Earlier this year, the German watchmaker Steinhart has issued their new take on the concept of a "vintage-modern pilot's watch". Successfully blending vintage exterior with a classic caliber and modern CNC machinery, the new Steinhart Nav.B-Chrono 47 Baumuster B Grey Edition (ref. 106-0877) offers, perhaps, the best "value for money" ratio for those interested in buying a relatively affordable brand new pilot's timekeeper.
The Japanese brand has been in the business of (also) making GPS-equipped watches for quite some time now. Their new Citizen Promaster Navihawk Satellite Wave GPS (ref. CC9030-51E) is a fine example of how you can get a lot of experience, a block of high-grade steel, a handful of silicon parts and create an absolutely wonderful object that can be a watch, a gadget, and even a surprisingly low-priced fashion statement as well!
With its stainless steel body deliberately oversized to remind you of those gigantic pilot's watches of pre-WWII era, and a modern self-winding movement with column-wheel chronograph system, this new Longines Twenty-Four Hours Single Push-Piece Chronograph (ref. L2.797.4.73.0) delivers a strong blend of masculine presence, clever industrial design and technical ingenuity. However, the price that Longines wants you to pay for this beautiful watch seems to be a bit too steep putting it into the same category with such established (but thankfully too common) monsters as Tag Heuer Carrera, Omega Speedmaster and, of course, IWC Portofino: a pocket watch-based enfant terrible that started it all. Will the vintage-styled design save this beautiful specimen? Well, time will certainly tell.
The Japanese electronics conglomerate Seiko has officially presented its new Seiko Astron Stratosphere GPS-enabled watch. Although currently there is nothing more than a presentation page on their corporate site, it is already clear that the new watch looks a lot more impressive than the high-tech Astron GPS Solar World Timer in black titanium (Ref. SAST001/007) that the Japanese brand started selling in October 2012. Just look at this huge, domed sapphire crystal that covers not only the dial itself, but also the bezel with its luminous UTC city codes. Isn't it amazing?
Back in December 2010 when the Swiss manufacturer was going to celebrate the 80th anniversary of its iconic 1931 Reverso model, the brand has introduced an absolutely gorgeous Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1931 Limited Edition watch. The timekeeper proved to be so popular among thousands fans that exactly a year later JLC introduced an even more appealing Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso 1931 Rouge Hand-Wound and a year still a splendid Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Duoface Bleu model. This year, the company introduces Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso Ultra Thin 1931 (ref. Q2782560) watch that features a slightly different, but even more historically correct dial.
Preparing for the upcoming SIHH 2014 industry event, the legendary Italian brand is about to begin yet another heavy artillery barrage of new model announcements. Among the first shells to blast the ground near you is their new Panerai Luminor 1950 Left-Handed 3 Days (PAM 557) model. Equipped with their in-house hand-wound caliber, the watch is designed for that strange sort of people that strum guitar with their lefts and wear their watches on their rights.
First presented back in 2009, the Swiss watchmaker's Turbine line of double-rotor watches includes a number of beautiful three-handers. What the collection lacked till now was a chronograph: obviously, it is not that easy to make a chronograph out of a watch that has most of its dial covered with turbine blades-styled auxiliary oscillating weight. However, with its new Perrelet Turbine Automatic Chronograph (Ref. A1074/2), the company demonstrates that anything is possible if you have some imagination.
The sporty Concord C1 Chronograph family was seriously refreshed earlier this year with styling of their dials more congruent with that of their prominent cases. Now, the Swiss watchmaker introduces yet another version of the sporty wristwatch. Combining mirror-polished 18-carat rose gold, glossy black ceramics, as well as PVD-treated, high-grade titanium alloy, Concord C1 Chronograph Black & Gold (Ref. 0320227) -the new version of the timekeeper- is similar to Porsche 911 GT3 in its versatility: just like the latter can be used both on a track and as a daily commuter, you can wear the latter both during office hours and in a night club.
Patek Philippe doesn't seem to be especially consistent when it comes to design of their Gondolo series specifically or rectangular watches in general. The things that they seem to share is an elongated body and, of course, a brilliantly executed mechanism that powers the gadget. Among the three models of the series that are currently present on the Swiss brand's corporate web-site, the 2013 Patek Philippe Gondolo 8 Days (Ref. 5200G) is the most exciting with its finely crafted case and deliciously complicated, exquisitely finished movement.