Thursday, January 30, 2014

Panerai PAM00572

Typical Panerai to release more pieces as SIHH progress. From the pages of QP Magazine, we learn of the Panerai PAM00572. The PAM00572 is a 45mm Radiomir in the now popular 1940 case. The PAM00572 will be the first Panerai Radiomir with an automatic movement and a dial featuring 12, 3, 6 and 9 hour markers and a sub-dial for the sweep seconds. Nice....

The watch has a black dial and ecru lume. The watch is expected to retail for about 8,900 Euro. The rose gold version will retail for 23,100 Euro. No release dates as yet. I like the watch. 

The PAM00572 



The watch will feature a new Panerai caliber in the caliber P.4000. I love the movement. It is a automatic movement and the cherry is the use of the micro-rotor. This makes the movement thinner, allowing Panerai to introduce it's first 1940 Radiomir with an automatic movement. 

The P.4000 is an in-house movement and has the following functions: Hours, minutes and small seconds. It is 3.95mm thin and 31mm in diameter. It is made of 203 parts and 31 jewels. It beats 28,800 bph. Power reserve is 3 days. There are two version, a tungsten rotor and a gold rotor for the gold version of the PAM00572 (reference still unknown). The micro-rotor is off-center, assisting in making the movement slim.

The P.4000.


Photographs: QP Magazine

Happy Chinese New Year

Wishing all friends, followers, supporters and and family member a Happy Chinese New Year. May the year of the horse bring you and your family much prosperity and good health. 

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Review Rolex GMT Master

We are on a roll. Our second Rolex review. This time it is the Rolex GMT Master reference 16750. This watch is not mine but belongs to a good friend who was kind enough to let me review the watch.


A bit about the 16750. The reference 16750 was introduced circa 1981 and was in production up to 1988. In Rolex timeline, it was a short production run. The 16750 was introduced to replace the reference 1675. With the introduction of the reference 16750, came the quickset feature. With this change, the positions of the hands changed (seen from bottom to top):

1675: GMT/ Hours/ Minutes/ Seconds
16750: Hours/ GMT/ Minutes/ Seconds


Case.

The case on this reference 16750 is made from 316L stainless steel. Yes, there are Rolex with cases made with the 316L stainless steel. The serial number of this watch places it circa 1983 to 1984. The 904L stainless steel was introduced circa 1987 if I not mistaken.


The case is well made and is of the 3-piece design, i.e. bezel, mono-block middle case and a screw-down case back. The watch is 39.5 mm in diameter (across the bezel) and 14 mm thick (at extreme and 13 mm without the Cyclops). The lug to lug is 47.5 mm long and the lug width is 20 mm.


The case has the traditional Rolex sports model trademark brushed top and polished sides. The entire case is well made, to typical Rolex standards. Well polished, smooth to the touch and no rough edges. No tool mark evident anywhere. :) and best of all, lug holes.




The bezel is serrated at edges but it is smooth to the touch. The bezel is non ratcheting and is the 'push down and turn' design. It is easy to use and does lock in place rather well. The bezel can be rotated both clockwise and counter-clockwise.


The bezel insert is made of aluminium and is the red and blue bezel, commonly known as the Pepsi bezel. The blue occupies the top half of the bezel, from 1800 to 0600 hours, while the red, from 0600 to 1800 hours. The blue signifies night and red, day. The hours markers on the bezel is rendered in 'gray (?)' or aluminium (?).



The screw-down case back is standard Rolex, unmarked with a brushed center disc. Serrated edge provides the grip to unscrew the case back.


The crown measures 5 mm in diameter and is 2.5 mm thick. It is signed with the Rolex crown. The crown is of the Twin-lock double waterproof system design (line under the crown), which means the watch is water resistant to 10ATM. I have to admit that the crown is a tad small for the watch and can a bit fiddly to use. Having the crown shoulder protectors does not help either.


Dial.

I love the dial. This watch comes with the rarer matte dial without the white gold surround indexes. The dial is just gorgeous. The hour markers are simple Tritium plots (that have begun to patina). It is a simple dial making time telling easy. I like it. Sadly the plots are no longer luminous.


At the 12 o’clock position we find the Rolex crown and signature. It is interesting to note that the crown or coronet on the 16750 is very long, longer then on most Rolex models. Under it we find the legend ‘Oyster Perpetual’ for water resistant case design and automatic. Below the 6 o’clock hour marker we find the legend 'Swiss - T 25' which tells us the watch is Swiss made and the luminous material used is Tritium. Just above the 6 o’clock hour marker, we find the legends 'GMT-MASTER', the model and ‘Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified', telling us the watch meets COSC requirements for accuracy.




The date is displayed via a window at the 3 o’clock position. The date wheel is black on silver/ white, and it is very easy to read. The date wheel is the still the old version with the open 6 and 9. I love this watch.


