No doubt you’ve heard of a mortgage, but a lot of Aussies are still in the dark when it comes to understanding ‘reverse mortgages.’ In this piece we’re going to go through absolutely everything that you need to know about “reversing” a mortgage and whether or not it’s the right decision for you to make.

What is a Reverse Mortgage?

Put simply, a reverse mortgage is a loan that lets you access the value of your home. A homeowner that owns their property outright can borrow against the value of their home and receive funds in a variety of different forms, be it a lump sum of cash, a line of credit or a recurring monthly payment.

It’s worth noting that you can only access a reverse mortgage in Australia after you turn 60 and you have to own your property outright.

Basically, if you’re over the age of 60 and you’re looking to access the money tied up in the “paper” value of your home, a ‘reverse mortgage’ is a great way to substantially increase your cash position. Because you already own the asset you’re borrowing against, reverse mortgages tend to be a good deal less risky than traditional loans, because the outstanding value of the loan can always be covered by selling the property. 

With this being said, reverse mortgages are not without their risks and anyone looking to access the unencumbered value of their home needs to have a good understanding of the basics.

Why Did Big Banks Stop Issuing Reverse Mortgages?

Reverse mortgages have gotten a bad wrap over time. In 2019, all major Australian banks stopped offering reverse mortgage products. In response to the “toxic sales culture” of reverse mortgage lenders, the Australian government began introducing stricter regulation around these sorts of products. Historically, opportunistic lenders have used reverse mortgages to take advantage of financially insecure or cash-poor elderly clientele.

Horror stories of senior citizens being charged massive fees, and recently widowed spouses being forced to sell their life-long home, and oblivious heirs being left to pick up a massive bill instead of receiving an inheritance drew attention to the potential pitfalls of accessing a reverse mortgage. However, like all debt-related financial instruments, reverse mortgages can be extremely useful if you know what you’re doing and you know how to spot potential red-flags.

So let’s break down exactly what you need to know about reverse mortgage products in 2022.  

Is A Reverse Mortgage Really Worth the Risk?

Accessing a reverse mortgage can be a really great way of getting some extra cashflow during your later years, however it really should be seen as a “last resort” rather than a healthy part of a normal retirement plan. 

The ability for reverse mortgage loans to get out of hand can become a problem, especially if clients are completely reliant on the loans as their only real source of extra cash. If unexpected and expensive healthcare issues continue to show up, or other financial concerns of a repetitive nature occur, relying solely on a reverse mortgage can become quite dangerous

Because you’re borrowing against the monetary value of your home, every time you take out another lump of cash, you’re decreasing your level of home ownership, signing up to interest rates and fees that compound over time and potentially leaving substantially less value behind as inheritance for your family.

Best Australian Reverse Mortgage Lenders Ranked

Household Capital

The title of ‘best reverse mortgage lender’ in Australia goes to Household Capital, a financial organisation that specialises entirely in reverse mortgages.

Household Capital offer the industry’s lowest interest rate of: 4.95% & the application fee costs $950.

Obviously, you don’t pay monthly fees with a reverse mortgage but it can still be a good metric to measure exactly how much you end up paying when your house is finally sold.

Household Capital’s comparative monthly cost-incurrence on a loan of $150,000 at a 25-year period, ends up at a rate of: $1,069 a month.

A potential downside for Household Capital is that they only allow customers to borrow a maximum of 50% of the value of their home.

If you’re interested in getting more information on Household Capital, you can read more on their blog.

G&C Mutual Bank

The silver medal belongs to G&C Mutual Bank, who offer a product called the ‘Retirees Access Home Loan’. This product offers slightly higher interest rates than Household Capital, however there are differences in the loan conditions that may be seen as advantageous for some.

G&C Mutual Bank offer the second lowest interest rate of: 5.22% and the application fee costs $500.

G&C Mutual Bank’s comparative monthly cost-incurrence on a loan of $150,000 at a 25-year period, ends up at a rate of: $1,102 a month.

