Watch Reviews by MCV

Model # NTXDSR

Brand/Model: Zixen Vintage Diver Nitrox II
Movement: Swiss automatic
Material: stainless steel case and either mesh or link stainless steel bracelet or rubber strap
Complications: date display
Price: MSRP: $995 to $1095 USD depending on strap/bracelet selection

Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Usually, I am not a fan of ‘boutique’ or ‘micro-brand’ watches for several reasons. Many times these watches are not very original in their designs, suffer from poor resale value or just don’t exhibit the quality finishing or details of a higher-end name-brand piece. But when I saw this Zixen Vintage Diver for sale, the overall look of the watch really struck me and wouldn’t let go. I had to have it. I bought it and have been very pleased with its accuracy, build quality and unique looks.

Zixen is one of a myriad of companies these days producing watches (primarily diver watches) that are not associated with a huge Swiss watch conglomerate or a mass-produced brand like Invicta, hence the ‘micro-brand’ moniker bestowed upon them. While their watches are not cheap, I have been impressed with what Zixen has to offer, at least with the Vintage Nitrox that I purchased. The company’s slogan is ‘Made by a Diver for a Diver^©’. They also claim to have a rigorous design and manufacturing process, ensuring that their watches will live up to their stated water resistance depths and perform well under a variety of extreme conditions. That’s good to know.

The Nitrox comes in several iterations and colors, and Zixen is continually introducing new models and styles, so a visit to their web site is a must if you’re interested in what they have to offer.

This Zixen Vintage Nitrox starts with a large, fully brushed stainless steel case measuring 44mm without the large (but not overly so) signed screwdown crown; 48.7mm crown inclusive. Lug tip to lug tip is 53.9mm. The back is brushed and screws down and is emblazoned with the Nitrox logo. Case thickness is a substantial 16mm, with lug spacing of 24mm. Surprisingly, this watch does not wear large or feel unwieldy on the wrist. Another check mark in the plus column.

Case finishing and overall fit and finish is very good. The straps and bracelets are secured by screw-in lug bars instead of spring bars for an added measure of security. It’s also nice to have a brushed finish on a tool watch for a change; sometimes the polished bits showing up on divers these days is a bit much.

Zixen states that their watches are made with an anti-magnetic system that exceeds DIN 8309 and ISO 764 standards.

The dial design is what really captivated me about this Zixen Nitrox diver. To me, it has a 1960s shortwave radio look to it. I know this seems like an unusual comparison, but to me it fits.

The dial is silver, with black minute markers all around and arabics printed at each five minute mark. The hour hand is a short black arrow with generous lume, while the minute hand is a slender stick style in bright orange and plenty of lume. A simple black seconds hand looks good, but surprisingly, doesn’t have any lume. I always thought that divers want to see the seconds hand moving so they know their watch is running. An odd oversight on Zixen’s part. Overall lume quality is excellent.

The dial also has square lume markers at each five minute mark just under each arabic and a yellow/orange marker at the 12 position. The overall combination of colors, styles and designs on the dial really works and does exhibit a vintage look while still having a clean, semi-modern feel to it as well. Nicely done!

There’s a quickset date window at 4:30. The date window is frameless and rather small, making it hard to see the black on white date wheel at certain times. Otherwise, alignment of the wheel inside the window is fine.

Minimal dial printing consisting of the Zixen name and ‘automatic’ in the upper left of the dial, and a fish logo with ‘500M’ in the lower right of the dial complete the presentation. There’s also a black crosshair that divides the dial into quadrants.

The dial is capped by a slight domed sapphire crystal that’s anti-reflective and 4.5mm thick, to resist the 500 meters of rated water resistance the Nitrox is capable of.

The bezel is another winner on this watch. A 120-click unidirectional design with an inverted lume triangle at the 12 and arabics and minute markers that encircle the entire bezel. The bezel is done in a grey/grey blue with a sapphire coating that looks and feels cool. The bezel’s markings are also fully luminous. Superb!

So far, it seems like I’m being pretty nice to this watch, especially from a guy who doesn’t really embrace boutique divers. Beating inside the Nitrox is a tried and true ETA 2824-2 25 jewel automatic movement that hacks and manually winds. Familiar to most WISes, this movement is ubiquitous in the watch world and can’t really be faulted.

In the instructions, Zixen makes mention that all their watches leave the factory within +10/-6 seconds per day accuracy. While not COSC certified, the ETA 2824-2 inside my Zixen Nitrox runs at nearly ZERO gain or loss per day! Certainly the most accurate non-COSC 2824-2 I have yet to encounter. Absolutely amazing.

Power reserve is the expected 40 or more hours (41-1/4 hours to be exact). Overall performance (winding, setting, running) of this watch is perfect, so nothing at all to complain about here.

I purchased my Zixen second hand and the watch came with all three bracelet/strap choices. I sold the multi link bracelet (straight solid end links, machined deployant, solid links) and the rubber strap and retained the stainless steel mesh bracelet.

The mesh is super and looks great on this watch. It has straight ends, which work well with the size and heft of this watch. The mesh is 3.7mm thick and nicely finished. The clasp is double locking and signed, with a machined deployant. Curiously, there’s no diver extension on the clasp, another odd omission for a true diver watch.

The bracelet’s design is one that has several solid links on each side of the clasp for sizing purposes, with five microadjustments on the clasp as well. The mesh bracelet measures 24mm at the lugs and tapers to 19.5mm at the clasp. The mesh is tight and smooth, so there’s no hair pulling or discomfort while wearing.

Presentation is a black cardboard outer box with separate lid and a wood-grained inner box with hinges. The watch and documentation fit inside, along with an insert showing the exploded diagram of how the watch is constructed and two micro screwdrivers for changing out the strap/bracelet. It’s a decent representation for this watch and price point.

Overall, the Zixen Vintage Diver Nitrox II is an outstanding effort from this micro-brand. The quality is there and if they take the amount of time that was taken to adjust the automatic movement inside my watch on every piece they make, all the power to them. It’s small but important details like this that help make a brand stand out from the crowd, and coupled with the great looks this watch offers, Zixen has produced a winner with the Vintage Nitrox. Congrats!

Pros: unique, vintage 60s looks, excellent legibility, great sapphire coated bezel, nice mesh bracelet, super accurate ETA automatic movement

Cons: why no lume on the seconds hand and no dive extension on bracelet for a serious dive tool watch?, date window too small, fish logo on dial looks a bit cheesy

Verdict: a solid, no-nonsense dive watch with great looks, an automatic Swiss engine and its own personality

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Model # 01 643 7654 7185

Brand/Model: ORIS Aquis Maldives LE (limited edition of 2000 pieces)
Movement: Swiss automatic
Material: titanium case and bracelet
Complications: date display
Price: MSRP: $2,800 USD, often discounted

Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Despite having four ORIS watches in my collection, this is the first ORIS I have the pleasure to review on this blog. ORIS is a long-standing Swiss watch company (since 1904) that makes watches exclusively with automatic movements. They tend to offer no-nonsense designs (although they do have some more fashion-oriented pieces as well) with high quality construction and pricing that puts them on the lower end of the automatic Swiss watch spectrum, which is a good thing. Value is always a virtue, especially in an automatic Swiss watch.

ORIS has taken to producing a variety of Limited Edition (LE) watches as of late and this dive watch, from their Aquis Series, has been designed by ORIS to help save the Maldives atolls in the Indian Ocean.

The Maldives consist of 1,190 islands spread over 90,000 square kilometers. Known as a ‘treasure trove of marine life’ that features a variety of different environments including sea grass beds, mangroves, swamps and coral reefs in addition to a wide array of marine animals, the Maldives are an important part of the Indian Ocean’s ecosystem.

ORIS is also supporting the non-profit group Bluepeace, by donating funds to help this group implement programs to help conserve the Maldives.

The Aquis Series is one of ORIS’ newest lines of dive watches and builds upon their classic and well-regarded TT1 divers of the past ten years or so. The Aquis Maldives is loaded with premium features and quality construction that puts it quite near the Omega Seamaster Pro in overall content, more on this in a bit.

The Maldives starts with a beautifully finished multi-piece titanium case that is brushed and polished. I love when watch companies polish titanium, it looks superb with a light grey tint, but with a mirror finish just like stainless steel.

The Maldives measures 42.9mm without the crown protector or signed screwdown crown, 46.9mm crown inclusive. Like all modern ORIS divers, the Maldives features downward sloping integrated lugs, something I usually eschew in any watch design because they never seem to fit properly, but in the case of ORIS, their integrated lug designs fit great and are very comfortable. The lugs are about 26mm wide as measured from the outside. You are stuck with having to use ORIS rubber straps for this watch if you don’t like the bracelet, but if you’re getting ready to purchase a Maldives or other Aquis Series watch, you are probably comfortable in dealing with the integrated lugs.

Case thickness is 13.6mm. The caseback screws down and shows a color Maldives logo of a Manta Ray, specially developed by ORIS for this watch. The logo is under a crystal (presumably mineral) that fits flush with the rest of the caseback. The caseback itself screws flush with the case, giving a nice smooth appearance to the watch and adds to the comfort of wearing. Fit and finish on this watch is superb.

The crown is signed, fairly large and nicely knurled for easy grip. The crown is surrounded by a crown guard that is screwed onto the case on either side of the crown and which fits flush with the case side and back for a clean look. A helium escape valve (HEV) is located on the left side of the case in the center.

The Maldives color combination is rather unique, with a dark blue dial and ceramic bezel and orange colored markers and hands. To me, the dark blue has a bit of grey in it, others have said they seen some green in the blue. Regardless of how you see the colors, don’t let them scare you off from a great watch. The color combo works and the look of the dial and bezel is fantastic.

The orange markers (somewhat of a faded shade of orange, it’s definitely not neon or ‘dayglo’) are luminous and applied to the dial with silver edges on each marker. Small white minute marks are between each five minute marker.

The hour and minute hands are silver with the orange inset lume and the subseconds dial at the 9 position has a long seconds hand that is orange on one side and silver on the other. ORIS makes the seconds hand long so you can more easily see that the watch is indeed running.

Having a sub seconds dial on a dive watch is somewhat unique and helps to give the Maldives a personality of its own. The sub seconds dial itself is rimmed in silver with fine silver markers at each five second mark. It’s subdued and functional at the same time.

A white on black quickset date is located at the 3 position, with a white frame around the date window that makes it easier to read. Fairly minimal dial printing consists of ‘ORIS’ and ‘automatic’ under the 12 marker and ‘pressure resistant’ and ‘30BAR/300M’ above the 6 marker. Interesting to note that ORIS uses a BAR pressure designation in addition to the depth in meters. So obviously, the Maldives is factory rated for 300 meters of water resistance or 30 BAR of pressure.

The dial is topped with an anti-reflective sapphire crystal that is slightly domed and fits flush with the inner edge of the ceramic bezel.

And speaking of the bezel, it’s a 120-click unidirectional style with a dark blue ceramic insert with black non-luminous arabics and markers on it. The feel and quality of the bezel is first-rate, with nicely crafted knurls on the edge to grip as you rotate it. No backlash was noted on the bezel.

An orange lume pip is at the 12 position. For a serious dive watch, it’s not very practical to have no part of the bezel other than the lume pip be luminous, but on the other hand, the black inset markings look great and don’t scream out at you when you wear the watch. If they were luminous and painted orange, the look would be overpowering.

While on the subject of lume, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and color of the Superluminova ORIS used on the Maldives. ORIS calls the lume ‘dark orange’ but as stated previously, in daylight, the lume color looks more like a faded orange to me. When illuminated in the dark, the lume is a super cool yellowish shade, almost an incandescent yellow, easy to see, bright and very sharp looking. Nice job!

Inside the Maldives is the ORIS Cal. 643 automatic movement, which is a base ETA 2836-2 running at 28,800 vph with a jewel count of 27. The movement hacks and manually winds and performance has been good, with a power reserve of 41-1/2 hours during testing and a 24-hour accuracy of +7 seconds. Since there’s no display back on the Maldives, I would hope this movement still sports the famed ORIS red rotor, but I won’t know until years down the line and I watch my watchmaker crack the back to expose the movement. For argument’s sake, let’s assume the rotor is red.

The bracelet on the Maldives is another thing of beauty. Made of solid link titanium with polished outer links and brushed inner links, it looks great and is comfortable to wear. The links have beveled edges on them, which gives the bracelet a modern look without being trendy. A subtle but interesting detail.

The bracelet is 25.3mm wide at the integrated lugs of the case and tapers to 19.9mm at the clasp. Screw pins secure the links together and sizing and adjustment of the bracelet was easy.

The clasp is signed, with a pushbutton closure that actuates two pins that securely lock over the machined deployant. It’s not just a friction fit, but a real positive locking device. A machined dive extension pops out from the rear of the clasp. The clasp also has three micro-adjustment holes. In keeping with the rest of the watch, the quality of the clasp, deployant and bracelet is top-notch.

Presentation is a large black outer box with separate lid and a nice zippered inner box that could easily be used as a travel pouch of sorts. The inner box is rigid but constructed of somewhat flexible vinyl covered plastic. A separate nook in the outer box houses the instruction manual and special insert talking about the Maldives islands and the Maldives watch itself. The manual and warranty information is placed in a hardcover binder.

The instruction manual is quite comprehensive and detailed, which is a nice surprise in this day and age of minimal documentation or ‘find it online’ thinking. The manual is of course in various languages, but the English portion is 24 pages in length, with accompanying photos to describe various features. While universal for other ORIS models, the manual is still quite complete and useful.

Another interesting aside about the manual, there is a ‘proof of ownership’ page that has room for three owner’s names. This is the first time I have seen a watch company acknowledge the fact that a high-end watch doesn’t always remain with the first purchaser and said watch is sometimes sold off. Kudos to ORIS for being cognizant of this potential.

Overall, the ORIS Aquis Maldives is a beautiful, functional, well-made watch. I have been telling many of my WIS friends that I believe ORIS has really stepped up their game as of late. While I still love my ORIS TT1 diver and think it’s a good quality watch, the Maldives just takes what they were doing and adds to it, with superb fit and finish, high-end features and unique looks.

I said earlier that the Maldives, in my opinion, can go head-to-head with an Omega Seamaster Pro. I have a new ceramic bezel Seamaster and in side-by-side comparisons, the ORIS is the equal of the Seamaster. The only place where the Omega wins is in the co-axial COSC movement, but is that really worth a price that is 60-percent higher? (based on MSRPs of $2,800 USD for the ORIS and $4,400 USD for the Omega). And remember, the ORIS is titanium, the Omega is stainless steel.

I truly love both watches, but ORIS could certainly put a COSC movement in the Maldives (or other Aquis models) and the cost advantage compared to Omega would still be strongly in ORIS’ favor.

As it stands, the Maldives is an exceptional watch is all respects and a strong value to boot. Since there are only 2000 of these in existence, grab one while you can, you will not be disappointed!

Pros: lightweight titanium construction, superb fit and finish, great lume, ceramic bezel, unique looks, lightweight titanium construction, Swiss origin through and through

Cons: integrated bracelet limits strap choices, no lume on bezel markers a disadvantage for serious divers, some people may prefer stainless steel construction

Verdict: outstanding in nearly all respects, ORIS ups its game and produces a fantastic dive watch that can still be had for a relative bargain. The Maldives is hard to beat.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Model # Moana Pacific Chronograph PVD

Brand/Model: Magrette Moana Pacific Chronograph PVD, Limited Edition of 1000 pieces
Movement: Chinese manual wind chronograph
Material: PVD coated stainless steel case, leather strap
Complications: chronograph timing in one second increments up to 30 minutes
Price: $545 USD direct from Magrette; $30 USD shipping

Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

This is the second Magrette watch I have owned and reviewed, the first being the Magrette Moana Pacific PVD diver I talked about last year. This Moana Pacific Chronograph intrigued me because of its fairly original design and strong feature set.

This model is a Limited Edition as are all Magrette watches. This model is limited to 1000 pieces. I pre-ordered this watch via Magrette’s web site (the only way to get a new Magrette) over the summer and took delivery in late September. Communication during the wait period was good and shipping from New Zealand to the U.S. took about five days, so no complaints here. The watch arrived in perfect condition.

The Moana Pacific Chronograph PVD starts with a brushed and polished PVD coated stainless steel case that measures 43.5mm without the large, signed screwdown crown. With the crown, it’s 47.7mm across. Large, yes, but surprisingly, not too unwieldy on the wrist. Thickness is 15.5mm, lugs are 24mm.

The caseback is polished stainless steel, that screws down and displays the nicely finished manual wind column wheel chronograph movement. Why the caseback is not PVD like the rest of the watch is a mystery, because even though you really can’t see the caseback while you’re wearing the watch, it still seems jarring to have an all black watch case with a silver caseback.

The chronograph pushers also screw down, as they should on a watch that is rated at 500 meters of water resistance.

