By TLex You may have already read here that LÜM-TEC have a number of new dive watches under development, in particular a 1000m diver with an internal bezel as well as another 300m diver, which was eventually beefed up to 500m. Here are some renderings of the it, which like the others is shaping up to be another very promising release.
When I first came across LÜM-TEC, and saw their clean and elegant designs and more importantly their incredible use of lume I immediately started thinking how great it would be if they developed a diver. Chris Wiegand LÜM-TEC's founder and president must have read my mind as LÜM-TEC have a nice little line up divers on the way. The designs are simple yet striking; rugged (in the case of 50ATM) yet refined and all are most certainly covet-worthy.
The 500m (below) will use the SII NH15 movement and will utilize a full luminous bezel. Its case size will measure 44mm. More to follow as and when I get it . . .
By TLex The Spanish watch forum Foro De Relojes is holding a dive watch photography competition, anyone can enter (see their rules below) . The prize; a limited edition SAWC 500m dive watch. Good luck . . .
¿Who's allowed to enter the contest? 1.- Anyone. The only requisite is to be a registered user in "Foro de Relojes". Owners, moderators, collaborators or sponsors of "Foro de Relojes" can not participate.
The Theme 2.- The pictures have to be closely connected with diving watches. The background should be diving/sea related. Think beaches, goggles, oxygen bottles, ships, water instead of the usual tables or dry leaves.
Where do I upload my pictures? 3- There's a thread called "I Concurso de Fotos Internacional de Diver" In the Diver area of Foro de Relojes. Please, upload your pictures there.
Picture Requisites All pictures must have never been published before. All pictures must be less than 800px wide. Enter only one picture per participant.
Due Date
4..- All pictures should be submitted before December the 21st. Only pictures uploaded in the thread before 23:59:59 GMT on December the 20th will be considered valid. The Prize
5.- SAWC has donated a SAWC Dakar. The watch will be awarded to the picture selected by a jury.
6.- An independent jury, composed of at least three profesional photographers not related to Foro de Relojes, will held out the voting before the 25th of December. The results will be published in "Foro de Relojes" immediately.
Awards ceremony 7.- The award will be presented to the winner on the prestigious Centro Relojero Pedro Izquierdo, Calle Arganda, 41. Madrid on the 29th of December at 20:30 local time. If the winner can not make it to the ceremony, it'll be mailed afterward.
Please note 8.- Winning pictures rights will become property of Foro de Relojes, who reserves all rights to use or publish them in any media.
9.- By entering the contest you accept all the previously stated rules.
By TLex The HALIOS BlueRing should be released by early 2010. Until then here are a few more spy shots featuring: 24mm lugs, solid end links, 4mm thick bracelet with flip lock clasp with embossed HALIOS logo, black & blue dials with enlarged markers allowing for better lume application; stay tuned . . .
By TLex The NEW Prometheus 'Ocean Diver' 2836-2 is now available for order. This the first of their compressor cased divers. The watch is powered by Swiss ETA 2836-2 Movement.
Price 339 EUR + shipping (vat rate not included for eu countries). The Ocean Diver can now be ordered online from Prometheus Watch Co.
Diameter: 44.00 mm (measured from top ring) Length: 51.40 mm Lug width 22 mm Sapphire crystal Super luminous Water-resistance 300m Silicone strap Swiss Made 2 years warranty Limited edition of 500 watches.
By TLex Some great news and exciting developments from cult Italian dive watch maker Enzo Mechana. No more ETA calibers and no more CNC machined cases. Instead Enzo is going 'old skool'.
Enzo Mechana will be handcrafting all his new stainless steel and 18K rose gold cases the old fashioned way. He will also be using hi-end vintage calibers such as; Omega 565, Rolex 1570 and Valjoux 72 calibers. As well as these some Jaeger-LeCoultre calibers and a few other special calibers yet to be announced.
First up for release a V72 Chrono and a GMT using a Rolex 1570 Cal. I will have some images and more details within the next month or so, stay tuned. . .