Despite, having a slightly higher comparative rate than Household Capital, G&C does offer a potential upside of “no maximum loan value”. Meaning that depending on certain rules and regulations, customers can borrow up to 80% of the value of their home, allowing for much greater access to capital.

If you’re interested in getting more information on G&C Mutual Bank reverse mortgage products you can check out their website.

Heartland Reverse Mortgages

The bronze medal goes to Heartland Reverse Mortgages, a retirement-oriented financial institution that specialises in reverse-lending products.

Heartland Reverse Mortgages offers the third lowest interest rate of: 5.6% and does not charge an application fee. In place of an application fee however, Heartland charge a settlement fee of $495 and an additional discharge fee of $395.

Heartland Reverse Mortgage’s comparative monthly cost-incurrence on a loan of $150,000 at a 25-year period, ends up at a rate of: $1,150 a month.

A potential advantage to Heartland is that they do offer a comparatively easy “lump sum payment” option, meaning that borrowers and can take out the entire sum that they desire up front. Obviously taking out large sums all at once can be very risky, but depending on your unique financial circumstances, this may be a factor that separates Heartland from the rest.

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The post Best Reverse Mortgage Lenders Australia 2022 appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

As if 2022 couldn’t get any worse, it looks like Russia is planning a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in what Bloomberg has aptly titled “an unwelcome Cold War reboot”.

Hundreds of thousands of Russian troops have amassed on the borders of the former Soviet Union republic, and rhetoric from Russia about American and NATO aggression has become increasingly strident in recent months. The US, Australia and other countries have started to evacuate consular staff, and things look incredibly tense.

Of course, there are many commentators on both sides of the old Cold War battle lines who suggest that this is all just brinkmanship and sabre-rattling. But if Vladimir Putin’s latest, sneaky nautical move is anything to go by, there could be dire consequences for Ukraine and the West.

The Russian president’s personal superyacht Graceful has made a hasty departure in suspicious circumstances from a shipyard in northern Germany where it was undergoing maintenance and upgrades, German newspaper Bild reports. According to the ship-tracking website Marine Traffic, the AU$140 million vessel set sail from the Blohm and Voss shipyard in Hamburg last Monday and had arrived in Kaliningrad (a Russian exclave sandwiched between EU/NATO member states Lithuania and Poland) two days later.

This is despite the fact that Graceful was in the midst of some seriously significant renovations, including the addition of two new balconies plus an extension to the stern. As the image above shows, Graceful left Hamburg before these renovations could be finished. What gives?

The first question, obviously, is how on earth is Putin able to afford a $140 million superyacht? It’s probably not a surprise to hear that while Putin’s official annual salary hovers around the AU$150,000 mark, the notoriously secretive autocrat (allegedly) controls shares in dozens of Russian state-owned companies and has millions squirrelled away in tax havens like Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Hell, all one has to do is look at what’s on his wrist – the Russian leader has an extremely luxurious watch collection, filled with Breguets and Patek Philippes – to know that Putin’s worth a lot more than he is on paper. But Putin’s wealth isn’t really the hot story here. The big question is this: why has he so hastily moved his superyacht out of Germany, despite the yacht being halfway through significant renovations?

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Well, Bild’s argument is that Putin has moved his yacht in anticipation of being slapped with hefty sanctions. If Russia does make a move on Ukraine, you can bet that Germany – as well as other countries like the UK, who have already threatened sanctions against Russia – would make it impossible to recover such a conspicuous asset.

That’s why this story is so scary. Has Putin moved Graceful because he’s about to pull the trigger on invading Ukraine, and wants to make sure he can get ahead of any sanctions? Is this a huge hint that shit’s about to hit the fan? We really hope that’s not the case.

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The post Vladimir Putin’s $140 Million Superyacht Move Might Be Scarier Than The Russian Army appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

If you’re in the market for a new phone then you’ve come to the right place. We’ve rounded up the best phones currently available in Australia, so you can easily compare them against one another and settle on that final decision.

It’s no easy task deciding which is the best phone for you, as phone technologies have improved dramatically and now the vast majority of phone manufacturers release phones that offer much of the same experience, so it can be easy to become confused and unsure when looking to upgrade.

