It's The Last Proper Day Of Watches And Wonders, These Are New Watches From Zenith, Montblanc, Panerai, Frederique Constant, Hublot, Alpina And Hermès

In this issue:

• Zenith Has One More Thing To Show You: A Very Extravagant, Very Expensive Diver

• A Dive Watch With Zero Oxygen, A Mountaineering Watch With Upcycled Co2 And Lumed Cases For New Montblancs

• Panerai Focuses On The Submersible Line And Advanced Materials

• A Smaller Size And In House Movement Are The Incremental Changes For Frederique Constant’s Classic Date And Moonphase

• Hublot Unveils A Bunch Of New Models, From The Subdued Time Only Pieces To Crazy Sapphire Cases

• Alpina Welcomes A New Extreme Diver, A New GMT Model And A Couple Of Quartz Powered Watches

• Hermès Launches The Cut, A Sport Watch For Women, And A Complicated Arceau Duc Attelé

Today’s reading time: 12 minutes and 59 seconds

👂What’s new

1/

Zenith Has One More Thing To Show You: A Very Extravagant, Very Expensive Diver

Way back on Tuesday, the first day of Watches and Wonders, Zenith showed off their novelties for the show. They introduced a trio of Defy Skyline chronographs and surprised everyone a bit with the introduction of the, a hard-core retro-styled recreation of a diver from 1969. This was a bit weird as Zenith today is more known for their high-beat chronographs and pilot’s watches, and less so for their divers. It’s been twenty years since Zenith made a three hand dive watch with a dive bezel. Well, Zenith is back with one more announcement: they’re making a duo of divers, the Defy Extreme Diver.

The Defy Extreme Diver is a chunk of a watch. Measuring in at 42.5mm wide and 15.5 mm thick - a not uncommon size for 600 meter capable divers - but seeing how it’s made out of titanium, it should be a bit easier on the wrist than expected. The case of this watch is really impressive and looks to be one of those “you either love it or hate it” deals. I’m actually leaning towards love. It’s a very geometric case , with prominent and screwed in crown guards, a dodecagonal steel ring between the crystal and the slim dive bezel and strong facets all around the case. Overall, the watch has a brushed finish and there’s a helium release valve at 9 o’clock.

The colors of the watch are just fantastic. The bezel, dial (and fabric strap) get an either black of deep blue hue, with pops of orange on the orange minute track that sorrounds the dial. Speaking of the dial, it has the Zenith typical star motif, this time with larger stars, and a sunburst finish. The hands are partially skeletonized and pretty much everything is filled with lume. But the lume has a party trick within it. The hour markers and hand light up in blue, the minute hand lights up in green and, best of all, the numerals and five minute marks on the bezel light up in orange.

Inside is the Zenith El Primero 3620. It’s pretty much the same crazy movement from the Defy Skyline which beats at 36,000 vph and has the 1/10th-of-a-second hand at 9 o’clock, but with all of that removed to five you just the three central hands. Power reserve is 60 hours. Both colors of the Zenith Defy Extreme Diver come with a titanium H-link bracelet, an FKM rubber strap and a double-pass strap made from recycled fishing nets.

Then, we get to the pricing of the Zenith Defy Extreme Divers. €11,800. Do with that number what you wish. It’s a lot of money. A lot. See more on the Zenith website.

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A Dive Watch With Zero Oxygen, A Mountaineering Watch With Upcycled Co2 And Lumed Cases For New Montblancs

Creating a watch that has its internals not just completely cut off from the outside world but also completely devoid of oxygen has to be a gimmick. What possible use could come froma an oxygen-less watches. Well, ask Montblanc why they do it, and they will explain that this helps mountaineers, who often find themselves in freezing temperature and the lack of oxygen means the watch will not fog up, regardless of how cold it gets. Now, they’re releasing a number of new watches that make use of the same concept. Let’s check them out.

• The 1858 Geosphere worldtimer was the first Montblanc watch to feature the Zero Oxygen concept, so it’s no surprise that they would use the model to experiment with new materials and methods. The new 1858 Geosphere Zero Oxygen CARBO2 has a few of those. First, ti comes in a 48.5mm wide case that’s made out of carbon fiber, but not just any CF. Montblanc uses carbon dioxide captured using calcium dissolution and carbonation from otherwise air-polluting factory processes and then adds this powder to carbon that makes up the midcase. I’m not really sure that these tiny amounts of carbon will contribute much to our recycling efforts, but I guess every little bit counts. Another awesome detail on the midcase is the inclusion of a silhouette of the Mont Blanc mountain range rendered in lumed material - extremely cool. The watch is limited to 1,969 pieces and priced at $9,100.