By TLex I am very pleased to be introducing Orange Watch Co. The Australian based watchmakers have two models forthcoming, firstly their vintage styled Sub, named the Miltary Submariner. It comes complete with vintage lume and plethora of options and accessories including ceramic bezels, German made mesh bracelets, Flip lock II oyster clasps and an even larger choice of Swiss Soprod and Chinese Sea-Gull automatic movements.
Orange Watch Co. are one of the few micro makers who are publicly saying NO ETA. They don't use ETA movements, unless they are vintage, which will then be put into their Museum Edition. They also publicly advertise the use of Chinese movements. They use the Sea-Gull ST2130 and the ST1812 movements (2824-2 and 2892-A2). The Soprod will be used as as the Swiss Edition.
A 44mm Orange Submariner will be out soon. It is quite evident that a lot of thought and care has been put into what Orange Company are offering, a must see for Sub fans!
Lex Vincent, please allow me to first of all thank you on behalf of OceanicTime and all my readers for your valuable time and for giving us this rare insight into your plans with TechnoMarine, it is very much appreciated and I am very honored to have you answer my questions.
VincentThank you Lex. This is part of my duty to explain and communicate the passion that we have at TechnoMarine to make the brand a reference again in the watch making industry.
Lex How did your partnership and position as new CEO of TechnoMarine come about?
Vincent Well, after 3 years of business at Concord, I started to receive a lot of different offers to turnaround brands. Last May one phone call came from a headhunter and they asked if I would be interested in meeting with Mr. Christian Viros, former CEO of TAG Heuer and former President of LVMH Watch & Jewelry division…
The top reference in our industry. The man who really created the hype with TAG during more than 10 years. One of the most visible successes of our industry. You cannot resist to such an invitation. So I met Christian and after 15 minutes, I was “in”.
All the ingredients that I love: turnaround, great goodwill, huge amount of work to turn the brand to a success, fun, talents… They needed a new creative mind to bring “electricity” back to the brand…
Lex Why TechnoMarine?
Vincent Well because the challenge to turn the brand around into a success is really big. The brand used to be hot; used to be cool… And to bring back the hype, we will need a lot of creativity, network and hard work. I love these three things! It’s always more fun to take a brand where if you do a good job, the visibility will be better because no one expects to see TechnoMarine to be hot again…
Guess what, I have lived that already 3 times: Audemars Piguet (1995-2000 brand turnaround; 2001 Hamilton brand turnaround; 2006-09 Concord brand turnaround… and each time, the same situation: poor brand recognition, “used to be” something but lost its point of view, etc…
Lex Since its inception in 1999 Techno Marine has marketed themselves as a lifestyle and fashion forward brand. I can never forget their marketing campaign using nude models draped in sharks. How far removed is your new vision of TechnoMarine from Franck Dubarry’s of 10 years ago. Will you continue to head down the same fashion / lifestyle path?
Vincent In the late 90’s the brand was hot. It went way further than “fashion” and “lifestyle”: the brand was “talking” to trendsetters, fashion forward BUT also to watch fans or aficionados… If you remember, at that time, people were swapping their Rolex or AP to put their TechnoMarine on for the week/end. In another words, the brand was “cool”.
The DNA of TechnoMarine was the ability to mix or merge two universes: the low end (= plastic) meets the high end (= diamonds). This is the core essence of the brand. The ability to be 100% disruptive.
So don’t put TechnoMarine into a “box” or a “category”… We are way beyond that… and that is why a lot of people in the industry are wondering what we could possibly be imaging for the rebirth of this brand… Guess what… We have fund. That’s a surprise, of course. But we are willing to “talk” to the same crowd back in the late 90’s…
Lex What do you see as TechnoMarine’s main strengths and weakness? Vincent Strength: disruptive mind-set. Audacity. Market leader (in the late 90’s). Weakness: today, no more point of view or motto… But we are working on it…
Lex How do you plan to build on their strengths?
Vincent That’s my little secret! Remember with Concord. Everybody laughed at Concord. The brand was nothing but a gold platted watch at 1500 $... and 18 months later… the brand launches and delivers 100 Tourbillon C1 Gravity at 300,000 $ / unit… Sold out in 2 days in Basel 08 and we win the Grand Prix de Genève / best Design 2008!
Lex What is / will be your design philosophy?