The application of the PVD is excellent, being evenly applied in all areas and the way parts are brushed (matte) and polished (glossy) is nice to look at, although the polished parts are a bit of a fingerprint magnet.

The dial on the Moana Pacific chronograph is black, with raised markers and arabics. The layout is classic two-register chronograph, with a subdial at 3 and another subdial at 9.

The oversized arabics and the zero in front of the single digits are a Magrette design trademark. There are so many watches on the market these days with oversized arabics, either all over the dial or at certain positions that look, quite frankly, stupid. But the way Magrette does their two large arabics gives their watches a modern, clean and cool look. Especially on a larger watch like this, the design of the larger arabics works well.

The hour and minute hands are black with inset lume. The black end tips of the hands tend to get lost in the black of the dial, not a huge distraction, but something to be aware of. The markers and arabics are luminous, along with the hour and minute hands and chronograph/seconds hands in the subdials. Unlike the Magrette watch I reviewed last year, the lume on the Moana Pacific Chronograph is C3 SuperLuminova and is outstanding, like it should be.

The subdial at the 3 position is the 30-minute totalizer for the chronograph and the subdial at the 9 position is the watch seconds hand. The chronograph second hand is a thin black hand with a lume tip. This hand is really too small and tends to get lost in the dial as it rotates. It needs an arrow tip or a wider stance to work better.

The chapter ring has arabics at each five minute mark, with hash marks between the arabics. The arabics at each quarter hour are red, as is the inverted arrow at the 12 position. The red makes a subtle but nice accent.

Regular readers will know that I am not a fan of excessive dial printing and thankfully, Magrette complies here, with just ‘Magrette’ and ‘chronograph’ appearing on the dial. Nicely done!

The dial is capped with a double domed sapphire crystal with anti reflective coating. The crystal fits flush with the edge of the bezel. And speaking of the bezel, this is another feature that attracted me to this watch. Ceramic bezels are all the rage these days, with Rolex and Omega leading the charge and seemingly every other watch company coming out with a ceramic bezel of their own. Just so you know, the ceramic part is really just a thin insert that replaces a traditional steel or aluminum bezel insert.

The ceramic bezel on the Moana Pacific Chronograph is polished and has engraved arabics at each quarter hour, minute marks for the first 15 minutes and markers every five minutes thereafter. The bezel does look very cool, but is a bit hard to read due to little contrast between the polished and engraved parts and the only lume being a lume pip at the 12 position.

Bezel action is a 60-click unidirectional type. The bezel rotates smoothly, but alignment could be better, as it is just ever so slightly off at the top. This seems odd, seeing that Magrette watches always seem to exhibit very good fit and finish. Not a major distraction, but improvement is needed here.

Inside the Moana Pacific Chronograph is the Chinese made Seagull TY-2901/ST1901 manual wind column wheel chronograph movement. This is the Chinese copy of the Venus 175 movement. I had this movement in an Invicta several years back and found it to be a high quality unit. My feelings remain with this movement in the Magrette. It winds smoothly, runs great and the chronograph functions are crisp and accurate. And the movement is superbly decorated, with blued screws, Geneva stripes and polished parts abounding, so it’s no wonder Magrette chose to install a display back on this watch.

In testing, my Moana Pacific Chronograph ran about -2 seconds/24 hours; it’s a bit hard to time since the movement does not hack, but timekeeping has been excellent. Power reserve is equally strong, with 51-1/2 hours on a full wind. I believe that this movement is one of the best movements coming out of China at this time, too bad it’s quite large, because something like this in a 42mm or smaller watch would be super cool.

Magrette gives buyers a choice of straps when they order their Moana Pacific Chronograph PVD, ranging from black leather with black stitch, black leather with red stitch, rubber or the chocolate brown leather shown here. The dark brown with the black PVD is a smashing combination. The strap is well constructed, measuring 24mm at the lugs and tapering to 22mm at the brushed PVD buckle. There are two large keepers, both floating. If you have a smaller wrist like I do, you may want to consider removing one of the keepers to make the watch less fussy while wearing.

The strap is rather thick, but flexible and has larger coarse style stitching in a slightly lighter shade of brown. The lugs are drilled to make strap changes easier.

Even though this is a large watch with a wide strap, it wears well on my 6-3/4” wrist. The keepers are a bit large, but otherwise, the watch is a looker. Just remember to unscrew the chrono pushers before using them and to lock them back down if you plan on getting the watch wet.

Presentation is Magrette unique, with the watch coming in a cloth/canvas roll placed inside a simple slide-top wooden box emblazoned with the Magrette logo. The warranty paperwork is hand signed by Dion Wynyard McAsey (founder of Magrette), adding a bit of personalization to this timepiece.

Overall, the Magrette Moana Pacific Chronograph PVD is not a watch everyone will have, so if being exclusive is something that appeals to you, this could be the watch for you. It’s quite large and in-charge and will garner looks because of its bold black case and unique dial layout. Quality is pretty much first rate and while the price may seem a bit steep for a Chinese movement based watch, the feature set and limited edition nature of this watch compensate somewhat for the origin of the movement.

Pros: nifty black PVD finish, classic two-register chronograph layout, great lume, nice dark brown strap, ceramic bezel looks cool

Cons: why the silver caseback on an otherwise black watch? bezel could align better, large size won’t suit all comers

Verdict: unique, quality piece from a boutique watchmaker that strives to deliver originality and value. You can’t really go wrong with the Magrette Moana Pacific Chronograph PVD if you want a large two-register chrono in your collection

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Model # MOA10004

Brand/Model: Baume et Mercier Capeland Automatic Chronograph
Movement: Swiss automatic chronograph
Material: stainless steel case, leather strap
Complications: date display, chronograph timing in one second increments up to 12 hours
Price: MSRP: $4,350 USD, discounted regularly

Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

This is the second Baume et Mercier (‘B&M’ for short) watch that I have purchased. For many WISes, B&M is considered more of a fashion brand, albeit a high quality one, but the company also makes some very good and interesting sport and semi-dress watches that bear closer examination.

The new line of Capeland chronographs from the company harkens back to a simpler time. These watches come in a wide variety of dial colors and feature certain retro touches (the design of the chrono pushers, the simple fonts used for the dial printing, the more traditional dial colors) with the only non-retro cues being the case size (42mm) and of course, the price!

To be honest, when you first handle the Capeland chronograph, it does not really feel or look like a $4,000 USD watch. The heft isn’t quite there (partly because there’s no bracelet) and the finer details of other watches in this price range are lacking (applied markers, more/better lume, interesting case angles), but it does grow on you rather quickly. This watch is certainly worth in the $2,000 USD range and you can pick them up brand new at this price point, so there’s still good value to be had with this model series. Don’t get me wrong, this is a quality watch with very nice finishing.

I think that any serious watch collection should have one copper dialed watch, because copper looks so cool as a dial color and does bring back the olden days. Some copper-colored dials tend to be more tarnished copper in color or more brown, but the B&M Capeland nails the copper color perfectly. It simply radiates a beautiful shade of copper and looks smashing on the wrist.

The B&M Capeland chrono starts with a beautifully polished and brushed 42mm stainless steel case. The signed non-screwdown crown is fairly large, which makes winding easy, but it is not very thick, another nod to the retro aspects of this piece. It looks great. Case diameter with the crown included is 45.6mm. More kudos for the chrono pushers; they are the somewhat larger old-fashioned type that look like plungers, with their larger heads and smaller stems. The ends of the pushers have a rounded button-like look to them with a machined circle. A superb look.

The caseback is held in place by six small screws. The caseback is polished and has horizontal lines that add a bit of style, with the ‘Capeland’ wording imprinted on the caseback. Case thickness is 15.3mm and lug width is a perfect 20mm, making the installation of aftermarket straps, if desired, easy and the selection, plentiful.

The Capeland is factory rated at a modest 50 meters of water resistance, so best not get this watch near any water at all.

The copper dial, as previously mentioned, really shines on this model. Although everything is printed on the dial (there are no applied markers or such), it still radiates a quality aura and a look of yesteryear. The hands are simple silver with white inset lume. The chrono and subseconds hands are plain silver and the chrono seconds hand is silver, but tipped in red.

The ‘tricompax’ layout of the subdials are another more traditional touch with the Capeland model series. The subdial at 9 is the watch seconds hand, the subdial at 3 is the 30-minute chrono totalizer and the subdial at 6 is the 12-hour chrono totalizer. Each subdial has very subtle circular patterning that adds a bit of panache, but you really have to look hard to see it.

A quickset date at 4:30 has a black on white date wheel. To quickset the date, a small flush pusher is located at the 10 position on the upper left side of the case. You should use a plastic pointer to set the date to avoid marring the finish on the case, just make sure you are nowhere near 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. so as not to damage the movement. There’s no external frame for the date window, but the window is inset slightly from the dial with a chamfered edge, a small but enticing detail. The date is pretty easy to read and alignment in the window is fine.

A black tachymeter ring (in black) and telemeter ring in kilometers (in red) form the chapter ring on the dial. Printed hash marks for the markers and arabics complete the dial, with the exception of minimal dial printing consisting of ‘Baume & Mercier,’ ‘Geneve’ and ‘automatic.’ Nicely done, leaving the dial clean and with a fairly open feel.

There are also no hacked off or partial arabics, which is another pet peeve of mine, so congrats to B&M for this as well. One final accent are the red arabics at ‘60’ on each subdial. Very subtle. Lume is only on the hour and minute hands and there are also small lume dots at each quarter hour mark on the dial. Lume quality is average.

The dial is covered with a domed sapphire crystal that exhibits no distortion, but has no anti-reflective on it. Under 8X loupe examination, a clean build was noted with no dust or errant specs anywhere and the print quality of the dial was very good. The simple fixed bezel is flush with the crystal and matches the overall look of the watch. This was a difficult watch to photograph because the crystal picked up many reflections.

Powering the B&M Capeland chronograph is the tried and true Swiss Made Valjoux 7753 automatic movement. This movement hacks and can be manually wound and with the exception of the quickset date pusher being located on the case side, functions pretty much the same as a Valjoux 7750.

I have the 7753 in my Omega Speedmaster and performance between the B&M and Omega is remarkably similar, especially since the Omega is COSC rated. The B&M ran for a respectable 54 hours on a full wind and kept time at +4 seconds/24 hours. No complaints here. Chrono action is good, with start, stop and reset all functioning like they should. A strong movement as a base for a quality watch is always a nice feature to have. And to note, I did not detect any 7750 ‘wobble’ while wearing this watch. You will hear the rotor spin every now and then, but without any undue undulations on your wrist.

The strap on the Capeland is a nice piece of work. It’s moderately padded and has a subtle but great looking grain to it and compliments the copper dial perfectly. The strap is dark brown leather with white semi-coarse contrast stitching and measures 20mm at the lugs and tapers to 17.7mm at the polished and signed deployant style buckle.

The buckle is rather interesting. It is signed and from the outside looks like a standard tang-style buckle, but it’s actually a butterfly deployant style. You have to tug on the strap to open the clasp (why no pushbutton?) and you also have to be careful when initially adjusting the buckle, because the tang part of the clasp is made as a hook type tang that securely seats itself into the hole on the strap and it is a bit difficult to get it snuck in properly, but once it’s in, it’s in. And the buckle does look slick on the strap.

Presentation is a sturdy two-piece outer box on the outside with a large-ish foldover box designed to look somewhat like a book on the inside. You undo the strap to open the inner box. The inner box is covered in a soft dark brown faux leather and could easily be used as a portable watch carrier, given its easy open design. An entirely acceptable package for this watch and price point.

Overall, the Baume et Mercier Capeland chronograph is a great watch. It’s not frivolous in anyway, has the right amount of retro-ness and oozes tons of style and panache without being swishy or overly fashion conscious. In a word, superb.

Pros: great copper dial, reliable and accurate Swiss engine, nice retro touches without going overboard, good looking strap

Cons: could use a bit more lume in spots, no pushbutton release on the clasp, somewhat fussy clasp to adjust initially, pusher to set date could be a turnoff for some

Verdict: buy this one for looks, dial color, chronograph functions or even the name, but buy it because it gets the job done and does so with style and an understated elegance that many watches lack these days

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Model # 610.10.11 M

Brand/Model: Fortis Cosmonaut Automatic
Movement: Swiss automatic
Material: stainless steel case and bracelet
Complications: day and date display
Price: MSRP: $1,475 USD (2009 pricing)

Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Fortis is a unique Swiss brand that is currently celebrating its 100 year anniversary as a watch maker. They have several claims to fame including producing the world’s first automatic chronograph alarm as well as a long heritage (since 1992) of supplying European/Russian space station cosmonauts with watches that have endured the rigors of space travel on the international space station. There are reams of information regarding the space connection on the Fortis web site.

Many of the watches Fortis makes are fairly iconic in their designs, that is, relatively simple, clean and functional pieces that could be considered tool watches to most WISes. They also make some arty models that deviate completely from their basic mission of reliable, good looking pieces, but don’t worry, no arty-farty Fortis watches will be reviewed here.

The subject of this review is the simple, functional and great looking Cosmonaut automatic, a watch that was still a current model in the Fortis lineup as recently as 2009. This watch represents a strong value and almost everybody that sees it thinks it is a classic.

The Cosmonaut automatic starts with a stainless steel case that measures a rather demure 39mm, but don’t worry, it wears more like a 40mm watch. The proportions on this one are nearly perfect. With the signed, screwdown crown included, the Cosmonaut is 42.4mm across. The case is fully brushed and plays the part of a tool watch quite well.

The caseback screws down and displays an embossed logo depicting the emblems of the space authorities that Fortis is associated with. Lug width is 20mm and case thickness is 12.2mm. Crown guards protrude from the case to protect the rather smallish crown; it is a bit hard to wind this watch due to the smaller crown. Not a super big deal, but duly noted, as I prefer a large crown.

The dial is a perfect matte black and due to the flat sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides, it looks like there is no crystal on this watch, as the AR coating makes the crystal disappear in various light, making this watch super legible and super easy to read. Yes!

Whitish green hour arabics are screened onto the dial, with small lume dots on the outer edge of each arabic, small lume squares at the 3, 6, and 9 and a lume triangle at 12. Between the hour arabics are white hash markers, with even smaller minute arabics at each five minute mark, you almost don’t realize they are there. The hands are fully lumed in a light green, with the stick style seconds hand being orange. The larger arabics are luminous and lume quality on everything on the dial is superb.

The dial bears the Fortis name and logo below the 12 and above the 6 resides small printing with ‘official cosmonauts’ and ‘automatic 200M’. The day and date wheels are white on black and look great on the dial. There is no divider between the day and date wheels, so the window is one rectangular space. Wheel alignment is good and the day/date readout is fairly easy to read at a glance. The day wheel is in both English and German.

As indicated on the dial and caseback, the Fortis Cosmonaut is factory rated for 200 meters (20 bar) of water resistance/pressure.

A brushed stainless steel 120-click unidirectional bezel frames the dial. The bezel has full minute markers, with engraved arabics at each 10 minute mark and a flush inset lume triangle at the 12. Bezel action is tight with just the slightest tad of backlash.

The Swiss automatic movement inside the Cosmonaut is the venerable ETA 2836-2 running at 28,800 vph with 25 jewels. It has performed well in my testing. Accuracy has been -7/24 hours with the standard power reserve of 41-1/2 hours. The movement hacks, manually winds and runs fine, just what you expect from an ETA movement and a reliable tool watch.

The bracelet on the Cosmonaut continues with the overall tool theme of this watch. A three-link oyster style design with solid links, non-solid end links and a signed double locking clasp with machined deployant works well. A stamped steel diver extension folds out from the clasp. There are four micro adjustments on the clasp. The links are secured with screw pins and adjustment was quick and easy. The bracelet measures 20mm at the lugs and tapers to 17.9mm at the clasp.

Presentation is a simple black padded box of faux leather, with a separate document holder inside, a presentation appropriate for this watch and price point. No-nonsense, just like the watch.

Overall, the Fortis Cosmonaut is well worth seeking out, since it appears to have been discontinued. There are enough of them in the marketplace that finding one shouldn’t be too hard. This watch also comes in a blue dial, if that tickles your fancy better than the black dial. The Cosmonaut is a great piece that fits the tool watch bill perfectly.