Hands.

The watch has the Mercedes type hands, common is Rolex sports model. The hands are well made and I believe it is made of white gold. The sweep seconds hand extends all the way to the minute markers. Sadly the minute hand does not as it is a tad shorter. The GMT hand extends all the over to the edge of the dial. The stalk of the GMT hand is red. Sadly as with the dial, the hands are no longer luminous as it is Tritium filled. As with the dial, the Tritium on the hands have started to patina.



Crystal.

The watch is fitted with an Acrylic crystal and has the Cyclops over the date window (providing 2.5 times magnification). The Cyclops is 1 mm thick. The crystal itself is 30 mm in diameter. The crystal does extend beyond the bezel by about 1 mm. I love the warmness of the acrylic crystal. The crystal is prone to scratches but these can easily be polished out with toothpaste and polywatch for the deeper scratches.



Movement.

The watch is powered by Rolex caliber 3075. It is an automatic movement with a GMT and date complications. The 3075 has been in service from 1981 to 1988. It is robust and reliable movement with the following characteristics: It is COSC rated, it has Microstella adjustment screw and Kif shock absorption. It beats at 28,800 BPH, hacking, hand-wind capable, quick-set date, bidirectional self-winding Perpetual rotor, instantaneous date change at midnight and 27 jewels.

Bracelet.

The bracelet is of the Oyster design or aka Oyster Bracelet, reference 78360. I believe the bracelet is made of the same material as the case, 316L stainless steel. The bracelet (cross section) is made up of 3 pieces, all brushed. Very tool watch like. The sides of the links are polished. The links are solid. A very well made bracelet indeed.


The end links, reference 580, are not SEL (solid end links) and have the same brushed finish and is well made (for its time). The end links are basically folded stamped pieces of stainless steel. It sits well between the lugs and has a ‘closed’ design. Removal is easy due as access is via the lug holes.



The end-links.



The clasp is made of (I believe) steel inox. It is well made (again stamped out pieces of stainless steel). There is no twin lock on the clasp and it does not need it. The clasp is signed with the Rolex Crown. The clasp is easy to use and easy to open, yet you feel safe that it will not inadvertently unlock.


Standard length adjustment is via adjustment holes on the folding clasp. There are 7 adjustment holes and allows the bracelet to be adjusted by 20 mm in length. The unique aspect about this adjustment is that the holes are not of equal spacing. The first 3 holes have larger gaps between the holes while the remaining 4 have smaller gaps, allowing for a finer adjustment.


If there is a need to adjust the bracelet longer or shorter, there is a need to physically alter the length of the bracelet by removing or adding links. And this can easily be done with the provided links with screwed attachments.

The folded part of the clasp/ bracelet is polished and like the clasp itself is made of stamped stainless steel. It has the Rolex signature on both sides and Registered Swiss Made and Steel Inox on one side. It is thin but does the job and does it well.


Conclusion.

To me, the GMT Master is as iconic Rolex as it can be. I love the GMT Master and am fortunate enough to own the reference 1675. It is a comfortable watch on the wrist and has the complications associated to the field I spent 20 years of my working life, aviation. In my opinion, if possible, everyone should have a GMT Master (or its off springs) in their collection.


Let's play....

How I love these watches..... But for the meantime..... Spot the differences? 





Saturday, January 25, 2014

Rolex Datejust Review

We are indeed moving up the food chain. Horologycrazy is reviewing a Rolex. A proper (if you can call it that) review, not just a pictorial review. :)


Today we are looking at the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust 36mm, reference 116200. This is a basic Rolex offering time with the date complication. The watch is not new, but pre-loved circa 2008. Oh, this is not my watch but courtesy of MWF shop.


Case.

As with all watches in the Rolex range, the case is made from 904L stainless steel. The case is well made and is of the 3-piece design, i.e. bezel, mono-block middle case and a screw-down case back. The watch is 36 mm in diameter and 12.5 mm thick (at extreme and 11.5 mm without the Cyclops). The lug to lug is 44mm long and the lug width is 20 mm.


The case has the traditional Rolex Datejust trademark polished sides and top. The bezel is dome and polished bezel. There is no lug holes on the lugs. I like the design of the new case, with its thicker or fatter lugs. It makes the watch seem larger then it is. The watch does not look 36mm but larger. I believe this version is called the wide version.


The screw-down case back is standard Rolex, unmarked with a brushed center disc. Serrated edge provides the grip to unscrew the case back.

The crown measures 5.5 mm in diameter and is 2.5 mm thick. It is a nice size and using it is a breeze. Nice size crown for the watch. The crown is of the Twin-lock double waterproof system design (line under the crown), which means the watch is water resistant to 10ATM.


I understand the model number and serial numbers are still engraved between the lugs, since it (serial number) is now engraved on the chapter ring (rehaut?).


