The Breitling Watch Blog

Before I bought the Panerai Black Seal PAM 183, I bought this RXW MM25 Poseidon. Its a Japanese company, but a Swiss Made watch made by Ken’s Trading. While it looks similar to the 183, its quite different in person and on the wrist. The watch came with two 26x26mm straps, quite different from the 26x22mm straps that come with the PAM183.

Here is the watch shown with the lizard pattern 26x26mm strap that came with it. The watch has fixed lugs so straps need to be screwed in with Rivets, making aftermarket straps very difficult to find in variety. Most will have to be custom made or have Rivets in them, which is not the best compromise because sometimes a guy just doesn’t want rivets in his strap! As you can see, it has a great sandwich dial and it glows like a torch.

Caseback is of the Solid Variety, hiding the Swiss Unitas 6497 movement inside. The caseback does proudly annouce the movement inside, as well as the 1000 Gauss Anti-Magnetic rating and 100m Water resistance. Also written on the back is “Luminova Plasmir Dial”, which means that it has a Luminova Sandwich dial.

Crown is a screw-down variety, just like the 183 but is a Brevet Swiss Crown. Its a great crown and feels good when winding. As you can see from the sideview shot, the Bezel protrudes out from the cushion shaped case a fair bit.

Here is the ever-important wrist-shot. When I got this I really really liked it… I thought it was a great looking watch and I couldn’t believe I didn’t like Radiomirs before. It wears quite a bit larger than my 183, but I have to say that after owning the 183, the RXW MM25 has lost a bit of its luster. I just did not want to wear it after getting the Black Seal, so I sold it! Bye bye MM25, but it was a great experience owning it, and I’m glad I did as it motivated me to buy the Panerai 183 Black Seal.

“You actually own a Ril Watch. You do not need to wait for the next generation.”

That’s their slogan. Obviously this is a reverse take on Patek’s slogan which is, “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.” Now, while they use a spin-off of Patek’s slogan, their watches have absolutely no relationship in look or pedigree to Patek Philippe. They’re more of a Rolex Sub “homage” to be diplomatic.. others would call it a copy.

Ril Concept states that their watches are designed in London and use precision automatic Japanese movements, selling for $999US. They feature a 38mm case, sort of like a mini-submariner. To me they look more like they were designed in Switzerland (by Rolex) and then copied by someone in London. Also, the 30m water resistance doesn’t really seem like its up to the task of being a scuba watch, which is what it’s marketed as.

Features:
-Scratchproof sapphire glass
-Stainless Steel
-Rotating Scuba bezel
-High precision Japanese automatic movement 21 jewels
-48 hours power reserve
-Screwed winding crown
-Water resistant (30m)

Take a look and decide for yourself!
http://rilconcept.com/

For once, an watch company that embraces their Asian movements! Usually we find watch companies try and hide the pedigree of their movements when the origin is not Swiss, but Sean Wai of moVas Watches is here to change that. He spent over two years tweaking the design for his first watch, and each watch will only be produced in a limited number of 100 peices.

The first series of watches based on the first case design are simply called the GMT, Regulateur and Chronograph. This first watches have been released and are priced between $430-$670US, but many eagerly await the release of the divers that will be out soon. The price point feels a bit high to me, but for a in-house designed original watch with a quality finish on the case the price is reasonable enough. From the few reviews I’ve seen, the watches seem to be well made.

From the renderings, the new divers look like they will have sandwich dials and a horizontal power reserve… a little bit of Panerai influence in those designs it appears! But many of the watches and straps appear to have Panerai influences here.

Video review of the basic Tissot T-Touch in Stainless Steel on the bracelet. Good beater watch, and they look pretty good. Only problem is that everyone and their dog probably has one of these. Good size and it can take a beating so its a good watch. Swiss made by Tissot to very acceptable standards.

Another Dive Watch Company has launched a few months ago by the name of Red Sea Watches. Their watches are attractive dive watches machined from 316L Stainless Steel and feature Miyota Automatic Movements. The style of their watches reminds me of Marathon a bit, and the price range is similar as well albeit with a Japanese instead of Swiss movement.

Both watches they are currently accepting pre-orders for are $565 in stainless steel and $595 in PVD steel. 44mm Cases are also standard for both the Holystone and Six Poinder models. On the upside, each watch includes Bracelet, Rubber and Nato straps.

Nice looking pieces, but maybe a bit pricey IMO. Only the market will tell, however!