First Impression: Baselworld 2016 Press Day Favorites

Day 1 is complete, folks! It was an exciting day filled with a lot of fantastic watches. Speaking for the two of us, we think this year’s releases have been better than last year. It felt like just a couple brands had the best releases last year, but this year is much more spread out. We have a couple days filled with meetings tomorrow and Friday, so look for more in-depth hands on articles coming up. The picks you’ll see in this article were the ones that really stood out at first glance, so enjoy our Baselworld 2016 Press Day Favorites.

Shane’s Picks

Omega Speedmaster CK2998

I’ve not been shy about my admiration for last year’s rose gold “First Omega in Space” Speedmaster with the chocolate panda dial. My only issue with the watch is the $15k price tag. Thankfully, Omega listens to me when it comes to watch designs (joking, obviously), because here we have a steel version of the very same watch, this time with blue accents instead of brown. This is a truly killer piece, and I think it’s going to do very well for Omega. Interesting to note, Omega has named it the CK2998, which, in my opinion, is akin to Babe Ruth calling his shot and subsequently hitting it out of the park. We have a meeting with Omega in the coming days, so I’ll definitely be photographing the shit out of this watch. Stay tuned!

Rolex Daytona Cerachrom Stainless Steel

If finally happened. After predicting a similar looking watch for years, the watch world can perform a collective sigh of relief. Everyone will be writing about this stainless steel Daytona with a black ceramic bezel, white dial and black subdial rings. Everyone. It’s hotter than the Sahara in the middle of the summer. There’s not much I can or need to say about this Daytona. If you want one, you better call your local AD immediately. If you thought it was hard to get a stainless Daytona a couple years ago, this is going to be exponentially worse.

Blancpain Bathyscaphe 38mm

I liked a lot of watches, and I had a hard time choosing just three for this article. However, I had to choose this Blancpain considering my Wishlist article a week ago. I didn’t get my 41mm Fifty Fathoms, but this is a fantastic consolation prize. In fact, “consolation prize” is almost insulting to this 38mm Bathyscaphe. This is the watch that they should have released instead of the 43mm Bathyscaphe you’ve seen the last couple of years. The size and spirit is much closer to the original Bathy, and they pack their 100-hr power reserve caliber into it. My one complaint? It’s limited to 30 pieces.

Neil’s Picks

Tudor Black Bay 36

Last year I was a little disappointed in Tudor because I thought they could have done more. Well, then they go and do something like this, and totally redeemed themselves. I did not see a midsize Black Bay coming at all, and was instantly enamored when I saw it. The dial was simple and classic. The size is perfect. This watch kept me circling back to Tudor throughout the day; it’s a true winner. Rolex Explorer I, you’ve been put on notice.

Bremont America’s Cup Regatta OTUSA

Regatta timers are some of the coolest types of vintage watches. The countdown timer in and of itself is interesting, but generally, they also have splashes of bright color that liven up the watch in just the right way. You don’t see many modern ones, so when Bremont showed us this one, I was immediately impressed. There are four new models, but the one that really spoke to me was the white dial with titanium case and extremely slick rotating bezel. The colors and detail are very impressive in person and the titanium construction and wonderfully executed rubber strap makes it very wearable.

Omega Seamaster GMT

This watch hits a soft spot in my heart. My very first nice watch was an Omega Seamster GMT 50th Anniversary with a two-tone bezel. When I saw this one today it immediately reminded me of that watch, which I still love. I enjoy many iterations of Omega’s Seamaster but now it’s this one I want. This is also significant, not just for my own sentimental reasons, but because it’s Omega’s first two-tone ceramic bezel, which is an accomplishment on its own.

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