W&W 2014: Panerai Luminor Black Seal And Luminor Daylight Set PAM00785

Pre-V Remake With An In-House Movement.

Panerai has looked into its more recent history for the new Special Edition Set Luminor Black Seal And Luminor Daylight PAM785, a remake of collectible Pre-Vendome models from the nineties, equipped with the P.5000 movement.

Panerai timepieces made before the Vendome Group (the predecessor of Richemont) bought the company are known as Pre-Vendome watches. They are desirable and generally expensive. And finally Panerai has created a remake of two Pre-V watches from the nineties, packaging them as a limited edition set, the Luminor Black Seal And Luminor Daylight PAM00785.

To the casual enthusiasts both are dead-ringers for the original Pre-V timepieces, with faux aged Super-Luminova imitating how the 20 year old originals look today. A notable difference is that the originals had “Slytech” on the dial, a nod to Sylvester Stallone, who wore one in the film Daylight.

The Luminor Black Seal has a diamond-like carbon (DLC) coated steel case, while the Daylight is polished steel. Both have closed backs similar in style to the Pre-V models, but unlike the basic Unitas models found in the originals, the remakes are equipped with the P.5000 movement. That is Panerai’s entry level in-house movement with an eight day power reserve.

Both watches are supplied on Pre-V style straps with sewn-in buckles. They come presented in an oblong box (the Pre-V boxes were similarly shaped though smaller), with assorted paraphernalia including a model of the submersible Italian navy commandos used during the Second World War.

Sold only as a set, with only 500 sets made, the PAM785 Special Edition Set Luminor Black Seal And Luminor Daylight is priced at €15,900, which works out to about US$20,100.

W&W 2014: Introducing The Rotonde De Cartier Second Time Zone Day/Night, A Small Complication Starting At Under $10,000 (With Specs And Price)

Newly launched at Watches&Wonders 2014 and featuring a retrograde dual time zone and big date, the Rotonde De Cartier Second Time Zone Day/Night is conceived as Cartier’s entry level, “small complication” wristwatch.

As watchmakers adjust to the slow demand for fine timepieces, more affordable timepieces are making their way to market. One example being the Cartier‘s new Rotonde De Cartier Second Time Zone Day/Night, which starts at just under US$10,000 in steel. This has a second time zone displayed in an usual manner – a retrograde scale from one to 12 indicates the hours of the second time zone, while day or night is shown in a cut-out at four o’clock. Because of the lack of numbers on the scale, the retrograde second time zone takes a moment to read. Pushing the crown advances the second time zone by one hour steps. And at 12 o’clock is the large date. Silvered, guilloche with blued steel Breguet hands and Roman numerals, the dials are typical Cartier in style. One exception is the white gold model, which has an attractive, dark blue dial and white numerals.

The case diameter is 42 mm with a thickness of 11.96 mm, dimensions that are easy to manage. Inside is the 1904-FU MC, a self-winding calibre developed by Cartier. The suffix “FU” stands for fuseaux which translates as “time zone”.