We’ve therefore tried to take a lot of the guesswork out of your next smartphone purchase decision by rounding up what we consider to be the best phones available right now. Ultimately, your decision will likely be based on the phone’s OS (operating system) or the brand, as it can become easy to develop loyalty to a certain brand.

We have two main paths to take in 2022: Apple iPhone and invest in Apple’s ecosystem or you get an Android smartphone, which opens up a whole realm of possibilities when it comes to the manufacturer.

Samsung is easily one of the heavyweights in the Android phone arena, and Google has to be commended for its incredible Pixel smartphone. You also have other phone brands such as OnePlus and Sony, along with more budget-friendly phone choices from Xiaomi and Oppo.

Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of some of those phone brands before, we’re about to explain all. These are the best phones to buy in Australia in 2022.

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The post Best Phone Australia 2022: Our Favourite Smartphones appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Avatar: The Way of Water is the highly anticipated sequel to the record-breaking, Oscar-winning film Avatar, which was released over ten years ago in 2009. James Cameron has returned to direct, write, and produce the film, which will see Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana reprise their roles from the first Avatar film.

If you’ve somehow not seen the first Avatar film, you can do so on Disney Plus.

Avatar 2 Release Date Australia

Avatar: The Way of Water will be released in Australian cinemas on the 16th of December.

Avatar 2 Trailer

Cast & Crew

As mentioned above, Oscar-winner James Cameron directed Avatar 2 and he also wrote and produced the film. Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana are reprising their respective roles, Jake Sully and Neytiri, and actors ​​Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, Dileep Rao, CCH Pounder, and Matt Gerald are also reprising their roles from the first film.

Kate Winslet, the Oscar-winner best known for Titanic and Mare of Easttown, is joining the cast as Ronal, a Na’vi character. New cast members also include Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Michelle Yeoh, Jemaine Clement, Oona Chaplin, Vin Diesel, and CJ Jones.

Sigourney Weaver is also going to make an appearance in Avatar 2 but she isn’t reprising her character that (spoiler) died in the first Avatar film. Instead, she’s playing a new top-secret character.

Avatar 2 Plot

Not too many details about Avatar: They Way of Water’s plot have been released but we do know the story will follow Jake Sully and Neytiri, who have formed a family on Pandora since the events of the first film, as they face a threat and have to once again protect their planet.

What The Critics & Reviews Say

Avatar 2 is just too far away for any reviews to have been released yet but fans on Twitter can’t wait for the film to hit theatres.

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The post Avatar 2 Release Date Australia, Cast, Trailer & Reviews appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Let’s be real; everyone loves food. And for some reason, there’s a great satisfaction to be had by watching a good food series. Whether it’s a documentary or a game show, foodies can sit back and enjoy some of the finest dishes on the planet without leaving their couch or spending a dime (aside from streaming subscription costs, of course).

If you’re looking for a new food series to devour, we’ve gone through Netflix Australia’s entire catalogue, and these are the best shows about food on the streaming platform.

The American Barbecue Showdown

7.2 IMDb score, Game-Show, released in 2020, 1 season

The American Barbecue Showdown follows the US’s best backyard smokers and barbecuers as they compete for the title of ‘American Barbecue Champion’. If you enjoy cooking up a storm on your own BBQ at home, you’ll love this series as you’ll pick up some awesome tips and tricks.

The Chef Show

8.2 IMDb score, stars Jon Favreau & Roy Choi, Documentary, released in 2019, 2 seasons

Jon Favreau, the man who created The Mandalorian and directed Iron Man among many other awesome things, travels around with chef Roy Choi and the two explore different foods around the world. If you’re a foodie or a Marvel fan – a few MCU actors make an appearance – The Chef Show is a must-watch.

Chef’s Table

8.5 IMDb score, Documentary, released in 2015, 6 seasons

Chef’s Table focuses on one different professional and world-renowned chef each episode and explores both their life and kitchen. The series has been nominated for 8 Emmy awards and is beautifully shot. If you’re a lover of fine food, you have to watch Chef’s Table.