• The Iced Sea is Montblanc’s dive range which has been around only for about two years. So, one could say that their path from casual diver to extreme diver was extremely short. The new Iced Sea Zero Oxygen Deep 4810 is a chunky piece made out of titanium and measuring 43mm wide and a whopping 19.4mm thick. But, before you say that’s too much, keep in mind that these extreme divers can take immense pressures. This one in particular can go really, really deep. 4,810 meters, or, the height of the Mont Blanc mountain. Once again you also get an oxygen deprived case which also helps with keeping the oils in the movement as fresh as possible. Price is set at a much more reasonable €8,900.

• A bit tamer are two new versions of the Iced Sea. They both come in 41mm wide and 12.9mm thick cases, one made out of bronze with a black dial and really beautiful brown/black bezel and the other made out of steel with a red dial. Both dials have a nice ice crystal pattern. Inside is the very familiar Sellita SW-200 movement, which makes the €3,350 price a bit hard to justify.

• Montblanc is not all about sports watches. They are, after all, the owner of legendary Minerva movement factory. So, the Montblanc 1858 The Unveiled Minerva Monopusher Chronograph really makes sense as a stunning watch. It comes in a 43mm-wide case features five sapphire crystal windows on its sides to give you a view of the movement inside. Nice, but you can also see the movement through the openworked dial. Pr lack thereof. Like previous models, the movement is reversed to show the chronograph’s intricate workings which, with traditional watches, you’d usually need to flip the watch over to view through the watch’s caseback. Limited to 100 pieces and while no price has been given, based on previous versions it should be around the €40,000 range.

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Panerai Focuses On The Submersible Line And Advanced Materials

Last year we saw a lot of new Panerai models take on smaller and more elegant sizes. For some quite unknown reason, Panerai decided to make these smaller watches a lot less capable, with horrible water resistance. This year, at least when it comes to Watches and Wonders, they have focused on the Submersible line, one that is dedicated to more experimental watches and new materials.

• First up is the new duo of 44mm wide Submersible QuarantaQuattro Luna Rossa Ti-Ceramitech watches. Pictured above, they almost symbol the return of the extravagant Panerai I love so much, as the case is made out of Ti-Ceramitech, a titanium alloy that has undergone a titanium “ceramization” process through Electrolytic Plasma Oxidation, which gives teh watch an incredible matte blue case on the dial. You can either have it in the complementary sunburst blue dial or a contrasting flat white dial, which would be my choice. Water resistance is 500 meters, which is much more like Panerai, and price is set at €16,900.

• Then we have the Submersible GMT Luna Rossa Titanio PAM1507, which looks to be just a regular Submersible. Only it isn’t. It has an almost hidden 24 hour scale that’s printed on the very steep rehaut. The GMT hand has a nice red arrow tipped hand. The dial, rehaut, bezel and strap all come in the same shade of blue, while the case is 42mm titanium. Priced at €12,500.

• Next is the Panerai Submersible Luna Rossa PAM01565, which might seem like the most plain of the new models, but it’s also a limited edition that will be made in only 300 peices. 42mm wide, stainless steel, 300 meters of water resistance, a blue dial, black bezel and black strap with red details, it’s powered by the P.900 caliber which has a 3 day power reserve. Priced at €11.500

• And last is the most extravagant model, the Submersible Tourbillon GMT Luna Rossa Experience Edition PAM01405. Made in only 20 pieces and housed in a 45mm Carbotech (their version of carbon fiber) case, the watch also gets a DLC-coated titanium bezel. The dial is fully skeletonized so you can see the manually wound P.2015/T caliber which has a four day power reserve. Being part of the Experience line from Paneria means that you get an experience with your purchase. So, the owners of this watch will be invited to attend the finals of the America’s Cup in Barcelona, with a bunch of planned activities and hanging out with the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team. Price is pretty hard core at €195,000.

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A Smaller Size And In House Movement Are The Incremental Changes For Frederique Constant’s Classic Date And Moonphase

Some brands came out swinging at Watches and Wonders. Others opted for a more subdued approach. Frederique Constant is quite firmly in the second camp, not just for their updates being quite small (at least visually), but also for choosing to update their most elegant of watches, the Manufacture Classic Date and the Manufacture Classic Moonphase Date.