Vincent Work with the best designers. Find new talents. Give them a precise and focused briefing to make sure they match what we are looking to launch.
Lex Will you now have a new demographic / target? If so who will this be? What sector of the luxury watch market will you be focusing, on?
Vincent When we launched the Offshore of Audemars Piguet (1995) there was never a demographic: the watch was as appealing to a 25-year old man driving his Ferrari in Los Angeles as it was to a 60-year old banker in London. I don’t really care about demographics in the high-value market; I care about the social profile and aspirations of the consumer. Much more interesting because it is NOT connected to his age.
With TechnoMarine, it used to be (and it will be again) a state of mind. A spirit.
Lex As you know the internet has become a powerful marketing tool for modern watch companies, with sophisticated and expensive websites and Facebook accounts. What will TechnoMarine be doing to market themselves in Cyberspace?
Vincent We are going to invest more than 3/4s of our marketing money in electronic platforms and channels of communication. The watch industry keeps thinking it understands this media… That’s not true. A few brands have understood it. We (my new team and I), we are part of these few brands and we will maximize our efforts, I can guarantee this.
Lex What are your immediate goals for TechnoMarine? What are your long term goals / ambitions for the company?
Vincent My immediate goal (when I started in mid August 2009) was to redefine the vision of the brand to be able to illustrate it to my people and my boss, Christian Viros. Then to express this vision into a product program for Basel 2010. We aim to be credible and respected again within 18 months.
Step 1 is Basel 2010 where we will bring a new brand identity: new people, new talents, new Corporate Identity, new brand image and communication concept, new products.
Step 2 is Basel 2011 where we want to surprise and buzz the watch industry with product concepts that recreate the energy that we had in the late 90’s… We have the concept… You can’t imagine how cool it is…
Lex TechnoMarine by name already hints strongly at nautical and diver themes. What proportion of your new line up will actually be dive watches?
Vincent It will be always a combination of diving watches (sport); urban watches (trendy); and leisure watches. But the entire design is re-assessed and we are working on a totally new collection.
Lex You had told me earlier that within the next 18 months you will have developed some serious dive watches. What does that actually mean in terms of specifications and models?
Vincent Within 18 months we should be able to re-create a “market space” that no one in the watch industry owns… like the “plastic meets diamonds”. We were the first ones, and the only ones to create this disruptive product. We led the market for a while. We believe we can recreate this scenario with something totally different 10 years later.
Lex Dive watches by their very nature are defined by their depth ratings and functionality. They should be utilitarian but often (unfortunately) follow fashion.
What of; Water-resistance, lume, case materials, movements, function, ISO standards, etc.?
Will function follow form or form follow function when designing your dive watches?
Vincent At TechnoMarine, there is « joie de vivre » and lots of colors… it is not about performance but useful technique; a kind of “plug and play” system where you don’t need functions or features that you will never use in your whole life… So, we keep this in mind and we are designing watches with that DNA in mind.
Lex Will the flagship model be a diver? How many diver models are planned?
Vincent Maybe. Too early to say. Not because we don’t know, but because we don’t want to tell it at that point. Let’s keep a little bit of suspense here.
Lex What part / role in the design process will you play? To what degree are you involved?
Vincent TechnoMarine is a small brand. I am therefore involved in everything, including marketing, product design, sales, administration, etc…!
Lex Please tell me about your team? Does TechnoMarine have a completely new design team? Did you hand pick them yourself? Did you bring people with you?
Vincent Yes, a totally new creative team. In fact we are now working with 4 different agencies on lots of concepts. Some for 2010 but already on the 2011 – 12 designs, where and when the brand will be aligned with our vision…
Lex I was very flattered when you previously told me that you had referred your team to OceanicTime for inspiration, where else will they be drawing inspiration from?
Shouldn’t you just send them all off to the Maldives or the Great Barrier Reef for some inspiration? If you do, can I come along? ;)
Vincent Great idea!! Who pays for it? ;)
Yes, it is true that I asked them to spend some time on OceanicTime. We need to get professional input BUT we need to be able – at TechnoMarine – to translate this into our brand, with our touch, with a twist and to remain true to our DNA and our audience.
