva exhibition centre and GTE. First impressions were good. The building hosting the event on the inside not looking to dissimilar to the inside of the Sydney Opera house, and as such, had more design style over that of the Palexpo's aircraft hanger sized event.

Split into two main areas, walking around the show felt comfortable and relaxed, with a coffee bar placed in the centre of the hall to supply all with caffeine and provide a pit-stop conversation area.

I attended GTE to visit and meet Peter Speake-Marin, but along the way I saw these horological offerings.

Ressence, offering a beautiful simplistic design dial - sorry for not getting a pic of the watch, but  I loved seeing these glowing orbs.

The new HD3 Slyde, a couple of variants and the Black Widow catching more than a little attention.

Snyper just for men - hmm best they not see the film Black Swan ;-)

Louis Moinet using creative use of materials embedded within the case.

Various shots of the PSM stand and his variants ;-)

Laurent Ferrier making classic smooth lined watches.

The Da Vindice Tourbillon-Barometer. As I heard a mate say - "for when you can't drive your Bugatti into the restaurant, this is what one would wear!"

This is an incredible beautiful piece measuring  measuring 100mm by 50mm at least!

Photos from the Gala evening and Expo :

Some of the true greats of independent watch making were walking around the Exhibition, and it was such a pleasure to just bump into someone you recognised or by casually introduced a known legend (one whom you know the name and not the face) This was a true meeting place of artisans.

I've only touched upon a handful of makers here out of some 60 entrants, but hopefully it gives you a taste of want the expo is about.

For me, not being there for business, this was a complete pleasure and one I'd wittingly venture again. As I tweeted on the Gala night I only wish more of my SLT were with me ;-)

[JPVFX]