![]() This one’s 44mm from corner to corner, however, it’s made to look even bigger by a wide metal diving bezel with lume dots and the numbers of the quarter hours engraved on it as well. The cushion shaped case has been around for a while in different sizes. The hallmarks are all there, let’s start with the most obvious, the one that makes it onto pretty much every Panerai watch right now. The Luminor Submersible uses the idea of a diving watch and marries it to classic Panerai designs. Panerai chooses to go a different way with its sports watches, making them as distinctive as possible. Cartier takes all the best of French design and muscles it into a svelte case to make it as useable as possible. Panerai goes down a completely different route. Most importantly that movement is protected to a respectable 300m down, it’s good to know the watch is fully sealed despite the fact it’s unlikely to ever reach that depth. The watch will run for 48 hours without winding. The movement has been worked really well by Cartier, improvements such as ceramic ball bearings help the watch wind more efficiently and provide a sealed unit that doesn’t require servicing. Inside the watch is the Cartier 1904 PS-MC automatic winding movement which uses twin barrels to provide an even flow of power to the movement. The watch also features a lume seconds track around the sub seconds, there’s also Cartier’s signature tall date window which shows the current date as well as the previous and next dates too. The dial itself is pure Cartier with big roman numerals and sword-shaped hands, on this diving version the markers and hands are coated in SuperLumiNova, guaranteeing a bright appearance at night or lurking in the depths. ![]() While yes the bezel will be prone to scratching, but only a fool would turn down a watch which has a proven history of being worn and loved, if the owner would be crazy enough to sell it at all. ![]() The money that you spend on your watch gets you a 42mm stainless steel sports watch with a black DLC coated steel bezel which has the distinct advantage over a ceramic bezel of not being prone to shattering on impact with the floor. Perhaps the most versatile version is the steel on the rubber strap, so that’s the one we’ll focus on. The retail price is $7900 and for that money, Cartier really hasn’t skimped out when it comes to a proper tool watch. In fairness, it can do damage to pretty much any competitor it comes across while being a relative breeze to your wallet. Onto the watch itself, Cartier describes the Calibre Diver as “an authentic diving instrument”, meaning it can put a Submariner in its place. Cartier’s excellent work on the design (as they are particularly famed for doing) has also assisted significantly in changing the perception of the people that try it out in the store or even take the plunge and go the full nine yards and buy one. In that sense the Calibre Diver was the Bentley Bentayga of the Cartier world, like the car, I’m fully in the support group for the watch. Others, however, would prefer it if Cartier kept to their more classical pieces such as the Tank and Ballon Bleu. Indeed, I have spoken to many enthusiasts who say they love the idea of a true luxury diving watch that’s functional and sophisticated with a strong whiff of suave. When the Cartier Calibre de Cartier Diver watch appeared on the scene a couple of years ago the audience was divided quite literally down the middle. But does Panerai really have what it takes to bring down the best of the best? Cartier isn’t exactly a competitor to be taken lightly. It’s a long-established maker of fine jewellery and the company responsible for popularising wristwatches against a rising star in the industry which has garnered itself a strong fanbase of enthusiasts and celebrities alike. This time, around we’re taking things a little more upper middle class here. These articles seem to be somewhat controversial without audience, but we thrive on all kinds of feedback and are willing to challenge the preconceptions of the watches we look at. We’re back for yet another bash at thing two highly rated sports watches from the world of scuba diving and putting them in a head to head to find out for ourselves which deserves to be king and which just misses out.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |