The Breitling Watch Blog

Certainly not a new watch, the Manometro, designed and released by Giuliano Mazzuoli in 2004, is a uniquely designed sport watch, modelled after the Manometro Tire Pressure Guage. The watches are handcrafted in with Swiss automatic ETA movements.

The Mazzuoli Manometro measures a healthy 45.2mm in Diameter, and 14.8mm thick. The round, cylindrical case really stands out and is completely recognizable on the wrist. The model I picked up is the white dial on black rubber bracelet and right hand crown. A pretty standard and very wearable color combination.

The gloss white dial is easy on the eyes and relatively easy to read. If the hands were a touch thicker it would be even easier to read. The second hand is a red arrow pointer, that reminds one of the tire pressure guages that the watch is modelled after. The rounded bezel is brushed stainless steel and looks fantastic.

As you can see, the dial is very shallow mounted, giving the watch sort of a top-heavy look. This works for the style and the only complaint I have with the design is the narrow straps. They look a bit disproportioned from the rest of the watch, and mounting and switching them is not that easy.

The crown is placed at 2 o’clock and cut with the Guiliano Mazzuoli logo and also very oversized, which works really well with the overall design. Kudos on the crown design and placement. One of my favourite parts of the design, in fact.

Finally a wrist shot to round of the quick shot mini-review here. The watch does measure an imposing 45.2mm, but since there are no lugs at all and a very narrow strap, the watch actually wears a bit smaller than you’d think, even with the cylindrical case. But, it does wear chunky also, so its a bit of an odd fit overall. A chunky, yet underwhelming strap makes the watch feel a bit unbalanced on the wrist, but it has a charm to it that harkens to its Italian design and heritage making it a great character piece for those who prefer the road less travelled.

As official timekeeper at Roland-Garros 2011, Longines is giving you the chance to win a trip to Paris as well as a number of magnificent Longines Column-Wheel Chronograph watches.

Three ways to enter and win:
on the Longines minisite Roland-Garros: http://rolandgarros.longines.com
on the Longines Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/Longines
on the iPhone application http://www.longines.com/iphone

I stumbled upon some photos I took of a iron faraday cage from an Omega Seamaster Chronodiver 300m, so I decided to make a short post. Sometimes you might notice that watches have an Anti-Magnetic rating or spec shown on the case back of the watch, and might wonder what that means. Well, since automatic movements are susceptible to magnetic fields which can affect the accuracy of their movement, it is handy for them to have some magnetic protection, especially in this day and age.

That Anti-Magnetic Iron cage or shield is called a Faraday Cage, named after the English Scientist, Michael Faraday. The cage surrounds the movement of the watch and protects it from certain levels of magnetic fields. Some watches that have soft iron Faraday Cages inside: IWC Ingenieur, Omega Seamaster 300m, Rolex Milgauss.

Here is a shot of the Omega 1164 Movement underneath the Iron Cage:

Just posted a video review of my Spitfire Pilot’s Chronograph from IWC. This is the 42mm model ref 3717, which is a current model. This watch is unique in that its mounted on a Doppelchronograph bracelet, with different endlinks to make it fit. They give it a really cool somewhat more vintage look. The Spitfire Chrono is one of my favourite understated watches on the market, with the ability to dress up or down. Looks especially good with a suit on crocodile.

Breitling’s Jetman is pretty cool, I have to admit, but that guy has some serious cajones flying across the Grand Canyon with a Jetpack!!! Absolutely amazing footage and a great accomplishment. Congrats Jetman and Breitling!

“GRAND CANYON WEST, ARIZONA (May 10, 2011) — It was his date with destiny, and ultimately the uniquely complex certification process could not prevent Yves “Jetman” Rossy from making his historic flight through Grand Canyon West this past weekend.

Flying his jet-propelled wing attached to his back, and steering only by movement of his body, Rossy launched from a helicopter at 8,000 feet into the breathtaking blue of the Grand Canyon sky. Skimming the rockscape at speeds of up to 190 mph, Jetman sustained flight for more than eight minutes, 200 feet above the rim of Grand Canyon West. To end the flawless precision flight, Rossy deployed his parachute and gracefully descended to the canyon floor.

An earlier flight scheduled for Friday, May 6 was cancelled when final FAA certification was held up due to the difficulty in classifying Mr. Rossy’s one-of-a-kind jet-powered wing. By the time the process was complete, sufficient practice flights were unable to occur prior to the scheduled 9 a.m. flight.

“My first flight in the U.S. is sure to be one of the most memorable experiences in my life, not only for the sheer beauty of the Grand Canyon but the honor to fly in sacred Native American lands,” Rossy stated. “Thank you Mother Nature and the Hualapai Tribe for making my lifelong dreams come true.”

Jetman has already won global acclaim for his successful jet-powered flights cross Lake Geneva and the English Channel. But this was the first time he had ever achieved his dream of flying in the purest sense in the U.S. – and his choice of the Grand Canyon, where eagles soar, reflected the deep significance of the site both to Rossy and to the resident Hualapai people.”