VintageVDB 2014 Base POLISHED & GMT Black CERAMICA

By TLex You know how people say 'it's all in the details' when describing something special?!



Appliqué dial logos, engraved model numbers, laser-etched serial numbers, vintage orange lume capsules,



stencil-cut seconds hand pointers, slick matte and highly polished surfaces, embossed custom divers straps . . .



these are the VDB 2014 GMT Ceramica and VDB 2014 Base Polished models from VintageVDB forming part of VDB's 4th annual production series.



The watches are available now and are looking better and better each time I see them.



Here are a selection of shots of the the two models mentioned above.



Stay tuned for a look at the other three models . . .

DAVIDOFF Velocity DIVER

By TLex I do actually think of water, when I hear the Davidoff name. The Swiss luxury brand is no stranger to the element; with its fragrance, Cool Water well over a decade old, now. But I wouldn’t have associated them dive watches.



Nevertheless, Davidoff unveiled a new diver at Baselworld this year, which joins other models from its Velocity collection. With its rugged steel watch case and Swiss Made self winding mechanical movement, the Velocity Diver does look the part, but is just another pseudo diver for poseurs or is it a proper dive watch?



Its round 42mm case is in 316L Stainless steel. It features a screw-down 316L Stainless steel crown, with either black or blue PVD and black or blue rubber inserts.



It is fitted with a domed Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both sides and a unidirectional rotational divers bezel with a dive-time scale.



Further divers features include: luminescent hands and markers, a solid 316L Stainless steel screw-down engraved caseback and a water-resistance of 300 meters / 30atm.



Its sunburst dial is in either black, blue or silver with diamond cut rhodium steel markers and red highlights. It features: centralized hours, minutes and seconds. There’s a date aperture at 3 o’clock.



It is powered by a Swiss Made self-winding mechanical movement with hours, minutes, sweep seconds and date, a custom Davidoff rotor, côtes de Genève finishing, 25 jewels and power-reserve of 42 hours.



The Velocity Diver comes on either a polished and brushed finished Stainless steel bracelet or a rubber divers strap with a polished stainless steel folding clasp with engraved Davidoff logo.



I’ll reserve my final judgment until I handle one in person. Integrated strap and lugs aside, first impressions are pretty good - like the cologne, it doesn’t stink too baldly, does it!?

PROMETHEUS Piranha 500M

By TLex This is the new Prometheus Piranha, whilst its design is inspired by divers watches of the 1960s and 70s, it has a distinctly young and edgy character that wouldn't be out of place on the wrist of a surfer or a wake-boarder or indeed any extreme aquatic-sports enthusiast.



Its has a 316L Stainless steel case with a brushed finish and polished beveled edges. The case is fitted with a flat Sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating applied to its underside.



Divers features include: a screwdown crown and caseback, a 60-click type 316L Stainless steel unidirectional rotational divers bezel with dive-time scale, a Helium escape valve (9 o'clock) and a water-resistance of 500 meters or 50 atm.



The crown is signed with the Prometheus logo. The caseback features an endearing Piranha fish engraving with its jaw extended wide open and his dagger-like teeth poised to bite your toes off!



Under the hood of the Piranha is a Japanese made workhorse, the ubiquitous Miyota 9015 3-hands automatic mechanical movement with date (3 o'clock) and hacking sweep-seconds hand.



Its matte dial is available in 4 distinct colors: black, orange white or yellow. The dial markers have a total of 8 layers of C3 SuperLuminova that has been generously applied to them, which should make the Piranha glow liek a torch. C3 SuperLuminova has also been used for the hands and bezel's 12hr marker.



Dimensions include: a case diameter of 44mm (without bezel), a total height of 14.20mm and a lug-width of 22mm. The watch comes on a custom back PU divers strap with a steel buckle.



The Prometheus Piranha 500M will be available from June 2014 priced 339euro. Follow the link HERE for more info.

CREPAS L'ocean 1200M giveaway 10 Days LEFT

By TLex There are still a good 10 days left of the Crepas L'ocean 1200M giveaway, so if haven't already taken part, there's still plenty of time to enter into the draw to win a Crepas Watches' fantastic new modern-vintage diver.



Follow the link HERE for full details of the giveaway, which will run until the 4th of May 2014. After which a lucky winner will be chosen at random, and their name announced shortly after. Good luck, everyone!

SEIKO Prospex Kinetic GMT DIVER

By TLex Seiko have released an interesting new Prospex Diver [Ref. SUN019P1] driven by a Cal. 5M85 Kinetic GMT. Its Stainless steel case measures 47.5mm and is fitted with: a screwdown - caseback, crown and push-button, a rotational divers bezel and an anti-reflective coated Sapphire crystal. It is water-resistant to 200 meters.



Follow the link embedded below for info.

HELBERG CH3 Chronograph 300M

By TLex This is the HELBERG CH3, a new Swiss made, 300 meter water-resistant chronograph from H2O Watches.



It is by no means a serious dive watch, but I think you'll agree that is pretty nice looking watch with a lovely clean and minimalist aesthetic. The combination of the bezel and oversized crown is very fetching!



