The Breitling Watch Blog

Awesome! Zenith hits another one out of the park with the new Zenith Pilot Montre d’Aeronef Type 20 – a limited edition production of 250 pieces. This bad ass watch has a case diameter of 57.5mm, and uses the in-house pocketwatch caliber 5011. The watch is part of their Military Legacy watches series and is a limited edition created for the Smiling Children Charity Event.

Since this is such a limited production, I don’t think it will be in my own budget – but I can always dream can’t I!

Here is a shot of the Zenith 5011 in a Pocket Watch from Zenith:

Oris has revamped the Diver line with new Ceramic Bezels and updated cases. The new Aquis line features Stainless Steel Cases and Sapphire crystal and water resistances to 300m. They have added screwed-in crown guards for an extra touch of sophistication and a bit of faceting on the lugs as well. Nice looking pieces that update the look while still remaining quintessentially Oris in design.

There are two sizes available, a full size mens model at 43mm and a women’s sized model at 36mm. They are also available in two colors: Black and Blue. The photos appear to make the ceramic bezel insert on the blue model look glossy, while the ceramic bezel insert on the black model looks to have a brushed finish. Nice distinguishing features I think.

The watches continue with the integral style bracelets with an option for rubber as well. I like that they don’t have the rounded cushion sides that the older TT1 style had. I think that was my biggest dislike of the previous case. While I owned a couple and did really like them, the rounded case sides eventually started to bother me. Retail on the 43mm model is about $1,900US and $1,850 for the 36mm.

Specs:
Case Size: 43mm or 36mm
Dial Colors: Blue or Black
Case Material: Stainless Steel
Strap: Stainless or Rubber
Movement: Selitta SW-200

A few days ago Omega announced a new 50th Anniversary Edition of the Seamaster James Bond 300m. The new Bond movie coming out this year is called Skyfall, and this does not appear to be a movie edition of the 007 watch.. so we might be seeing two Bond editions of the Seamaster 300m this year!

Beautiful watch. Some of the interesting features on this one are the red “50” marker on the new Ceramic dive bezel rings.. Yes, Ceramic! Very cool. If you didn’t figure it out already, the red “50” is to symbolize the 50th Anniversary. This new version has a Helium “He” periodic symbol on the Helium Escape valve, and also a combination of screws and pins now holding the new Bond Bracelet together. The photos seem to suggest that the new Bond Bracelet is a bit more angular and cut a bit better than before, giving it a fresher look.

Awesome caseback, which is the true highlight of this watch in my opinion. The barrel rifling lines that are the Bond signature as well as the back of a bullet, complete with dimpled primer! The view of that would suggest that you are looking from the back of the barrel rather than the business end.

The watch will feature the Co-Axial Calibre 2507 from Omega, and come in two sizes, 41mm and 36.25mm. The 41mm version will be limited to 11,007 pieces, and the 36.25mm version will be limited to 3,007.

I really like the detail and effort put into this 007 watch!

I’ve been eyeing Lum-Tec for a while, ever since they started releasing the Combat Models and they started showing up on eBay a few years back. Some great designs combined with quality German-made cases really caught my attention. But then they started releasing a bunch of PAM-looking stuff without trying to look too much like a Panerai, which kind of turned me off. I do note that they have become immensely popular with the general buyers, however.

The new Lum-Tec 300M-2XL is another story, however. It features relatively traditional diver styling, but adds a few Lum-Tech features such as the Super Luminous Bezel, which is covered in Sapphire Crystal – Nice. It also has the Trademarked (Not Patented) MDV Technology, which stands for “Maximum Darkness Visibility”. See the writeup below for a little more detail on the MDV Lume application:

Overall, a nicely styled diver with some trademark Lum-Tec features and good quality parts inside and out. While the Sii NH35 movement is not quite as desireable as an ETA 2824-2 in my opinion, its still a good movement with hacking and handwinding – unfortunate that it beats at 21,600, which will have a choppier second sweep. Price direct is $925, discounted to $786.25 currecntly, so it is not a cheap watch!

Specs:
45mm width excluding crown.
24mm lug width.
316L Stainless steel.
Titanium Carbide PVD hard coating.
Uni-directional 60-click rotating luminous bezel with sapphire insert.
Alternating brushed and high polished finish.
21,600 BPH Sii NH35 Japan automatic movement with hacking and handwinding features.
Sapphire crystal with clear double side Anti-reflective coating.
Threaded solid stainless steel caseback.
LUM-TEC MDV technology®. (2-tone)
Screw lock crown with double diamond sealing system.
300 Meters / 990 ft. water resistance.
2 straps included. Stainless steel bracelet with diver’s extension and molded rubber.
One year limited warranty.
Free lifetime timing adjustments.

This limited edition timepiece from Glashutte commemortates Julius Assmann, one of the fathers of watchmaking in Glashutte. The piece is clad in a 44mm 18K White Gold case, and is limited to only 25 pieces – the age at which Julius Assmann founded his watch manufacture. The watch features the Calibre 100-14, which has two barrels and bi-directional 21k gold rotor. The watch also features a big date complication, small seconds complication, and power reserve indicator.

I’ve been pining for another Glashutte in my collection since I sold off my Senator Sixties. While I know this won’t be the pieces due to my inability to afford it, perhaps I will refresh my search for another Glashutte!