Panerai Luminor Marina

"Which Speedmaster should I buy?"
That was once a simple question but today if you look at the Omega site, you will have your choice of twelve Speedy Pro versions and five 50th LEs - without even considering the automatics. A total of seventeen to choose from! And Omega marketing would have you believe that thirteen of the seventeen share the same Lemania movement worn on the moon. NOT!The price of the basic 3570.50 Speedy is up to $3200 MSRP but many first time buyers shy away from the hesalite and go for the sapphire sandwich with a MSRP of over $4000.At these prices with normal discounting, one could purchase the same model actually worn by the moonwalkers; a 105.012 or perhaps even a 105.003.I went through a bunch of Speedy Pros ¡°similar¡± to the ones worn on the moon until I decided that only the exact model would do for me. As a result, I bought this 105.012 off the famous auction site for less than $1300:

A Modern Remake of the Tianjin 1963 PLAAF Chronograph
This has been briefly summarized only once in the archives of WTF that I can find.Back in the early 60's, so the story goes, the People's Liberation Army Air Force wanted a watch for their pilots. It needed a chronograph function, but the Chinese watch companies of the day had not developed their own. About the same time, the Swiss ebauchery Venus was on hard times, and their famous caliber 175 was no longer popular as it had been (having been found on early Breitling Navitimers, among others), because it was a handwind movement.Their idea was to sell their tooling for the 175 and use the proceeds to fund the development of a lever-action replacement that could be made into an automatic. And they had long-since replaced the 175 in their lineup with the 188. But that's a different story.Venus looked around for a buyer, again so the story goes, and couldn't find one. Poljot was already disassembling a Valjoux 7733 to reverse-engineer it, and that ultimately became the Poljot 3133a copy o

Franken?
Franken?160623624605 Sweet looking case, but the crystal and dial don't seem to fit.

You're so dirty!
Been wearing this mtn biking lately and it looks like it's overdue for a good bath.

In praise of the Aquanaut, a review
Hi all,Recently I've been seeing a renewed interest in the Aquanaut so I thought I would post a quick review.I've worn my 5165 on a tropical strap nearly every day at the office for more than three years. During that time it has accumulated the expected scuffs, swirls and minor scratches, particularly on the bezel and clasp. Nothing I can't live with and none that distract from the overall good looks of this reference. The case is a well thought-out design with crown protectors and graceful lugs. It has just the right amount of contrast between polished and brushed surfaces.Because the watch is on the tropical strap it is supremely light. Some might consider its lightweight and thinness as a drawback, but for me it is perfect. The tropical strap merges seamlessly into the case making it look unique to most other watches. Whatever material it is made from, some type of rubber I suspect, it is suitable for all types of weather. If you sweat a lot in the summer this strap is fantastic. Af