Longines Avigation Type A-7 Watch on WWII Uniform (Ref. L2.779.4.53.0) Photo: Perpetuelle

I recently had the opportunity to review the Longines Avigation Type A-7 Watch, a very unique watch which was first announced by the St. Imier-based in October of 2012.  The Avigation Type A-7 is one of those extremely eye-catching pieces that you can’t help but wonder how it came to be.  As I mention in my review below, this piece is part of the Longines Heritage collection.  The large diameter (49mm) and the angled dial of the Avigation Type A-7 are the first features one recognizes; these key elements are in fact what make this watch a proper “heritage” piece that stands in worthy tribute to aviators’ watches of the 1930′s. My video review pretty much covers the ins-and-outs of this fine timepiece.  Below the video are several photos that I took that I think you will also enjoy.  The green uniform that serves as a background in some of the photos is an actual U.S. aviator’s uniform from WWII —  I could not think of a more fitting pairing for the Avigation Type A-7.

Click through for my full review of the Longines Avigation Type A7

Recently I had a chance to spend some time with the LIMES Endurance Leviathan.   Below is my review and several photos from my hands-on experience with the watch.

In short, I found the LIMES Endurance Leviathan to be an excellent — and reasonably priced — wrist companion.  What I like most about the Leviathan is its “no nonsense” design — it is a very functional watch with excellent day and night-time visibility.   The brand is based in Germany, and no doubt this watch has great German sensibility in its DNA.  The Endurance Leviathan would make a great diving companion (300m), or for someone like me (not a diver, but an avid outdoorsman), a great daily wearer.  Thus I recommend the LIMES Leviathan for anyone who is looking for a hefty, dive-style watch in the $1,500 – $2,000 price range.  You can purchase this watch direct from LIMES in Germany, here is the website>>>

Hope you enjoy the review, and if you have any thoughts feel free to drop a comment below.
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In celebration of the New Year we will take a look at one of my favorite watches of recent years, the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Liquidmetal Titanium.  Photos taken over the New Year’s holiday at Königsleiten ski village in Österreich (Austria) mark the occasion.  Enjoy the review!

Click through for our hands-on review of the Seamaster Planet Ocean Titanium Liquidmetal

It’s been over a year since I reviewed the superb yellow-dial Dodane Type 23 Flyback Chronograph.  Now the fifth-generation Dodane family brand is out with the Type 23, its first new model ever, following decades of successfully producing the Type 21 for the French Air Force.  The Type 23 is a consumer/civilian oriented model, available in both a flyback and non-flyback chronograph.   I recently spent some time with the Type 23 Flyback Chronograph and again came away very impressed with this little-known but historied brand and the timepieces it has to offer.  Hands on video and lots of pics, below…

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Breitlingsource.com recently posted a review of the Rolex DeepSea watch which was introduced in 2008.  It is a nice top-to-bottom on the watch for the casual Rolex or watch enthusiast.  If you are well versed on Rolex it might not be as exciting for you, unless you want to debate with his opinions on the watch.  Nelson’s been doing watch reviews for quite a few years now and I always look forward them.

I haven’t written much about the DeepSea here at Perpetuelle, though I did publish a fantastic hands-on report about the bubble-domed Rolex Deep Sea Special from 1960 and I’ve also covered extensively the newest member of the Rolex Deep Sea family, the 2012 Rolex Deepsea Challenge.

The Rolex Deepsea Challenge, water resistance rated to 12,000 meters, is the watch that famous movie producer and now explorer James Cameron took to the bottom of the Marianas Trench, the deepest known point on Earth, earlier this year — I posted live pics from this event, too.  A specifications comparison of all three watches is at the very bottom.

Rolex DeepSea Sea-Dweller Dive Watch Review (2008)

Rolex Deep Sea Special (1960)

Rolex Deepsea Challenge (2012)

Though I have often stated I am a big Rolex enthusiast, these particular pieces and the extreme depths to which they were taken — as well as the people that went with them and their stories — have always enamored me.  I find the “Deep Sea Family” to be the most interesting Rolex timepieces, period.

