Mountaineering Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter Oris’s seemingly unstoppable run of watches that are not just innovative but offer genuinely useful functions continues with this, the first automatic mechanical watch with a mechanical altimeter. It can gauge altitude and air pressure, useful whether you’re a pilot, a mountaineer or the type to get your kicks from throwing yourself out of planes and off cliff tops. It does this via a mechanical barometer, squeezed inside the watch’s 47mm stainless steel case alongside its automatic movement. There’s more clever-tech in the watch’s patented adjustment and venting crown; it’s fitted with a membrane to prevent moisture from getting inside the watch while the altimeter is activated. A proper smart watch. oris.ch
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THE CITY MAGAZINE | August 2014
Flying Shooting Panerai Radiomir 1940 Chronograph Oro Bianco Mechanical watches don’t like being shocked. Knock one onto the floor or smack it into a door and you’ll note – if you keep stock of these things – a drop in accuracy. That’s why it’s unwise to wear a mechanical watch while shooting, when the violent impact of firing a shotgun can play havoc with the tiny, fragile parts inside it. For such times, you might be interested to learn that most of Panerai’s totemic Luminor and Radiomir watches feature antishock technology, as is the case with the new Radiomir 1940 Chronograph Oro Bianco. Inside its 45mm white gold case is a glorious handcrafted, hand-wound movement that’s protected by an Incabloc anti-shock device. panerai.com
Bremont MBIII Bremont’s series of watches, made in partnership with the pioneering British ejection seat manufacturers Martin Baker, was launched in 2009. Initially, there was just one piece in the line, the MBI, which was only available to pilots who’d been ejected from a plane. It featured a rubber movement mount that could protect the watch’s chronometercertified automatic movement from the shocks sustained by an ejection, and had been put through endurance tests for vibration, temperature extremes and salt-fog, making it one of the most qualified pilots’ watches ever made. The same spec level is found in the MBII civilian model launched a year later, and now in the new MBIII, which has a second time zone. bremont.com