Nailed It

7.4 IMDb score, stars Nicole Byer, Game-Show, released in 2018, 6 seasons

In this hilarious series, the contestants – who are nothing more than at-home bakers with no formal training – must recreate various desserts made by the finest gourmet chefs. The results are laugh-out-loud funny and will make you feel better about your own culinary skills. If you’re after an extremely lighthearted and binge-able cooking show, Nailed It is for you.

Taco Chronicles

7.9 IMDb score, Documentary, released in 2019, 2 seasons

Taco Chronicles literally chronicles different types of tacos. Every episode explores the rich history behind various taco styles with fantastic interviews and stunning cinematography. If you love tacos (and who doesn’t?!) you’ll enjoy Taco Chronicles immensely… but be warned: you’ll crave tacos after watching it.

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Trying to figure out just where to begin when it comes to crypto investing can be pretty daunting. New investors can easily become overwhelmed by the sea of new and over-complicated information that often leaves them feeling more confused than before they started out.

That’s why we’re going to start at the very beginning: choosing a trustworthy exchange to buy, sell and hold your crypto assets. Today, we’re going to take an unbiased look at everything that you need to know about the Australian-owned crypto exchange: CoinSpot. 

What is CoinSpot?

CoinSpot is Australia’s largest crypto exchange, founded in 2013 by cyber-security expert Russell Wilson. It was one of the first major crypto exchanges created in Australia and since opening its doors, CoinSpot has continually offered one of the largest selections of digital assets in the crypto market. As of today, CoinSpot offers the largest selection of digital assets in Australia: with over 350+ cryptocurrencies available for trading on the platform. 

This means that investors can purchase everything from Bitcoin (BTC) all the way down to the random altcoin a friend of yours told you to check out over beers last week. CoinSpot is also Australia’s most trusted and secure cryptocurrency exchange, with over 2 million users.

To get a better understanding of CoinSpot, let’s use a classic Pros & Cons list to weigh up the verdict.

Pros & Cons of CoinSpot

Pros

• Beginner Friendly: If you’re new to cryptocurrency, then Coinspot is the exchange for you. The CoinSpot app is one of the most beginner-friendly and simple to use crypto apps available anywhere. If you just want to buy and hold crypto assets, CoinSpot takes out all the complicated and unnecessary “trading” jargon, charts and info so that users can focus on the simple stuff.   
  
• Best Platform for Australian Users: One of the biggest setbacks for Australian users when navigating other exchanges like Binance or Crypto.com is that prices are natively denominated in US Dollars. While this might be fine for more advanced users, most everyday Aussie crypto investors just want to be able to transact easily in AUD. CoinSpot makes this possible with AUD only transactions and viewing. 
  
• Massive Selection of Major Tokens & AltCoins: Perhaps one of the most frustrating experiences is getting completely set up on a new app or platform and then realising that the random, super niche altcoin your mate mentioned to you isn’t actually available on this random app you’ve just installed. With a selection of over 350 digital assets, CoinSpot has one of the most comprehensive coverages of all the weird and wonderful tokens you could possibly ask for.
  
• 24/7 Customer Support via Live Chat / Help Desk: Great customer support may not be the first thing investors think of when it comes to crypto trading, but it really can be a deal breaker when digital assets get transferred to the wrong place and you get stuck with a “help-bot” that is anything but helpful. That’s why CoinSpot now offers a Live Chat support feature where users can interact a real human person, which if you find yourself needing assistance with monetary issues can be a life-saver.
  
• Low Fees: CoinSpot offers extremely low fees for market orders (0.1% per trade) and competitive fees for instant purchasing (1% p

Cons 

• AUD Only Transactions: While pure Australian Dollar deposits and transaction may be great for the fresh new Aussie investor, this feature can end up becoming a little limiting once investors develop more proficiency and become interested in trading. If you’re just looking to buy and sell crypto quickly and easily without any super fancy bells and whistles then this won’t be a problem for you.
  
• Not The Lowest Fees: CoinSpot does offer low fees for trading (0.1% for market trades), the instant purchasing option incurs a 1% fee. There are other exchanges like Swyftx that offer lower instant purchasing fees (0.6%), but unless users are purchasing cryptocurrency quite frequently this discrepancy tends not to be a major deal-breaker.

