ZRC Grands Fonds South Adventure WATCH

Venture south with ZRC! 

Following in the spirt of the ZRC NORTH Adventure Watch of 2018, the Franco Swiss brand embarks on a new adventure to the south and to the largely unexplored fjords of Chilean Patagonia. 

Two adventurers Frédéric Presles and Cristian Donoso will be accompanied ZRC’s fabled Grands Fonds diver’s watch.

In addition to those attributes that the very latest GF line of watches possess; such as its 1’000 meters of water-resistance, ceramic bezel and Monobloc case construction – 

the Grands Fonds South Adventure watch boasts a wealth of special features in addition to a bounty of special edition ZRC South Adventure plunder.

Paying tribute the Cap-Hornier, La Delphine which sank off of a deserted island off the coast of Chilean Patagonia in 1840, the watch’s dial has a unique aged topographic chart-effect with brass; indexes, hands ZRC logo and ship’s motif as well as words ‘South Adventure’ in bold red. 

Meanwhile its case-back which protects the watch’s Sellita SW200-1 elaborate grade, automatic movement once again pays homage to La Delphine with a further ship’s motif engraved along with some additional text and the watch’s Limited Edition number of 300.

Like any modern day ZRC Grands Fonds diver’s watch, the South Adventure watch benefits from ZRC’s dive watch technologies and innovations such as: 

the ECS™ Patent n°1462496 (Easy Clean System) and Crown Protection System™. So how about the all the loot that watch comes with?

This includes a brass handheld compass paying homage to the earliest forays into this Southern region, a chic scarf because well these are French explorers so they must keep up appearances even in the wilds. Then there’s a hat, a key chain, a vintage leather pouch, some additional straps and a book - also to come. 

Follow these links to PRE-ORDER the new ZRC Grand Fonds Adventure watch or to fully immerse yourself into the fascinating STORY behind this new watch and the upcoming Patagonian adventure of the same name.

The watch has a Swiss MSRP of CHF 3,490. 

Thoughts? Clearly much love and care has gone into this particular GF rendition; there are a ton of fine olde-worlde details that will appeal, but for me not nearly as much as the North Adventure did so perhaps something for true collectors. 

Meanwhile if you prefer something simpler with ZRC’s signature tool-diver aesthetic then there are a dozen or more GF variants to choose from. 

 

RADO Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic DIVER in OLIVE [the outdoorsman]

RADO ratifies itself as the high-tech Swiss watchmaker to watch out for in 2022 with a heart-stopping six model strong collection; each with its own killer aesthetic that is guaranteed to rouse you from drudgery and into a world of vigor and vitality. Introducing the new Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Diver in a muted olive for the rugged outdoorsman in us all! Its 43mm in diameter case has been executed in a matt olive, high-tech ceramic with a monobloc construction. Water-resistance is 300 meters. The case is topped with a matt hardened Stainless steel rotational diver’s bezel with a matt olive, high-tech ceramic inlay and engraved white lacquered dive-time scale in white Super-LumiNova. Further diver’s features include: a circular, brushed, Titanium case-back with 2x stamped seahorses (recalling the 60s models) and engraved: ‘DIVER’S WATCH 300M’, a polished hardened Stainless steel, screw-down crown as well as a box-shaped Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides. All watches in the collection come with ISO 6425 certification, a first for Rado. Meanwhile a matt olive dial with applied indexes with white Super-LumiNova featuring Rado’s iconic moving anchor symbol in rhodium (with synthetic ruby back-plate) to match the handset.Btw speaking of outdoorsman, you could literally chop wood with that hour hand! Powering the new Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Diver collection is the Rado caliber R763, automatic mechanical movement with 25 jewels, 3 hands, red printed date at 3 o’clock, 80hrs of power-reserve, antimagnetic Nivachron™ hairspring. This has been adjusted to 5 positions for a higher degree of accuracy. The watches come on a matt olive green high-tech ceramic link bracelet with a Titanium 3-fold clasp or matt olive green rubber strap with a Stainless steel extendable folding clasp and matt hardened Stainless steel cover.MSRP is 3,300USD (bracelet) / 3,000USD (rubber). Thoughts? While the Rado brand isn’t quite as aspirational as some of its Swatch stablemates who names have a whole lot more cache; it is fast (re)establishing itself as the master of modernism and all things ceramic. These watches likely won’t have the same lasting appeal as their class Cpt. Cook shipmates but damn in this moment they so inticing. My pick of the collection is this olive gem on rubber. How about you?

RADO Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic DIVER in BLACK [the covert operator?]

