This neatly leads us to the new-ish Panerai Watch 104 Replica Mare Nostrum Chronograph PAM716, which is equipped with a 42mm-wide, 50 meter water resistant case in stainless steel, a blue dial with tan colored luminescent indices and main palms, a km/h bezel, plus a bizarre and unusual OP XXXIII movement that’s truly an ETA 2801 using a Dubois-Depraz module for the chronograph. Add to this the fact that this being a normal tachymeter scale, some additional unit of speed would work just the same. The conventional, piston-style chronograph pushers, the tachymeter bezel, the small case size, the nicely curved, extended lugs, and the blue-tan color mix individually will make any Panerai the odd one out. This may fire back though – that the Mare Nostrum has a patchy history, with hardly any documentation or actual pieces remaining from whichever era it really belongs — and this will raise a few flags to the attentive, super-nerdy collector who this really is pretty much entirely aimed for.All this noted, it’s good to see Panerai do something out of the ordinary, leaving the Luminors and Radiomirs on the side for an instant and presenting a look so scarcely encountered from them — I would not be surprised (actually I hope) that Panerai is really testing the waters here, as I would love to see more unusual and refreshing layouts.

At the end of the year that was the best ever, with traffic stats up by over 60% across all metrics, here’s a look at our ten top stories of 2014.

In terms of readership stories on Rolex and Seiko trump all the others, which is unsurprising since both are probably the most searched watch brands online. Other notable stories are our editorials on the end of the road for rising watch prices (ranked 6th and 8th), and the compilation of opinions from key figures in high horology on the Apple Watch. Here are the ten most popular articles of the last year. 10. Hands-On With The Jaeger-LeCoultre Geophysic 1958 Reissue Jaeger-LeCoultre recreated the Geophysic chronometer as a limited edition, enlarging the case but sticking closely to the look of the original, while making it available at an accessible price – a good recipe for success.

9. Hands-On With The Patek Philippe Nautilus Travel Time Ref. 5990/1A We went up close with the Nautilus Travel Time, Patek Philippe’s latest sports chronograph that offers substantially more than the watch it replaces, for just a little bit more money, though the Nautilus is tremendously pricey to start with.

8. Introducing the Longines Heritage 1935, a Remake of its Iconic Czech Air Force Watch Longines reissued its distinctive, cushion-shaped aviator’s watch made for the Czech Air Force in the thirties and we compared the remake with the original.

7. Up Close With The Rolex Sea-Dweller 4000 Ref. 116600 The Rolex Sea-Dweller 4000 made its comeback at Baselworld 2014, very much the same but significantly improved, especially with the bracelet and clasp. With our comparison of the new and old Sea-Dwellers at number two on the list, the Sea-Dweller is a crowd favourite.

6. EDITORIAL: Are watches too expensive? (Part 2) Obviously the answer is yes, and the slowdown in business has proved our thesis. Part 1 of this editorial is number six on this list.

5. Explaining The Panerai Watches Norwich Replica P.9000 Automatic Movement – We Take It Apart And Put It All Back Together We took apart the Panerai P.9000 movement and put it all back together, revealing the details of the calibre and how it works.

4. EDITORIAL: Are watches too expensive? (Part 1) Evidently a lot of people agreed.

3. What The Watch Industry Thinks Of The Apple Watch Despite being non-existent, the Apple Watch was probably the hottest timepiece of 2014. We solicited opinions from movers and shakers in watchmaking, ranging from Max Busser of MB&F to Lange CEO Wilhelm Schmid, about their thoughts on the Apple Watch.

2. COMPARISON: Rolex Sea-Dweller 4000 Refs. 16600 vs. 116600 We put together the old and new Sea-Dweller 4000.

1. Introducing The Seiko Credor Eichi II – The Finest Three-Hand Watch Made In Japan, And Possibly The World But the less affordable ones seem to be even more so. We broke the news of the US$50,000 Seiko Credor Eichi II in August and it quickly became a hot topic. With only 20 made each year, it is no wonder that there is a waiting list for this watch.

Thanks for reading. See you in 2015!