There’s something about Panerais which has always had a grip on me, despite my particular tastes, but the latest Luminor California 8 Days DLC is simply stunning, in no small part because of its minimalist dial.
I don’t care for the strap, but those are easy to sort out — there are many beautiful alternatives out there.
It will reportedly go on sale for €7900 / $9250.
A contemporary design of a Grande Maison classic created in 1968, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Memovox watch in steel punctuates the important moments of the active man’s life. It is available in a limited series of 1,000 editions.
I have a hard time finding watches that I really like and the new limited edition Polaris Memovox is one of the few which I find simply stunning. They do offer a much cheaper Polaris Automatic but despite the differences between the two being very subtle, I don’t care for it at all.
Benjamin Clymer, for Hodinkee Magazine:
Sir Jonathan Ive, Chief Design Officer of Apple, Inc., is sitting across from me at a seamless white oak table. We’ve met a few times before, and I know he cares about watches. He must, right? But I’ve never actually asked him. So I do. And thank God, he does – he recounts a tale of buying an Omega Speedmaster Professional in the early ’90s. I exhale, because the hypothesis of this interview, at least in my mind (likely not in Apple’s), is that the watch industry and its all-too-vocal supporters have got it all wrong. Jony, the creator of what is, by at least one definition, the number one watch on Earth, is a friend, not a foe. But, like any great question of power and influence, it’s not so simple.
This is one interview worth reading, especially for those of you into horology or Apple Watch. Or both! And that ending — it’s perfect.
Chris Hall for SalonQP:
But forgetting personal objections, it’s staggering – even by Apple’s standards – how quickly Apple Watch has moved the smartwatch story on. Since Apple Watch’s launch, the real watch industry (sorry Apple, no matter where or how Vontobel ranks you, you aren’t a watch brand) has started falling apart. Global exports of Swiss watches have dropped off a cliff. The numbers are horrible – we’re looking at annual decline of around 10 per cent this year. Oof.
I treat my mechanical watches and my Apple Watch differently — the latter is a small computer, while the former are small, precise works of art. But since I only use one wrist, they do compete for the same space.
Now, if you’re like me and you get a kick out of looking at why this is, you’ll recognise the slowdown of the Chinese economy, Xi Jingping’s anti-corruption campaign, falling oil prices, wild currency fluctuations, a super-strong franc, terrorism, sanctions on Russia and even Brexit as factors for this. And you’d be right to think that way.
But I can’t help thinking that smartwatches, still largely dismissed by the Swiss watch industry, are a big part of the story, too. And perhaps a bigger part than anyone’s yet cared to admit. Yes, of course, comparing an Apple Watch with a Patek is like comparing oranges with apples. And yes, no one seems to be buying a Samsung Gear instead of a Rolex.
I’m curious as to how smartwatches1 will evolve in the following years, and if they’ll truly take off.
This beautiful set was shown yesterday at ‘Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie’ in Geneva. And that’s not all that was worth seeing from Panerai… Personally I’d go for one of the new Radiomirs.
REC Watches:
Watches made from recycled Mustangs, powered by an automatic mechanical engine, and a tribute to an American icon. This is the P-51!
Love these kinds of projects!
TimeCaptain:
Believe me, I know how you feel. You have built up a respectable timepiece collection. Your collection includes a few fairly expensive pieces — possibly a Rolex Submariner or an Omega Planet Ocean, but something is missing. You realize it when you’re at a cocktail and some guy shows up wearing a Panerai Luminor. Sure, there are many more expensive pieces at this cocktail- plenty of Rolex Daytona and a couple of Patek Philippe Aquanaut pieces. But that Panerai steals the show. It looks…awesome. You don’t know exactly which model it was, but you know you cannot rest until you have your own Panerai.
His words express my thoughts perfectly.
Corinne Gretler for Bloomberg:
Swiss watch exports had their biggest decline in six years in October, led by a 39 percent slump in shipments to Hong Kong, the industry’s largest market.
I have an Apple Watch. My wife has an Apple Watch. So does her sister and many of my friends. But I also have a nice mechanical watch at home, hidden from sight while I work on my fitness and health, trying to close the circles each day.
I was at London Heathrow yesterday and I happened to come across a shop which had Panerai’s1 among many other fine brands. Now I desperately want one. I don’t know why, but I simply love these precise mechanical pieces of art.