Dietrich watches now on James

Loyal followers of JamesList will now that were really fond of independent watch makers and not just the latest from Rolex & Audemars Piguet. Not just because we like rooting for the underdog, but because fledling indie brands often have a very brave take on the design as theyre trying to find their own brand and visual identity.

Enter Dietrich watches. The mastermind behind this operation is a man called Emmanuel Dietrich who first and foremost describes himself as a designer (the founder graduated from the prestigious École Boulle in Paris) and has a strong sensibility that runs through all his creations whether it be his work at Hermès, the furniture he created for Lignet Rose and much more. In fact, hes one of those rare exceptions where our usually very snobby attitude on never buying a watch from anyone else but a watch maker doesnt apply, as his creations are as carefully made as anything youd expect from his competitors. We especially like the Dietrich Night pictured above with its hints of Bauhaus in a luxurious, golden package, and the more playful Snow, pictured below. What do you think?

 

Retrowerk Piston Brass 005 Automatic Watch Review

When these Retrowerk steampunk watches came out a few years back, I blogged about them and how funky the Steampunk designs were a bit off the wall for me. Well, I ended up finding one for a good deal so I bought it! I never thought I would have ended up buying one of these, but I did.

And there she is, in all her antiqued, worn brass finish. The watch is actually considerably better made than I thought it would be, especially for the kind of money these go for these days. I am seeing them being liquidated for around $500 for the automatic models, which is a significant step down from their original $1200 MSRP. At $1200, its a bit of a stretch, however.

Theres a big, juicy piston driven crown protector, which reminds me a little of the Espresso machine style levers that Graham is so fond of with their Chronofighters. The Graham Chronofighter levers are much more refined, however. This is a bit cruder, like the U-Boat canteen covers.

I have a gripe about the way this was designed, however, and thats because it is so difficult to hand-wind the crown due to the location of the protector when it is unscrewed. I can only manage about 1/4 turns when handwinding, and its a bit frustrating!

The piston is hollow on one side, and has a spring inside that pushes it to an open position when the crown protector is removed. As you can see, there is a lot of attention to detail in the finishing and imprinting on the case to create the steampunk style.

The caseback is not brass-finished like the rest of the case, but rather a bead blasted stainless steel, but is very well finished nonetheless. They didnt cheap out on the case back, and in fact has each one individually serial numbered a nice touch. This one is numbered 36. I wonder how many they made? Since there are three digits, probably not more than 999 of each model. Thats a pretty scarce production run maybe theyll be worth something in the future!

Theres the headshot. The arabic numbers are lumed, and the domed crystal is sapphire. When these were first announced, they were going to have mineral crystal, but it seems they got upgraded. I think they did a fantastic job with the brass finishing on the steel case, but while I like brass, Im not sure if I like the steampunk. Ill probably keep this watch for a little while, but I dont know if it will be a long term keeper. Ive got it mounted on a vintage ammo NuboStrap right now, and it looks great on there.

The one place on this German made watch where I felt they skimped a bit on the quality is the dial. The Lume isnt the brightest, and the Retrowerk Logo is kind of shiny and rounded on the edges.. not as clean and crisp as I would prefer and gives it a bit of a cheaper look to it.. but the case details are fantastic and it has a great worn look to it.

Heres a wristshot of the 46mm watch, which wears quite decently for such a large watch. The smaller face/crystal attributes to the slightly more digestable wrist presence. Most larger crystal 46mm watches like the Navitimer World have much larger wrist presence, and they dont even have a gigantic brass piston on the case!

At any rate, really a novelty watch for the steampunk enthusiast that appreciates quality Swiss and German engineering. The watch is constructed well and keeps good time. It wears on the wrist well and really accomplishes what it sets out to do in my opinion. Is this watch for everyone? Certainly not, but I think it will definately be right for some people.

Panerai PAM384 Radiomir 8 Days Ceramic

The PAM384 Radiomir 8 Days Ceramic was introduced in Geneva in 2011. I did include it in my SIHH 2011 photo report, but I never posted separately about the watch. The reason being that I wasn’t happy with the photos I took – I didn’t see how dirty the watches were until I viewed my photos at home.

Luckily there was a – very brief – opportunity to take these two photos this January when I was in Geneva for the 2012 line up. The watch deserves more attention than it has been getting. In terms of looks and functions the watch is similar to the – now discontinued – Panerai PAM268. Both watches have the in-house hand wound P.2002/3 movement which offers small seconds, a horizontal power reserve indicator on the sandwich dial (above the six), a date and 8 days power reserve. The differences are of course the case material (ceramic vs stainless steel), the color of the Luminova (ecru vs green) and the date window. The ceramic 384 does not have a so-called cyclops.

Radiomir 8 Days Ceramic

I’m not sure if the watch is already available – even though it was introduced in 2011. I haven’t seen any posts on the watch boards about it yet. Contrary to what a few websites show, the PAM384 is a regular production watch. The first production run is 500 units. You can find further details on the panerai.com website (historic collection).

Radiomir 8 Days Ceramic

All photos M.Wilmsen – do not use my photos without permission

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Panerai PAM268

Charlie Chaplin’s Cartier on James

We love old collectors items that tell a rich history here on James. Moreover, were quite fond of old-timey show biz memorabilia (the last gem we covered was the insanely beautiful Rolls-Royce that belonged to George Formby back this summer), and this ones a real looker.  Its a beautiful ladies Cartier Bagnoire that was given by Charlie Chaplin to his wife Oona, 37 years his junior and daughter of Eugene ONeill for trivia fans, and has been described as the watch she preferred wearing. Ladies watches dont get too much coverage here on the JamesList blog, but this time, we couldnt resist.

Pick up this piece of history right here on James, Xupes is asking £10,000.