The entire case and attachments are well made, to typical Rolex standards. Well polished, smooth to the touch and no rough edges. No tool mark evident anywhere. :)


Dial.

The watch has a simple glossy black dial (there are many many dial option for the Datejust). It has Roman hours markers which are polished. I believe Rolex calls it Black Roman dial. The minute markers are of the railroad design and I think it matches the Roman numerals well. It is a simple dial making time telling easy. I like it. Sadly the dial is totally void of any luminous material making telling time in the dark almost impossible.


At the 12 o’clock position we find the Rolex crown and signature. Under it we find the legend ‘Oyster Perpetual’ for water resistant case design and automatic and 'Datejust', the watch model. Beside the 6 o’clock hour marker we find the legend ‘Swiss Made’ which tells us the watch is Swiss made. Just above the 6 o’clock hour marker, we find the legend ‘Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified', telling us the watch meets COSC requirements for accuracy.


The date is displayed via a window at the 3 o’clock position. The date wheel is black on silver/ white, and it is very easy to read.


The Datejust comes with the engraved chapter ring/ rehaut. Here you will the Rolex name repeatedly engraved around the rehaut, except at the 6 o'clock position where you will find the watch serial number. The engraving is very well executed.


Hands.

The watch has the stick type hands. The hands are well made and I believe it is made of white gold. The sweep seconds hand extends all the way to the minute markers (just). Sadly the minute hand does not as it is a tad shorter. As with the dial, the hands are devoid of any luminous material.


Crystal.

The watch is fitted with a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and has the Cyclops over the date window (providing 2.5 times magnification). The Cyclops is 1 mm thick. The crystal itself is 30 mm in diameter. The crystal does extend beyond the bezel by about 1 mm and is prone to edge chipping.


Movement.

The watch is powered by Rolex caliber 3135. It is an automatic movement with a date complication. The 3135 has been in service since 1989 (some say 1988) and is the workhorse caliber from Rolex. It is not a pretty movement but what it lacks in beauty, it makes up in reliability and robustness. Indeed function over form. What is there to say about the 3135? It is COSC rated, it has Microstella adjustment screw and Kif shock absorption. It beats at 28,800 BPH, hacking, hand-wind capable, quick-set date, bidirectional self-winding Perpetual rotor.... did I miss anything?

I am not sure if the 3135 fitted in this watch has the new Parachrom Bleu hairspring, but I suspect (from the serial number) it could have it. That would indeed by awesome.

Oh, the date jump is instantaneous at midnight.

Bracelet.

The bracelet is of the Oyster design or aka Oyster Bracelet. The bracelet is made of the same material as the case, 904L stainless steel. The bracelet (cross section) is made up of 3 pieces, with the center piece polished. The side links are brushed. The sides of the links are polished. The links are solid. A very well made bracelet indeed.


The end links are SEL (solid end links) and have the same brushed and polished finish and is well made. It sits well between the lugs and has a ‘open’ design, i.e. gaps to facilitate the spring bars removal.




The clasp, the folding Oysterclasp with Easylink is made of (I believe) steel inox. It is well made. There is no twin lock on the clasp and it does not need it. The clasp is signed with the Rolex Crown and has a brushed finish with the center portion polished like the bracelet. The clasp is easy to use and easy to open, yet you feel safe that it will not inadvertently unlock.


The clasp comes with the Easylink 5 mm comfort extension link. This is a Rolex patented extension system that lets you increase the bracelet length by about 5 mm. This is to retain maximum comfort when your wrist expand during an increase in temperature, altitude or physical activity. The Easylink is hidden beneath the clasp and integral into the bracelet. I tied it and it is cool.



Standard length adjustment is via adjustment holes on the folding clasp. There are 3 adjustment holes and allows the bracelet to be adjusted by 10 mm in length. The unique aspect about this adjustment is that the holes do not go thru the sides of the clasp. The adjustment holes are just like indentations inside the clasp. Adjusting it not as easy. 



If there is a need to adjust the bracelet longer or shorter, there is a need to physically alter the length of the bracelet by removing or adding links. And this can easily be done with the provided 3 links with screwed attachments.



The folded part of the clasp/ bracelet is polished and milled, no longer the stamped parts of old. It has the Rolex signature and Geneva Swiss Made on one half while the other is marked Steel Inox and RolexSA. It is thin but does the job and does it well.



Conclusion.

It is a very simple and stylish watch, iconic Rolex. It is very comfortable watch, not heavy but with enough heft. It has a simple black dial, Roman numerals (which I love) and those lovely polished hour and minutes hands making time telling simple. Legibility is never a problem, except in total darkness, but in this day of age, where can we be where there is not a sliver of light to reflect on those beautiful hands and markers. The modern bracelet and clasp is just the topping on an already awesome watch. The Datejust is timeless in design, a true classic.