A Diamond Is Forever…

It is now official, the Omega Seamaster James Bond 50th Anniversary Watch, that is. To celebrate fifty years of James Bond films, OMEGA is releasing a special update of the incredibly popular Seamaster Diver 300m James Bond watch which has been worn by 007 in every adventure since GoldenEye.  The James Bond 007 50th Anniversary Collector’s Piece has been created in two sizes, 41 mm and 36 mm, and there are some particulars for each model — notably, the 41 mm version is being produced in a limited edition of 11’007 pieces and the 36.25 mm version in a limited edition of 3’007 pieces (a bit more reasonable for a “limited edition”).  As well, the 36mm case size has a diamond index at the 7 o’clock position.  Read on for more details and high resolution pics of the new James Bond 50th Anniversary Watch…

Omega Seamaster James Bond 50th Anniversary Watch (OFFICIAL)

41mm and 36.25mm stainless steel case options, OMEGA calibre 2507 self-winding movement (Co-axial, COSC), indexes are coated with white Super-LumiNova with a blue emission, date window at 3 o’clock, lacquered black dial features a 007 monogram

“50″ Years of 007

diamond index at 7 o’clock (36mm version only)

The Omega Seamaster James Bond 50th Anniversary Watch has a ceramic bezel with diving scales in matt chromium nitride with the number “50″ in red as a reminder that the watch is celebrating a very special anniversary.

The Omega Seamaster James Bond 50th Anniversary Watch has a screw-in case back stamped with a gun-barrel design. There is a “bullet” decoration fixed on the rotor that can be viewed through a central sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating inside. The watch also has a unidirectional rotating bezel.  A helium escape valve allows helium atoms to escape during decompression, particularly necessary for professional divers operating from diving bells. As its name suggests, the watch is water resistant up to 300 metres.

Don’t forget — in 2012, EON Productions will release Skyfall, the 23rd film in the franchise, with Daniel Craig in the role of James Bond

Left to right:  Bérénice Marlohe (Sévérine), Daniel Craig (James Bond 007), Naomie Harris (Eve)

Well, well, well — looks like Omega will be releasing a “limited edition” Omega Seamaster James Bond 50th Anniversary Watch this year. For now the details are scant on this watch — credit to HODINKEE for scooping this release via an Omega dealer in the UK who looks to have gotten ahead of itself in posting the watch on its website (the watch has been taken down from the dealer’s site).  As you can see in the spy shots below, the Seamaster James Bond 50th Anniversary edition features a “007″ theme on dial with a red “50″ on the bezel (50th anniversary).  The coolest part of this watch is the back — you can see the signature “bullet in a gun barrel” view that is present in the opening sequence of every James Bond movie.  The bullet is further inscribed with “50 years of James Bond.”   Interestingly, as Hodinkee pointed out, 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the James Bond film series — though fifty years ago Bond was not wearing an Omega at all.

Omega Seamaster James Bond 50th Anniversary Watch

“Limited edition” of 11,007 pieces

Editor note:  given such high production volume, I do not consider this a true limited edition piece — why not make 12,007 pieces in recognition of the year of production (2012) instead?

41mm steel case, automatic mechanical Omega’s caliber 2507 co-axial movement

Linear Power Reserve…

At SIHH 2012 in Geneva last week, the first wave of new watches for 2012 from many of the world’s leading watch brands were unveiled.  Even though the show is over, I still have several new and exciting watches to share with you, so of course the show here @Perpetuelle goes on!  Have a look at this neat new dive watch from JeanRichard, the Diverscope LPR.   This watch follows the first titanium version of the Diverscope which debuted in 2011.  So what’s interesting about this piece?  Well, as the name says, it is the “LPR” — as in linear power reserve.  Though such a feature is nothing new, JeanRichard has executed the power reserve display in a creative and subtle manner.  Basically, as the mainspring gains tension when the watch is wound, the power reserve meter rises inside the 12, from “E” to “F” (see below).   The water resistance is a respectable depth of 1,000 feet (300 metres).  As with all of their watches, the movement is “in-house”.

