TUTIMA Glashütte M2 Pioneer & TOLGA TASKIN Worldrecord ICE-DIVE

Wot, not another ice-adventure, I hear you say! Well, how else you supposed to properly market your diver’s watches!



Seems that everyone man and his dog dive watch is looking to some frozen wilderness or the frigid depths of some frozen lake or t'other (did I just go norvern for a moment, sorry) to put their new diver’s watch to the ultimate test.



You could say that EDOX and their brand ambassador, Christian Redl have been pioneers of the ice-diving / ice- adventure field with several ice-dives with various models under their belt.



Edox and Redl have frequented Austria’s Lake Weissensee on a number of occasions in addition to a jaunt or two, to the N. Pole, as have ZRC and Panerai. In fact Mike Horn took his Submersible 1950 3 Days GMT POLE2POLE to both Poles.



Meanwhile Delma has just recently sent a special Oceanmaster to the ANTARCTICA right on the back of a field test of their Blue Shark III in the icy depth’s of LAKE BAIKAL, no less.

ORIS have also had a couple of recent associations with Lake Baikal – the list goes on!



However, today it is Tutima and their M2 PIONEER along with record-breaking, free-diver, TOLGA TASKIN and once again the Alpine ice-tub that is Lake Weissensee, who are in the spotlight for a world record ice-dive.



Accompanied by a Tautima M2 Pioneer, expert in the discipline of apnea, Tolga Taskin descended just shy of 75 meters (245 feet) beneath Lake Weissensee’s ice-sheet – setting a new Guinness World Record!



You have to consider that recreational scuba-divers seldom venture much deeper than 30m and that’s with breathing apparatus and most likely somewhere tropical.



By comparison Tolga without anything other than a lung full of air that he held for 2mins 43secs and balls of steel, dove 2.5x deeper under an ice-covered Alpine lake!

This is why he and only he can get away with wearing those pink Crocs! ;)



Btw, Lake Weissensee can be found at an elevation of 930m in Austria’s Gailtal Alps where it covers an area of 6.5 km². It has a depth of 97 meters.



It is Europe’s largest constantly frozen natural ice surface, where the ice grows continuously. Apparently Tolga enjoyed a good 30 meters of visibility on his Worldrecord breaking, ice-dive.



So how bout' his watch? The M2 Pioneer’s 46.5mm x 16mm case has been crafted from pearl-blasted Titanium, with a soft-iron inner case AKA Faraday Cage for protection from magnetic fields.



Further diver’s features incl. a water-resistance to 300m, integrated push-buttons with a neoprene inlay, a bidirectional rotational bezel with inserted luminescent capsules, an AR-treated Sapphire crystal and a screw-down case-back and crown.



Power comes from a Tutima Cal. 521 (Lemania 5100 base) automatic chronograph movement with: a custom antique grey rotor with a gold seal, 25 jewels, polished screws and a power-reserve of 44 hours.

MSRP is 6,700USD on Titanium or 6,100USD on fabric.



Thoughts? I love a watch with a good story. Tolga Taskin’s ice-dive was truly epic – makes me shiver just thinking about it.

This was also a pretty cool way of bringing attention to the M2 Pioneer, a watch that is kinda’ like a Volkswagen, very well made, dependable but perhaps a tad boring. Also is it just me or does that crown look like it’ll be fiddly.

Don’t get me wrong, I would happily wear an M2 Pioneer all day long – especially now it has some ice-diving credentials. Considering the spec. and the Glashütte heritage the price isn't too bad either. What do you think, cool watch?

EDOX Sharkman II Ltd. EDITION [record ice-bath]

Edox brand ambassador and resident Iceman, Christian Redl is prepping himself for another dip into the
frigid waters of Austria’s Lake Weissensee in an attempt to break his own under-ice free-diving World Record.



In addition to balls of steel brass, Christian requires an extremely high level of skill and fitness. Even with his 5mm thick wetsuit he will have to overcome bone-numbing cold to reach the record depth of 75m.



Christian set the current record of 65m at Lake Weissensee 15 years ago.

“The biggest challenge is the temperature,” he says. “Everyone knows the phenomenon when you get in a very cold shower or in a cold pool after a sauna. The lung volume is reduced by a third because everything is tight in the body.”