Pros: near perfect dimensions, great lume, reliable Swiss engine, good fit and finish, super legible

Cons: crown too small, entire watch might be a bit too small overall for some tool-watch aficionados

Verdict: a superb watch from a nifty brand that has true Swiss heritage, the Fortis Cosmonaut automatic is a fine addition to any collection

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Model # 710-020A-00

Brand/Model: Hanhart Sirius Automatic Pilot’s Chronograph
Movement: Swiss automatic
Material: stainless steel case, stainless steel bracelet or leather strap
Complications: date display, chronograph timing in one-second increments up to 12 hours
Price: MSRP: $5,200 USD (watch has been discontinued)

Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Hanhart is not a watch brand that you hear about everyday. The company was established in Switzerland in 1882 and shortly afterwards, moved to Germany. Hanhart has been located in Gütenbach in the heart of the German Black Forest since the early 1930’s. This town is a small 1,500 person hamlet that’s a destination as a health resort. It’s also in the part of Germany known as the ‘watch highway.’ Gütenbach is famous for the production of cuckoo clocks and mantle clocks, so Hanhart is in good company.

Since 1924, Hanhart has made their mechanical stopwatches in Germany, the product the company is best known for. They introduced mechanical chronographs for professional pilots in 1939, which has led to Hanhart being a modern producer of mechanical, digital and electronic stopwatches, time measurement devices and chronographs today.

The mechanical chronographs that Hanhart produces are top-quality pieces that blend a vintage-inspired design with contemporary features that make these watches extremely useful, stylish and unique.

The Sirius chronograph starts with a fully satin-finished 316L stainless steel case that measures 40.2mm without the large screwdown crown, 45.5mm including the crown. Case thickness is 15.1mm and lug spacing is 20mm. The screwdown display back has a sapphire crystal and shows off the beautifully decorated movement with signed rotor. The Sirius is factory rated at 100 meters of water resistance.

Fit and finish of the case, bezel, pushers, caseback and crown are first-rate. The watch has a great no-nonsense look about it while still being approachable; it’s a fantastic look on the wrist.

The dial shines on this model, with a silver guilloche design (radiating circular patterning) adding a nice vintage look. The hour and minute hands are black with inset lume and pointer tips. The arabics are black and printed on the dial, very simple but effective. A black 60-minute chapter ring encircles the dial at the outside edge. Minimal and small dial printing consists only of the Hanhart name, ‘automatik’ and ‘1882’.

As the hour and minute hands are the only luminous features of this watch, you may find yourself wishing there was more lume. I guess keeping only the hour and minute hands lumed fits with the overall simplicity and all-business approach of this watch, but more lume would be a bonus. What lume there is of good quality; bright green that you can’t miss.

The subdials for the chronograph are inset slightly into the dial, with black hands (non-luminous, arrow style on the timing subdials) and feature simple black arabics and minute tracks. The central chronograph seconds hand is a thin black stick with an arrow tip.

The subdial at the 9 position is the watch seconds hand. The subdial at the 3 position is the chronograph’s 30-minute totalizer and the subdial at the 6 position is the 12-hour chrono totalizer.

An inset date window sits at the 4:30 position, with a black on white date wheel. The date is fairly easy to read and alignment within the window is good.

The dial is capped by a slightly domed sapphire crystal, which doesn’t appear to have any anti-reflective coating on it. An omni-directional coin-edge style bezel rotates smoothly in either direction, as there are no clicks to lock it into position. A simple black hash mark on the bezel serves as the marker for timing purposes.

As mentioned earlier, the main time setting crown is nice and big and is easy to turn and use. A unique design feature of the Sirius chrono are the asymmetrical chronograph pushers. Both pushers are conventional in their look and feel, have small ‘locator’ points in their centers and function well. The upper pusher (chrono start/stop) is spaced farther away from the crown than the lower pusher is (chrono reset). This is done to ease chrono operation without having to either look at the watch directly and makes it easier to operate while wearing gloves. A subtle but cool feature.

Another design element that is present is the rather thin look of the lugs in relation to the thickness of the case. It’s not that they look wrong or out-of-place, but they are noticeably thinner than lugs on many other watch cases.

Powering the Sirius is a modified Valjoux 7750-based automatic chronograph movement, running with 28 jewels and beating at 28,800 vph. Hanhart does a wonderful decorating job on the movement, with ‘fire’ blued screws, Cotes de Geneve detailing, perlage, high polished parts and a decorated and signed rotor.

The movement has turned in fine performance, running at -3 seconds over 24 hours and providing a long 51-3/4 hour power reserve. Winding and setting operations work as they should and the chronograph starts, stops and resets crisply.

The Sirius is fitted with either a stainless steel bracelet or a leather strap. My watch came with both and I prefer the strap. The bracelet is a quality piece, a fully satin finish five-link design. Links are solid, as are the end links and the clasp is signed and double locking with a machined deployant. Four microadjustments are provided on the clasp. The bracelet is continuous width, measuring 20mm from lugs to clasp.

The strap is a beauty. A simple, somewhat thick, but soft and comfortable black leather, with a single rivet at each lug end. Grey contrast stitching, a satin finish signed buckle and two keepers (one fixed, one floating) complete the strap. The strap measures 20mm at the lugs and tapers to 18mm at the buckle. The overall vintage look and feel of the Sirius is greatly enhanced by the leather strap.

Presentation is another bonus with this watch. Inside an entirely plain cardboard box are the simple instructions (separate pamphlets in both English and German) and the main watch case, a hand-finished brown leather case with snap closure. The leather box is horseshoe shaped and has a cotton duck type lining with watch pillow and a small pouch also finished in the cotton lining material. The leather box would make a great travel case for this watch or others in your collection.

The Hanhart Sirius chronograph is a functional watch with some great design details that make it unique in many ways. It’s a quality piece that you definitely won’t see on the other guy and that alone makes it a worthwhile get.

Pros: true watchmaking heritage, beautifully decorated movement, legible, functional, no-frills to detract from its intended purpose

Cons: could use lume on a few more places, case thickness in relation to lug thickness could bother some, hard-to-find in the marketplace, can be pricey

Verdict: a super cool, great looking chronograph that you can wear practically anywhere and exude style and panache, knowing you have a watch that gets the job done

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Model # BRV126-BEI-ST/SCA

Brand/Model: Bell & Ross Vintage BR 126 Automatic Original Chronograph
Movement: Swiss automatic
Material: stainless steel case and leather strap
Complications: date display, chronograph timing in one second increments up to 30 minutes
Price: MSRP $4,200 USD

Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Bell and Ross sounds like it could be a comedy team, a law firm or a singing group. But it’s actually a watch company that makes some pretty cool watches that sell in the $2,000 to $4,000 USD range or so. The company started in 1993 when they rebranded/relabeled Sinn watches and was able to gain enough of a foothold in the watch world to go truly independent in 2002, designing and manufacturing their own pieces solely under the Bell and Ross moniker.

They believe in four design principles with their watches: visibility, functionality, water resistance and precision. Not a bad list and something I would appreciate in any watch I own.

The Bell and Ross Vintage Series holds the most interest for me in their current product lineup and that’s why the Vintage BR 126 chronograph is the subject of this review. I had become interested in a BR 126 XL last year and since this particular model seemed to be a few years old, discontinued and was produced in small numbers, I was unable to procure this exact model. But the standard BR 126 was a second choice for me, and in some respects, I’m glad I went this route instead. The BR 126 chronograph is a superb watch with a simplicity and clean design that is hard to fault. I have no regrets with my purchase.

The Vintage BR 126 chronograph starts with a fully brushed (satin finish in B&R’s parlance) stainless steel case that measures 41.4mm without the signed standard design non-screwdown crown; 44mm with the crown. The caseback is also fully brushed and screws down, with basic info about the watch stamped into the caseback in a very military-like (ie: plain) fashion. Nothing wrong with that, as this series harkens back to the spirit of watches worn by pilots in the 1940s.

Case thickness is 13.8mm, lug spacing is 22mm. The overall proportions of this watch are just about perfect. Nothing is too large or too small or overdone in any way. The crown is about as ‘standard’ or traditional as you can get and the chronograph pushers are ‘standard’ style, too. A simple brushed bezel sets the case off. The only polished part of the watch case is the lower side portion of the bezel, where it meets the case top. Very subtle. It all looks good and functions well. Fit and finish is on the mark.

Bell and Ross’ logo is the ampersand symbol and while it looks good signing the crown, on some models they make, they tend to over-do the use of this logo and it makes these other models look garish. Luckily, they restrained themselves on Vintage BR 126.

The dial on the BR 126 is a near-perfect shade of beige (it could also be described as ‘ivory’, ‘cream’, ‘off-white’, ‘pale yellow’ or any other number of colors depending on who is looking at the dial). Bell and Ross also makes the Vintage Series with black and silver dials, but I really like the warmth of the beige. The markers and arabics (large 12 and 6) are screened on the dial in black. Bell and Ross states the markers and arabics are ‘electroluminescent’ but they are not, they do not glow in the dark. Only the hour and minute hands are luminous, fairly disappointing give the price point and pilot heritage this piece represents. Lume quality is good, but not great.

The sword-style hands are black with the aforementioned inset lume and are super legible against the beige dial. I love the look of the chronograph registers (I do have a soft spot for two-register chronographs) on this watch. They are large-ish without being comical and again, are easy to read. The left register is the chronograph’s 30-minute totalizer. The right register is the watch seconds hand, which has a simple marking ring with hash marks every five seconds only. The subdials are ever so slightly inset on the dial and the hands are simple black and smaller versions of the chronograph seconds hand. The central chronograph seconds hand is a simple black slenderized arrow.

A quickset date display is located at the 4:30 position. Unlike most conventional date windows, the window on the BR 126 is circular instead of square. A nice design touch, as is replicates the subdials on the watch. The date wheel is black on white and although a bit small is fairly easy to read.

A nod to the past on the BR 126 is the high-dome (Bell and Ross calls it ‘ultra-curved’) sapphire crystal. It replicates a high-dome acrylic crystal that would have been found on a 1940s style pilot’s watch, but crafted in durable, modern sapphire with anti-reflective coating. Super cool, especially when you look at it from the side or edge. No distortion has been noticed with the crystal despite its thickness and it gives the watch a great look and feel.

Dial printing is tastefully done, with the Bell & Ross name below the twelve position and ‘automatic’, ‘chronograph’ and ‘100M’ just above the six position. The BR 126 is factory rated for a modest 100 meters of water resistance.

Doing yeoman duty inside the BR 126 chronograph is the excellent ETA 2894 automatic chronograph movement. This Swiss-Made powerhouse packs 37-jewels and beats at 28,800 vph. Performance has been outstanding, with a 24-hour accuracy of -3 seconds and a useful power reserve of 48-1/2 hours. Of course the movement hacks and manually winds and sets perfectly. Chronograph operation is good, with crisp start, stop and reset actions via the pushers. No complaints here.

The simplicity of the BR 126 also extends to its strap. It’s a smooth finish, quality crafted medium brown calfskin leather strap with matching stitch and a brushed and signed outer clasp with a polished machined deployant. The strap measures 22mm at the lugs and tapers to about 17.8mm at the deployant. The shade of brown compliments the beige dial beautifully and gives this watch a purposeful and no-nonsense look.

One note, the deployant is mounted ‘backwards’ on this watch (at least to me). Others will argue that the way Bell and Ross does it is the correct way, but to me, it’s backwards; that is, the free end of the strap is on the inside of the wrist instead of the outside of the wrist. You could easily swap the strap around and fix this; I decided to leave it alone, as it’s the only watch strap I have oriented in this fashion and I guess it helps makes this watch a bit more unique.

Presentation isn’t anything special, a black two-piece signed outer cardboard box and black padded signed inner box. Nothing fancy, but could be a nicer setup given the high MSRP of this watch.

In summary, the Vintage BR 126 Original chronograph is a watch that has a simplicity that is getting harder to find in today’s in-your-face watch design world. As previously noted, the overall dimensions, the look and feel and the overall design parameters all harmonize together to create a watch that is legible, functional, good looking and finely crafted. While Bell and Ross may lack a long-standing tradition of Swiss watchmaking, they have made their mark in their two decades of existence and you have to hand it to them for persevering and putting out some great pieces.

Pros: great Swiss engine, super cool high-dome crystal, warm dial color, supreme legibility

Cons: more/better lume would be nice, a better presentation is expected at this price point, ‘backwards’ mounting of watch deployant/strap

Verdict: not an everyday name in a watch that looks good, works well and has a clean design that is functional to a ‘T’. The Bell and Ross Vintage BR 126 Original chronograph, while pricey, is a quality watch that can stand side-by-side with other better known Swiss makes

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Model # SDT00001S0

Brand/Model: Orient 60^thAnniversary Manual Wind
Movement: Japanese manual wind
Material: gold plated stainless steel case, leather strap
Complications: date display, power reserve indicator
Price: MSRP $600 USD (sold out)

Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

A couple of years ago, Orient Watch Company celebrated 60 years in the watch making business. Started in 1950, Orient has always been known as a maker of good quality manual wind and automatic watches, with all movements made in-house. Seiko held a 50-percent share in the company for a number of years and recently, Seiko took over the other 50-percent, so now Orient is a fully Seiko-owned company.

Orient is better known in Asia and the Middle East than in the United States, but in the last several years, the company has made a concerted effort to market their watches in the U.S., to a mixed degree of success. They have gone overboard with giving each model of watch they make a name, which was patterned after the unofficial naming of such watches as the Seiko ‘Orange Monster’ or Seiko ‘Sumo’. Just concentrate on delivering a quality product with good looks and you’ll do fine.

Regardless of their naming schemes, Orient still produces a quality product with unique design characteristics, the most famous being the power reserve indicator. For some reason, the company puts this complication on their watches quite often, which is fine with me.

Some people don’t care for a power reserve indicator and see little value in it. I for one, equate this feature to a gas gauge on a car. You know how much reserve power your watch has, so you will know approximately (in hours) how long it will continue to run, just like knowing how much gas is in the tank so you will know how far you can drive your car before running out of gas.

The Orient 60^th Anniversary model came out in mid-2010, released in a limited edition of 3000 total watches; 1500 pieces each in stainless steel and gold-plated stainless steel. I usually don’t care for all-gold watches, but since this is the only all-gold watch I have in my collection and it is a true dress watch, I am glad I have it in the fleet. But I will be honest, I probably wear it only once or twice a year.

This Orient 60^th Anniversary starts with an all stainless steel case, covered in 22K electroplated gold (it’s stamped this way on the case back). What strikes you right away about this piece is its classy, expensive look and somewhat retro dial design.

The case measures 39mm without the slightly larger than normal winding crown; 41.9mm crown included. The crown is finely signed ‘Orient’ in cursive script. Lugs are 20mm, thickness is 11.7mm.

The case and case back are fully polished with a fixed polished bezel surrounding the crystal. The case back is a snap-on type (demerits here from me) and is engraved with 60^th Anniversary script and the individualized watch number.

The watch is marked only as ‘water resistant’, so best not to get this gem of a watch wet.

The crystal is sapphire and slightly domed and is of a ‘high dome’ design (looking at the watch from the side, the crystal looks thick and extends up from the bezel). It’s the sort of crystal that distorts the tips of the watch hands so they look bent down at certain angles. Of course the hands are straight, but the refraction through the edge of the crystal plays tricks on you.

The dial is a white/silver shade with applied thin gold markers at each five minute mark (double markers at the 12), with small black hash marks for the remaining minute markers. The dauphine-style hour and minute hands along with the seconds hand are simple gold, with no luminous anywhere. This watch does not glow in the dark, which is acceptable given its function as a dress watch.

A quickset date is located at the expected three o’clock position, with a gold frame around the date wheel. The date wheel is black on white and alignment within the window frame is good.

The power reserve indicator sits under the 12 position and reads up to 40 hours, sweeping to the left as the watch is powered up. The scale is slightly raised off the dial and is ridged (a very subtle detail) running from 0 to 40 and is marked off in 3-1/3 hour increments. During operation, the scale is accurate and gives the wearer a good idea of how much run time remains. To match the rest of the dial’s presentation, the power reserve indicator hand is a simple gold pointer.

Under an 8X loupe, the dial shows no imperfections, with a clean build and no obvious dirt or other distractions. Nice overall quality, especially at this price point.

Inside the Orient 60^th Anniversary beats an in-house manual wind movement (Cal. 48N40) running in 21 jewels and beating at 21,600 vph. The movement hacks, which is a nice touch, since not a lot of manual wind movements incorporate this capability.

Another nifty feature is the overwind protection. Orient has installed a clutch mechanism to prevent the watch from being overwound or otherwise damaging the mainspring (always a concern when winding a pure manual wind watch versus an automatic movement). You merely wind the watch until the power reserve indicator indicates a ‘charge’ of 40 hours and you’re good to go!

Performance has been fine, with testing in my atelier showing the watch running at -7 seconds over 24 hours and a good power reserve of 45-1/2 hours. There’s something elegant about a manual wind movement in a dress watch.

The strap on the Orient 60^th Anniversary is a quality dark brown croc-look leather, slightly padded with plenty of holes for the buckle, so this watch will fit a small wrist. My wrist is about 6-3/4 inches and there are four more holes left to go smaller. The strap measures 20mm at the lugs and tapers to about 17.6mm at the signed gold tone buckle. Just like the watch itself, the strap is understated and elegant, a perfect complement to the overall design.