Lex What of the current line of Techno Marine divers, namely the Royal Marine?
Vincent Yes, but Royal Marine will be gone in around 6 months now. It is not part of our future collections…
Lex When do your expect / hope to launch the new lines?
Vincent Basel 2010 more than 100 new references… This is what I call « our home-work »; a natural thing to do as a manager since there were a lot of issues in our previous collection. Basel 2011 the talking piece, the concept that buzz the industry…
Lex Will you be hinting / previewing anything at SIHH or BASEL 2010
Vincent Basel 2010… Imagine, we have started on September 1, 2009… 7 months before BASEL. If we make it for BASEL, this will be a record by itself.
Lex Please tell me / us about your personal experiences with dive watches. Do you own one?
Vincent Of course I own some. But do we consider an Audemars Piguet Offshore a diving watch… of an urban watch with a lot of guts and some reference to the diving universe? This is quite subjective I think.
Lex Will the new Techno Marine diver / divers be something that any discerning dive watch collector / enthusiast should aspire to have in their collection. Why?
Vincent Yes, you got it. We are doing things to appeal to the collector/enthusiasts. But this will be achieved after step 1, in 2011. You will have to see the evolution and the achievements in 18 months.
Lex Do you have a final message that you would like to relay to the OceanicTime readers and dive watch enthusiasts who will hopefully one day be sporting a TechnoMarine dive watch?
Vincent Expect the unexpected. But give us some time. More than 6 months! We are working hard.
Lex Vincent it has been an absolute pleasure to hear from you. I am very excited about what you will be / are doing with TechnoMarine. And I look forward greatly to seeing your new dive watches in the future. The best of luck to you, and all of your team at TechnoMarine!
Vincent Thank you Lex. You know, we need luck. This is one of the key components of success. Without it, nothing really happens. The talent, hard work and experience is key of course. But luck brings the magic touch that makes the total difference! Speak to you soon ...
From Bulova With a blend of cosmopolitan design and superior craftsmanship, Bulova Accutron, the global luxury brand of the Bulova Corporation, will be offering an expanded selection of rugged, yet sophisticated, Swiss Made men’s sport watches for Fall 2009, in both mechanical and quartz versions, including high-performance strap models in the Kirkwood and Eagle Pilot Collections.
Providing two views of its 26-jewel self-winding, mechanical movement, with an on-dial aperture and exhibition case back, a meticulously detailed design from the Kirkwood Collection offers such sport essentials as an unidirectional turning bezel ring, luminous hands and markers, and water resistance to 100 meters, plus the reliability of a screw-down crown and screw-back case.
Crafted of stainless steel, with sapphire crystal and sculpted polyurethane strap, this durable and stylish timepiece is available as shown, with rose-gold finish and brown patterned dial and strap, as well as in stainless steel finish with black dial and strap, and in two stainless steel bracelet versions with blue or silver dial.
For the vigorous traveler, a sleekly curving design from the Eagle Pilot Collection offers the convenience of a GMT dual time-zone movement housed in an elegantly stepped stainless steel case smoothly integrated into a padded and stitched black leather strap with locking deployment buckle.
With luminous numerals, markers and hands on a patterned black dial, this superbly functional Swiss Made quartz timepiece includes an anti-reflective sapphire crystal, calendar, screw-down crown and screw-back case, and is water resistant to 100 meters. Also available with rose-gold finish and detailing, in a stainless steel bracelet version, and in several strap and bracelet self-winding mechanical variations.
All styles in the collection, endorsed by Buzz Aldrin, pilot of the Apollo 11 Eagle lunar module, include this pioneering astronaut’s engraved signature on each case back.
By TLex The SharkWatcher is a dive watch that is first and foremost shark friendly. Tempvs Compvtare is a new brand that has developed the 47mm Shark Watcher with the movie Shark Waters in mind. It is a fitting tribute to Rob Stewart and his movie Shark Water.
The Shark Water movie highlights the plight of hundreds of thousands of sharks illegally fished and slaughtered for the shark finning industry. It is a must see for EVERYONE! OceanicTime supports the work of Rob Stewart and the Shark Water movie.