CoinSpot Fees Explained

Fees are ultimately how crypto exchanges and platforms make their money, so it’s really important for investors to understand how much they’re paying every time they make a trade. Fee structuring can be pretty tricky, as platforms often like to disguise hidden costs in the form of strange fees.

Here are the main types of fees that users of CoinSpot will come across:

CoinSpot Deposit Fees

The first fee that crypto investors will encounter is the Deposit Fee. This is because investors need to deposit funds before they can start trading. CoinSpot offers a healthy range of deposit methods, with the most popular options incurring zero fee.

Instant deposits using POLi, PayID, or Direct Deposit (via OSKO) are all free of charge on CoinSpot.

BPAY deposits incur a 0.9% deposit fee while physical cash deposits at a Blueshyft newsagent will incur a 2.5% deposit fee.

CoinSpot Transaction Fees

There are a couple of different transaction fees on CoinSpot, and they can get a be tricky if you’re not up to speed with what the different terminology for buying and selling is.

Market Trades: 0.1% fee –  All market trades will incur a 0.1% fee. Market trades are when you set a price that you want to buy or sell a cryptocurrency at, and it will be filled when another trader fills that order. This means that you could end up waiting anywhere from a few minutes to several days depending on what you enter as your market price. CoinSpot does not offer all 350+ coins in their market trade section. It only has 20 options at the time of writing, but they cover most of the major coins. These include BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, ADA etc.

Instant Buy/Sell: 1% fee – If you want to buy cryptocurrency straight away at whatever the market price is, CoinSpot will make sure your purchase orders goes through for you right away. The good thing about “Instant” purchasing is that unlike market trades, you don’t need to worry about price fluctuations while you wait for your order to be filled. Instant purchasing is available for all 350+ crypto assets offered on CoinSpot. 

OTC Trades: 0.1% fee – This one is reserved is for the bigger boys. Users who perform high-volume transactions can use CoinSpot’s OTC (Over-The-Counter) Trading Desk, which has instant settlement. This is usually the recommended option for transactions of $50,000 AUD or more.

Advanced Trading Tools: 1% fee – If you become more familiar with the details of crypto trading, using tools such as: Recurring Buy, Take Profit, Stop Loss and Limit Orders will all incur a 1% fee as well.

CoinSwap: 1% fee – “Swapping” refers to buying and selling coins with instant liquidity from one coin to any other coin on the platform. This means that CoinSpot users can “swap” their Bitcoin (BTC) to Ethereum (ETH) straight away, without having to transact back into AUD. Once again, CoinSpot offers a very wide array of unique trading pairs that are not available on other exchanges or platforms. 

Is CoinSpot Safe to Use?

No matter your experience level, the security and safety of the platform used to buy and sell digital assets is usually a top concern for crypto investors. This is where CoinSpot really shines, as it is actually Australia’s safest and most security-oriented cryptocurrency platform.

CoinSpot is a certified member of Blockchain Australia, a registered member of the Australian Digital Commerce Association and is also registered with AUSTRAC. It is also the only Australian crypto exchange to receive ISO 27001 certification which is one of the highest levels of information security possible.

All CoinSpot activity is further protected by 2FA (two-factor authentication) that requires investors to enter a code generated on their registered mobile device to sign in to the CoinSpot platform.

Being a crypto exchange, Coinspot provides its own custodial crypto wallet to securely store assets.

CoinSpot Alternatives

If CoinSpot isn’t exactly what you’re looking for, there are plenty of alternative. The alternatives listed here are ranked in order of similarity and preference for using Australian Dollars.