RADO establishes itself as the high-tech Swiss watchmaker to watch out for in 2022 with a stunning six model strong collection; each with its own killer look that is guaranteed to set you free from life’s monotony and into a world of adventure. Introducing the new Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Diver in a stealthy matt black for the night stalker in you! Its 43mm in diameter case has been executed in a matt black high-tech ceramic with a monobloc construction. Water-resistance is 300 meters. The case is topped with a polished hardened Stainless steel rotational diver’s bezel with a polished black high-tech ceramic inlay and engraved white lacquered dive-time scale in white Super-LumiNova. Further diver’s features include: a circular, brushed, black PVD coated Titanium case-back with 2 stamped seahorses and engraved: ‘DIVER’S WATCH 300M’ (recalling the 60s models), a polished hardened Stainless steel screw-down crown as well as a box-shaped Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides. All watches in the collection come with ISO 6425 certification, a first for Rado. Meanwhile a black, lacquered and polished dial with applied indexes with white Super-LumiNova featuring Rado’s iconic moving anchor symbol in rhodium (with synthetic ruby back-plate) to match the handset. Btw speaking of killer looks, you could literally slay someone with that hour hand – looks lethal! Powering the new Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Diver collection is the Rado caliber R763, automatic mechanical movement with 25 jewels, 3 hands, red printed date at 3 o’clock, 80hrs of power-reserve, antimagnetic Nivachron™ hairspring. This has been adjusted to 5 positions for a higher degree of accuracy. The watch comes on a high-tech ceramic bracelet with polished center links and matt black outer links as well as a Titanium 3-fold clasp with black high-tech ceramic openers. Or a matt black rubber strap with a Stainless steel extendable folding clasp with a matt black high-tech ceramic cover.MSRP is 3,300USD (bracelet) / 3,000USD (rubber). Thoughts? While the Rado brand isn’t quite as aspirational as some of its Swatch stablemates who names have a whole lot more cache; it is fast (re)establishing itself as the master of modernism and all things ceramic. These watches likely won’t have the same lasting appeal as their class Cpt. Cook shipmates but damn in this moment they are pretty damn covetable. I think they should have taken the stealth look a even further and matted teh entire case rather than included all those polished elements out but it’s still mightily tasty.

But what you think?

 

RADO Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic DIVER in PLASMA [the urban gents]

RADO reaffirms itself as the high-tech Swiss watchmaker to watch out for in 2022 with a breathtaking six model strong collection; each with its own killer style that is guaranteed to rouse you from a world of drudgery and into one of excitement. Introducing the new Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Diver in a state-of-the-art plasma finish fit for the urban gentry! Its 43mm in diameter case has been executed in a matt plasma high-tech ceramic with a monobloc construction. Water-resistance is 300 meters. The case is topped with a polished hardened Stainless steel rotational diver’s bezel with a circular-brushed plasma high-tech ceramic inlay and engraved white lacquered dive-time scale in white Super-LumiNova. Further diver’s features include: a circular, brushed, titanium case-back with 2x stamped seahorses (recalling the 60s models) and engraved: ‘DIVER’S WATCH 300M’, a polished hardened stainless steel screw-down crown as well as a box-shaped Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides. All watches in the collection come with ISO 6425 certification, a first for Rado. Meanwhile a choice of either Sunray grey or blue, lacquered and polished dial with applied indexes with white Super-LumiNova featuring Rado’s iconic moving anchor symbol in rhodium (with synthetic ruby back-plate) to match the handset. Talking of the handset, that hour hand looks as if it’s been fully weaponized! Powering the new Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Diver collection is the Rado caliber R763, automatic mechanical movement with 25 jewels, 3 hands, red printed date at 3 o’clock, 80hrs of power-reserve, antimagnetic Nivachron™ hairspring. This has been adjusted to 5 positions for a higher degree of accuracy. The watches come on a plasma, high-tech ceramic bracelet with polished center links and matt outer links plus a Titanium 3-fold clasp with Ceramos TM openers. MSRP is 3,300USD (bracelet) / 3,000USD (rubber). Thoughts? While the Rado brand isn’t quite as aspirational as some of its Swatch stablemates who names have a whole lot more cache; it is fast (re)establishing itself as the master of modernism and all things ceramic. These watches likely won’t have the same type of lasting appeal as their classic Capt. Cook shipmates but damn in this moment they are pretty damn desirable.

But what do you think on these?

 

DS Super PH500M Sea Turtle Conservancy EDITION [turn turtle]

Certina cements its long lasting commitment to the STC (Sea Turtle Conservancy) with the release of the new DS Super PH500M Sea Turtle Conservancy watch, the first STC model to take on the vintage form hailing from the late 60s. And once again Certina calls upon the delightful green sea dwelling critters whose shell has become a symbol of their DS family of diver’s watches for this latest special edition model. For the first time, the annual STC edition appears with a vintage design combined with bright colours such as royal blue and orange; meanwhile its commitment to the cause remains as rock solid in 2022 as it was when Certina first formed their partnership in 2017. As a result a portion of the proceeds from sales of each of the watches will go towards aiding the Sea Turtle Conservancy and its important work. In addition to this, both the watch’s strap and its packaging have been made from environmentally, turtle-friendly materials. The design of the DS Super PH500M Sea Turtle Conservancy goes back to a Certina model from 1968. Its 43mm Stainless steel case frames a dazzling blue dial with a sunburst finish. The unidirectional rotating bezel with blue aluminum is used together with the orange minute hand to set the dive time. A screw-down crown and Super-LumiNova® on the hands and indexes also ensure legibility under water. As an official diver's watch, the unlimited Special Edition meets the rigorous requirements of the ISO 6425 diver’s watch standard, and is water-resistant to 500 meters. Its impressive, self-winding mechanical movement has a power reserve up to 80 hours and features an anti-magnetic NivachronTM balance spring. The watch's blue textile strap is made from #tide ocean material®, which is based on plastics fished from the ocean. In addition, Certina uses fully recyclable materials for the watch box, and organic cotton and recycled polyester for the cushion inside. The new DS Super PH500M Sea Turtle Conservancy Reference: C037.407.18.040.10 will be available from authorized Certina dealers worldwide from May 2022. MSRP in Switzerland is CHF 860.

Thoughts? Surely this is all the diver’s watch you’ll ever need; a tried and tested design that has endured decades, coming from a brand that benefits from coming under the Swatch Group’s umbrella with all the good stuff that brings; 

namely access to a top notch movement with Nivachron balance spring plus the warm and fuzzy feeling you’ll get from knowing that you made a contribution to help rid the oceans of harmful plastics so that turtles can continue to peacefully cruise them. 

But what do you think?