JeanRichard Diverscope LPR Dive Watch

43mm steel case (13.4mm thick, polished and satin-finished surfaces), automatic mechanical manufacture movement (caliber JR 1010), opaline black dial with luminous numerals and indexes, internal bi-directional rotating bezel, delivered with two straps — black Kevlar fabric and black rubber (pictured)

Here is a closer look at the “LPR” — linear power reserve:

Panerai:

The tourbillon regulator has been reinterpreted in a sophisticated and innovative manner in the new Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT Ceramica.

The material of which the Luminor 1950 case (48mm in diameter) has been made also expresses the technical mastery of the Officine Panerai manufacture: it is a synthetic ceramic based on zirconium powder which, by means of a complex series of working and finishing processes, acquires a particularly uniform and even matt black appearance, as well as ensuring excellent performance in terms of hardness, resistance to scratches, corrosive agents and high temperatures.

The black dial has a simple graphic appearance reduced to essentials and is of the classic sandwich structure created in the 1930s by Officine Panerai to achieve the maximum legibility even in conditions of very low light. The small dial at 3 oclock provides am/pm indication over 24 hours. The small seconds dial, at 9 oclock, also contains an original indicator, consisting of a series of dot markers, which is connected to the tourbillon and therefore moves at twice the speed of the seconds hand, completing one revolution in 30 seconds.

The 12-sided back with 12 sides in titanium (coated with PVD) has a sapphire crystal window in the centre which enables the P.2005 manufacture movement to be seen. Here Officine Panerai is presenting it for the first time in the P.2005/B version, which has undergone a blackening treatment to create an aesthetic continuity with the matt black of the case. The sapphire crystal also enables the remaining power reserve to be seen, thanks to a golden indicator within an arc-shaped dial. The Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT Ceramica (PAM00396) is supplied with strap of natural untreated leather, closed by an adjustable steel buckle, coated in PVD.

Panerai Lumior Tourbillon GMT Ceramica (PAM 396)

48mm black ceramic case, manual-wind Panerai Panerai P.2005/B calibre

Functions: hours, minute, small seconds, 2nd time zone, 24h indicator, power reserve indicator on the back, tourbillon

Water resistance: 100 metres

Crystal: Sapphire 2.0 mm

Back: See-through sapphire crystal

Panerai:

For collectors and enthusiasts who are fascinated by historic details, Officine Panerai has created two exclusive Special Editions of the Radiomir California 3 Days (PAM00448) and the Radiomir S.L.C. 3 Days (PAM00449), each produced in an edition of only 500 units.

The two Special Editions have the two historic dials reduced to essentials, protected by a Plexiglas® crystal instead of a sapphire one: an element descended from the models created at the end of the 1930s by Panerai for the Royal Italian Navy with the crystal made of polymethyl methacrylate.

To emphasise the strong historical connotations of these two Special Editions, the word VINTAGE is engraved between the strap attachments at 6 oclock.

Panerai PAM 448 California

Special Edition 500 pieces

47mm polished steel, manual wind mechanical Panerai P.3000 calibre

Water resistance: 100 metres

Crystal: Plexiglas 2.8mm

Panerai PAM 449 S.L.C.

Special Edition 500 pieces

47mmpolished steel case, manual wind mechanical Panerai P.3000 calibre, executed entirely by Panerai

Water resistance: 100 metres

Crystal: Plexiglas 2.8mm

Panerai:

The special design of the Luminor 1950 case used by the two models is inspired by a rare, historic watch which is notable for the pronounced rounding of the cusps of the caseband. This  detail recalls a stage of transformation, which took place in the 1940s, from the classic Radiomir cushion case to that of the Luminor.

The Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days and the Luminor 1950 3 Days Power Reserve are both fitted with the new P.3001 and P.3002 manufacture calibres, which are distinguished from each other by the different ways in which the power reserves is indicated. In the P.3001 the power reserve indication is located on the bridge of the movement, and is therefore visible through the crystal on the back, while in the P.3002 the indicator appears on the dial. With a diameter of 16½ lignes, the two calibres have in common the typical structure of large bridges, two spring barrels giving a power reserve of three days and a balance wheel 13.2 mm in diameter with variable inertia, enabling the rate of the watch to be adjusted through external screws on the rim. Both also have the seconds zero reset device and a mechanism for the rapid adjustment of the hour,
enabling the hour hand to jump one hour at a time, without interfering with the movement of the minute hand or the running of the watch.

Panerai Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days (PAM 422)

47mm steel case, manual-wind Panerai P.3001

Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds, power reserve indicator on the back, seconds reset

Water resistance: 100 metres

Crystal: Sapphire 3.0 mm

Siluro a Lento Corsa (S.L.C.)

Panerai:

The Panerai Radiomir S.L.C. 3 Days (PAM 425) also has a historic dial of strongly minimalist design, with alternating bar and dot-shaped hour markers.  This version was probably created in the late 1930s to experiment with the sandwich construction of the dial, in which two plates are filled with a layer of luminous material today Super-LumiNova® the luminescence of which emerges through apertures corresponding to the markers cut in the upper plate.   The name of this watch refers to the Siluro a Lento Corsa (S.L.C.), the slow-speed torpedo on which the commandos of the  Royal Italian Navy rode during their heroic underwater missions, equipped with Panerai watches and instruments. A slow-speed torpedo is drawn in relief on the dial and the inscription S.L.C. is engraved on the flange at 12 oclock.

Panerai Radiomir S.L.C. (PAM 425)

47mm polished steel case, manual-wind Panerai P.3000

Water resistance: 100 metres

Crystal: Sapphire 2.8mm

The Panerai Radiomir California 3 Days (PAM 424) has the dial which was almost certainly the first one fitted to the Radiomir case, very original with its alternation of markers, Arabic figures and Roman numerals.   The design of the dial is enhanced by the OP logo, the inscription CALIFORNIA engraved on the flange at 12 oclock and the little date window at 3 oclock.

Panerai Radiomir California (PAM 424)

47mm steel case, manual-wind Panerai P.3000, “OP” logo

Crystal: Sapphire 2.8mm

Panerai goes ceramic with the Panerai Tuttonero aka PAM 438.  With a Luminor 1950 case and the classic Panerai bracelet in ceramics, Tuttonero is made entirely of matte black ceramic.  A leather strap model is also available (PAM 441).

Panerai PAM 438 Tuttonero

44mm ceramic case, ceramic bracelet, automatic mechanical Panerai P.9001/B

Functions: hour, minute, small seconds and second time zone

Water resistance: 300 metres

SIHH 2012 officially starts next week in Geneva, but yea you know the “sneak peeks” keep on coming right up to the last minute as the Swiss watch industry’s finest try keep the anticipation and excitement levels high.  Here you can see the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Chronograph, a vintage looking dive watch which follows in the footsteps of last year’s Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox Tribute to Deep Sea.   JLC tells me that this piece is inspired by the Memovox Deep Sea, and that “the hour-markers as well as the central hour and minute hands are covered by a Superluminova coating with a warm orange-tinted shade subtly reminiscent of the luminescent coating on the 1959 Memovox Deep Sea.”   A fixed bezel surrounds a classic black dial face, protected by a Plexiglas watch glass.  The water resistance is only 100 meters, so this watch is more about the vintage style than dive watch performance.  Not exactly my cup of tea, but something that I suppose nostalgic JLC lovers might drool over.  Stay tuned for more from JLC, next week!

Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Vintage Chronograph

40.5mm steel case, Plexiglas glass, automatic mechanical JLC caliber 751G

Ref. Q207857J

The back of the stainless steel case also bears the same engraved motif as the historical model, depicting a frogman surrounded by bubbles, according to JLC.