The SharkWatcher can be ordered now and secured with a 50% deposit. Its price is 10.000 CHF. The first exclusive series of watches will be delivered by the end of January 2010. They will come with three bands.
From Tempvs Compvtare What if true luxury was life? The preservation of our ecosystem is a crucial issue that we cannot ignore any longer. Time is running out, before the balance of basic natural resources is upset. For Tempvs Compvtare’s creators, time-piece seems to be the best vector to increase public awareness.
It bears time slipping away, and leads to realization regarding the emergency of a reaction to save the environment to which we all pertain. TEMPVS COMPVTARE desires to redesign values of luxury, putting forward an ECO-ACTIVE concept.
“We have pursued the conceptual reflection to its paroxysm” No animal skin is used at any stage of the fabrication of our watches. Each step of its conception and each element used have been thought to fully respect the environment. Our watches are entirely designed, produced and assembled in Neuchatel’s belt, birthplace of Swiss Watchmaking. Thereby, transportation and carbon emissions are reduced to their minimum.
A time-piece needs first to be functional: “Form Follows Function”, this rule of Louis H. Sullivan is also Nicolas Jeanson’s motto. Designer and creator of Tempvs Compvtare, he applies this rule to every product of the brand. The editions dedicated to the marine ecosystem directly drawn their hydrodynamics shapes from this universe.
Each Tempvs Compvtare’s edition supports an association actively involved in the defence of threatened species, and yet, essential to our survival. One third of net earnings on each watch sold is offered to supported associations, enabling concretes preservation projects. Purchase a Tempvs Compvtare time-piece enables its buyer to support the earth’s preservation.
Nicolas JEANSON, following his meeting with Rob STEWART, has designed SharkWatcher. SharkWatcher is the first watch of TEMPVS COMPVTARE watches. This watch is a tribute to Rob Stewart’s movie: SharkWater. Released in 2008, this movie especially enhances the catastrophic effects of the organised poaching of the oldest predator of our oceans, hunted for its fins, the shark.
SharkWatcher directly drew its design from the underwater universe. Its hydrodynamics shapes and the generous dimensions of the box, dedicated to a submarine use bear it. SharkWatcher waterproofness and visibility are guaranteed up to 200 meters (660 ft) deep.
No animal skin is used in the conception of SharkWatcher. Thus to reduce to a minimum the impact of transportation on the environment, SharkWatcher is 100% produced and assembled in Switzerland.
DIVING CHRONOGRAPH REF.TC‐SW‐09 Special Edition For Sharks Saving Animal Skin Free Movement: ETA 7750, mechanical automatic chronograph Power Reserve : 42 hours Sapphire Crystal anti-reflective coated Steel Case 47mm and black dial Water-resistance : 200 meters - 660 ft Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds, day and date, calculation of immersion time
By TLex Two Titans of the Deep and both cracking watches, but which one? For those of you who may be wrestling with the decisions of buying either watch, I hope that my impartial and unbiased comparison below will be able to assist you in your decision making.
I had always intended on buying a DEEP BLUE Master 2000 as have had some great dealings with DEEP BLUE in the past. When I heard what they had spent the last two years developing (the Master 2000) I immediately reserved one.
When the HELSON Shark Diver was introduced to me, I couldn't help falling for its good looks. It was another diver to good to pass up. Both HELSON and DEEP BLUE should be congratulated for bringing so much watch for so little!
DEEP BLUE Master 2000
HELSON Shark Diver
CASE The Master 2000's case lends heavily from Rolex; it shares many similar attributes with the new Rolex DEEPSEA. Although it is much larger in its overall stature it is still in essence what it is, a Sub on steroids. Its dimensions are; 46mm X 18mm with 22mm Lugs, it weighs 280 Grams or 10 ounces.
The Shark Diver although similar in size, is far more angular and has many more straight edges and flat surfaces. The case design although not totally unique is more original. Its weight and dimensions are; 45mm X 18mm with 24mm Lugs, 280 Grams, 10 ounces.
Both cases have been beautifully finished with a brushed finish. They are both anti-magnetic proof to 70.000 a/m and each have incorporated automatic HEVs, making them suitable for SAT diving.
