OceanicTime 2012 HiLights

By TLex Here are the top ten highlights from 2012, as we reflect on what has been another year of fantastic dive watches . . .

TUDOR Heritage BLACK BAY A direct descendant of the watches worn on the wrists of Royal Navy sailors in Greenland. 58 years later, the Black Bay was a show stopper at Baselworld 2012!



ROLEX Sea-Dweller DEEPSEA Challenge. The world's deepest mechanical diver, ocean tested in the Marianas Trench. The DEEPSEA Challenge was designed and built in a matter of weeks! I was lucky enough to have handled two of the five watches that were produced. See OceanicTime's exclusive LIVE images . . .



LINDE WERDELIN Oktopus II - DOUBLE DATE Linde Werdelin's interpretation of an ideal timepiece for modern diving. The Oktopus II became a firm favorite among aficionados.



Girard-Perregaux SEA HAWK Whilst its design received mixed reviews, the new Sea Hawk showed that Girard-Perregaux, one of the few true Swiss Haute Horlogerie manufactures were focused on the future! The watches won't go on sale until later next year.



TUDOR Pelagos Constructed from Titanium and waterproof to a depth of 500 meters its fusion of technology and innovation along with vintage DNA made the Pelagos one of the most desirable divers this year.



PANERAI Luminor Submersible AMAGNETIC PAM 389 A design classic enhanced with an up to the minute ceramic bezel inlay. It features a soft iron Faraday cage protecting its Panerai P.9000 calibre up to 40,000 A/m.



Maurice Lacroix PONTOS S One the most talked about dive watches of 2012, supported by some very clever marketing, the Pontos S was one of this year's standout models.



UTS 4000M Engineered to be a little bigger and deeper than the UTS 3000M, it is my personal favorite of 2012. UTS have also released a GMT version.



AQUADIVE Bathyscaphe 300 DLC See OceanicTime's LIVE images of this incredible DLC treated 3000m Swiss made dive watch and stay tuned for an in-depth review coming soon!



JENNY caribbean 300 Re-EDITION Released by DOXA Watches in celebration of 50 years of Jenny watches.



That's it until 2013 folks. Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!

Kraftworxs DEEPER & neoluxs® ILLUMINATION

By TLex Introducing KRAFTWORXS a new watch brand from watchmaking pioneer, Anton Kraft, a man who dreamt of a material that would have natural luminosity and that could be colored and formed according to his specific designs.



In 2011, he found the solution in a new material called neoluxs® and in turn started a small revolution with Kraftworxs. In contrast to other watches, which are either not illuminated for long enough or use poisonous or radioactive elements -



neoluxs® in its crystalline structure, stores light in an environmentally friendly and non-hazardous way staying bright and naturally illuminated all night long.



Light is released over a period of hours with a brightness, duration, and color that has apparently not been achieved until now. There are some comparison lume shots on their website, which are pretty impressive.



Kraftworxs have performed tests under controlled conditions using identical charging times and light sources, which they say support their claims of incredible luminosity.



I couldn’t tell you if neoluxs® is Kraftworxs’ proprietary technology or not, but luminosity is a highly valued attribute in dive watch, so I am intrigued and keen to see the this technology for myself.



Kraftworxs’ have two divers models, the Deeper 200 and the oil filled Deeper 1000 made as a joint venture with "Deeper". These special timepieces are "Swiss made" and manufactured exclusively for Kraftworxs.



Their timepieces could be best described as economy fashion watches. Whilst their designs are a little toyish there is plenty of potential for them to move forward with their illumination system and perhaps even apply to or license it out for use in more higher end dive watches?



Specifications include: a 45mm Stainless steel case, a PU divers strap with Stainless steel buckle, a water resistance 1000m or 200m, a Swiss Quartz caliber with a battery life of 3 years (200m = 10yrs) and a Sapphire crystal.

WCT 1000 TACTICAL

By TLex Anyone for another SEAL? Westcoastime have released a neat DLC version of the WCT 1000m Diver. The WCT 1000 Tactical has a military inspired design. It has been manufactured in Germany.



Features include a DLC coated 316L Stainless steel case with a 60-click uni-directional rotational divers bezel, sterile caseback, a 5mm thick double-domed Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on its inside and a Helium escape valve.



It has black sterile dial with white block hands. The hands and dial markers have been applied with SupeLuminova. I have seen a lume shot of the first WCT 1000m Diver and its very impressive. The watch has 1000m of water-resistance (tested) and is powered by the ubiquitous ETA 2824 self-winding caliber, which is protected by an anti-magnetic shield up to 80,000 a/m.



This particular case design originates back to the Kobold SEAL although in the last 2 years or so the exact same case has been offered by a number of the micro brands: Armida, Dievas, Tactico and UHR Mechanik (derivative).



I have never had the opportunity to compare all the watches side by side but have seen most of them individually. I couldn't tell how they differ in real life, but they are frighteningly similar in both looks and specification, which does little to help explain the huge disparity that there is in their prices.



For example the WCT 1000m Diver is listed at 1295USD, which is less than four times that of the 5650USD price tag of the Kobold SEAL! Whereas the Armida A5 can be bought for just 699USD!

Follow the logo below for further details on the WCT 1000 Tactical . . .

HANHART Primus DIVER (now with) 300M

By TLex HANHART have upped the water-resistance of the PRIMUS Diver from 100m to 300m.



With 3 times the water-resistance this beautifully detailed and very finely made German diving chronograph is a bonafide dive watch.



It should finally get some of the attention that it deserves because by all accounts it is an exquisite looking dive watch.



Not only is it rather unique, but it has some really lovely features such as Hanhart's signature red-anodized chrono pusher, its striking fluted concave bezel and hinged lug system.



Did you know that Hanhart once supplied the German Navy with chronographs? These included the single-button 'Calibre 40' and stopwatches.



Today naval officers, leisure sailors and divers still wear wristwatches or use stopwatches from Hanhart both on and under the water . . .



CASE Stainless steel; anodized aluminum red button; fluted, concave, unidirectional rotating bezel with inlaid red marking; convex, internally anti-reflective sapphire glass; screwed-down, internally anti-reflective sapphire glass case back; screw-in crown; flexible lugs; diameter 44 mm, height 15 mm; water-resistance to 30 bar/300m



DIAL Black; with Super-LumiNova®-coated, luminous Arabic numerals, index marks, hands and yellow auxiliary dials for small seconds and 30-minute counter



MOVEMENT HAN3809 modified automatic chronograph movement (bicompax), based on the Valjoux 7750 calibre; 28,800 vibrations per hour, 4 Hz; 28 jewels; rotor with a skeletonised, incised Hanhart logo; power reserve of min. 42 hours



FUNCTIONS Small seconds at 9 o\'clock, 30-minute counter at 3 o\'clock, date display at 6 o\'clock



STRAP Vulcanized rubber with molded Hanhart logo, non-allergenic; folding clasp with inlaid red marking (anodized aluminum) made from stainless steel

H2O Orca MONO OceanicTime SE

HUBLOT Oceanographic 4000 CARIBBEAN

By TLex Hublot pays tribute to the beauty of the Caribbean Islands by unveiling a Special Edition of their over-designed, over-engineered, 4000 meter 'super watch'. The Oceanographic 4000 Caribbean has been highlighted with touches of blue turquoise on its dial and hand-stitched alligator strap.



Just eight Caribbean Island nations have their own numbered watches, which feature an engraved map outline of the island / islands in blue along with its name. Those islands are: Aruba 15 pieces, Barbados10 pieces, Caïmans10 pieces, Cozume 10 pieces, Curaçao 5 pieces, Nassau 20 pieces, Puerto Rico 5 pieces, St Maarten 15 pieces and St Thomas 15 pieces.



Of the (currently) eight iterations of the Oceanographic 4000, which include: the Carbon, Only Watch, All Black Blue, Alinghi, Gold White, King Gold and Denim - I like this one best. Something about the blue, just works for me! See how the Oceanographic 4000 was tested for its incredible water-resistance.

TÄRNAN Oceanographer Nº43

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