Presentation shines with the Orient 60^th Anniversary. A rectangular black cardboard outer box is signed ‘Orient 60^th Anniversary’ as is the inner box, which is a dark-finished solid wood creation that is padded and signed on the inside. A beautiful presentation for a beautiful watch.

If you want a dress watch that honestly looks like it cost at least $1,000 USD, want a unique piece of Japanese horological history or just want a reliable, classy watch for not a lot of money, the Orient 60^th Anniversary in either stainless steel or gold tone stainless will certainly fit the bill. The tough part is finding one, as all 3,000 pieces appear to be sold out, but occasionally, pieces do show up on the used market. Keep your eyes peeled for one and you won’t be disappointed.

Pros: classy, dressy, expensive look, quality throughout, in-house manual wind movement with over-wind protection, power reserve indicator, nice presentation

Cons: lack of lume could bother some, could be a bit dainty for those used to massive tool watches, snap-on case back a pain at service time

Verdict: a beautiful mechanical watch from a long-standing Japanese watch company that celebrates their heritage and will bring joy to everyone that owns one, the Orient 60^th Anniversary watch is a real gem

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Model # C0410

Brand/Model: Steinhart Marine Officer Automatic Chronograph
Movement: Swiss automatic w/ chronograph module
Material: stainless steel case, leather strap
Complications: chronograph timing in one-second increments up to 30 minutes
Price: 810 Euro (includes VAT)/(approx. $1,050 USD);

681 Euro without VAT/(approx. $885 USD)

Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Steinhart is an independent watch company based in Germany that was founded by and currently led by Günter Steinhart. Steinhart has its watches made in the Jura region of Switzerland. The company produces a wide array of pilot, diver, GMT, chronograph and special edition watches, all of which have Swiss made automatic or manual wind movements.

The company primarily sells direct (at least in the USA) through their web site, while distributors serve various other parts of the world. Ordering from the company is a snap and Steinhart is known for their excellent customer service. More on this in a bit.

According to Steinhart, the Marine Officer Chronograph is styled after watches worn by deck officers of the Italian Navy near the end of World War II. What attracted me to this model from Steinhart is that it is one of the more original designs that Steinhart produces. Many of their watches, at least to me, are too derivative of already established designs (do we really need yet another Sub homage? Seriously?)

The Marine Officer Chronograph comes in the grey dial reviewed here, as well as a beige dial (with brown strap) and navy dial with dark blue strap. I love grey dial watches because they are fairly hard to find and the combination of the lighter grey dial with the medium grey leather strap is a winner on this model, so I took the plunge. I ordered via Steinhart’s web site and my order shipped the next day from Germany and took about four days to arrive in the states. Impressive.

If you order from the U.S., you will not pay the European VAT, which reduces the cost of the watch a bit, but you still have to pay shipping, brokerage fees from the shipper and conversion fees via PayPal, so things do add up a bit. What I’m trying to say is that while they are well-made watches, a Steinhart does not necessarily translate to a strong value to me. They are competitively priced, but a bit on the high end, considering the brand is not a long-standing Swiss institution. All the more reason to me to select a model that has a more original look to it.

The Marine Officer Chronograph starts with a rather large 44.4mm stainless steel case which is fully brushed. Case width including crown is 49.4mm. The crown is nicely proportioned, signed with the Steinhart ‘S’ and does not screw down. Lug width is 22mm, case thickness is 16mm. Steinhart lists the weight at 125 grams. The caseback is brushed and is now a display type with a mineral crystal.

When I ordered my Marine Officer, the web site showed (and still shows in at least one photo) a solid, engraved caseback with a tall ship depicted. When I received my watch, it came with the display back, showing off a mildly decorated movement with an entirely plain rotor (see photo).

Now, it appears that Steinhart is installing a gold wash rotor with a skeletonized Steinhart crown logo, as this is now shown on their web site. Not a huge problem, but I really wanted the solid back because I like the way it looks. I contacted Steinhart through their web site requesting a solid caseback and they sent one out promptly and at no charge. They also offered to reimburse me for the cost of installation by a watchmaker, which was very generous, but not needed because I had the appropriate tools to make the switch.

It would have been nice if my watch had the upgraded rotor, but since it is now hidden behind the good-looking solid caseback, it’s a moot point. So kudos to Steinhart for excellent customer service.

The Marine Officer Chronograph is factory rated for a very modest 3 ATM of water resistance, so best be keeping this one dry. It’s kind of a conundrum, having a watch with ‘marine’ in its name and having such a low water resistance. Memo to Steinhart: a 10 ATM minimum water resistance would be much better on this model.

The case on the Marine Officer Chronograph has a fixed tachymeter bezel, fully brushed with a knurled edge and engraved numbers painted black. The dial is a light shade of grey with Super Luminova C3 luminous markers and ‘12’ and ‘6’ luminous arabics at the spots you expect to find them at.

The dial looks a bit plain, primarily because the subdials are merely screened on the dial instead of being inset or otherwise patterned. The effect is a bit cheap looking, especially at this price point. But the dial has a nice painted look to it with a slight gloss in the right light and does not look plasticky as so many dials can these days. So overall, score it a win.

The Steinhart logo and name is positioned below the 12. An outer chapter ring marks off the seconds for the central chronograph seconds hand, while an inner ring of simple printed black hash marks forms a circle underneath the markers. The hour and minute hands are black with infill lume and the watch seconds hand (the subdial on the right side) is also black with a pointer end filled with lume. The black hands are very legible against the grey dial and easy to read at a distance. Lume quality is average, I expected better with Super Luminova, although the hands do glow brighter than the markers on the dial.

The central chronograph seconds hand is a simple silver stick. The chronograph 30-minute totalizer (the subdial on the left) has a similarly simple silver stick hand with a small lumed pointer end. The silver can be a bit hard to read against the grey dial, but since the chronograph is not in constant use, this usually won’t be a problem. I do appreciate watch designs like this one that differentiate the chronograph hands from the standard timekeeping hands via a different color, but perhaps some other color than silver would work better.

I do love two-register chronographs and overall, this dial design works well. Both subdials have white timing tracks and don’t jump out as much as some other two-register designs do. To each his own.

The chronograph pushers are standard design and have a solid, yet cushioned click about them. The dial on the Marine Officer Chronograph is capped by a sapphire crystal that is slightly domed and has double anti-reflective coating on the inside. No distortion has been noticed with the crystal and examination under an 8X loupe shows a clean build on the dial devoid of any dust or imperfections.

Powering the Marine Officer Chronograph is an ETA 2824-2 movement with the often loved and hated Dubois-Dépraz DD 2030 chronograph module, giving the watch an impressive total jewel count of 49.

I own several DD 2030 equipped watches and have yet to have any trouble with them, but others seem to have problems from time to time and the costs of repairing this complication, as I understand it, can be rather high.

The movement is mildly decorated (at least to me), although Steinhart refers to the caliber as being ‘elabore.’ Timekeeping has been a consistent +6/24 hours with a shortish power reserve of 39-1/4 hours. Since this seemed a tad low to me, I checked this power reserve figure against one of my other DD 2030 watches and both power reserves where exactly the same at 39-1/4 hours, so I guess there’s something to be said for consistency. But it still seems short to me; it should be at least 42 hours in my opinion.

The chronograph starts, stops and resets crisply and operations of the watch, including manual winding, hacking, setting, etc. has been fine, as it should be. So don’t let the inclusion of the DD chrono module scare you off from this good timepiece.

The Marine Officer Chronograph comes on a very nice quality handmade leather strap (‘vintage leather’ in Steinhart speak) in the perfect shade of medium grey with contrast white stitching.

The strap is held in place at the lugs with hex-head screws instead of spring bars. Steinhart supplies the proper strap changing tool with the watch should you wish to change it out at some point. The strap is continuous width, but as a curiosity, it measures almost 23mm in width from the lugs to the buckle and is also fairly thick. Two keepers are installed, one fixed and one floating.

The strap has a smooth, non-glossy finish that both looks and feels good. The strap edges are sealed and are a glossy grey which looks a bit funky but really isn’t too noticeable while wearing the watch.

A note on the buckle; the Marine Officer Chronograph is supplied with a large signed brushed pre-V style buckle which is fine, but these types of buckles don’t sit well with me due to my smaller wrist size. They are just too wide and bulky. Steinhart does sell a slimmer 22mm brushed buckle on their site. Memo number two to Steinhart: give the buyer their choice of either the pre-V buckle or the slimmer buckle at no charge.

I bought an aftermarket slimmer buckle (which is the buckle shown in the photos) and it looks good and functions well and was cheaper than the slimmer buckle Steinhart sells. Both the pre-V buckle and the slimmer one from Steinhart (as well as the one I purchased) are screw pin style, for an easier swap.

Comfort of this watch is overall pretty good, but be forewarned, this is a big watch. I have about a 6-3/4 inch wrist and I have the strap set on the last hole to give me the best fit. I can wear it on the second to last hole, but the watch tends to flop about a bit, as this piece is somewhat top heavy.

Presentation is an outer white two-piece cardboard box (which arrived with a tear down one corner) and a black padded inner box with the instructions, watch and strap changing tool inside. A fair presentation, but given the price point, it could be a bit sharper.

In summary, the Steinhart Marine Officer Chronograph is an original-looking design that has a purposeful and strong presence about it. Overall quality is about where it should be for the price point and if customer service matters to you, Steinhart fills the bill on this point.

Pros: great grey dial/grey leather strap combo, legible main hands, two-register chronograph good looks, Swiss engine, solid caseback looks better than display type

Cons: very modest water resistance, large size will be too big for some, somewhat pricey, pre-V buckle also too big for some, weakish lume

Verdict: color, build quality, looks, functionality and original design are the attributes the Marine Officer Chronograph brings to the table. While not for everybody due to its size or price, you could certainly do a lot worse than this one. Just ask for the solid caseback.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Model # PRS-9

Brand/Model: Precista PRS-9 Czech Air Force Manual Wind
Movement: New Old Stock Swiss manual wind
Material: stainless steel case, leather strap
Complications: none
Price: MSRP £385 British Pounds/approx. $580 USD

Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Precista is one of the brands of Timefactors, run by Eddie Platts in the UK. Since 1996, Timefactors has been selling watches strictly on-line and currently, the company produces a nice range of unique, small production-run watches, many of which are homages to famous watches of the past.

You may also be familiar with Timefactors when they introduced the now iconic ‘Dreadnought’ diver about ten years ago. While I tend to eschew most homage watches because I always prefer to own the real thing if I can, this homage to the fabled Longines Czech Air Force watch from 1938 caught my eye and looked intriguing. I also took the plunge because the real Longines Czech Air Force watches are very rare and quite pricey.

What Timefactors does and does extremely well is take their time in producing a new model. It doesn’t matter if it takes Eddie a year or more working with detailed construction drawings and interfacing closely with his manufacturers and suppliers to make sure a Timefactors watch is a top-quality, well-designed and durable timepiece. Hats off to this philosophy.

It took some time to properly engineer the PRS-9, mainly because Timefactors wanted to ensure at least a modicum of real water resistance (the original had no real water resistance) and still have the crystal rotate when the bezel is turned ala the original, which rotates the red pointer around the dial for timing purposes. Even though the PRS-9 has only a 30 meter water resistance, the company achieved their goal and the result is quite a special watch.

Ordering from Timefactors through their web site was a breeze. Eddie responded to my inquiry about availability before ordering and once the trigger was pulled, the watch shipped out promptly and showed up from the UK to the U.S. in a few days. Shipping, foreign transaction fees and brokerage fees added to the total cost, so bear this in mind if you are planning to purchase one.

The PRS-9 starts with a mirror finish high polish 316L all stainless steel case in a unique squared off shape that is somewhat cushion-like. The case measures 41mm without the signed winding crown; 44mm crown inclusive.

What immediately impressed me about this watch was the quality look and feel and great fit and finish of the case, which is crafted in Germany, along with the rest of the watch. This being my first experience with a Timefactors watch, I was wondering how the quality would be. Trust me, it’s superb.

The PRS-9 has a polished and very nicely engraved caseback, detailing the Czech Air Force heritage this watch pays homage to. The caseback is held in place by four screws, one at each corner. Case thickness is 13.7mm, lug spacing is 24mm. The lugs are drilled for easier strap changes.

It might seem odd to have a 24mm lug spacing on a watch that’s only 41mm in diameter, but due to the squareish shape of the case and the way the lugs angle off downwards rather sharply from the case, the 24mm spacing works and doesn’t make the watch look weird. Lug-tip to lug-tip measures 51.6mm.

Timefactors lists the weight of the PRS-9 at 95 grams including the strap. As previously stated, the watch is factory rated at a modest 30 meters of water resistance.

The dial is very legible on this watch, being a matte black with SuperLuminova C3 luminous material for the arabics that encircle dial. The hands are silver with inset lume and both the dial and hands glow brightly.

The hand style is referred to as ‘squelette’ style or in more general parlance, ‘vintage’ style. Either way, they look great. The seconds hand is in the subdial at the 6 position, which consists of a simple 60-second track and a straight silver stick for the seconds hand.

The bezel is a fluted, coin-edge style design that rotates in either direction along with the high dome acrylic crystal and red pointer below the crystal. The bezel rotates with the perfect amount of friction, not too hard, not too easy, which makes sense given the water resistance capabilities of the bezel/crystal design.

The dial has the ‘Precista’ brand name below the 12 position and ‘Great Britain’ at the bottom edge of the dial. Even though the watch is manufactured in Germany, having Great Britain on the dial pays homage to its design birth in the UK.

One nifty element of the PRS-9 is that given it is an homage to a watch that existed 75 years ago, Timefactors puts a new-old-stock (NOS) movement inside, which gives this piece an unmistakable vintage feel. A great move on Timefactor’s part.

The movement inside the PRS-9 is a Swiss Made AS-1130 ‘Wehrmacht’ caliber, with 17 jewels, manual winding and beating at a durable 18,000 bph. Power reserve is listed by Timefactors at 41 hours; during my testing, I clocked the power reserve a bit shorter at 39 hours.

Since the watch doesn’t hack, accuracy checking is a bit more difficult, but I have seen about +30 over a 24-hour period. And just to ease your mind, since ‘NOS’ and ‘Swiss movement’ many times means servicing prior to reliability, Timefactors has stripped, cleaned, inspected, oiled and regulated all the movements placed in the PRS-9, so they are good to go and work perfectly. A manual wind, slower beat movement in an homage watch just seems so right.

The strap on the PRS-9 is another highlight of this intriguing watch. Crafted by long-time English leather artisans Pittards, the strap is butter soft glove leather, mildly padded and is a pleasing shade of dark brown bordering on burgundy. The strap was designed to reflect the straps originally fitted to the Czech Air Force watches and features copper colored/bronzed screwed rivets at the lugs, a roller style buckle and fixed metal keeper, plus a floating leather keeper. The strap measures 24mm at the lugs and tapers to 21.5mm at the buckle.

The only problem I have with this wonderful strap is that it is almost too long for my smaller wrist. I have to have the buckle on the last hole in the strap to achieve a good fit and that tends to offset the buckle from the bottom center of the wrist and shifts it to the left. This makes wearing the watch a bit ungainly but not enough to be a deal breaker. Since the strap is such a beauty, I could not bear to put a different strap on the watch, so I have learned to live with this anomaly. If you have an average size or larger wrist, you should have no trouble getting a near perfect fit.

The presentation for the PRS-9 is as unique as the watch itself. The outer box is an unfinished wooden crate that has Czech printing on the lid that opens to reveal a dark brown ‘aero’ leather pouch that holds the watch. Additional goodies include a strap changing tool, a Timefactors pen, and two cleaning cloths (one cloth being extra large.) A simple color sheet has the instructions and a signed warranty card complete the PRS-9 presentation. The watch also came amply packed and padded to prevent any damage during the overseas shipping.

You have to admire the time and care that only a small company like Timefactors can put into a project like the PRS-9 watch. It’s top quality from the case to the strap and everything in-between. And given the fact that the production volume on this watch is not real high, the price puts it within reach of many a WIS and much less than the real thing from 1938.

Congrats to Eddie Platts and Timefactors for producing a thoroughly engaging and modern watch that doesn’t lose sight of the original. The Timefactors Precista PRS-9 Czech Air Force homage is a winner.

