Coming Back To You... Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Black Themes

Readers of my blog will know that i love AP RO and ROOs. i prefer them over the pp nautilus range and the vc overseas range. for my wrist size (and uhm overall size) the ROO suits me much better than the RO. so along the path to grail-dom and obtaining the watches that i wanted to own in life, i sold off my ROO with the knowledge that it was a piece i could acquire again down the road since AP would always be churning them out as its their main $$$ generator. in all colors, shapes sizes and forms... the new APs though are not so hot in my books. i prefer the face with numerals of the themes/base models over the other ROO dials. lets have a look at em...

recent pics i took of the 2010 APs...2010 GP

GP Rose Gold

Trulli... i found this piece rather dull in the metal... truly (i know i know, puns arent funny :)

press pics of the not so hot (in my books) 2011 AP ROOs... why stick markers?

the governators legacy ROO Chrono... pieces are coming out already for this...

so comin back to the models with the base numeral dial, there are a TON of color combos for it for both cases and dial colors and numerals. a few of those i've taken recently are below...

Lava The Hour Glass exclusive 99 Pieces Limited Edition

RG Rubberclad - One of the best base models ever... selling in the S$40s. pre-owned around high S$30s

Bumblebee - Had it for awhile but couldn't wear it as much as i liked coz of the colors. it didnt go well with work wear... same would go for all the orange red yellow dials i suppose

so we come back to base models that are neutral... the diver was a contender, the panda too... but somehow this one called to me the most and is what i have on as i type this... the ROO themes black is back :) n as Mr Snipes said... once u go black u never go back (uhm i dun think he was talkin abt watches but i'll just borrow the phrase here yuh ;)

more pics to come in the days ahead... dats it for now. signing out.... raph

Give the People What They Want ;) The PAM 372...

the wonderful Ref 6152/1 from Panerai...

Image used with permission © 2011 M.Wilmsen

panerai had a great showing this year, a strong lineup with several models that have a lot of collectors/enthusiasts interested. of course the thing is they have the info on what are most likely gonna be hot models from the voices in the paneristi community, to the high prices paid for popular special editions and vintage pieces from the past and it was only a question of when will they be releasing these new models to satiate the demand from the fans. well 2011 looks to be that year :)

say hello to the 47mm fiddy base and vintage looking pam 372

i think there are so many people putting their names down for this and its gonna sell like hotcakes. with 3500 in the N series and perhaps more series to come(i havent heard anything official that they will only be doing 2 series of it) panerai will be raking in a fair bit of revenues off this model. priced at around US$10k.

just a great looking watch... i want one :) and maybe with 3500 out there i will be able to get one...

Image used with permission © 2011 M.Wilmsen

so the really giving the people what they want bit is making this a non-special edition so that more people can get that 'grail' panerai that they are setting their sights on. rather than just limiting the number like the fantastic pam 360 to 300 panerisiti folks. so applause for the savvy marketers there who showed a bit of heart with releasing what is essentially a steel time only watch.

limited to 300 pieces and bestowed on 'worthy' paneristi...

Image used with permission © 2011 M.Wilmsen

the pam360 is a to die for pam done for paneristi.com and so many folks weren't able to get their hands on one so its great that the pam 372 will be more accessible to the masses of fans out there... i do apologise that i do not offer new pictures here except the gorgeous ones provided by panerai and martin wilmsen... i would also like to direct you to martin wilmsen's blog for his SIHH post and comparison of fiddy and 372 post here link 1 - SIHH link 2 - Comparo

i hope everyone who wants one manages to get it at list or better :)

Movement: Hand-wound mechanical, Panerai P.3000 calibre, executed entirely by Panerai, 16½ lignes, 5.3 mm thick, 21 jewels, Glucydur® balance, 21,600 alternations/ hour. Incabloc® anti-shock device.

Power reserve 3 days, two barrels. 160 components.
Functions: Hours, minutes.
Case: Diameter 47 mm, polished steel.
Bezel: Polished steel.
Back: See-through sapphire crystal.
Device protecting the crown: (protected as a Trademark) Brushed steel.
Dial: Black with luminous Arabic numerals and hour markers.
Crystal: Plexiglas®, 3 mm thick.
Water- resistance: 10 bar (~100 metres).
Strap: PANERAI personalised leather strap and large-size brushed steel buckle. Supplied with a second interchangeable strap and a steel screwdriver.