The bitter cold means that Christian, who has been training for the February 24th ice-dive for half a year, can’t warm up. He must start his record attempt without delay, before the frigid air makes his body too cold.



As Edox’s most daring brand ambassador, Christian known affectionately as he Iceman will be supported by a crew of five safety-divers.



He will also be wearing his latest Edox diver, an invaluable tool, the special Edox Sharkman II diver’s watch, one of five in a Limited Edition collection.



The Lake Weissensee cold shouldn’t pose any problems to the Sharkman II as it has a water-resistance of 1000m and its rugged Stainless steel case and scratch and shock-resistant ceramic bezel can handle even the most extreme environments.



Just 300 pieces will be available worldwide from the end of February 2018.

The Sharkman II’s case-back is engraved with a shark motif, a nod to The Iceman's EFFORTS to help protect species worldwide and also symbolic of his connection to the mysterious Greenland Shark which can live for 400+ years.



Along with the Sixgill, it’s a personal species favorite of mine after the Oceanic Whitetip, of course ;)

Down the bottom of this post is a sneak peek at an upcoming version of the same watch - CO-1 N-Pole 42.195 Limited Edition which will be officially unveiled at Baselworld.



Edox Sharkman II Limited Edition basic spec. includes: : a 45mm Stainless steel 316L with black or pink PVD coating options, special shark design engraving on the case-back and scratch-resistant, anti-reflective Sapphire crystal,

water-resistance to 1000 meters, 100 ATM, Edox 102 Caliber with display of hours, minutes, seconds, date, chronograph, dial in either black, blue or white.



The Limited Edition of 300 pieces comes delivered with special watch box, numbered watch certificate and black rubber strap with Edox folding clasp plus an additional leather strap.



So what do you think? Christian Redl is legend, I’m all over the Greenland shark, love the story, the design is alright but I prefer my diver’s non-quartz, please.

Not digging quartz, either? Check out EDOX’s proper diver, the HYDRO-SUB 50th Anniversary LE.

EDOX Chronoffshore-1 ICEDIVE

By TLex Some cool news from EDOX about the ICEMAN, champion free diver, Christian Redl, who on Friday February 26th set a World Record after taking a bone-chilling dive under a frozen alpine lake.



Timing was critical for Christian’s successful passage 200 meters beneath the ice of Lake Weissensee, high up in the Austrian Alps as he swam without oxygen equipped only with a 2mm-thick Neoprene wetsuit that helped to insulate him from the frigid 2°C water and of course -



his 45mm, black PVD coated Chronoffshore-1, a watch that has been engineered to withstand the most extreme of conditions; itself equipped with: a 3mm thick Sapphire crystal, a black ceramic bezel and 500 meters water-resistance.



The watch offered excellent legibility thanks to its striking yellow-green markers that includes a prominent oversized 1 o’clock marker which in combination with its modern black dial helped the Iceman keep track of time down in the murky depths.



Christian’s ice dive was an extremely dangerous undertaking; rescue crews were close at hand at all times in case anything went wrong, but it was exactly the type of adventure that EDOX and the ICEMAN have been thriving off of since their partnership begun in 2010.

EDOX Hydro Sub AUTO [reborn legend takes an icy plunge]

By TLex Holding the earth's last mysteries, the ocean covers some 71 percent of the planet, yet less than 10 percent of it has been fully explored; world champion free diver, Christian Redl along with Australian photographer, Markus Fillinger aim to unlock some of its secrets on a daring trek to the geographic North Pole this February.



The family owned Swiss watch­maker, Edox are providing one piece of essential equipment for the expedition - an updated version of its first dive watch, the Hydro Sub AKA the Mission North Pole.



Christian Redl is going plunge - without any scuba gear - through a hole in the ice into the frigid waters. It will be the world’s first freedive under the ice at the Pole and will come after a two-week long slog on foot through some of the world’s most inhospita­ble terrain!



Edox's Hydro Sub will be a vital tool for the mission as Christian must time the 15 meter-deep dive to the exact second or else the extreme cold could ren­der him senseless.



The new Hydro Sub Automatic Date was one of my top picks for 2014, its design, based on the original model introduced in 1965, is a rug­ged, ultra-accurate tool-watch that should be able to cope with the most challenging conditions. It doesn't quite have the heritage of Omega's Ploprof 1200M but it has about as much presence - the perfect blend of rugged modernity with classic vintage styling.



The 46mm Automatic Date is pow­ered by an automatic Edox Caliber 80 “engine” (based on an either ETA 2824 or SW200 movement) and is water resistant to respectable 500m - far in excess of Christian’s mission objective.



The crown is a vital component in any watch, even more so in a watch with a diving bezel; the Automatic Date has an ingenious 'Master Lock' that slides down and locks in place to pro­tect the screw-down crown, which has the added protection of a double o-ring seal. The Hydro Sub pays tes­tament to Edox’s expertise in superbly engineered and highly water-resistant timepieces, a heritage dating back to 1961 with the introduction of the revo­lutionary dive watch, the Delfin.



Edox is the Official Timekeeper of 'Iceman' Christian Redl for his World Record setting freedives under the ice at Austria’s frigid Lake Weissensee.



HYDRO SUB REF. 80301 3NOM NIN
Movement - Edox Caliber 80 (based on Sellita SW200)
Functions - Display of hours, minutes, seconds and date
Case - Stainless steel 316L, black steel bezel, orange Master Lock system
Diameter - 46mm
Dial- Black or blue with white indices
Water-resistance - 500 meters / 1500 feet / 50 ATM
Bracelet - Stainless steel 316L with folding clasp

EDOX Iceman III [iceman steels for record ice dive]

By TLex Imagine jumping into a freezing, ice-covered lake, then plunging 75 meters under it in the pitch black while holding your breath and with only a 5mm wetsuit to keep the cold out?! Brrrr!



38-year-old Christian Redl AKA The Iceman will be entering the frigid waters of Austria's Lake Weissensee on February 15th as he attempts to break his own world record for free diving under the ice, dubbed Mission X-Deep.



He will be accompanied by the new EDOX Iceman III.



The Iceman III with its 1000m water-resistant case, forged from 316L Stainless steel with black a PVD coating and a striking black carbon fiber dial and ceramic unidirectional diver's bezel is powered by a Swiss quartz chronograph movement. [Iceman I] [Iceman II]

EDOX Under the ice with the Iceman

By TLex Here's the full EDOX & Christian Redl press release, a follow up to my previous post on Christian Redl's record ice-dive . . .



From EDOX A little mountain lake called Weissensee, situated in Carinthia, Austria, has the largest surface of ice in the Alps. It is the place chosen by Christian Redl for his attempt on February 12, 2011, to beat the world record for freediving under ice. The current record has been set at –56 meters.



In February, the temperature of the water is around 2°C. Through a square opening cut out of the massive layer of ice, the water appears: pitch-black, inhospitable, deadly.



In the midst of this icy world, Christian Redl will only be wearing a thin neoprene diving suit, a mere 3 mm thick. With his body covered in grease so that he can resist as long as possible the cold that is going to numb him to the bone, he will lower himself into this shadowy universe.



At a depth where his lungs, constricted by the pressure from above, will have shrunk to the size of a fist, Christian Redl will have to keep his clear-headedness and summon the strength necessary to go down to –60 meters and carry away the title of world champion.



This dive will last about 120 seconds. Beyond this limit, the sensation of cold will become increasingly intense and fatally dangerous. Christian Redl, who was born in Austria in 1976, has become the world specialist in freediving under ice. Besides this exploit, for him there is also a philosophy of life: an attraction to the extremes, continually pushing the limits even further, and living his life to the fullest.



On his wrist and during the record-breaking attempt, Christian Redl will be wearing the new Edox watch, the Iceman I Limited Edition, a sturdy high-tech model that can be used under water down to a depth of 1000 meters. In addition to its rubber strap, the Iceman I boasts a magnificent black carbon dial with orange numerals that provide optimal readability under water, and the case back is superbly engraved with the freediver’s name. The watch is equipped with a solid mechanical movement and is decorated with a rotatable, unidirectional black ceramic bezel.



Edox, the Swiss watchmaker whose history is marked by countless inventions – some of which have remained unsurpassed up to this day – is Christian Redl’s official timing partner. Sturdiness, extreme conditions, technological expertise and reliability are the keys to their joint philosophies.