Pros: top quality fit and finish, superb case, thoroughly serviced NOS Swiss movement, high quality strap, unique looks, easy-to-read

Cons: still has a modest water resistance rating, strap a bit too long for smaller wrists, accuracy of manual wind movement could be better

Verdict: a superb homage to the fabled Czech Air Force watch by Longines, the Precista PRS-9 fills the bill with its high quality, good looks and unique style from boutique company Timefactors. ‘Smashing!’ as they say in England

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Model # AL525X4V6

Brand/Model: Alpina Extreme Sailing Limited Edition Automatic Diver
Movement: Swiss automatic
Material: stainless steel case, stainless steel mesh bracelet
Complications: date display
Price: MSRP: $1,500 USD

Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Alpina is a Swiss watch brand that I have been interested in for quite some time now. They’re not a huge, top-of-the-mind brand name, but they do have a legitimate Swiss history of producing a wide array of watches since 1883. The company prides itself with several innovations, ranging from the actual working environment of the watch factory to various quality control initiatives throughout the years. The entire story is laid out on Alpina’s web site.

Since I like dive watches, the Extreme Sailing line was my focus in acquiring an Alpina and I decided to go with the Extreme Sailing Limited Edition (but at 8888 pieces total, ‘limited edition’ doesn’t have a lot of meaning). I liked the look of the factory mesh, the clean, legible layout of the dial and the history of the Alpina name.

The Extreme Sailing Series ships in the largest watch box I have yet to see, measuring about 10” high, 11” wide and 8” deep. Inside this ginormous box is a model of a catamaran sailing boat along with dedicated space for the watch. The sailing boat model can be unscrewed from its base and displayed anywhere you wish. An interesting addition to a unique watch.

The Extreme Sailing diver is a bit of an enigma. This watch looks huge and by a reading of its dimensions, certainly sounds large. Yet surprisingly, it does not wear all that big. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a big piece, but if I can pull it off on my smaller wrist, I am sure you can, too!

The Extreme Sailing diver starts with a solid brushed and polished all stainless steel case that measures 44.4mm without the large signed screwdown crown; 48.6mm crown inclusive. Since the case is squareish in shape (a bit cushion like) a corner-to-corner measurement yields the dimension of 48.7mm and lug-to-lug of 49.3mm, mainly because the lugs are rather short.

Lug spacing is 22mm and case thickness is 13.1mm. The caseback is brushed and a display type, showing off the cool-looking black Alpina signed rotor.

The crown has a black rubber/plastic ring around it and is signed with the Alpina triangle logo in red. The crown is easy to use and has a reassuring feel about it, requiring about four turns to lock. I wish more screwdown crowns had this many turns on them.

The Extreme Sailing diver is factory rated for 300 meters of water resistance.

The dial is extremely open and clean on this watch and is a cinch to read under just about any circumstance. The dial itself is a matte black with applied luminous markers that are part of the chapter ring. The hands are silver with inset lume and are appropriately wide enough without looking goofy. The center seconds hand is red/orange with a white triangular tail. The seconds hand is not luminous, a detriment for a watch that purports to be a true diver, but it does look good. Another demerit for a dive watch is the rather weak lume, it should be much brighter on this piece.

A quickset date is at the 3 position, with a white on black date wheel that looks great with the black dial. Quickset action is good and alignment within the window is also spot on.

The Alpina name is rather large, located under the 12 position on the dial, with a smaller ‘Geneve’ printed underneath. Above the 6 position, ‘300m/1000ft’ and ‘Automatic’ are printed and that’s the extent of the dial nomenclature.

The dial is surrounded by a wide, flat topped bezel that is coated in what I believe is sapphire. I have not been able to definitively confirm this, so let’s say it’s probably sapphire coated. It’s a unidirectional 120-click affair with good action and minimal backlash.

The first 20 minutes of the bezel track has a grey line underneath the arabics and minute markers. The remainder of the bezel has arabics at the ‘fives’ every ten minutes (25, 35, etc.) and plain white markers at the other five minute steps. One more demerit for a dive watch, there is no lume anywhere on the bezel.

Capping the dial is a flat sapphire crystal with a superb anti-reflective coating. It’s one of those AR coatings that imparts a purple/blue tint to the crystal in certain light, but it also is one of those AR coatings that makes the crystal practically disappear in certain light.

Inside the Extreme Sailing diver is our friend and cohort, the ETA 2824-2 workhorse automatic. It hacks, manually winds and sets just fine and has performed extremely well, running about -1 to +1 seconds over 24 hours during my testing. Power reserve is 42 hours, as it should be. I am glad that Alpina took the extra care to put their own stylized rotor on the movement. The black color, the asymmetrical design and the Alpina lettering make a nice display back presentation.

Since one reason I ordered this watch was to get the factory mesh bracelet, I was excited because I think the mesh looks great on this model. I was slightly let down by the bracelet for two reasons: overall size and quality of finishing. The edges could be finished smoother in a couple of spots (especially for a watch at this price point), but as a consolation, the edges are capped at the lugs and there are solid textured links on both sides of the clasp for sizing, which is easy if your wrist is large enough.

This was the first watch in literally hundreds I have owned that with all the removable links taken out, I still could not get a tight enough fit. If you have a large wrist, this watch will be perfect for you. The clasp is a pushbutton double locking type with a machined deployant featuring a perlage finish (a nice touch, as I have noticed more and more watch companies putting perlage on their clasps lately).

The clasp has a slider adjustment for the slider-type (glide lock style) microadjustment. It’s the type of slider that extends from the rear of the clasp to enlarge or shorten the clasp, either for microadjustment or for use as a dive extension. I’m not a huge fan of this type of microadjustment because I don’t like the way the slider extends from the rear of the clasp and makes it longer and ungainly on the wrist.

In order to get this watch to fit me properly, I had to remove the slider adjustment mechanism and fit the bracelet directly to the clasp. This worked, but left the clasp with two gaps (one on each side) where the slider grips used to fit. Not the most elegant solution, but since I wanted to retain the mesh bracelet and not put a strap on this watch, this was the only solution for me. So if you have a 6-3/4” wrist or less, the Alpina Extreme Sailing diver with factory mesh bracelet will be too large for your wrist without putting on a strap or some sort of other bracelet option to replace the factory mesh.

The mesh bracelet measures 22mm continuous width from lugs to clasp.

Presentation is as previously discussed. A huge box that houses the watch and the catamaran model. It’s actually too big, but first impressions do count for something I guess.

Overall, I would say the Alpina Extreme Sailing diver is a watch for those of a bigger wrist. It’s just about on the border of being too large if your wrist is 7” or less in size. The watch does look good, appears to be well made and carries a true Swiss heritage, so that definitely counts for something these days. And the catamaran model is pretty cool.

Pros: clean, easy-to-read dial, large crown with plenty of turns to lock, nice hand set, great AR on sapphire crystal, looks great on the mesh bracelet, bonus sailboat model

Cons: quality and application of lume needs improvement, mesh bracelet edges could be finished better, mesh bracelet too large for a smaller wrist, slider type microadjustment kind of clunky

Verdict: a dive watch for a bigger wrist or for someone who wants an easy-to-see and easy-to-read dial with clean, yet somewhat bold looks

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Model # NB0040-58E

Brand/Model: Citizen Signature Series Grand Classic Automatic

Movement: Japanese automatic

Material: stainless steel case and bracelet

Complications: date display

Price: MSRP $999 USD

Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Every now and then, I get the itch to explore the high end offerings of the Japanese watch brands like Seiko and Citizen. For quite some time, Citizen did not have a high end automatic in their U.S. lineup. Most of their high end pieces consist of Eco-Drive quartz or high accuracy quartz models, so I was pleasantly surprised and pleased when as part of their new Signature Series that Citizen included three automatic models on their high end available in the states.

The Signature Series are watches that display a high degree of detail and hand-craftsmanship, whether they be quartz or automatic. The Grand Classic automatic that is the subject of this review comes in three flavors, the black dial seen here, a silver/white dial with blue hands and a silver dial with silver hands on a leather strap. I chose the black dial because it is the most traditional and is a versatile piece that can play the dual roles of sporty and dressy.

The Grand Classic automatic starts with a nicely finished all stainless steel case that is both polished and brushed, with a polished fixed bezel. Diameter is 41.5mm without the crown, 44.5 mm crown included.

The crown is a suitable size and tapers inwards slightly towards the case, a subtle but nifty touch. The crown does not screw down nor is it signed. I really enjoy signed crowns and I would think that because this is the high end of Citizen’s line that they would have taken the extra time to install a signed crown on this watch, but unfortunately, they did not.

Surrounding the crown is a slightly chunky crown guard that is held in place by two rather large screws, the heads of which are clearly visible. This design element seems a bit out of character on this watch, as while it has sporting pretensions, it leans more towards the dress side of things.

The case back is a display type and is held in place by four small screws, one at each corner. The display back shows some nice detailing and shows off the beautifully decorated automatic movement. Case thickness is 12.1mm and lug width is 22mm. The overall case design and dial are somewhat reminiscent of an Omega Aqua Terra.

The Grand Classic automatic is factory rated at 10 bar of water resistance.

The dial on the Grand Classic has the kind of subtle detailing that befits a watch of this price category. The dial is a gloss black, with the outer portion having a fine graining to it that runs from the chapter ring to just past the applied luminous markers. The circular inner part of the dial is plain gloss black. The silver hands have inset lume, while the seconds hand is a plain silver stick with a stylized tail. Lume quality is very good and glows the cool Citizen blue.

The quickset date resides at the three position and is surrounded by an asymmetrical window frame that adds a bit of additional style to the dial. The date wheel is white on black and compliments the dial perfectly. Wheel alignment within the window is fine.

A slightly domed anti-reflective sapphire crystal covers the dial. Under examination with an 8X loupe, the dial showed no dirt or imperfections. Overall fit and finish on the Grand Classic is quite good.

Inside the Grand Classic beats a Citizen/Miyota Caliber 9010 24-jewel automatic movement. One of Citizen’s newest automatic movements, this engine hacks and handwinds. Timekeeping has been fairly tight, at -5/24 hours and with a good power reserve of 45.5 hours. The movement sets, hacks and handwinds perfectly. I particularly appreciate the level of finishing Citizen invested in this movement, with Geneva stripes and a very cool stylized rotor on display through the caseback.

While the watch is made in Japan, the bracelet is made in China, as stated on the clasp. Nonetheless, the bracelet is a quality piece with solid end links, multipiece solid links that are polished and brushed and a pushbutton signed clasp with a machined deployant. If I had any complaints, the feel of the clasp seems a bit cheap. Link adjustment is via screw pins and bracelet adjustment was a breeze.

The bracelet measures 22mm at the lugs and tapers to 19.9mm at the clasp. There are no microadjustments on the clasp, but a half-link is provided, so a decent bracelet fit should be able to be achieved.

Presentation is fairly typical Citizen, with appropriately sized inner and outer presentation boxes, et al. The inner box is a dark blue padded leather-look box which is pretty nice. One might expect something a bit more special due to the Signature Series standing at the top of the Citizen line, but this is a minor quibble.

The big question here is: Is this watch worth the almost one-thousand dollar suggested retail price? Well, it’s no Grand Seiko, but Grand Seikos go for three to four times the MSRP of this Citizen. If you’re looking for a high-end Japanese automatic that looks good and will undoubtedly be a reliable and durable timepiece, then yes, it’s worth the price of admission.

Pros: quality at the high end of Citizen’s line, nicely decorated automatic movement, clean dial layout, cool blue lume

Cons: dial a bit hard to read at times, clasp a bit cheap, crown should be signed

Verdict: a worthy addition to the Citizen lineup, the Grand Classic automatic is a perfect piece if you want a high-end automatic Japanese watch without spending Grand Seiko money

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Model # 212.30.41.20.03.001

Brand/Model: Omega Seamaster Pro Ceramic

Movement: Swiss automatic

Material: stainless steel case and bracelet, ceramic bezel insert

Complications: date display

Price: MSRP $4,400 USD

Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

I’ve been looking forward to writing this review for quite some time. The Omega Seamaster Pro is one of those truly iconic watches that every serious watch collector should have in their collection. About two years ago, Omega upgraded the Seamaster with several new features and practically every one of the upgrades made the watch better.

I have owned both the ‘standard’ and ceramic bezel versions of this watch, and I am firmly in the new ceramic bezel camp. Don’t get me wrong, the older version is still a great watch and can be had used at very good prices, while the newest version is now becoming more available on the used market, selling for roughly 30-percent less than the MSRP listed above. A clean, used Omega Seamaster is an excellent value.

First off, I wanted to run down the changes Omega made between the old and new version. The biggest change is the bezel, going from metal (I believe aluminum insert or steel insert, not exactly sure, so don’t quote me) to a ceramic insert, which is all the rage these days (Rolex, Tudor, ORIS, Audemars Piguet and many others are all using ceramic bezel inserts on various models).

The dial on the new version drops the ‘wave’ pattern dial (probably the one feature most people decry losing) and moves to a solid, gloss finish. The updates also include applied markers, applied logos, a white on black date wheel instead of a black on white wheel, blue lume on the markers and green lume on the minute hand and bezel pip only instead of all green lume, an improved bracelet with screws that neatly secure the link pins instead of those dreaded pins and collars (big improvement here!) and a slightly different clasp and pushbutton assembly.

Many of the most liked features (the skeleton hands, the case size, the style of the bracelet links, the chronometer rated Co-Axial escapement movement, 300 meter water resistance, HEV) remain the same. As I said earlier, Omega did a bang up job renewing the Seamaster without changing its most iconic elements. It’s just a better watch now and still a stone-cold classic.

The ceramic Seamaster starts with a beautifully brushed and polished stainless steel case (with those sensual Omega curved lugs) that measures 41.1mm without the signed screwdown crown, 45.5mm with the crown included. A signed helium escape valve (HEV) is located at the 10 position on the left side of the case. Case thickness is 12.8mm, lug width is 20mm.

The caseback is heavily embossed with the Seamaster seahorse logo and screws down. Omega does a wonderful job with the embossing of their casebacks...they often remind me of a proof coin, they are so smooth, shiny and finely detailed. Job well done!

The dial on the ceramic Seamaster, while not the famous wave design, has such a deep gloss finish, it looks like a freshly waxed car in certain light. It’s a true stunner! The shade of blue is just about perfect and will change a bit depending on the lighting conditions, but most of the time it’s a pure, pleasant shade of medium blue.

The round markers are applied, with a double rectangular marker at the 12 position and single rectangular markers at the 3, 6 and 9 positions (abbreviated at the 3 due to the date window). The Omega logo is applied and looks great, the right touch of class on an overall clean dial. Below the Omega logo is the wording ‘Seamaster’ (in red) and ‘Professional’ below that. Above the six position, are the words ‘Co-Axial’, ‘Chronometer’ and ‘300m /1000ft’. It might sound like a lot of text, but it’s not intrusive and doesn’t detract from the functionality of the dial.

While I’ve never been a big fan of skeleton hands, and to be honest, they were pretty much the only feature that kept me from purchasing a Seamaster for a long time, I have come to really like the hands on the Seamaster. They are crafted in such a way as to look expensive yet purposeful at the same time and they are easy to read, thanks to the luminous material at their ends and along their sides. The seconds hand is a simple stick style with a ball end and a red tip, just like the older version.

The date window has radiused edges and is outlined in white for easier viewing. The white on black date wheel is a big improvement and is easy to see. The quickset function works fine and wheel alignment inside the window is perfect.

Compared to the torch-like green lume of my first Seamaster, the new blue lume on the ceramic Seamaster is a bit of a let-down to me. It’s also a bit odd that they made the ends and edges of the minute hand in green lume and the rest of the dial in blue lume. The bezel pip is also in green lume. The blue lume doesn’t glow as brightly as the green used to. The lume quality is still good, but it doesn’t scream Omega! like it used to. I’ll let you be the judge.

The dial is capped by a slightly domed sapphire crystal. The much talked about ceramic bezel looks good surrounding the dial. The ceramic is finished in the same blue color as the dial, is glossy and smooth and has matte silver arabics and markers. A lume pip inside an inverted triangle is located at the 12 position on the bezel. The bezel is a 120-click unidirectional type. Bezel action is smooth and precise and this bezel is much easier to turn (but not too easy) than my first Seamaster, which is a welcome change for me.

The Seamaster is a true dive watch and many owners use theirs for actual diving and wear them in wet conditions. The Seamaster is factory rated at 300 meters of water resistance. Needless to say, overall fit and finish is first rate.

Inside the ceramic Seamaster beats the venerable and well-regarded Omega Co-Axial automatic movement. Caliber 2500D is based on an ETA 2892 movement with 27 jewels and beating at a somewhat odd 25,200 vibes per hour. The Seamaster is chronometer certified and both Seamasters I have owned (standard and Co-Axial movements) have kept outstanding time. The new ceramic Seamaster in my possession runs about +1 second over 24 hours and has an excellent 54 hour power reserve. The movement winds butter smooth, sets and runs precisely and is just a joy to operate and wear. Kudos to Omega for continuing to make this exceptionally accurate and reliable movement. It just makes the Seamaster than much better.

