VIDEO: Panerai’s Radiomir 1940 3 Days Acciaio PAM 00514, is this a PAM for a more ‘mature’ man?
When I told a Panerai-loving friend that after years of looking only at the Luminor I was starting to favour the Radiomir, he wasn’t at all surprised. “It’s called maturity,” he said. While that seems unlikely, there is definitely something more refined and self-assured in the smooth, uninterrupted lines of the Radiomir’s cushion case. Something perhaps more versatile and classic in its application, too; a man for, if not all, then more seasons? Whatever the case, the reasons for choosing the Radiomir as your next Panerai extend well beyond its considerable aesthetic charms. The Radiomir — as I discovered in the video that explores the contrasts in Panerai’s two main collections — tells the lion’s share of the brand’s interesting history, despite the younger, more muscled and glamorous younger brother getting the limelight. This review of the PAM 00514 Radiomir 1940 should help acquaint you with more of the details that make the watch special in its own right.
The post VIDEO: Panerai’s Radiomir 1940 3 Days Acciaio PAM 00514, is this a PAM for a more ‘mature’ man? appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
I’m putting myself out there in this video, which aims to establish whether the Panerai Luminor or Radiomir collection is more your jam. I’m pulling zero punches when I admit, in the opening few seconds, that at the time I bought my first ‘real’ watch, a Luminor PAM 177, I didn’t even know the Radiomir collection existed. This video is for people who are still unsure where they would stand if push turned to Panerai purchase, but want to explore. Is the slightly more svelte Radiomir, with its rounded cushion case, right? Or are you more connected to the big old Luminor crown guard? Beyond the looks, what about their histories? The stories that explain why they exist? If you’ve ever considered any of these questions, we hopefully have the answers for you right here. Back to that first luxury watch love of mine, the Luminor. The truth is, it wouldn’t have made much difference at the time if I had been more educated. I’d seen it in a magazine I was editing. It was a profound case of love at first sight. As bizarre as it might seem now, I’d never been much into watches before that moment. Little did I…
A. Lange & Söhne is a serious watchmaking brand. Everything they do is deliberate, and relentlessly on message. It would be easy to assume — based on this and the generally traditional nature of their timepieces — that the German brand is sober to the point of dullness, but the reality is exactly the opposite. Not only are their press presentations amongst the most consistently amusing (and informative) I’ve ever attended, but the watches themselves have fully fledged personalities that are anything but boring. Take the Saxonia Thin in Copper Blue. The Aventurine dial is fun, endlessly fascinating, and a perfect match for the minimal Saxonia model. Then there’s the Little Lange 1, a pint-sized model offered in three confident, but not over-the-top, colour schemes. And then there’s the Triple Split. Of all the A. Lange & Söhne 2018 releases it’s the one that, for me, most epitomises the values of the brand. Sublime watchmaking, made not to meet a clear and pressing need, but simply because they can. And made with such a sense of style and panache. Wunderbar.
Well, here we are. The ‘sky’s-the-limit’/‘mortgage-the-house’ level of watch. And if you’re going to drop that sort of coin on something that (you’d hope) tells the time, SIHH is the place to do it. There were some truly exceptional offerings at the top end of the table and – just quietly – we definitely picked the best six (Justin and Sandra were greedy and went with two each). Again, you’ll have to watch to see just what we went with, but I suspect it’s absolutely zero surprise that the A. Lange & Söhne Triple Split made the cut. Andrew chose it, summing it up nicely: “It’s just triple the amazing.” He’s not wrong. Thanks for watching our SIHH 2018 panel series, and tell us what you think in the YouTube comments.
With parts one and two of our SIHH video series receding into our proverbial rear-view mirror, it’s time to look to the future, and the future is looking, well, expensive. Today, we’re well and truly in the realm of serious horology. And, as with yesterday, we’re keen to avoid spoilers, so to find out what Andrew, Sandra and Justin would choose if they had a spare $20-30K in their pockets, hit play. I do think it’s only fair to warn you that we’re a tad disorganised at the start of this one. However, I’ll spill the beans on my pick — the IWC Portugieser Hand-Wound Eight Days Edition ‘150 years’. Now, to be honest, I didn’t pick it for the less-than-pithy name but rather the fact that it’s a watch that looks back at IWC’s heritage and honours it. For me, the red gold, white and blue Portugieser Nailed. It.
Yesterday, we ran through our picks of SIHH 2018 at the more accessible end of the spectrum, bearing in mind that the HH in SIHH stands for ‘High Horology’. Today, we kick it up a notch, looking at watches that come in between $10-$20k. There are a lot of meaty options in this price point, something that’s reflected in the fairly diverse opinions of Sandra, Andrew, Justin and myself – as we’ve picked out simple, time-only pieces as well as some more complex pieces. I’m not going to spoil the surprise (or the LOLs), but take, for example, Justin’s pick – the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Chronograph WT, a watch that is just over the top end of our budget but offers a strong mix of world time and chronograph complication in a stylish sports case and with a pretty exceptional movement. Or, as Justin puts it: “I’ve always found it hard to find a nice world time chronograph with more then 30-minute registers. It drives me bonkers.” We hear you, Justin, we hear you. Now, onto our top watches of SIHH 2018, between $10,000 and $20,000, Stay tuned as things get more expensive tomorrow.
In the midst of the hectic schedules and bustling halls of SIHH, Andrew and myself, along with freelancers Sandra Lane and Justin Mastine-Frost, found a spare hour to sit down in front of the steady lens of Marcus’ camera to discuss our favourite watch of SIHH — while they were fresh. But rather than just cherry-pick the (many) exceptional watches on offer, we opted to make things a bit trickier by breaking the watches down by price. So, in part one of our four-part mini-series we talk about the (roughly) sub-$10,000 price point. So, here are (what we think) are the best watches of SIHH 2018 – under $10,000. Stay tuned for the other instalments. Sandra’s pick – the Hermès Carré H “It’s lovely, the shape of it as it goes onto the wrist is almost like a bathtub.” Felix’s pick – the Montblanc 1858 Chronograph (in bronze) “It’s a really good, strong, general-appeal chronograph.” Andrew’s pick – the Cartier Santos de Cartier “Cartier are acknowledging a lot of broader trends in the way they’ve packaged this up.” Justin’s pick – the Zenith CP-2 Flyback Bronze “It looks stunning. Bronze is everywhere now – I’ve got a soft spot for it…
The more distance and time I’ve had to reflect on SIHH 2018, the more I’m inclined to think that the calibre of the exhibiting collections was – overall – very high. The very top end of town was well represented but of more interest to me (and I suspect a lot of you reading this), the offerings at the less stratospheric price points were plentiful, interesting and attractive. Case in point – Montblanc. Montblanc’s hero collections were the greatly expanded and slightly re-imagined 1858 collection, and the classically styled Star Legacy, both full of the sort of value-packed, thoughtful watches that Montblanc have become synonymous with lately. But really, for me it was the 1858 that was the star of the line-up, what with their rugged charms and easy wrist appeal. Make sure to watch the video for a full overview, but to my mind, these three regular production 1858 watches are the ones to watch. Montblanc 1858 Geosphere With its twin, rotating hemispheres and ceramic compass bezel this twin-time watch was one of Montblanc’s real talking points. It’s offered in a regular production steel model or a limited bronze case, bund strap combo that’s Reinhold Messner levels of awesome. Montblanc…