• Cointree: An Australian operated exchange and fully AUSTRAC-regulated. Offers similar features to CoinSpot but with a smaller selection of tokens and slightly higher fees.
• Digital Surge: Another Australian exchange with more than 200 cryptocurrencies that operates natively in AUD. Has a quick verification process but higher fees than CoinSpot.
• Swyftx: Also an Australian platform with more than 260 digital assets available. Swyftx offers slightly lower trading fees and also allows users to ‘stake’ their crypto assets to generate passive income.
• Binance: The largest crypto exchange in the world based on daily trading volume. Binance is oriented more strongly towards non-Australian users and is more suitable for advanced traders looking for niche pairs.
• Coinbase: Possibly the most well-known exchange in the world. Investors can trade a variety of different cryptocurrencies but fees are high and all values are denominated in USD.
• eToro: Offers commission-free crypto trades with the added bonus of social and copy trading.

Overall Coinspot Conclusion:

CoinSpot is by far the best crypto exchange for Australian investors who are looking for an easy to use platform. CoinSpot’s user-friendly design makes it possible for a complete beginner to navigate their app with ease. Live Chat support has been recently introduced, meaning that CoinSpot users can speak to a real human instead of getting stuck in an endless loop with a useless help-bot…

Secondly, CoinSpot is Australia’s most trusted and secure crypto exchange. It has undergone the most audits and is the only Australian crypto exchange to receive ISO 27001 certification (extremely high information security). CoinSpot is also registered with AUSTRAC actively preventing financial crimes, scamming and any other unsavoury business from occurring on the platform. 

The post CoinSpot Review Australia 2022 appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

The prequel to the popular Kingsman films, The King’s Man focuses on how the secret spy organisation was first founded during World War I. The film was released in cinemas in December 2021 and is now available on select streaming services in Australia, as of February 23 2022.

Where To Watch The King’s Man

• Disney+ – Prices start at $9.99/month

If you’ve not seen the first two Kingsman movies, you can also find these on Disney Plus to catch up on.

Synopsis

The King’s Man is a prequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service and Kingsman: The Golden Circle and is set over a hundred years before the events of the first Kingsman film where Eggsy, played by Taron Egerton, is first recruited as a spy; therefore, Eggsy as well as Harry Hart, played by Colin Firth, and other Kingsman characters are not featured in this film.

Instead, The King’s Man follows British aristocrat Orlando, Duke of Oxford and how he both fought a collection of criminal masterminds plotting to wipe out millions through war and started the secret service organisation, Kingsman.

Trailer

Cast & Crew

The King’s Man has been directed and co-written by Matthew Vaughn, who also directed and co-wrote the first two Kingsman films. Starring as Orlando is Academy Award-nominee Ralph Fiennes, known best for starring in Schindler’s List as well as the Harry Potter and James Bond films.

The King’s Man also stars Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Harris Dickinson, Daniel Brühl, Djimon Hounsou and Charles Dance.

Reviews

The King’s Man received mixed reviews and currently has a 6.5 IMDb score and a critic rating of 43% on Rotten Tomatoes; however, the audience score is 80%.

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Marvel fans were spoilt today during the Super Bowl, as the first official trailer for the highly anticipated film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was released during the NFL game.

While the official teaser trailer for Doctor Strange 2 was released in December 2021 and featured as a post-credit scene for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) last film, Spider-Man: No Way Home, the new trailer that dropped today holds so many more cameos and teasers for the upcoming film; including a cameo from Sir Patrick Stewart.

During the trailer, Doctor Strange, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, is handcuffed and led to a strange room where a mysterious figure looks down upon him from a platform. The mysterious character says “we should tell him the truth” and the voice does sound like Stewart. And while the character’s face is never shown in the trailer, you can clearly see it’s a bald man… just like Stewart.

Plus, the caption lists Stewart as the ‘mystery voice’ and Culture Crave confirmed on Twitter it is Stewart in the trailer, so it seems safe to say that the beloved Star Trek actor will be in the Doctor Strange sequel. What isn’t clear just yet, is whether Stewart will be reprising his role from previous non-MCU Marvel films as Professor X/Charles Xavier.

Stewart played Professor X in the hugely popular X-Men films that starred Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. It wouldn’t be totally unlikely that Stewart’s version of Professor X makes an appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness especially as many other non-MCU Marvel actors, such as Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Willem Dafoe, Jamie Foxx and Tom Hardy, reprised their roles in the recent Spider-Man film which, like Doctor Strange 2, also dealt with the multiverse.

