Get a bunch of watch nerds together in a room and ask them who made the first dive watch and you’re likely to hear a discordant harmony of “Rolex!” and “Blancpain!” Continue reading
WHO MADE THE FIRST DIVE WATCH? ROLEX? BLANCPAIN? PANERAI?
Tag Archives: dive watch
The Rolex D-Blue Dial Deepsea Sea-Dweller James Cameron expedition
Last year I wrote all about a record breaking dive With James Cameron and National Geographic and a record breaking watch from Rolex, if you get a minute you can read it here. This year there are some excititng announcements on that historic dive. At 10,908 meters (nearly 36,000 feet) The Mariana Trench is the deepest point in the ocean on earth. On March 26th, 2012 filmmaker and explorer James Cameron in partnership with National Geographic made the first solo dive to and scientific exploration of the Mariana Trench. Making this kind of a dive was no small feat, and to commemorate Cameron’s expedition as well as the documentary of said expedition called Deepsea Challenge 3D, Rolex has released a new edition of a great watch. Personally I was hoping for the actual Deep Sea Challange model to be publicly released,. However, what they did introduce is still rather exceptional. They have delivered a new version of the Deepsea Sea-Dweller with a gradient “D-Blue” dial that fades from deep blue to black. The coloring is intended to invoke images the ocean’s depths, diving lower and lower until you reach a point completely void of light. Continue reading
The Omega Seamaster 300 Master Co-Axial
It seems as though everyone making watches these days, especially the ones on the cutting edge of technology, are looking to the past for design inspiration, and I like it! Vintage-inspired pieces were all the rage at this year’s Baselworld, and from one of my favorite watchmakers came the remake of an absolutely iconic divers watch. Omega introduced the new Seamaster 300 Master Co-Axial, based on the original Seamaster 300 from 1957. It has a 41mm case, sapphire crystal and exhibition back, and the distinctive broad-arrow hour hand. It is also water-resistant to 300m, hence the name. Continue reading
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner- The Original Bond Watch
Even though I have written a lot about Rolex, I have been putting this post off for a long while. Writing about the Submariner can be a bit of a cliché, being that nearly everyone has written something about it. Now, it isn’t that it’s worth writing about, but I want to avoid adding to the noise and write something worthy of a great watch. So being the swell blogger I am, it is my duty -when I finally broach the subject- to do it justice. Continue reading
Timekeeping 101: How to Read a Bezel
I have written a lot about watches, it is something I enjoy. I spend a serious amount of time reading about, looking at and playing with watches. I am always on looking at what is called “watch porn”, the same way one might go to Motor Trend or Hemmings to check out the motor in the latest corvette, I go to International Watch or Hodinkee to see the inner workings of the calibre 9001 in the Rolex Skydweller-oooh, aaah check out that Ssaros gear system!, look at those perlage’ bridges!
So with all of this writing about watches I’ve addressed a few tool watches as well, and I thought I should really do a How-to on using the bezels and complications of some of these watches. Well, the great guys at Gearpatrol have already done it for me. I found this recently, and thought it the perfect tutorial for How to be Swell readers. So I am sharing it here for all of you. If you want to read the original check it out here. I also suggest that you go visit the site and browse around, it is a great resource for all sorts of things from food and drink to watches, clothing, outdoor gear and personal care, they write about everything. So here it is the best guide to deciphering those cool looking rings courtesy of Gearpatrol.com: Continue reading
The Calibre de Cartier Diver
For a long time Cartier has been over looked as a serious watchmaker. Although they are a top tier jewelery design house (my personal favorite at that), and have been making fantastic watches since the wristwatch was created, for many years their name was far from the lips of those discussing haute horology. That is certainly changing as of late, Carole Forestier-Kaspi is leading the Cartier’s watchmaking department into a new era. Every year they have been coming up with new and innovative complications and creating modern, wearable watches with fine in-house calibres. The latest masterpiece is the Calibre de Cartier Diver, an ISO-certified dive watch powered by the in-house 1904 MC calibre. Continue reading
Rolex Deepsea Challenge
Great and wonderous things happen when worlds of technology and exploration collide in pursuit of a common ambition. The catalyst of exploration has spurred technology many times in the past, and technological advances have paved the way for some fantastic voyages in history. This wonderous ballet has provided man glimpses of the most magnificent views on earth and in space, as well as some of the most complicated and ingenious gadgets you have ever laid eyes on. You will soon be able to see, on the National Geographic Channel, one such history making adventure. Continue reading
Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Vintage Chronograph
Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Vintage Chronograph
Due to the traditional dive watch design and to its ability to evoke turquoise blue seas and deep reef dives, this luxury watch will certainly help to kill your winter blues. If you’re about to go snorkeling in the great barrier reef, or sea diving in the any ocean paradise, you maybe shouldn’t consider the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Vintage Chronograph. You don’t need to be a great diver to wear this watch, In fact, you don’t need to be a diver at all, because The Deep Sea Vintage Chronograph is not a diving watch! It has a fixed bezel, and it is water-resistant only to 10 bars (100m).But it makes a serious statement lying on your wrist beach side.
This watch seems quite simple. It looks very sporty, but has a gorgeous vintage flavor, and the black on stainless on calfskin leather makes a bold statement. It is masculine, but not alike the enormous monsters people wear today. The case measures 40.5mm which is a very appropriate size for this style. I love that it is tribute to the original Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox Deep Sea, one of the first diving watches ever purposed. Only 1,061 models were made in 1959. Continue reading
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