Watch On Sylvester Stallone's Wrist in Expendables 2 & 3... Richard Mille RM032 Chronograph Diver & PAM Bronzo Quick Take and Pics... Oh & The RM028

RM028 (47mm * 14.6mm... Retail US$79k) vs RM032 (50mm * 17.8mm thick... Retail US$125k) 
The RM028 feels small when held together with the RM032... The RM032 is GARGANTUAN!
for more pics of the RM032 with another kind of Italian Stallion click here LINK

Now we all know Sly likes 'em BIG! I'm talkin about watches yuh. From Panerais in the past and now going way upmarket with the Richard Mille RM032. They all have a big watch case in common and size being relative, it kinda makes sense don't it? :) 

i won't go into the movies themselves but i would say they are switch off your mind, big guns blazing, no-brainer shoot-em ups with alot of past action heros showing off their ability to shoot & blow stuff up, pugilistic skills(kickin a$$ and takin names) and there's a fair amount of knives on display.  

Now these watches aren't my cuppa but i can see how they might appeal to folks with loadsamoney who want 'em big, brash and shouty :) declaring loudly to the world, "Look at me i have a lot of $ and i spend it however i want to" as they pull up in their supercar[lambo, ferrari, pagani, mclaren take your pick]. It is also in some ways kinda suited to the world of the Expendables(the title may be apt too). I mean, these are supposed to be divers watches after all and it always makes sense to go diving with US$100k watches ;) Some in-hand pix follow of these BIG Beasts and some factoids... Let's tackle the BIG one first! 

First off what it looks like on the Italian Stallion's wrist... 'Adrienne!'

the red strap looks great on this piece actually, better than the stock black
and as we know red is great for tactical, covert mission ops :)

time, big date, annual calendar, flyback chrono, locking mechanism for activation of chrono pushers

oh and the running indicator on the 3 o'clock position which looks like a vent that closes and opens or pulses. it has a luxurious 2rpm rotational frequency

What does RM say about the case? Specs:
"The RM 032 is water resistant to 300 meters (30 atmospheres), following ISO 6425 diver’s watch norms. This is achieved with a unique, curved, tripartite case design. It is complemented with a screwed crown construction and the integration of the horns in the case. The horns of each RM 032 version have screws that optimally fix the diver’s rubber strap. 
In the world of horology, the case of the RM 032 is one the most difficult to manufacture. After a 1h30- hour turning phase, this tripartite case has to undergo 830 operations planned during an 9-hour milling phase. After a 11-hour machining phase, each case has to pass a full day of quality control. The pushers and their respective components and the crown require a 10-day machining phase. Within this period, numerous water resistant tests and quality controls are carried out and also the hand brushing and polishing of the case. All of these steps are paramount to obtain ergonomic levels specific to Richard Mille watches."

these round cases are a departure of course from the trademark tonneau cases like in the RM011 (pics of that here -> LINK) but it retains the brand DNA in looks

the curvature of the case and the lug design actually allows it to sit pretty well on the wrist for such a large watch. the RM028 has a similar titanium word on it's side but is a bit more squeezed vs the RM032 which has some breathing space for the word. i mean 17.8mm... come on!

look of the movement is similar to other RMs with the distinctive screws and machine aesthetic. speaking of screws, check out the 12 around the edge of the case below

to be honest i find this flatter looking than their usual movements as it's mostly shades of grey and no purple or gold-ish lookin bits like the RM028's movement below but guess it's good that it looks a little different from that movement

RM028 time and date on the nice red strap :)

Movement is the same as what's in the RM10

vaucher made RM specs with it's distinctive look

i believe vaucher makes more than half the movements of RM's annual output with the
 higher end stuff coming out from APRP and soprod takin care of some of ladies watch movements and others

last note on RM. it hasn't gotten bought over by Kering as they got Ulysse Nardin instead. Not sure if talks are still on so RM may be independent for some to come. On to the Italian dive watches made in Switzerland :)

Panerai Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Automatic Bronzo PAM382 in Expendables 2

The PAM382 is interesting for 2 reasons: 
1) it made bronze a popular case material, in a fair number of dive/dive style watches, even though other brands had bronze watches before it came along
2) Panerai did a u-turn on not issuing more bronze cased watches by coming out with the PAM507 in 2013. read more about it here LINK
and a last interesting fact is Sly bought and gifted them to several of his co-stars(Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren and Terry Crews). Great gesture

everyone's getting one of these (speakin of the Sly's cast members in expendables)

the bronze of course changes color and develops patina with exposure to air and seawater so each watch case will look unique as they will patina, gain verdigris differently. it can be cleaned up back to clean and shiny too of course

automatic cal p900 movement

dial goes from light to dark green in different light

why do i feel like going down to the gym, pumpin iron and beefcakin up? GRRRR... ok scratch that. i'll stick with the non-clock sized watches that are my taste right now :) cheers, raph