• The biggest update to the above pictured Manufacture Classic Moonphase Date comes in the case, which shrinks down from 42mm to 40mm wide and is 12.4mm thick. On top is a domed sapphire crystal, and this version can be had in a deep green, navy blue and silver, all with sunray finishing. At 6 o’clock is the moonphase aperture with a pointer date surround. Inside is the updated FC716 which beats at 28,800vph and gets a much more respectable power reserve of 72 hours, up from the previous 38 hours. Priced at €3,895, these are still a great deal.

• The Manufacture Classic Date is basically the same watch, with the same updates, but just with the lack of a moonphase indicator. It has the same 40mm wide case, but here paried. with a salmon, silver, or black sunburst dial. Since there is no moonphase aperture at 6 o’clock, all you get is a pointer date there. Inside is the FC706, with the same specs as the FC716. At €3,295, it’s an even better deal.

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Hublot Unveils A Bunch Of New Models, From The Subdued Time Only Pieces To Crazy Sapphire Cases

Hublot has become the meme watch of the industry. There’s no easier target to make fun of. The only issue with that approach is that in the making fun we start missing some of their better watches, be they technical innovations or actually great looking ones. So, let’s see what they showed at Watches and Wonders.

• Up first is the return of the MP-11, a watch that first showed up in Baselworld, the defunct event that was replaced by Watches and wonders. So, it’s only fitting, I guess. The MP-11 now comes in a 45mm wide and 14.4mm thick icy blue sapphire case. It’s an incredibly complex piece of horology, with seven co-axial, vertical barrels which give it a two week power reserve. Yes, 336 hours of power reserve. Limited to 50 pieces and priced at $171,000.

• A bit tamer is the new Square Bang Unico, which has been updated with the inclusion of Hublot’s Magic Gold material. Measuring 42mm wide, 12mm thick, the Square Bang Unico can be had in either full Magic Gold or in black ceramic with a Magic Gold bezel. The dial is openworked with black PVD surfaces and gold accents. Inside is the HUB1280 automatic movement with a 72 hour power reserve that offers a date and flyback chronograph in addition to the three regular hand. Priced at $31,800 for the ceramic with gold bezel and $42,700 for the full gold version.

• The Big Bang Unico Ice Bang is as classic as Hublot gets, at least in terms of looks. But also with the pretty out there materials. It comes in a 42mm wide and 14.5mm thick black ceramic case, topped with a bezel in satin-finished and polished tungsten. The open-worked matte black dial reveals the column wheel of the 354-part HUB1280 Unico 2 chronograph caliber inside. Priced at €25,000 and limited to €100 pieces.

• Then we get the two colorful limited editions of the Big Bang Unico. In the same 42 × 14.5mm ceramic case these two get a familiar olive green finish and a new bright orange version. Bth versions get contrasting black details and case colored hands, numerals and sub-dial rings. Limited to 250 pieces each, the green comes in at €25,000 and the orange at €30,800.

• The MP-13 is another high-tech piece from Hublot. Inside a 44mm wide and 16.7mm thick case made out of carbon fiber and Texalium, a fiberglass-based composite material topped with an aluminum coating, sits a combination of a bi-axis tourbillon and twin retrograde indicators for the hours and minutes. Not something you see every day. Priced at $165,000.

• Hublot should make more tonneau shaped watches as they tend to look better. Especially this Spirit of Big Bang Orange Tourbillon which gets a 42mm wide forged carbon fibre case that has orange micro-glass fibres interwoven. Inside is the HUB6020 tourbillon equipped movement that gets a 115 hour power reserve. $105,000.

• This isn’t the first time that Hublot releases a Big Bang Unico in Pink Sapphire, but it is the first time we get this watch with no diamonds, which might be a welcomed edition for a very niche buyer base. The watch is made out of sapphire and titanium, making it quite an attractive piece. Limited to 100 pieces and priced at $121,100.

• Following a long line of watches that might be considered controversial by some, now we’re getting to the most controversial of them all. The Big Bang Integrated Time Only now gets a 38mm version. It comes in titanium, blue or black ceramic or King Gold. The biggest issue with the watch is the HUB1115 movement inside. It’s Sellita based, although heavily modified by Hublot to include a stronger mainspring. But at these prices ($13,100 for the titanium, $15,300 for the ceramic and $47,100 for the King Gold), that’s really not an acceptable movement.

