TIMEWERKE

This is the customised 1943 WLC Harley-Davidson showcased by RJ-Romain Jerome at the annual BaselWorld watch fair in 2014. This motorbike was customised by Hardnine Choppers (owned by Danny Schneider) and was sold together with the RJ-Romain Jerome H9C-DNA wristwatch. Photo: © TANG Portfolio. Elfa / Timmy. BaselWorld 2014

At the annual BaselWorld watch fair in 2014, RJ-Romain Jerome put the spotlight on a very special motorbike that was customised by Hardnine Choppers. Founded and owned by Danny Schneider, Hardnine Choppers is a specialist garage based in Switzerland that customises motorbikes.

The motorbike on display at the RJ-Romain Jerome booth was the 1943 WLC Harley-Davidson 750cc which was previously owned by the Canadian Army. Back in 1943, the Canadian Army had ordered 20,000 of such bikes for military use.

The customised Harley-Davidson bike required six months of work by Hardnine Choppers and the activities included the manual reshaping of the fenders, gas and oil tanks, the front fork, the exhaust pipe and the reconditioning of the original motor, among other things.

The bike was then hand-painted in a metal purple flake colour with hand-drawn pinstripes highlights on both sides of the gas tank, fenders and front fork.

Moreover, the steering column features South Park’s “Cartman” figurine to manually change the gears of the bike and the “Slayer” hard rock group name is cut out on the grip of the right footstool.

Other decorative features are the hand-painted “L.A.” lettering and the number “9” on parts of the motor that are visible.

This unique customised 1943 WLC Harley-Davidson is paired with RJ-Romaine Jerome’s H9C-DNA watch and is sold together as a set.

RJ-Romain Jerome H9C-DNA wristwatch featuring the skull painted in purple/ metal flake colour. It comes with a black “guidoline” calf strap with black PVD-coated satin-finished pin buckle. This pièce unique watch was sold together with the 1943 WLC Harley-Davidson bike customised by Hardnine Choppers. Retail price of the watch and motorbike: CHF110,000. Photo: © TANG Portfolio. 2014 BaselWorld

The RJ-Romain Jerome H9C-DNA watch with a red gold bezel and black PVD-coated steel case has a complex five-layered skeleton movement highlighting “the angled bridges recalling the intricate structure of a V-Twin motor”.

What is most striking is the skeletonised skull applied on the dial and hand-painted in purple metal flake colour complimenting the customised WLC Harley-Davidson bike. The barrel can be seen through the skull logo and the balance is beneath its teeth.

The RJ-Romain Jerome H9C-DNA wristwatch comes with a perforated “guidoline” leather strap, a material inspired by the bike’s custom-made handlebars.

Hardnine Choppers founder and owner Danny Schneider on the customised 1943 WLC Harley-Davidson. Photo: © Stéphane Schmutz / STEMUTZ.COM

At its launch in Basel in March 2014, the WLC Harley-Davidson motorbike and RJ-Romain Jerome H9C-DNA watch set had already been sold.

However, for hard-core bikers into watch collecting, RJ-Romain Jerome has also produced nine H9C-DNA timepieces known as Speed Metal with the mirror-polished H9C skull on the dial. These are offered for sale on their own.

Panerai Luminor Daylight 8 Days Acciaio 44mm. Introduced in 2014 and powered by the Panerai Calibre P.5000 manual-winding movement featuring 8 days of power reserve. This Luminor Daylight 8 Days Acciaio is sold together with the Luminor Black Seal 8 Days Acciaio DLC – The Special Edition Luminor Black Seal and Luminor Daylight Set – PAM 785 which is limited to 500 sets. Recommended retail price: SGD26,450 / MYR65,100 / AUD23,000. Prices are correct as at the time of writing. Photo: © TANG Portfolio. Elfa / Timmy. Watches&Wonders 2014

While Hollywood action movie star Sylvester Stallone is best known for two leading characters, “Rocky Balboa” and “John Rambo”, in the movies, he is probably not as well remembered as “Kit Latura”, even for most hardcore Panerai fans.

