Alessandro Baldieri PALOMBARI

By TLex From home designer to the stars to self proclaimed King of Fashion Watches. Alessandro Baldieri may not be the obvious choice for newcomer into the dive watch arena, but his latest creation the Palombari, which takes its inspiration from a deep sea divers helmet, and which's Italian name means deep sea diver may well have ambitions of its own as king, king of fashion divers . . .



The Palombari, an original design in itself is a refreshing departure from Alessandro Baldieri's Sea Monster line, which is based on a more generic dive watch design, albeit enhanced with pretty dials and bezels. The Palombari's massive 53mm case will come in three finishes; stainless steel, PVD (black) and for the adventurous - 20 micron thick gold with copper pushers. The case features a 120 click unidirectional bezel and is water-resistant to 200 meters. It has a screwdown exhibition caseback through which its Japanese made automatic movement, the Miyota 8247 can be viewed.



Functions include; hours, mins, secs (sub dial) and 24 hours GMT. There's also a second (inner) rotatable bezel that can be used to cycle through the various cities. The inner bezel is operated by means of a second screwdown crown. The watch's glass both front and back is made from the very latest in Mineral Crystal technology (I'll try and get an update on exactly what that is, but if its K1 or similar then it should be pretty tough). At its thickest point the crystal measures 4.9mm. The dial markers and hands have been applied with lume, again I'm not sure exactly what kind or how much, though.


©Alessandro Baldieri / OceanicTime

While the Palombari isn't your archetypal utilitarian diving instrument and is still first and foremost a fashion diver, it does look to be a robust, well built dive watch that could easily be taken for a dive or two under the sea even if only to look cool in your wetsuit; the design is interesting, too and with 26mm lugs which allow for endless strap combos this should make a fun piece to own.



Only 100 pieces of each case finish will be made with a possibility of a further 50 pieces with a degraded bronze case finish at a later date. The watches will be available from November. Costs form 850Euros (SS) - 875 (PVD). For more on Alessandro Baldieri click on the icon (above) or visit ABWatches in the UK.