When offered the chance to go hands-on with the new Linde Werdelin Oktopus II — in its most eye-catching form — I of course jumped at the opportunity.  It didn’t take much wrist time with the titanium-cased, yellow-strapped Okto II to get excited.  Hands-down, this Linde Werdelin interpretation of an ideal timepiece for the modern diver is a winner.  You can decide for yourself after this extensive review — kicked off with some “hands on” video of the piece followed by many, many awesome photos.  Believe me, this is one Oktopus you don’t want to miss. Click here for the full photo and video review

Courtesy of Boris Pjanic, a new acquaintance of mine who blogs at Watchesandart.   Not an extensive review, but some nice pics of a beautiful watch that I would love to be able to have some wrist time with some day.  Click through to Watchesandart to see the full review, replete with photos.

Tudor Heritage Chronograph Watch Review

42mm steel case

Photo:  Watchesandart

This past Friday I visited my friends at Dorfman, a jeweler located on Newbury Street in Boston, Massachusetts. Dorfman is foremost a jewelry store, but they are an authorized dealer for one of the elite brands from Switzerland: Patek Philippe.

Most recently a watch that was released during Baselworld 2011 arrived at the store and fresh out of the box I got a look at the 5496P-001. It is a men’s grand complication featuring a retrograde date hand, perpetual calender, moon phases, and day, month, leap year in apertures.

Zoom of the dial

The window directly above ‘Patek Philippe’ tells the leap year.

Patek Philippe fitted the 5496P  with 324 S QR caliber. The movement has a 45 hour power reserve and vibrates per hour at 28,800. 361 parts make up the movement.

Unfortunately, my pictures do not do this splendid watch justice. The 5496P is highly attractive and the future owner of this watch will have difficulty keeping his or her eyes off it.

Stolas is a fairly new, entry-level brand started here in the U.S. by outdoorsman and watch enthusiast Curtis Stolas.  Reflecting its Founder’s passion for design and  nautical sports, Stolas offers a trio of sport/dive watches, all offered at a reasonable price point.  I recently reviewed Stolas’s Harbormaster Gennaker model and can say that it is a worthy choice for any watch buyer who is seeking a limited production, versatile dive watch with excellent lume characteristics and an affordable price tag ($619).  All Stolas watches are available for purchase direct from the Stolas website.

Enjoy the review…

STOLAS Harbormaster Gennaker Watch Review (Video)

STOLAS Harbormaster Gennaker Watch Review (Photos)

(c) Perpetuelle.com

Stolas’s signature design element is undoubtedly the “lightning bolt” seconds hand — seen here on the Gennaker, but as well on the other Stolas models.  For me, it took some time to get used to a jagged-looking seconds hand — definitely a conversation-starter!

The Stolas Harbormaster Gennaker also features a carbon fiber dial, which I really like — on some watches this type of dial can reduce legibility, but not on the Gennaker.

Curtis Stolas tells me that his technique for applying lume to the bezel (all the way from “12″ to “4″, or 20 minutes) is patent pending, and that Stolas is among the only watch brands to feature a luminous 20-minute bezel (luxury brand IWC Schaffhausen is another)

The case is stainless steel with a polished black PVD finish — it looks good out of the box, though I do wonder how it might look 5-10 years down the road after a lot of wear.

You can check out the full Stolas collection at http://www.stolaswatch.co/watch/home.html.

Courtesy of Monochrome…

Recommended Reading: Monochrome Editor Frank Geelen recently reviewed the Girard-Perregaux Sea Hawk Pro 1000m dive watch.   This watch was first announced in April 2011 (I wrote about it here), and to my knowledge this is the first “hands on” experience with the watch.  “The new Sea Hawk 1000m wears excellent, looks great and runs and performs perfectly” according to Frank, but you’ll have click through to the Monochrome blog to check out the complete and excellent review, including some great pics!

Girard-Perregaux Sea Hawk Pro 1000m Review

click image to see full review