The bracelet is a solid link multi-piece design crafted in stainless steel with brushed and polished pieces that look and feel great. I’m so glad Omega ditched the annoying pin and collar link pins and replaced them with what I feel is the most elegant, simple and well-designed link pin system around. All they did was design two easily removable screws (one on each side of the link). You remove the screws, the pin comes out and then you replace the screws. What could be easier? Why more watch companies don’t use a system this simple and elegant is beyond me.

The bracelet measures 20mm both at the lugs and the clasp. The clasp is signed and has larger pushbuttons to open the clasp, revealing the machined deployant. The operation of the clasp is first rate. A machined dive extension pops out from the rear of the clasp. Since the lugs on the Seamaster are the popular 20mm size, you can put on a variety of stock or aftermarket straps or bracelets, making the versatility of the Seamaster one of its best features.

Presentation is standard Omega: a heavy gauge white cardboard outer box and a big padded red inner box with a vinyl ‘wallet’ containing the warranty card, chronometer card, pictograms, etc. Perfectly fitting for a watch in this price range.

Obviously, I think the Seamaster ceramic is a great watch. It’s one of those pieces that could suffice if you had to choose just one watch to own, it’s simply that versatile, rugged, dependable, good-looking and iconic. Do yourself a favor and buy a Seamaster Pro, preferably the new ceramic bezel model. You will not be disappointed!

Pros: useful and well-thought out upgrades to an already iconic watch, great movement, great accuracy, ceramic bezel, lovely dial, great build quality, easy to use link pin system

Cons: new blue lume disappoints to a degree, crown could be a tad larger

Verdict: one of the all-time greats! The Omega Seamaster Pro ceramic is a winner through and through. Just a superb overall watch that continues to shine in most all regards.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Model # C60

Brand: Christopher Ward
Model: C60 Trident Automatic
Material: stainless steel case, leather strap
Complications: date display
Price: MSRP $550 USD

Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

I was initially excited to receive this Christopher Ward C60 Trident automatic. After seeing them online and looking at their designs and believing the hype on their web site, I was sold. Let me state this right now, the Christopher Ward C60 is a good watch, but not a great watch. The company is trying to produce a decent piece and overall their customer service is very good, but not perfect. More on these two items in a bit. Suffice to say, even though I rate this watch as ‘good’, I am disappointed enough with this watch and my experience with the company to not purchase a Christopher Ward product again. I will explain fully later in the review.

Christopher Ward is a relatively new (since 2004) and small British company that has their watches manufactured in the Jura region of Switzerland.

The company prides itself on customer service and tries to market their watches as keepsakes to be handed down from generation to generation with exceedingly high quality and strong value. This is laying it on a little thick. Judging from the C60 I purchased, this watch is really nothing special and is almost worth the money they charge, but only after they make some QC adjustments. There are better values around, as in Tissot and Hamiltons of comparable design and price. Hey, if these small watch companies want to compete in the rough and tumble world of watches, they need to know where they stand in regards to their product and that’s why I do these reviews.

To begin with, the C60 Trident sports a ‘marine grade’ stainless steel case with brushed and polished finish. The lugs have a somewhat awkward cut to them at the bottom that looks too severe to my eye. This design doesn’t cause any discomfort while wearing, it just makes the lugs look too stubby. Case diameter is 43mm without the signed, screwdown crown; 47mm crown inclusive. Case thickness is 12.6mm, lug spacing is 22mm. The case flares out a bit to form crown guards that run about one-third the way up the crown, not overly protective, but not obtrusive, either. The crown does screw down a satisfying three-plus turns to lock.

The caseback is polished and screws down. The caseback is decorated with a trident logo and has the wording ‘Deus Maris Altum’ which means ‘Deep Sea God’ in Latin. Okay, this watch is rated at 300 meters of watch resistance, which to me is more ‘Medium Sea God’ instead of ‘deep sea’, but I guess I’m just being difficult.

One of my quality control quibbles pertains to the case, specifically the finishing (or rather, lack thereof) on the inside edges of the lugs and the sloppy, shallow spring bar holes in the lugs. I realize that many watches lack proper finishing on the inside edges of the lugs and/or between the lugs because often, you can’t see this area, but for a watch that is sold on both a bracelet or strap, the lugs should be finished properly to prevent any unfinished areas from showing when the watch it worn or when it is held and examined.

If you look closely, you can see the lack of finishing on the insides of the lugs on the C60. Worse, the spring bar holes are incredibly shallow and sloppy looking. Luckily, the strap has remained in place without popping off, but I was terribly disappointed in the quality of the spring bar holes, so much so that I let the three principles of the company (Chris Ward, Peter Ellis and Mike France) know about this problem, since they solicit feedback directly on their web site, but alas, I heard nothing back from any of the three. Disappointing again, especially if you tout customer service and ask for feedback directly. Note to Mr. Christopher Ward, respond directly to your customer’s complaints or stop asking for their feedback!

The dial on the C60 was one of the elements that initially attracted me to this model. It is a black wave-pattern dial somewhat reminiscent of the older Omega Seamaster wave dials. The dial has round applied markers, a double rectangular marker at the 12 position and single rectangular markers at the 3, 6 and 9 positions.

All the markers are filled with white lume, as are the hour and minute hands. The seconds hand is a simple stick style with a red tip (no lume) and a cool trident fork on the tail end. There are also small lume dots on the outer edge of the applied markers that are set in a printed chapter ring with minute and smaller hash marks. These lume dots tend to glow brighter than the larger markers. Lume is SuperLuminova and the quality is good, being the in-vogue blue color, while the lume pip on the bezel glows the standard green.

The hands are semi-skeleton (semi because they are only skeletonized for a small portion of their overall length). The handset is rather unique and does look good.

The wording ‘Chr. Ward’ and ‘London’ appear below the 12 position, while ‘Trident-Pro’, ‘300m/1000 ft’ and ‘automatic’ appear above the 6 position.

A quickset date window is located at about the 4:30 position on the dial. The window is surrounded by a silver frame and the date wheel is black on white. Alignment within the window is good.

Many WISes I have talked to find the location of the date window on the C60 to be off-putting and not in keeping with the overall clean lines of the watch. It does look a bit odd being at 4:30 as opposed to even just the 4 position.

The dial is capped by a flat 4mm anti-reflective sapphire crystal that protrudes slightly above the bezel. The bezel is a 120-click unidirectional type that rotates easily and has a moderate about of backlash. The first 15 minutes are marked off with printed markers, while the remainder has standard arabics every 10 minutes with a larger marker between the arabics at the five minute marks. Overall bezel action on my C60 is acceptable, but I have heard from another WIS that the bezel action on his brand-new C60 was not acceptable to him (too much free play and bad alignment), so again, QC issues are rearing their ugly head.

The C60 Trident is available in a couple of dial colors and a variety of bezel colors and the other reason I purchased this watch was because of the khaki (olive greenish) colored bezel. It is a nice color that you don’t see on very many other watches.

Inside the C60 is a Swiss automatic movement, either an ETA 2824-2 or a Sellita SW200-1. Again, I have a problem with this. The Sellita is a fine movement and some of the Sellitas I own perform better than the comparable ETA, but the Sellita is basically a copy of the ETA and is NOT an ETA. The way they describe it on their web site, they make it sound like the movements are the same but they are not. Come on, Christopher Ward, have transparency here and let us know exactly what movement is in the C60 each of us buys.

Since the watch has no display back, I don’t know what is inside my C60. It’s like buying a General Motors car when they started using engines from all their divisions and you never knew if your Chevy had a Chevy engine, a Buick engine or a Pontiac engine in it.

I suspect my C60 has the Sellita in it, that’s my guess. The movement winds and sets fine and has performed without any problems, running at -4/24 hours with an expected power reserve of 41.5 hours.

I originally ordered my C60 Trident on the stainless steel bracelet, but upon receiving the watch and attempting to size the bracelet, my enthusiasm for Christopher Ward pretty much went out the window. The bracelet utilizes those irritating and insufferable pins and collars and the bracelet that was on my watch had the tightest pins and collars I have ever encountered on the hundreds of watches I have sized. I could only successfully remove one pin and move about one-quarter of another before I gave up in utter frustration.

I contacted Christopher Ward’s (‘CW’ for short) customer service, explained my problem and they did get back to me promptly and didn’t give me any guff about the situation, so I did appreciate that, but they also did not address the problem, other than accepting the bracelet back for a refund and exchanging it for one of their leather straps.

So I sent the bracelet back to them, they refunded the extra cost of the bracelet ($85 USD) and sent me the leather strap I selected (or so I thought). When my new strap arrived, it was not the model I ordered; it was a pilot style with rivets and a deployant clasp (I wanted a standard strap with a standard pin buckle).

They did refund the cost of my initial return shipping on the bracelet which I applaud them on, but I was not about to go through this song and dance again to return the mistakenly shipped strap for the one I really wanted. I put the CW strap on a different watch and installed the aftermarket 22mm oily dark brown leather strap that is shown in the pictures.

To CW’s credit, the quality of the leather strap I received was very good and the strap itself looks nice and wears decently, although I am still not a fan of deployant clasps on straps, especially butterfly style deployants.

After this experience, I came away with more thoughts on the company. First, if you are to compete in the United States, you have to have a U.S.-based customer service and repair center to accommodate people like me that don’t want to wait two-weeks to mail stuff back to England and then receive replacements from England, not to mention the costs involved in doing so. I don’t think I’m out of line here.

Secondly, while overall, CW’s customer service was responsive, they shipped me the wrong item. We all make mistakes, but after the lousy QC on the bracelet, the sloppy spring bar holes and the lack of inside lug finishing on the case, I decided to wipe my hands clean of this experience and sell my C60 for a substantial loss. I was past their generous 60-day return policy (which in hindsight I should have used and just returned the entire watch to them for a refund) but we all live and learn, I suppose.

The bracelet was a solid link stainless steel three-link design with a signed clasp and machined deployant, but it had a somewhat cheapish feel to it. The same WIS friend that had the bezel issues with his C60 also had bracelet problems with overly tight pins and collars and an ill-fitting spring bar/bracelet end link and a rattle-prone clasp. So I am not alone here. And just so you know, this bracelet represents the second, improved design for the C60. Hmmm.

Presentation consists of a large pale yellow two-piece outer box with a black padded inner box. It looks fine, but they also offer a deluxe box for an extra cost. The standard box is perfectly suitable.

I did my best to be friends with the C60 and there are elements of the watch that I do like, but the combination of not knowing exactly what movement is inside, the QC issues (which I feel are not that trivial), the customer service snafu and the lack of response from Mr. Ward himself all have conspired to leave me with a negative overall view of this watch and the company. Sorry, gents, that’s the way I see it.

Pros: nice wave dial, unique handset, great bezel color, cool trident on end of seconds hand

Cons: niggling QC issues, cheapish bracelet, some design elements don’t jive, ponderous customer service, what is the movement?

Verdict: while CW is trying their best, it’s not good enough. My experience with a Christopher Ward watch was less than perfect. IMHO, there are better values out there for your hard-earned dollar at this price point.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Model # 01 677 7619 4154

Brand: Oris
Model: Chronoris Grand Prix ’70 Limited Edition (total of 1970 pieces)
Material: stainless steel case, leather strap
Complications: date display, second time zone hand, chronograph timing in one-quarter second increments up to 12 hours
Price: MSRP $4,650 USD

Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I tend to like Oris watches. I have three of them in my collection at the present time and this Chronoris Limited Edition is the standout of the bunch. Oris makes a ‘standard’ Chronoris watch in orange and black that has one major downfall; it does not have a seconds hand for the non-chronograph portion of the watch. This may not bother some people, but for me, and especially for an automatic, a watch needs to have a seconds hand.

The Chronoris LE takes care of this problem simply because the watchmakers at Oris decided to include a second hand on this model. The Grand Prix LE Chronoris has a full 12-hour chronograph and an independently adjustable 24-hour GMT hand and is presented in a great black and green motif. When I saw it, I had to have it. The Chronoris is a limited-edition run of 1970 pieces.

Oris has made the Chronoris model for decades and vintage examples pop up for sale from time to time. For the current LE model, they pretty much loaded it up with contemporary features while retaining a vintage look and created a stunning, functional and exclusive watch.

The Chronoris LE starts with a retro ‘disco volante’ cushion case shape with partial hidden lugs, in a brushed and polished finish. The large signed crown is a thing of beauty, as it quick-locks with a quarter turn of the finger. Oris calls it a ‘quick lock security crown.’ Totally nifty!

Case diameter is 42.3mm without the crown, 46.1mm crown included. Case height is 44.1mm end to end, lugs are 21mm. Thickness is 14.7mm. This is a fairly large watch, but it wears well and imparts a terrific look on the wrist.

The chronograph pushers are polished and of good size. The polished case back screws down and is a display type with a mineral crystal. A slightly domed sapphire crystal has its edges flush with the case. Anti-reflective coating is on the inside. The Chronoris LE is factory rated for 50 meters of water resistance.

The dial on the Chronoris LE is easily described as ‘busy’, but not to the extent that it detracts from the functionality of the watch. The innermost part of the dial is black, surrounded by a green chapter-type ring with white hash marks for the chronograph seconds hand, although the marks and ring are interrupted by the top and bottom subdials.

Outside the chapter ring is another circle of black, which is surrounded by a green and white 24-hour ring (a.m. on the ring is green, p.m. is white). The 24-hour ring is in turn surrounded by a black tachymeter ring.

Silver applied markers with luminous dots at the ends are placed every five minutes on the dial, going from the inner green and white chapter ring to the outer black ring. I know this description sounds incredibly busy, but look at the pictures and you’ll see that it somehow all works together.

The subdial at the 9 position is the watch seconds hand. The subdial at 12 is the 30-minute chronograph totalizer and the subdial at 6 is the chronograph 12-hour totalizer.

The 30-minute totalizer also has an inner white 10-minute countdown ring inside the 30-minute ring, counting down 10 minutes starting at the 15-minute mark and going to the 25-minute mark. According to the Formula 1 web site, the rules state “ten minutes before the start the grid must be cleared except for team technical staff, race officials and drivers. With three minutes to go all cars must have their wheels fitted (any car not complying will receive a 10-second time penalty).” Hence, the reason this function appears on this watch.

The top and bottom subdials are oversized and are ringed in silver, making them stand out on the dial and also making them easier to read. This design element almost makes the watch appear to be a two-register chronograph instead of a three-register style.

The subdial at 9 has only basic marks at each quarter hour and is not delineated by a ring or circle, making the seconds hand very subdued, but still present, which is appreciated.

All the subdial hands and the chronograph seconds hand are simple silver, with the hour and minute hands of the watch being silver with inset lume. Lume is C3 Superluminova and quality is good. There’s not an overabundance of lume on the Chronoris LE, but just enough for adequate time reading in the dark.

The 24-hour GMT hand is executed extremely well. The tip is medium yellow, while the hand portion is black, so all you tend to see is the tip at the outer edge of the dial; it’s as if the yellow pointer is floating around the dial. This helps lessen the complexity of the dial while retaining great second timezone capability.

A white on black quickset date window is located at the 6 position, inside the lower subdial. The window is rimmed in silver and is easy to read. Alignment of the date wheel inside the round window is good.

Inside the Chronoris LE is a 25-jewel Oris Caliber 677 Swiss made automatic movement, which starts as a base Valjoux 7754. The movement beats at 28,800 vph and can be manually wound and hacked. In my testing, I achieved a fine 53 hour power reserve (Oris lists PR at 48 hours) and in my accuracy tests, it runs at +7 seconds over 24 hours. Totally acceptable.

The movement runs great, sets and winds fine and the action of all the complications (GMT hand setting, chrono start/stop/reset) are good. A fine movement for a fine watch. And of course, the famous Oris red rotor is visible through the display back and is signed with the Oris name and Grand Prix ‘70.

The strap on the Chronoris is very nice. A black perforated leather strap in a matte finish, a bit thicker but not really padded, with green stitching inside and black stitching outside and green edges. A super look. The strap is 21mm at the lugs and tapers to 18mm at the deployant style clasp.

The clasp is also a beauty; it’s one of those designs that keeps the extra part of the strap (the part that normally would overlap and fit through keepers) on the inside of the strap for a clean look. The clasp itself is a signed pushbutton machined deployant that has a satin finish on the inside and a bit of perlage on one part of the clasp. A small but great detail. The clasp and strap are comfortable and make the watch a joy to wear.

Overall fit and finish on the Chronoris LE is first rate. I said it in my review of the Oris Maldives diver and I will say it again, I believe Oris has really stepped up their game recently and is producing even better quality watches than they did a short five years ago.

Presentation of the Chronoris LE is a square cardboard outer box with a rubberized inner box in the shape of a racing tire. A pair of driving gloves is also included in most sets (I did not get the gloves with my watch, perhaps because I bought this watch at a discount). No biggie, the presentation is totally in fitting with the race theme of this watch.

In summary, the Oris Chronoris LE is a fantastic watch, if you can find one. It combines a great retro look with modern functionality and has a color combination and style that is tough to beat. A superbly executed watch.

Pros: great functionality with multiple complications, super looks, nifty quick-lock crown, reliable Swiss engine, quality strap and deployant clasp

Cons: case shape may not suit everybody’s tastes, dial is rather busy, modest water resistance

Verdict: in most respects, the Chronoris LE is a watch that almost does it all without going over the top in any way. A well-done watch that will definitely get the looks.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Model # 241377 (discontinued)

Brand: Victorinox Swiss Army
Model: Infantry Vintage Mechanical
Material: stainless steel case, leather strap
Complications: none
Price: MSRP $925 USD

Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

It’s always a pleasure to review a watch that is simple and functional in its design, good looking and rugged. The Victorinox Swiss Army (‘VSA’ for short) Infantry Vintage Mechanical certainly fits the bill. Although this particular model is now discontinued, they can still be found new on the ‘net and at pretty good prices, too.

I have already reviewed the big brother to this watch, the VSA Infantry Vintage Mechanical Chronograph and gave that watch high marks. The manual wind, non-complicated version is equally enjoyable.

The VSA Infantry Vintage Mechanical starts with a 44mm stainless steel case that sports a brushed and polished finish. It’s nice that even though this watch sports a large-sized movement, VSA managed to keep the case diameter as small as they can. Many watches that have the Unitas manual wind movement clock in at 45 or 46mm in size. The shortness of the lugs on the watch also make it much more manageable on the wrist (lug-tip to lug-tip measures 50mm), so kudos to VSA for designing this piece to a usable size.

Case diameter with the signed crown is 47.4mm. The screwdown caseback is brushed stainless steel and has a mineral crystal display window that shows off the minimally decorated but still attractive workhorse movement.

Thickness is 12mm and lugs are an odd 23mm. The fixed bezel is stepped in its design and adds just the right amount of panache to this admittedly simple watch. The VSA Infantry Vintage Mechanical is factory rated for 100 meters of water resistance.

Overall quality of the finish work and assembly is first-rate on this VSA.

The dial on this VSA is a real beauty. The dial is one of the highlights of the chronograph version and the dial on the manual wind is pretty much the same design. A black center circular section has a 13-24 hour track, which is surrounded by a slightly recessed and textured section that has the raised arabics on it.

Thankfully, VSA has not ‘hacked off’ any of the numbers on the dial. Instead of putting a half or third of a 5, 6 or 7 on the dial, the designers simply left these numbers off....way to go! It always hacks me off when some dials have arabics that are so cut off that they are barely recognizable as a number...why not just leave it off? That’s what VSA did here and it looks great.

Another design element that works is the restraint VSA had when the decided how large to make the arabics on the dial. Like many watches these days, they have made a couple of the arabics on the dial larger than the rest (the 3 and 9 are about 50-percent larger than the other arabics) but they are not clownishly large, which is good. And given that the dial on this watch is larger to begin with, the slightly oversized arabics don't look out of place.

A chapter ring on the outer edge of the dial has lume dots at each five minute mark (pointer style marks at 12, 3 and 9) along with hash marks for minute markers and small arabics every five minutes. The larger arabics on the dial are luminous as well as the hour, minute and seconds hand. Lume quality is good.

The hour and minute hands are sword style, silver with inset lume. The lume used on this watch is also the cream or ‘aged’ kind of Superluminova, which is in keeping with the vintage aspirations of this model. It looks fantastic.

The subdial at 6 is perfectly sized to the overall proportions of this watch. It has a slightly heavy silver ring around it and has an inner circular dial in black with a cream colored seconds track on the outside with arabics at each quarter minute and simple marks every five seconds. The seconds hand is the same design as the main hands and features inset lume as well.

The dial is topped with a flat anti-reflective sapphire crystal. The entire dial is well executed and makes this watch very easy to read.

Inside the VSA Infantry Vintage Mechanical is the long-running and well-regarded Swiss Unitas 6498 ‘six eater’ 17-jewel manual wind movement. There are several grades of this movement available and this VSA sports the version with brushed plates, for a nicer look through the display back.

The watch does not hack, but I have measured timekeeping accuracy at about +7/24 hours with a good 48.5 hour power reserve. The watch winds and sets smoothly. Absolutely no complaints from this tried and true workhorse of a movement.

The VSA Infantry Vintage Mechanical is equipped with a smooth black leather strap with a slightly coarse off-white contrast stitch. The strap is moderately thick without any padding. The strap measures 23mm at the lugs and tapers to 20.2mm at the buckle. The signed buckle is brushed stainless steel. The look of the strap fits the overall tone of this watch; nothing fancy, but totally purposeful and attractive.

As I stated at the start of this review, although this VSA model is discontinued, you can still find them brand new if you look hard enough and many places are discounting them, so they represent a very good value for a Unitas 6498-based watch that has high quality and an acceptable size. The VSA Infantry Vintage Mechanical is a superb watch that shines through its simplicity. If you enjoy the basic joy of a manual wind watch without any complications, you can’t do much better than this one. Highly recommended.

Pros: good fit and finish, very legible dial, basic and rugged Swiss manual wind movement, manageable size

Cons: still a large watch, too simple for some?

Verdict: VSA hits all the right notes with this one, the Infantry Vintage Mechanical is a great watch and can be easily appreciated for its classic/vintage style, quality and simplicity.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Model # S500/BL

Brand/Model: Bremont Supermarine 500

Movement: Swiss automatic

Material: stainless steel case and rubber strap or bracelet, depending on model

Complications: day/date display

Price: MSRP around $5,000 USD

Plenty of pictures follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Bremont would be classified as a high-end boutique brand, the company being founded by two chaps in England in 2002 and selling their uniquely designed watches since 2007. Bremont has its watches made in Switzerland currently, but the company does have plans to begin making the watches in England at some point in the future.

The company claims every watch in their standard range is COSC chronometer certified. Sounds good on paper, but unfortunately, this has not been my experience. More on this later.

Bremont puts on a good show with their thoroughly engineered designs that should suit those looking for diver-style or aviation-influenced pieces. While definitely pricey, the watches can be found on the second hand market at considerably less than MSRP, but still beyond the reach of many collectors.

I was interested in seeing what the Bremont Supemarine had to offer, since there seems to be a good deal of enthusiasm for the brand in the WIS world. Truth be told, I was somewhat let down when I finally added one to my collection. To me, it just doesn’t feel like a several thousand dollar watch.

The Supermarine starts with a unique case construction of brushed and polished stainless steel with a visible black Faraday cage (inner part is soft iron) that gives the watch its high anti-magnetic properties. Bremont refers to this three-piece case as ‘Trip Tick’ construction. The case also carries a patented anti-shock movement mount.

Many a watch enthusiast sees the stylized case and oohs and aahs over it. It does look pretty cool, but it is also quite thick, measuring 16.5mm, which is pretty much in Valjoux 7750 territory, but the Supermarine is not a chronograph.

The case measures 43mm without the screwdown logo signed crown located at the two position. With the crown included, diameter is 46.4mm. The screwdown satin finish caseback is heavily embossed with a raised and polished Bremont aviation logo.

Lug width is 22mm, with a helium escape valve (HEV) located in the center on the left side of the case. The stylized crown guard is held in place by visible hex head screws, but the guard only protects the lower part of the crown. Since the crown is located at the two position and is closer to the upper lug, I guess Bremont thinks this design will protect the top part of the crown.

The Supermarine is factory rated for 500 meters of water resistance.

The dial is fairly detailed, the color on my Supermarine being a dark blue. Other Supermarine models come with black or silver dials and different colored bezels. A new Supermarine 2000 has also been recently introduced.

The inner part of the dial has a circle with a seconds track surrounding vertical striping. Outside this circle the dial is smooth and encompasses the round luminous applied markers. A slightly raised chapter ring with minute dots and small arabics at each five minute mark complete the dial.

A quickset day/date window is located at the three position with a silver frame surrounding the window and a divider between the day and date. The wheels are black on white, with the day reading in both English and French. Alignment of the wheels inside the window is just okay, but could be slightly better to my eye, especially at this price point.

The hour and minute hands are silver with white inset lume (a welcome change from the garish green lume used on other Supermarine 500 models). The seconds hand is a plain silver stick, with no lume, which raises questions at to the functionality of this watch if it is used for diving.

The name ‘Bremont’ appears in smaller text below the 12 position, while ‘Supermarine’ and ‘500M-1660ft.’ reside above the six position.

A nicely luminous 120-click unidirectional sapphire coated bezel is colored white for the first 20 minutes, then is dark blue for the remainder of the hour. The bezel rotates easily (almost too easily) and doesn’t have an expensive sound or feel to it. Along with the bezel, the lume quality of the dial is excellent and glows in the increasingly popular Superluminova blue color.

A slightly domed anti-reflective sapphire crystal covers the dial and is recessed a bit from the inside of the bezel. Examination of the dial under my 8X loupe reveals a clean build devoid of dust or fingerprints.

Inside the Supermarine is a modified Swiss Made 25-jewel automatic movement beating at 28,800 bph that hacks and manually winds. It’s referred to as Bremont Caliber BE-36AE, which I believe is an ETA base movement. Since the watch has no display back, I cannot comment on what I hope is some nice decoration, at least according to the pictures on the Bremont web site. The rotor is stated to be a ‘moulded and skeletonized decorated rotor.’ Too bad I can’t appreciate it.

Now back to my earlier comment about COSC accuracy. Bremont states all their standard watches are COSC chronometer rated (-4 to +6 seconds daily rate) and my Supermarine runs at +10 seconds per day. Not bad, but definitely not chronometer spec. It would be a hassle to have to return the watch to Bremont for a regulation, so I have not done so. Power reserve has been measured at 41.5 hours, pretty standard stuff.

The winding, setting and performance of the movement, other than being out of COSC spec has been okay, but another note, the crown action on this watch is very stiff and it’s hard to feel the detents for the quickset day/date and for the time setting. I don’t know if this is an anomaly to this one particular piece or if all their crowns are overly stiff.

My Supermarine is currently fitted with a blue 22mm aftermarket leather strap which I feel compliments the blue dial perfectly. The photos show this strap on the watch, albeit with the OEM signed buckle installed.

The blue dial Supermarine comes standard with a ribbed dark blue rubber strap that has molded and curved ends to mimick a solid end link on a bracelet. While giving the watch a more integrated appearance, this will also reduce the flexibility of the strap, making it harder to achieve a good fit if you have a smaller wrist.

Bremont also sells leather straps and a hefty stainless steel bracelet for the Supermarine as well.

Presentation is a rectangular black cardboard box with a lift-off top. Inside is a dark brown leather roll wrap with a pocket for the watch and a buckle strap to close and secure the roll. It’s a nice way to present this watch.

The big question is…is the Supermarine worth the price? A lot of people apparently think so, but I really can’t say that it is, as I believe this watch is over-rated. While the case design and finish work is top notch, the bezel action, crown feel and hand set fall short of a multi-thousand dollar piece. If you want a brand that hardly anyone has heard of or a nifty looking case style, the Supermarine will do the trick, but in this case, the ‘Trip-Tick’ design was not enough to ‘tick’ all my boxes for an upper end diver. An Omega Seamaster or Planet Ocean is a much better choice for about the same price.

Pros: unique case design, strong lume, nicely embossed caseback, dark blue dial looks good

Cons: poor bezel action and sound, stiff crown makes setting difficult, hand set just average, watch not running at COSC spec., quite pricey

Verdict: an interesting watch that’s not for everybody due to the price point, the Supermarine has its merits but maybe not enough of them to win us all over

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Model # DA45

Brand/Model: Damasko DA45 Black Automatic

Movement: Swiss automatic

Material: hardened stainless steel case with black Damest layer, leather strap

Complications: day/date display

Price: $1,550 USD

Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

This is one of those reviews I was looking forward to writing. When I purchase a watch that exceeds my expectations and has such a unique look and set of features compared to other watches, I am happy and excited to write about it. This is the case with the watch being reviewed here, the Damasko DA45 black automatic.

Damasko is a German company that makes a fairly wide range of technologically advanced, extremely well-built tool watches that are designed to withstand environmental extremes and hold up well during everyday wear. The list of features that are built into Damasko’s watches reminds me of reading a Mercedes Benz catalog for one of their cars...loaded with useful, real technology that is not a lot of marketing puffery. It’s technology that’s real, thoroughly engineered and it’s built into everyone of their watches. It’s also pretty darn cool.

Damasko has been around since 1994. Their engineers have spent a lot of time designing watch cases that can be hardened way beyond a watch case made of standard 316L stainless steel. The stainless alloy that Damakso employs in their cases is entirely nickel free and is hardened to a value up to four times harder than any other watch case used in modern watch production. The value is up to 800 Vickers. The DA45’s case is ice hardened to 710 Vickers.

Damasko also has taken considerable lengths to design and patent a superior gasketing system for the screw down crown mechanism. Their secret is a lubrication cell inside the crown tube and double Viton™ o-rings. The screw down crown mechanism is also patented.

The DA45 also has a very high resistance to magnetic fields (due to an inner cage), a super durable black Damest coating on the case, superior design and construction of the bezel, etc. I could go on and on, but let’s just say this is a very bad-ass watch and these technological advancements help place Damasko watches at a higher echelon than other watches.

There are also many other innovations that are featured in higher end models of Damasko watches (but not the model reviewed here), such as an oil-free escapement mechanism and a proprietary balance spring. You can read more about all of these nifty design features in-depth at Damasko’s web site.

The DA45 black automatic has the super hard stainless steel Damest layer case that measures 40mm without the signed screwdown crown; 44.9mm crown inclusive. Thickness is 12.3mm and lugs are the nice standard 20mm (which makes aftermarket strap shopping much easier). The lugs are also drilled, which makes strap changes easier as well.

The screwdown crown has small shoulders protecting it. One note on the crown, despite the patented design with the lubrication cell, etc., the feel of the crown as it screws down should be smoother in my opinion. It screws down fine, but to me, there is still a slightly gritty feel to it, which the design is supposed to take care of. Not a huge nitpick (as long as the screwdown action continues to seal the crown properly and nothing strips out), but it definitely bears mentioning.

The caseback is fully Damest layer coated and is screwed down, with lots of information stamped into the caseback as it pertains to the features and performance of the watch, most of which is in German. All in all, the look of the case and the evenness and smoothness of the black Damest layer is superb and it appears that it will stand the test of time.

The DA45 is factory rated for 100 meters of water resistance.

There were two reasons the DA45 appealed to me. The first was the superior black case and the second was the white dial. But wait, the dial is also fully luminous! Most full-lume dials either have a slight translucency to them or have a greenish tint, telling you right away that they’re luminous. Not so with the DA45. Damasko had the foresight to use pure white Superluminova C1 to evenly and perfectly coat the entire dial. So in normal light, the dial is a great stark white. Only in dim light or darkness does the dial reveal itself to be luminous, emitting a soft green glow. Fantastic!

The dial is a study in simplicity and readability. The sword-style hands are pure matte black and the seconds hand is red, with just a small part (near the attachment to the pinion) being matte black. The markers are also screened matte black. Everything shows up well against the luminous dial. The marker at 12 is red to add a bit of style and the wording ‘Damasko’ appears just above the day/date display at 3. There is also a small vertical line that runs from 12 to 6 and a horizontal line that runs from 9 to 3 on the dial. Very subtle.

Capping the dial is a flat sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides.

A note about the day and date display. The wheels are black on white (the day wheel is in English and German) but instead of being perfectly aligned at the 3 position, the windows are just slightly below, which is a unique and useful way to display the day and date on this watch. Just another detail that differentiates this watch from others.

The bezel on the DA45 rides on ceramic bearings and unlike most watches these days, the bezel is bi-directional. This is a refreshing change. The bezel is Damest layer black with white inset arabics every 5 minutes and white hash marks on the other minutes. The bezel pip is a sealed pip that’s luminous (although faintly) and RED! It looks super cool!

The action of the bezel is one of the most precise, if not the most precise of any rotating bezel on a watch that I have ever experienced. It has an absolutely positive, smooth and precise feel about it. Just superb. I wish more bezels had such a great feel and action as the Damasko DA45.

Inside the DA45 resides an ETA 2836-2 25-jewel Swiss automatic, with gold wash and a decorated rotor (you can’t see any of this because the caseback is not a display type, but the specs. say so). The movement is a workhorse in the industry and beats at 28,800 bph. Of course, it hacks and manually winds. Power reserve is the expected 41 hours. The movement winds, sets and performs as expected, with one major difference; it is extremely accurate! This watch runs at an honest +1 second per day on or off the wrist. I cannot fault this performance at all. Hats off to Damasko for taking the time to regulate their movements.

Even the strap on the DA45 goes above and beyond the normal. It’s a nicely grained high quality slightly padded black leather with double colored stitching (white and red) that adds a bit of style without looking garish. The buckle is of course signed and finished in black Damest to match the case on the watch.