• And last, updates to the simplest of all Hublot models, the Classic Fusion Original. It now gets a tiny 29mm wide case that can be had in yellow gold, King Gold or titanium. Additionally, the titanium and King Gold models are available with diamond bezels, as well as either green or blue rubber straps.

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Alpina Welcomes A New Extreme Diver, A New GMT Model And A Couple Of Quartz Powered Watches

Alpina is very quickly becoming a favorite for me. They’re quirky, they have a confusing name, but they are coming out with very unique looking watches that are just mighty fine.

• First is the new Seastrong Diver Extreme Automatic which comes in a 39 × 40.4mm stainless steel case that’s 12.65mm thick and has a 300 meter water resistance. Not bad. The silver case is brushed and on top is a unidirectional dive bezel with a matte black ceramic insert with a 60-minute countdown scale with raised numerals. The dial is black with the Alpine triangle motif we have seen many times before, with an orange minute scale on the outskirts that matches the orange rubber strap. Inside is the caliber AL-525, which is just a Sellita SW200-1 with a custom rotor. Priced at €1,995.

• The Seastrong Diver Extreme Automatic GMT builds on the same case, but instead of a diving bezel you get a black GMT bezel. The dial comes in either black or cream, with red details. Priced at €2,495.

• Last, there’s the smaller Alpiner Extremen, measuring in at 34 × 35.24mm, made out of stainless steel and only 8.35mm thick. It can be so thin because it’s powered by a Swiss quartz movement that has a 45 month battery life. There are four versions available - a pink dial on a stainless steel bracelet, a green dial on a rubber strap, one with a brown dial and one with a glacier blue dial. On the steel bracelet, the price is €1,195 and on rubber it’s €995.

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Hermès Launches The Cut, A Sport Watch For Women, And A Complicated Arceau Duc Attelé

Hermès is expanding its lineup for women with the new The Cut line. It builds on the H08 shape but softens it up a lot with a very curvy case that measures 36m wide and 10.3mm thick. Seeing as how this is a sports watch, it has 100 meters of water resistance. You can have it in steel or two-tone steel and rose, with or without diamonds, and with bracelet or rubber strap. The crown is in the unusual 1:30 position and all of the variants come with a silver dial that has orange details on the steel version and no other colors on the two-tones. Inside is the Caliber Manufacture Hermès H1912 which has a 50 hour power reserve. If you chose a rubber strap, you can choose one of eight colors - white, orange, gris perle, gris étain, glycine, vert criquet, bleu jean and capucine.

On the complete opposite part of the spectrum is the new Hermés Arceau Duc Attelé. Part of the Arceau line known for the asymetrical lugs, with the signature stirrup lugs at 12, it gets a triple-axis tourbillon and a minute repeater. It measures 43mm wide and comes in either grade 5 titanium or 5N rose gold. On top is a hugely domed sapphire crystal and the dial is composed of a floating hour and minutes ring, black on the titanium, white on the rose gold. Those rings spin around the triple-axis tourbillon which sits in a polished titanium case. The dial plate features guilloché striping on the titanium version and aventurine glass on the gold one. Both versions are limited to 24 pieces and no pricing has been revealed.

⏲️Wait a minute

A bunch of links that might or might not have something to do with watches. One thing’s for sure - they’re interesting

• 29 People Died in One of the Worst Mountaineering Accidents in History. This is the story of what happened in deadly avalanche in October 2022 on India’s Draupadi Ka Danda II

• A couple of days ago I gave you the article on the Boeing whistleblower. But how did Boeing get to the point of complete disaster? New York Magazine has a really good writeup on what happened.

• The United States are an interesting country. It’s a place where you can find a theme park dedicated to Dolly Parton which, you’ll have to admit, is pretty strange. Stranger still, it’s a place that serves delicious, award winning food that is even more of a destination that Dollywood itself. Interesting place.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

OK, this is the last of the music posts here, I promise. It’s been unusually hot in Zagreb and whenever it gets hot my mood turns to Manu Chao, perhaps the artist I’ve heard most live in cocnert. If you’re not familiar with the musician, or his previous band Mano Negra, do yourself a favor. You won’t regret it.