Starting with the dial, which is in an ultra gloss-black with a sunburst effect and chromed hands that have been applied along with the markers with BGW9 Swiss SuperLumiNova that emits a blue light.



Its case is in 316L Stainless steel with a brushed finish on top and polished sides. It measures 44mm in diameter (excl. crown) x 13.70mm thick and with a lug to lug measurement of 53.70mm.



The case is fitted with a flat Sapphire crystal, a brushed Stainless steel fixed bezel and a solid Stainless steel caseback that has been secured by six Hex-screws.



The caseback is engraved with eagle motif as well as some of the CH3's basic specifictions which include: a Swiss made Valjoux 7750 automatic chronograph caliber with 25 jewels and black day-/ date display at 3 o'clock.



The CH3 comes on a 22m black Cordura strap with a brushed 316L Stainless steel buckle. It is available HERE from H2O Watches' new online store . . .

CUERVO Y SOBRINOS Robusto Manjuari 1882FEET

By TLex This is the new Robusto MANJUARI 1882ft. from Cuban Swiss watchmakers, Cuervo y Sobrinos. The Manjuari fish from which the watch takes its name, is a species that is indigenous to Cuba. There’s an engraving of the said fish on the watch’s caseback.



Its 43mm x 15mm case has been constructed from a combination of Stainless steel, Titanium and rubber. It has been fitted with an AR-coated Sapphire crystal and unidirectional divers bezel with a Sapphire crystal inlay. It has a water-resistance to 600 meters or 1,882 feet.



It is powered by a Swiss made automatic CyS 5100 caliber, based on a Sellita SW200-1 with 26 jewels, 28,800 vph and power reserve of 38 hours. It’d dial is in with applied CyS logo and hands and hour markers with Swiss SuperLuminova. The watch comes on a black rubber divers strap with CyS red underside and a steel deployment buckle.

Girard-Perregaux SEA Hawk [colored for the sea]

By TLex With its vivid cobalt blue and coral orange hues, chosen for its dial, hands and unidirectional divers bezel - this latest variant of the Sea Hawk is possibly the most evocative of the ocean that we've seen since its UPDATE in 2012.



The cobalt blue of the its dial and rubber divers strap give it a distinctly nautical aesthetic, while its minute and second hands and the power reserve indicator that are highlighted in the same shade of orange that is used on the bezel's dive-time scale, further its intent as a diving instrument.



Its multei-facetted brushed finished case has been manufactured from Stainless steel. Its features: a screw-down black rubber crown (4 o'clock) that has been carefully positioned into its elongated integrated crown guard, providing protection from any unwanted knocks.



The case has a diameter of 44mm and a thickness of 17.1mm. It is water-resistant up to a depth of 1000 meters meeting the requirements ISO 6425 for diving watches. Further divers features include: a Helium escape valve ensuring that the air pressure between the watch's interior and exterior is rebalanced on return from deep-sea diving expeditions.



Its raised honeycomb dial features 3D hour markers and large white sword hands that have been coated with a lume. Then there’s the SH’s characteristic date placement at 2 o'clock deeply recessed into the dial and with beautifully polished sides, a power reserve indicator is at 6 o'clock and a sub-seconds counter is at 10 o'clock.



The Sea Hawk is powered by an in-house GP03300-0074 self-winding mechanical movement with: hour, minute, second, and date functions plus a certified 46-hour power reserve indicator with a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour, or 4 Hz. It is presented on either a rubber divers strap or on the new HAWK steel bracelet.

[GREEN] [CERAMIC] [MERMAIDS] [FOReverglades]

TISSOT Seastar 1000 POWERMATIC

By TLex It seems there was a little more to the new RED Seastar 1000 that I showed you a few weeks back . . .



Introducing the new Tissot Seastar 1000 Powermatic family, powered by Swiss made Tissot Powermatic calibers with; 25 jewels, 21,600 vph and a power reserve of 80 hours. The Powerematic is based on an ETA CO7.111.



These are housed in Stainless steel cases measuring 42mm x 12.4mm. The cases are equipped with; Sapphire crystals, unidirectional divers bezels with either black, blue or red ceramic inserts plus automatic Helium Escape Valves. Water-resistance is 300 meters.



Further divers features include: a rubber strap with a divers buckle and extension plus SuperLumiNova applied brushed steel hands and dial markings. The watch dials are offered in black or blue.

Carl F. BUCHERER Patravi ScubaTec BRAZIL 2014

Scuba diving and the beautiful game? Not, your typical bedmates, are they; but with the 20th World Cup due to kick off in Brazil in just a few weeks, football fever has already reached the Manufacture of Carl F. Bucherer in Sainte-Croix, Switzerland -



where the brand has teamed up with the Swiss Football Association to produce a Special Edition of the Patravi ScubaTec bearing the colors of the Swiss Football Association.



Made especially for the 2014 World Cup, the ScubaTec swaps out its blue livery for a striking new red,



which has been used for the ceramic inlay of its divers bezel, the ring on its crown and the details of its custom, black ScubaTec, rubber divers strap.



The Swiss Football Association motif can be seen as a pattern on the dial as well as on the 30-min marker on the bezel.