Two keepers are featured (one fixed, one floating) and a nifty extra tab of leather that sits under the buckle where it resides against your wrist. A nice touch! The strap measures 20mm at the lugs and tapers to 18.5mm at the buckle.

Presentation is a weak point, especially at this price point. The box is a rather non-descript inner and outer pair that would better suit a $100 watch. The instructions and documentation are also sub-par, being just color photocopies. Please, Damasko, ramp up the presentation to better match the exclusivity and quality of your watches!

Damasko has other models similar to the DA45, with bead blasted cases instead of black, different dial colors, different bezel functions, various strap options, other accent colors, etc. The selection is decent and should have something that appeals to everybody.

While the DA45 is not cheap by any means, it is a watch with a purpose. It features real technology designed to increase the durability, performance and longevity of the watch. You won’t see this watch everyday and it’s bound to attract attention because it looks like nothing else out there. Congrats to Damasko for creating such a unique, robust and overall superb timepiece.

Pros: great fit and finish, usable technology that’s not all hype, super smooth and durable black Damest coating, superb accuracy, Swiss engine, very nice strap, great bezel action

Cons: could have a higher water resistance rating, despite lubrication, crown feels oddly gritty, presentation needs improvement

Verdict: worth every penny, the Damasko DA45 black automatic is an engineering marvel that you wear on your wrist, with features above and beyond most watches on the market today. A great look, great performance and high quality make this watch a real winner.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Model # 232.30.42.21.01.001

Brand/Model: Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Cal. 8500 Ceramic

Movement: in-house Swiss automatic

Material: stainless steel case and bracelet, ceramic bezel insert

Complications: date display

Price: MSRP $6,200 USD

Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

First off, welcome to review number 100 on my watch reviews blog! Thank you to all my visitors and regulars for helping to make this blog one of the most popular watch review blogs on-line. It’s been a great ride and I appreciate your support.

For this special milestone review, I thought a simply superb watch would be appropriate to mark the occasion. Hence, I selected the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean with the new in-house Caliber 8500 automatic movement. I reviewed the first-generation Planet Ocean (launched by Omega in 2005) a couple of years ago and I gave that watch high marks.

The new Cal. 8500 Planet Ocean (‘PO’ for short) continues the excellence started with the first model and improves on many points, and I will say it right now, this is one outstanding watch. It’s one of those pieces that if I had to own just one watch, this could certainly be it.

The overall design of the Planet Ocean, with its broad arrow-style hands, stylish slightly thinner bezel insert, simple but functional bracelet and superb quality all conspire in a positive way to create a watch that is the perfect all-around timepiece, at home in the office, the country club or on date night. It exudes presence, prestige and class. Don’t I sound adoring when I gush about something?

The updated PO has several fairly significant cosmetic changes. The most obvious are the fatter handset, applied arabics on the dial, an applied Omega logo and slight changes to the applied markers. The lume is now blue, with a green lume bezel dot and minute hand.

The bezel now has a ceramic insert in a charcoal grey shade instead of black and the clasp no longer carries an engraved ‘Planet Ocean’ signature, nor the words ‘Seamaster’ or ‘Professional’. The clasp is ever so slightly different with oval pushbuttons and the bracelet has been upgraded using screws and pins for adjustment.

Aside from a healthy price increase (at $6,200 USD, this watch is getting very pricey!), the biggest news in the latest PO is the brand new in-house Caliber 8500 Co-Axial automatic movement. Omega ditched the beautiful embossed caseback and added a display caseback, to show off the nicely decorated new movement. They are obviously proud of their accomplishment and this movement is being used in a variety of other Omegas, including the Aqua Terra.

The latest PO is available in two sizes, just like the first-generation model, at 45.5mm and 42mm. As before, I am reviewing the 42mm version here. It starts with an all stainless steel case in a brushed and polished finish and those gorgeous signature Omega curved lugs. The case measures 42mm without the signed screwdown crown; 45.1mm with the crown included. Lug spacing is 20mm, thickness is 16mm.

This newer version of the PO is substantially thicker than the first-generation model, which was 14.2mm thick. This has been a point of contention with some people, as it does make the watch somewhat top heavy on the wrist, especially if you have a thinner wrist, as I do. I really haven’t had any problems with the thickness, but do bear it in mind if you’re considering this watch.

The caseback, as previously mentioned, is a sapphire display type and screws down. The Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean is still factory rated at 600 meters of water resistance despite the inclusion of the display back, so nothing has been lost with its addition.

The crown that sets and winds the watch is located at the 3 position, and is signed and screws down. The helium escape valve is manually operated, signed with an ‘HE’ and is located at the 10 position on the left side of the case.

The dial on the PO is a matte to slightly glossy black and with the fatter hands and applied logo, it looks great. The lume is not as bright as the older model, but I have yet to see a watch that uses the trendy blue SuperLuminova glow as brightly as their green lume. Why this change was made, I do not know. To me, it’s a bit of a downgrade.

The broad arrow hands are silver with inset lume and the seconds hand is silver with an orange pointer-style tip. A quickset date is at the 3 position, with a black wheel and silver numerals.

A note on the quickset, with the new Cal. 8500 movement, the quickset works by rotating the hour hand through a 24-hour cycle (àla Rolex GMT II) to change the date. While this does take a bit longer than a standard quickset mechanism, it has the advantage of being able to change the date in either direction, so if the date you’re looking for is closer to the displayed date by going backwards, you can rotate the hour hand counterclockwise to get the date set. And since the hour hand moves, it makes quick timezone changes super easy without upsetting the timekeeping, as the watch continues to run while you adjust the hour hand.

The words ‘Omega’, ‘Seamaster’ and ‘Professional’ are located on the dial below the 12 position, with ‘Co-axial’, ‘Chronometer’ and ‘600m/2000ft’ listed above the 6 position. It sounds quite busy, but it really isn’t. The quality of the applied markers, the applied logo, the look of the hands, it’s all top-notch.

The dial is capped by a slightly domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides.

The 120-click unidirectional bezel features the new grey ceramic insert with a lume pip at 12. The insert has a matte finish and doesn’t scream ceramic, but it looks good, with the standard timing markings to be expected of a true diver. Bezel action is smooth with nary any backlash.

Much has been discussed about the new in-house 39-jewel Caliber 8500 movement, and I will quote from Omega’s web site as to the features of this movement: “Self-winding movement with Co-Axial Escapement for greater precision, stability and durability. Free sprung-balance, two barrels mounted in series, automatic winding in both directions to reduce winding time. Bridges and the oscillating mass are decorated with exclusive Geneva waves in arabesque.” The decoration is really quite stunning. This movement also features Omega’s Si14 silicone balance spring for added reliability.

Omega lists power reserve at 60 hours; during my testing, I achieved 64 hours, which is superb. The movement is of course COSC rated, which seems to be carrying less and less importance these days, even in high-end watches.

As with my first Planet Ocean, this new version when running off the wrist in the crown up position runs at just inside the COSC spec. at +6 seconds per day. But this summer, while on vacation, I wore my Cal. 8500 Planet Ocean pretty much 24/7 (taking it off only to shower) for nine days straight and it performed flawlessly, settling in at a consistent +3 seconds per day over the nine day period. Just fine.

I won’t go into a technical analysis of this movement, but suffice to say that it appears to be a well-engineered design with some unique features and should stand the test of time. Well done!

The bracelet on the newest PO is pretty much carry-over, with a brushed finish and a pushbutton clasp with machined deployant and fold-out machined diver extension.

The bracelet features Omega’s patented screw and pin link adjustment, which is so much easier than the old pin and collar system. As I previously mentioned, the clasp is just signed ‘Omega’ only, with no ‘Planet Ocean’, ‘Seamaster’ or ‘Professional’ script as in the first generation.

A bracelet half link is also included for a better fit, but as before, there is still no micro-adjustment on the clasp, which earns this watch one of its very few demerits.

The bracelet measures 20mm at the lugs and tapers to 18mm at the clasp.

Presentation is standard Omega red box with vinyl holder for the warranty card, chronometer card, pictogram card, etc. It works well and looks good, but as Omega’s prices continue to rise, will they spice up the box? We’ll see.

Overall, the newest version of the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean with the Caliber 8500 movement is a worthy upgrade to the original. Yes, it costs more, but the new movement is a work of art and performance is robust and accurate. If you’re wanting one watch that can go anywhere and look great, the PO is a fine choice.

Pros: in-house movement with great decoration and long power reserve, high quality fit and finish, ceramic bezel looks good, high water resistance rating

Cons: watch case is rather thick, too thick for some, blue lume is not super bright, bracelet somewhat uninspiring and lacks microadjustment, getting rather pricey

Verdict: the Planet Ocean is truly a ‘must have’ watch and Omega pretty much knocks it out of the park with this one. You can’t go wrong with this watch and you won’t be disappointed when you get one, it’s that good.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pics.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Model # 2TZAS-S01A-L99S

Brand/Model: Graham Silverstone GMT Automatic

Movement: Swiss automatic

Material: stainless steel case, leather strap

Complications: date display, independently adjustable 24 hour hand

Price: MSRP: $4,550 USD

Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

When I think of Graham brand watches, I usually envision absurdly large fighter style chronographs with oversized pushers and busy dials. They always seemed like clown watches to me. So when these Graham Silverstone GMT models started showing up on the grey market about a year ago at deeply discounted prices, my interest was piqued because, wonder of all wonders, this watch was ‘only’ 42mm in size! A sensibly sized Graham? Who knew!

Graham is an English watch company playing off the history of George Graham, who in the early 1700s was a master clockmaker in London. All Graham watches are Swiss Made and utilize the highest quality materials with thorough engineering incorporated into each watch they make.

The Silverstone GMT gets its name from the famed Silverstone racetrack that hosted its first race in 1947 in England. In 1950, the first Formula One race was held at Silverstone. The track has since become known as the home of British racing and Graham saw fit to honor this grand dame of racetracks with a watch bearing its name.

So of course, since I discovered I could get a Graham for one-third the retail price, I got me-self one and truth be told, I have been very impressed with this watch since day one. The overall quality, look and feel of this piece is superb and I wish and hope that Graham decides to make more watches in this size range. Currently, it looks like their smallest watch is about 44mm.

The Graham Silverstone GMT came in a black or silver dial; I chose the silver. The dial is a nice shade of silver that is surprisingly easy to read, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Graham GMT starts with a beautifully fully polished stainless steel case that measures the aforementioned 42mm (actually 41.9mm) without the screwdown crown; 45.5mm with the crown included. The case is shaped with a nice rounding to the case sides and nifty curved down lugs that help the watch hug the wrist.

Believe me, they did not skimp in the manufacture of this case, although the screwdown crown is a curiosity for two reasons. Why on earth use a screwdown crown on a watch rated at only 50 meters of water resistance? Seems silly to me. Also, the crown is incredibly plain, it is not signed nor does it have any distinctive features, like a larger size, deep knurls, etc. I would have liked a nicely signed crown to compliment the unique look of this watch.

The caseback is brushed and polished stainless steel on the outer edge and is a display type held in place by 6 small screws. The very nicely finished movement is easily examined through the caseback with a totally cool signed black rotor.

Case thickness is a svelte 10.7mm and lug spacing is 20mm. As just mentioned, the watch is factory rated for a modest 50 meters of water resistance.

A fixed black 24 hour bezel insert surrounds the dial, a dial which does exhibit some of the traditional Graham excess, namely the somewhat oversized arabics and large pointer style GMT hand. But the excess is restrained and it actually works well while telling the world this is not your usual watch.

The shade of silver on the dial is just about right, not too bright, and with the finely crafted hands with their thin pointed tips, this watch is easy to read. The seconds hand has a luminous pointer about two-thirds of the way out, with a long red tip after the pointer. It’s a nice long seconds hand, one that extends fully in the chapter ring that features small arabics every five minutes and minute markers between the arabics.

The large screened arabics on the dial look like they are luminous, but they are not. Only the hour, minute and seconds hand glow in the dark. Lume quality is good, but it would be nice to have some sort of lume on the dial, such as dots, markers, etc.

While there is minimal printing on the dial, the texts are a bit large, but again, not too garish. The name ‘Graham’ is prominently displayed under the 12, with a much smaller ‘Silverstone’ text underneath. Above the 6 position is a small ‘automatic’ with a large red ‘GMT’ above that. It might sound a bit loud, but it really isn’t.

I’m not sure why they didn’t make the GMT hand luminous, perhaps because the bezel with the 24 hour markings is not luminous or maybe they don’t think you need second timezone tracking in the dark. Regardless of this somewhat odd oversight, the GMT hand is a plain black stick with an oversized open red pointer tip that is super easy to see. Again, daytime legibility is a strong point on this watch.

Another unique feature of the Graham GMT is the location of the date window. It’s at the unusual position of about 36 on the dial (or 7 o’clock depending on how you look at it). Not sure why they chose this position, but it does the job and works fine.

The quickset date mechanism works well, the date wheel is black on white and is visible through the recessed window that frames the date nicely.

Capping the dial is a very slightly domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating. The build quality of the dial and hands is very good; no defects or dirt were noticed under an 8X loupe exam.

Doing duty inside the Graham Silverstone GMT is the venerable Swiss Made ETA 2893-2 automatic movement, with 21 jewels running at 28,800 bph with the GMT complication (Graham Caliber # G1714). This movement is the workhorse for most GMT automatics around and in this application, it’s treated to a nice decoration regime (perlage and blued screws) and the cool signed black rotor I mentioned earlier. It’s a joy to behold when viewed through the display caseback.

The watch hacks and manually winds and the GMT hand clicks around the dial in one-hour increments. The watch winds and sets well and keeps time to a fine +4 seconds/24 hours according to my testing. Power reserve was clocked at a totally respectable 49.5 hours, more than the expected 42 hours. Excellent!

The Graham Silverstone GMT comes on a high quality black leather strap with white contrast stitching. The strap is smooth leather and is signed, as is the highly polished stainless steel buckle. The strap measures 20mm at the lugs and tapers to 18.2mm at the buckle.

There are two keepers, one fixed and one floating. The strap is a bit thick and mildly padded, but still soft and flexible. A perfect companion to the rest of the watch.

Presentation is rather over-the-top, as would be expected of Graham. A two piece black cardboard outer box encloses another oversized outer box has a damped hinged auto-open cover (once the latch is slide back) with yet another smaller zippered box inside that actually contains the watch. The zippered box could be used as a travel box if needed.

Full documentation in the form of a hardcover ‘watch passort’ is included. The passport contains hand-written serial numbers and movement numbers, which is a nice touch. No complaints with this presentation.

Often times a high priced watch from a smaller company like Graham will come off as either overdone or overstyled (which their Chronofighter models are, IMHO) or all flash and no substance. This Graham Silverstone GMT exceeded my expectations of what I thought it might be and has been a great introduction to this English brand.

While I can safely say that I will probably never own an oversized overwrought Graham Chronofighter, if they produce more smaller sized watches like this Silverstone GMT, I would definitely take a look and have interest. This Graham Silverstone GMT is a superb watch in most all respects and if you can snag one for one-third of retail, consider it well-bought.

Pros: great overall quality, highly legible in daylight, nicely decorated movement, superb case shape, manageable size, unique looks

Cons: why a screwdown crown on a 50M watch? crown too plain, modest water resistance rating, crazy MSRP, sparse lume

Verdict: the Graham Silverstone GMT gets the job done with outstanding style, functionality and unique details that set it apart from other GMT watches on the market; overall, a high-grade watch for discriminating collectors. Well done!

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pics.

Excelsior!

-Marc

Review of Zixen Vintage Diver Nitrox II 500 M

Review of ORIS Aquis Maldives Limited Edition Automatic Diver

Review of Magrette Moana Pacific Chronograph PVD

Review of Baume et Mercier Capeland Automatic Chronograph

Review of Fortis Cosmonaut Automatic

Review of Hanhart Sirius Automatic Pilot’s Chronograph

Review of Bell & Ross Vintage BR 126 Original Automatic Chronograph

Review of Orient 60th Anniversary Manual Wind

Review of Steinhart Marine Officer Automatic Chronograph

Review of Precista PRS-9 Czech Air Force Manual Wind

Review of Alpina Extreme Sailing Limited Edition Automatic Diver

Review of Citizen Signature Series Grand Classic Automatic

Review of Omega Seamaster Pro Ceramic

Review of Christopher Ward C60 Trident Automatic

Review of Oris Chronoris Grand Prix ‘70 Limited Edition

Review of Victorinox Swiss Army Infantry Vintage Mechanical

Review of Bremont Supermarine 500 Automatic Diver

Review of Damasko DA45 Black Automatic

Review of Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Cal. 8500 Ceramic

Review of Graham ‘Silverstone’ GMT Automatic