The Breitling Watch Blog

I’m probably like the 1000th person to blog about this, so I apologize for the tardiness but its been a busy weekend!

When Rolex registered the trademarks around a year ago, all the buzz was about what this new Sky-Dweller would be like, and now its out! The new Sky-Dweller, which looks suspiciously like a Yachtmaster-II to me, is not the pilot watch I was expecting. The new Calibre 9001 is quiet impressive, and carries a lot of hidden features.

The Sky-Dweller features the SAROS Annual Calendar, among many other things: Ring Command Bezel, 72hr Power Reserve, COSC Certification, off-centre 24hr reference time, and more all in a 42mm 18kt White, Yellow or Everose Gold case. I’ll let the video from Rolex below explain all the wonderful features since it does it much better than I can!

Forgot to post all my video reviews on here for the past few months so I have started with the ones I missed. Here’s the first, which is a Rolex GMT-IIc… really love this watch and see it residing in my collection for a long time. Fantastic all-round watch, and in my opinion, better than the previous GMT. Many Rolex traditionalists prefer the old school pepsi and coke bezel GMT, but I feel that in this case, change is good!

On my computer, I have a photo temporary folder where I store my photos initially after downloading them from my camera. Its like an “unsorted” temporary folder before I have decided what to do with my pics. Because I am busy (or lazy, can’t always tell which), photos often sit there for months. Looking through my temp folder now, I see lots of wrist shots, and figured I would throw them up on here for kicks. Seeing lots of wrist shots in a row is kind of a cool thing, so Here it is!

Up First: Rolex GMT-II Ceramic

Next Up: IWC 3717 Spitfire Pilots Chronograph

Eterna 1935 Automatic

Panerai PAM90 Power Reserve

Sinn 857 GMT Tegimented

Panerai PAM320 GMT

Wyler Geneve Code-R Chronograph

JOA 249 Homage

Graham Chronofighter Classic

I realized after searching through my posts that I had never gotten around to posting my impressions of the Rolex GMT-IIc diver! I have had this diver for a year or two now and I really like it. Rolex has grown on me as a brand, especially with their releases in the last couple of years. I’m not going to go into a full review of the watch, since there are so many competent reviews out there already, but I will post about my impressions. Unfortunately I only took three photos of the watch before I put it into safety deposit so I can’t take any more until I grab it out again!

We’ll start with the wrist shot. The watch is perfect sized for my 6 3/4″ wrist, and still manages to look bigger than previous versions while maintaining its 40mm diameter. Rolex accomplishes this by widening the lugs to give the watch a chunkier appearance. I really like what Rolex did when they redesigned these diver cases – to me the previous ones were just a touch too small. Now they are perfect. The new green GMT also sets off the dial perfectly.

You can see the new Ceramic bezel in the close up above quite well. The GMT numbers are cut out of the polished surface of the ceramic and have a sort of blasted rough finish on the inside, which is a very nice contrast. Props to Rolex for making such a beautiful ceramic bezel. Of course the typical authenticity security features such as the etched crown in the sapphire crystal, rolexrolexrolex wording around the chapter ring and serial located in the chapter ring all exist on this model.

The GMT Bezel is a bidirectional bezel, like most GMT bezels out there. The movement in the GMT Master IIc is the Rolex Caliber 3186, which has been upgraded from the previous Caliber 3185 by adding a Parachrom-Blu Hairspring.

Some other improvements int he GMT II Ceramic are the new machined clasp and solid oyster bracelet as well as the maxi-dial. I’m glad they finally included all of these features on one watch, which is why I bought the GMTIIc. One of my criticisms of Rolex has always been their differences from high end to lower end models like the Maxi Dial and Date “complication”. Addition of a date wheel for a thousand dollars seems quite excessive. But whatever they are doing it is working, because they are still THE brand, when one talks about luxury wristwatches.

My Wife is the best.. for our 2nd wedding anniversary, she got me a Rolex Milgauss! I am so stoked about this watch.. I’ve wanted it for quite a while, and its the only other Rolex besides my GMT-II Ceramic that I want. Now I am satisfied with my modest Rolex collection of two watches.

A quick wrist shot peak, and a review to follow: