This Week in Watches: October 17, 2020 Crisp Edition

It’s time for This Week in Watches on October 17, 2020 the crisp edition. Depending on where you live, it’s getting chilly! Let’s see if we can warm the cockles of your hearts with some new watch news.

The Panerai Luminor Logo and Base Logo Return

I was excited to see that the newest Panerai Luminor Base Logo models debuted this week. These have always been some of my favorites with their manual movements and crisp clean dials. Best of all, the Base Logo models are the most affordable of the 44mm Luminor range. Many of us recall the early PAM000 and 005 models and the newest PAM01084 (Luminor Logo) and PAM01086 (Luminor Base Logo) look nearly identical. They feature matte dials with printed Super-LumiNova (no sandwich dial here) and a polished 44mm case.

The traditional screws affix the strap (a screwdriver is included) and the watches use the in-house 3-day P.6000 manual wind unit. The only detractor is 100 meters of water resistance. At €4,900 for the Base Logo and €5,400 for the Logo, they’re still very attractive. Head to Panerai for more information.

Bell & Ross New Releases

People moan about Bell & Ross at times for untold reasons. Honestly, I could care less because they’ve stuck to their guns by making different looking watches that are, for the most part, clearly Bell & Ross. Today, we have two crisp new watches from the brand. Firstly, and right on time for Halloween, we have the BR 03-92 Orange Diver. This 42mm play on the square watch is limited to 250 pieces, has the CAL.302 automatic and comes in at €3,500. It comes with both black rubber and an orange synthetic strap. I like these! Availability is limited to online and boutiques.

Second, there’s the new 40mm BR 05 Blue Gold. Now, this one is an entirely different kettle of fish. With a price of €29,900 (€19,900 on rubber), this is a challenging watch. It uses a Sellita SW300-based automatic and has an integrated bracelet. We saw these in steel at Baselworld in 2019. However, they were in steel. it’s a crisp, cool looking watch, but this price puts it in league with some serious players. I laud B&R’s gutsiness here and I will be curious to see how it works out for them. Find more information here.

Certina DS-8

How about a new watch that leaves a few crisp notes in the wallet? For example, the new 41.5mm Certina DS-8 line comes to mind. Specifically, these new pieces come in a variety of case materials and dial colors with prices between €467 and €545. All feature the chronometer rated Precidrive Quartz. Whether in titanium (the highest price), steel, or PVD, they have a 60-minute bezel and 100 meters of water resistance. These look like great holiday gifts for the student in your household. Head to Certina for more details.

RGM Model 222-RR Montgomery Dial

RGM released a real corker this week and I’m a fan. The Mount Joy, Pennsylvania-based watchmaker has added a so-called “Montgomery Dial” to its Railroad series of watches. These watches contain an outer minutes track with every five minutes in red. What’s also important is the inset seconds counter with large “6”. RGM has created stunning Grand Feu Enamel dials for these watches. But there’s more… Customers can choose between two completely overhauled, detailed, and polished vintage Hamilton 10 size pocket watch movements. The 921 caliber (21 jewels) will run $5,950 and the 923 (23 jewels) $7,950. The watches are reasonably sized at 41mm x 12mm x 22mm and even have 5 ATM of water resistance. Dammit, the next time I am in Lancaster, I am going to visit RGM. Head to RGM for more details…what a lovely piece.

Eberhard 110th Anniversary of Alfa Romeo

When it all boils down, Alfa Romeo is probably my favorite all-time car maker. I grew up in a house where my Dad drove a 60’s Duetto daily and then had it restored once the rust bug bit. I loved that car with its crisp, gnarly 1750cc engine and gorgeous styling. Therefore, I sit up and pay attention whenever an Alfa-related product comes to light. Eberhard sent us word of a crisp new limited edition (110 pieces) chronograph to celebrate the automaker’s 110th birthday. Watch and automotive tie-ins are tough and usually come off as tacky. However, I like this new 42mm steel piece. It has its stop/start at 2:00 and the reset integrated into the 3:00 crown. The dial has the “110” badging while the display case back shows the Alfa symbol. There’s no word on the movement, but pricing is set for €4,980.  Head to Eberhard for more.

Folks, that’s about all for this edition. Enjoy your nice cool, crisp weekend!