Introducing – Oris GMT Rega Limited Edition
Last year, Oris introduced their first watch made in partnership with Rega, a private, non-profit air rescue service that provides emergency medical assistance in Switzerland. Based on the powerful and unique Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter, we even tested it right where it should be, in the Swiss mountains. Today, Oris presents the Oris GMT Rega Limited Edition, the second watch made in support of the partnership with Rega – and still a powerful, tool-ish purpose built-watch.
Way back in 2013, Panerai released the PAM 389, a big, 47mm titanium beast with antimagnetic innards and an oh-so-sexy ceramic bezel. This powerful diver is a watch entirely in keeping with Panerai’s core values. Fast forward to 2017 and we’ve got a new and improved version of this Luminor Submersible, with an updated reference number to match — PAM 1389. Functionally and aesthetically not too much has changed, it’s still the same Luminor 1950 case, complete with that iconic crown guard. The bezel is still ceramic, with those excellent recessed interval markers and large lume pip at 12. But a few things have changed. Dial proportions have been given minor modifications — slightly fatter hour markers and a bright blue seconds hand, for example. The major change though is the one beneath the dial. This PAM is packing the latest in-house automatic movement, the P.9010, offering three days of power reserve across two barrels and an hour hand that can be quickly adjusted in one-hour increments. This movement is still safely ensconced behind a soft iron Faraday cage, as indicated by the Antimagnetic text on the dial. These are all incremental modifications that improve the functionality and legibility of this Submersible…
A few months ago we had a look at the Bell & Ross BR V2-94 Garde-Côtes, an orange-accented twist on their vintage chronograph. Well, today we’re going to pare it back a little further, with the time and date BR V2-92 Garde-Côtes. Looking at Jason’s excellent photos of this watch it should be quite apparent the sort of watch you’re looking at here. A no-fuss 41mm automatic, with a bright personality. That personality comes, of course, from the bright orange chapter ring and the day-glow seconds hand. But there’s more points of interest at play than just these peacock elements. There’s the dial, a functional, almost battleship grey in a matt finish — a colour picked up in the soft rubber strap. The colour scheme is inspired by the hi-vis livery of the French Garde-Côtes, or Coast Guard, in particular their distinctive Eurocopter Search and Rescue choppers. And then there’s the bezel, an aluminium insert with radial numerals that really helps the watch live up to its ‘Vintage’ name. And it’s certainly a watch that you don’t need to stress about getting wet — 100 metres of water resistance, unidirectional bezel and screw-down crown with crown guards ensure that. For me…