CROWN Both the Master 2000 and Shark Diver have screw down crowns. As far as looks, finish and action, you couldn’t tell them apart. The Master 2000 is signed with 'DB' for DEEP BLUE and the Shark Diver with an 'H' for HELSON.
BEZEL The Master 2000’s unidirectional rotatable divers’ bezel is the 120 click type. Its elapsed dive scale has been magnificently lumed with bright blue lume; it’s simply GORGEOUS, quite the light show! The bezel has no play at all and has a nice smooth and very precise action.
The Shark Diver’s also features a beautifully lumed orange bezel. It is a unidirectional rotatable divers’ bezel with an elapsed dive scale. The bezel has no play and has a nice smooth and very solid action. The design of the bezel is very chunky and rugged; but unfortunately only has 90 clicks. Not an issue for me and not even an issue for practical use as a divers watch, but nonetheless it should usually be either 60 or 120 clicks only.
CRYSTAL The Master 2000 has a massive sapphire crystal it's AR coated on the inside. The AR coating is absolutely first class and the dial can be viewed almost reflection free.
The Shark Diver also uses a massive AR coated sapphire crystal. It’s pretty much on par with the Master 2000.
WATER-RESISTANCE Both watches have extreme depth ratings of 2000 meters.
DIAL The Master 2000 has a lovely clean mat black dial with either rhodium plated or blue anodized hands, they look lovely when they reflect the light, but subtlety blend into the black of the dial. The DEEP BLUE logo has also been lumed, a very cool and unexpected touch.
The Shark Diver's dial is smart and understated it has beautifully brushed finished hands. Its minimal use of script on the dial makes for a nice clean look.
MOVEMENT For many the movement on a watch can make or break a deal. Personally I enjoy watches with in-house calibers as much as I do those with plain quartz movements. Both watches house mechanical movements.
The Master 2000 houses a Swiss ETA 2824-2 auto movement, whilst the Shark Diver houses a Japanese 21 Jewel Miyota 8215 automatic movement.
BRACELET The Master 2000 has a lovely solid contemporary bracelet. It has half links and of course solid end links that fit flush against the side of the case to give a nice sleek look.
The Shark Diver uses a clever combination of mesh and standard bracelet links. It has a very stylish look. If solid end links had been used to bridge the gap between the lugs and the side of the case, it would have made it for me, nerveless a lovely looks has been achieved.
Both watches share exactly the same divers’ clasp. Respectively signed with 'DB' and 'H'.
I made specific request to Stan of DEEP BLUE not to include any packaging for me, a personal choice because I have more boxes than I can cope with already, but I believe the Maser 2000 comes in a travel case.
Shark Diver's use of minimal packaging for me is PERFECT! The Shark Diver came presented in a small travel case with its warranty card, nothing more, nothing less, and just the way I like it.
LUME The Master 2000 has made superb use of its lume. It uses Super-LumiNova BGW9 Blue lume. Lume has been generously applied to the hands, dial, bezel and even the DEEP BLUE logo on the dial. For lume freaks, this watch is a must, it looks FANTASTIC!
The Shark Diver also uses Swiss SuperLuminova. Mine has a lovely soft amber glow, it is not as bright as the Master 2000, but is still very attractive.
PRICE Both watches offer exceptionally good value for money. If you told me 2 years ago I could pick up 2000m rated diver with a sapphire crystal and an automatic movement for circa 500USD I would be pretty stunned.
The Master 2000 costs 599USD (on sale price). The usual price is 999USD! The Shark Diver costs 499USD, which is an introductory price, only.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS Personally I couldn't decide between either of them, they share so many similar traits, yet they are two very different watches. At the end of the day it all comes down to personal choice.
The Master 2000 with its stunning lumed bezel, pristine AR coating, Swiss ETA movement, modern bracelet with half links and solid end links, just seems a little more complete.
In the looks department the HELSON takes it. With its angular case design, chunky bezel, brushed hands and mesh bracelet.
If you can make a grab for both all the better, but if you can only chose one then I’m afraid you must decide for yourself, either way you will have acquired one hell of a great new diver, and your bank statement will still be left pretty much intact . . .