However, Panerai fans will be more familiar with the 1996 movie that Stallone played Latura: Daylight. This is simply because this particular movie can be said to be the international launch pad for Panerai.

Stallone, who got acquainted with Panerai watches after purchasing them in Italy, had requested for a special Luminor watch to be used for the underwater filming sequences in the movie. The movie’s production schedules included the filming of sequences in Italy.

In the Daylight movie, Stallone can be seen sporting the 44mm Panerai Luminor Submersible. Given its size and water-resistance, this Luminor Submersible from a relatively unknown watch brand then, was the perfect candidate and has our vote for the best supporting role in an action movie.

While Daylight did not become as successful as the Rambo and Rocky movies, it brought Panerai to international stardom in a big way. As one Panerai brand manager had once explained to us more than a decade ago: “Sylvester Stallone was the ‘accidental ambassador’ for the brand.”

Stallone even approached Panerai for watches that would bear his name. As he was known as “Sly” to his friends, this led to the “Slytech” moniker that would be seen on the dials.

Eventually, four limited series models bearing the “Slytech” name were produced: the Slytech Luminor Submersible, the Slytech Luminor Daylight and two versions of the Slytech Mare Nostrum.

The Slytech Luminor Daylight is the obvious inspiration for the 2014 Luminor Daylight 8 Days Acciaio.

As for the Luminor Black Seal 8 Days Acciaio DLC which is the second watch in the PAM 785 Special Edition Set, the original inspiration becomes a little fuzzy for us.

The original Slytech Luminor Submersible of 1996 was in steel and did not have a black case. Neither was it called the “Black Seal”.

Panerai Luminor Black Seal 8 Days Acciaio DLC 44mm. Introduced in 2014, it is equipped with the Panerai Calibre P.5000 manual-winding movement with 8 days of power reserve. The steel case is coated with DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) and the watch is water-resistant to 30 bar (approx 300m). This Luminor Black Seal 8 Days Acciaio DLC is sold together with the Luminor Daylight 8 Days Acciaio as a set – The Special Edition Luminor Black Seal and Luminor Daylight Set – PAM 785 that is limited to 500 sets. Recommended retail price: SGD26,450 / MYR65,100 / AUD23,000. Prices are correct as at the time of writing. Photo: © TANG Portfolio. Elfa / Timmy. Watches&Wonders 2014

However, there is the somewhat mythical Slytech Luminor Black Seal in steel that was black PVD-coated. This “fifth Slytech” – the Slytech Black Seal was supposed to be commercially produced but it did not happen following the sale of Panerai to the Vendôme Luxury Group in 1997.

In other words, the Slytech Luminor Black Seal did not get to see commercial daylight (pun most definitely intended).

However, five Slytech Luminor Black Seal prototypes are said to have been produced in 1997. The “Black Seal” refers to the Siluro a Lenta Corsa (SLC) or slow-speed torpedoes used by Italian Navy commandos during the Second World War.

Regardless, the Luminor Black Seal 8 Days Acciaio DLC is for us, one cool mysterious piece, albeit without the “Slytech” text. Ditto for the Luminor Daylight 8 Days Acciaio.

Both the Luminor Daylight 8 Days Acciaio and the Luminor Black Seal 8 Days Acciaio DLC have been paired to form the Special Edition PAM 785 limited edition with only 500 of such sets available.

These two 2014 Luminor watches stay very faithful to the originals of the mid-1990s even though they are “Slytechs without the Slytech” and make a tempting offering for those who enjoy pre-Vendôme Panerai timepieces.

THE ART OF TIME

RJ-Romain Jerome H9C-DNA: Biker watch

PAM 785 Special Edition Set: Panerai Luminor Black Seal 8 Days Acciaio DLC and Luminor Daylight 8 Days Acciaio – “Slytechs” without Slytech