Hopefully, Stewart is playing Professor X in the new Doctor Strange film as, not only would it be an amazing crossover, but it could lead to Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman playing Deadpool and Wolverine, respectively, in future MCU films. But alas, only time will tell.

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The post Doctor Strange 2 Could Give Fans The Greatest Marvel Crossover To Date appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

The following article was produced in partnership with Panerai and Kennedy.

While luxury watches are regularly made out of exotic materials and precious metals – such as gold, platinum, synthetic rubies and carbon fibre composites – stainless steel remains, for the most part, the most popular and widely utilised material for high-end timepieces.

Switzerland’s watch industry alone uses over 9,000 tonnes of steel every year, which goes into everything from cases and bracelets to the hundreds of tiny pieces that keep watch movements ticking.

But there’s a problem. Traditionally, the watch industry has done a very poor job of recycling the massive amounts of steel it consumes year after year. Hell, it wasn’t too long ago that excess or faulty watchmaking materials were simply just crushed by steamrollers and sent off to landfills, with no attempt to recycle any of the watch’s valuable components. What a waste.

Thankfully, more and more high-end watchmakers are opening their eyes to the benefits and necessity of recycling – and Panerai is leading the way in that regard. When you consider Panerai’s strong nautical association, that makes sense, as there’s nowhere on earth where the consequences of human pollution are more obvious than the oceans. In 2019, Panerai launched its Panerai Ecologico initiative: a special watchmaking program focused on developing innovative and sustainable technologies for use in luxury watches.

The latest Panerai Ecologico release might just be the most exciting yet, too. Meet the Panerai Luminor Marina eSteel collection – three handsome Panerai dive watches whose traditional looks belie a rather clever and exciting innovation.

At first glance, these three watches appear to be relatively normal Luminors – which is to say, one of the most iconic and desirable dive watches on the market. The only giveaway that they might be something different is their rubberised crowns and the subtle ‘eSteel’ text on their dials. But appearances can be deceiving.

What makes these three watches so special is that 58.4% (or 89g) of their total weight is constructed from recycled-based materials. The Luminor Marina eSteel’s case and dial, as the name implies, is made from Panerai’s new eSteel, a stainless steel alloy that incorporates recycled materials. On top of that, the watches’ straps are made from recycled PET plastic, a common contributor to ocean pollution.

It’s one hell of a party trick and a very elegantly executed one at that. Many recycled goods try to play up the fact that they’re recycled – which to some is a boon, and to others is a curse. Instead, the Panerai Luminor Marina eSteel watches are an exercise in subtlety: distinctive enough that watch fans will spot and admire the difference, but conventional enough to prove that using recycled materials doesn’t mean you have to impact or compromise on style.

Indeed, you don’t have to compromise on performance, either. The Luminor Marina eSteels are functionally identical to their Luminor Marina siblings, boasting 300m of water resistance, a durable automatic movement with a 3-day power reserve, that classic Panerai crown lock plus a small seconds display and date window. They’re highly capable as well as being better for the planet.

Speaking of style, too, the Luminor Marina eSteel is available in three unique and attractive colour variants: Blu Profondo (a deep, rich blue), Grigio Roccia (a stealthy grey) and Verde Smeraldo (a luxurious green). The three colours pay homage to the tones and hues of the ocean, and suit the character of the Luminor family perfectly.

In many ways, we’d call the Luminor Marina eSteel the perfect Panerai. It’s got all the features and aesthetic notes that you’d want from a classic Panerai timepiece, with sustainable bona fides to boot. It’s proof positive that you can make a desirable, luxurious watch while also being sustainable – and it’s exactly what watch collectors need in 2022.

Find out more about the Panerai Luminor Marina eSteel Blu Profondo, Grigio Roccia and Verde Smeraldo at a Panerai boutique in Sydney or Melbourne, or via Kennedy online here.

The post Panerai’s Latest Watch Collection Proves Luxury Doesn’t Have To Be Unsustainable appeared first on DMARGE Australia.