Tag: horology

One and done? Nah!

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I have found my one-and-done watch—the Hamilton Murph 38mm on the bracelet. Great watch. Simple. Useful. Beautiful. Durable. Reliable. The best for the price.

After six months of almost wearing it everyday I have finally gotten a little sick of it. I have two watches on bracelet (a Jazzmaster GMT and Seiko 5 GMT), and a diver (an Orient Star ISO compliant) on the rubber strap which I can wear during the summer. So sometimes, like today, I want to wear something different. This is particularly true of the weekends. I like to wear something different (just as I don’t like wearing my casual weekend clothes for work).

I just couldn’t wear the same watch everyday and weekend. Such is being a fashion victim.

So like clothes we choose accessories to match. Not everything matches, though some watches can go with a lot.

I would probably take the Murph with me on trips since it is so versatile. But at home, I can keep a choice.

Power reserve and automatic watches?

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A power reserve indicator is a complication on mechanical watches that tell the wearer how much power is left before the watch stops running. Mostly found today on automatic watches it is a sign of a watch manufacturer’s prowess.

But I would argue it is more logical that this complication be on manual wind watches instead.

Automatic watches wind themselves from the movement of your wrist, hence its name. A watch that is worn everyday will generally be still charged the next morning when you put on the watch, and thus be recharged.

Manual watches on the other hand will only be wound if the wearer does so. If he or she forgets to wind the watch for a couple of days the watch will stop running because of the lack of power and typical mechanical watch will have 40 hours of power reserve). Therefore daily wearers of automatic watches will not need to worry about power. So it does not make sense to have a power reserve on an automatic. Or at least it makes more sense to have a power reserve indicator on a manual watch.

So I scratch my head as to why watch makers do not marry the right complication with the watches’ functions.

My pick: the Longines Hydroconquest GMT

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I have had my eye on the Longines Hydroconquest GMT as my (almost) one-and-done watch.

Here is a watch which looks like a Rolex GMT-Master II, Tudor Black Bay 58 GMT, and Seiko 5 GMT, but is better. Here is why.

Rolex, Tudor and Seiko’s GMTs have 24-hour bezels, even though these watches are using dive cases. These are dive watches with GMT complications. Yet, without the dive timer bezel it is only a GMT watch, not strictly a dive watch. It could be argued that today since most people use dive computers dive watches are redundant. But not everyone can afford to use dive computers or need to use dive computers for casual recreational diving. So by replacing the dive bezel with a 24-hour bezel means the watch is useless for diving.

Of the three, only Seiko has both a 24-hour bezel and chapter ring, meaning theoretically the complication can now track three time zones instead of two as with the Rolex and Tudor.

The Hydroconquest GMT on the other hand does have a dive bezel for timing dives and a 24-hour chapter ring. This means you are able to use the watch for timing dives as well as tracking a second time zone.

Not many need to time more than two time zones. So Rolex and Tudor are fine. The Seiko is a time zone overkill since it can do three.

The Hydroconquest on the other hand can time dives and keep track of a second time zone. In other words, it’s a dive watch as well as being a GMT watch. Rolex, Tudor, and Seiko are only GMT watches in a dive watch package.

I am not saying I am going to dive with my watch. I like using timing bezels for exactly that — timing. But I also want to keep track of a second time zone (tracking time of family living around the world, for example). So the Hydroconquest is the only watch that does that. They thought about the design and redundancy of having two 24-hour indicators like the Seiko, and also the fact that the watch is essentially a dive watch designed to track 24-hour like the Rolex and Tudor. The watch is essential taking the best of all designs.

The point is, this watch is the only one that is truly a dive watch and a GMT watch … at luxury prices though.

Thoughts on the Bel Canto

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I have had my eye on the Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto (C01-41APT0-T00K0-VK) for a while. This is a watch with a hourly chime complication. The model I like is the black dial on a leather strap and/or the bader bracelet.

It is an elegant and distinctive watch. The only problem is I am not a formal kind of guy. I don’t dress up for work or put on a suit too often. This watch is not for jeans in my opinion. It is a dress watch. Outside of work I am in jeans or shorts.

While it is a cool watch with a cool complication ultimately I will no occasion to wear it.

Verdict: no buy, even though it is an excellent watch.

Seiko Prospex Alpinist (SBDC137/SPB21J1)

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This is a one week review of the Seiko Prospex “Baby” Alpinist. The brown dial paper dial on nylon NATO strap variant from the Seiko Core Shop is not usually seen in shops. But I found this at a discount in one of Seiko’s outlet stores.

Strap — the immediate thing I did was swap out the strap to a generic matte leather strap. This worked better and turned it into a work dress watch to suit a standard shirt with dress slacks and leather shoes.

Dial — the dial is an even dark brown almost black Japanese paper-like textured unlike the standard models which have rough fumé dial. This model is more in suited to work as the dial does not stand out as much. Unless you look closely it does not look like a printed dial. While it has a field watch feel to it, it is not casual in any sense. Hours are marked clearly by even numbers or indices for the odd numbers. There are minute but no sub-minute markers giving the dial a clean look.

Case — the case is in simple rounded stainless steel polished on the bezel and sides, and bushes on the top lugs. Similar in style to the iconic Rolex Explorer. It also sports a screw down crown so it is rated for 200 meter water resistance.

Crystal — the front has a single domed sapphire crystal so distortion is noticeable at an angle. Aesthetically, it is pleasing and because the dial is a three-hander it really does not matter. The back is mineral crystal glass with an annoying printed Prospex logo on it. Likely placed there to distract from the plain movement that is on display.

Movement — a 6R35 movement with a70 hour power reserve. This is great for those who want to wear another watch during the weekend and then come back to wear the watch. By Monday the watch is still running and ready to go. Not the most accurate at +25/-15 per day but that is what should expect for the price you pay. As I said also the displayed movement is not great looking with the bridges brushed and rotor engraved.

Price — I paid a low price (under USD300) since it was from an outlet. but that means it is great value. For this price I should not be expecting

  • sapphire crystal
  • 200 meters water resistant
  • 70 hour power reserve

But that is what one gets; a lot of watch for the price. The down sides were 1) average accuracy, 2) average display back, and 3) average strap that does not match the style. These are not deal breakers. The overall quality is excellent. And changing the strap made it look great. I am considering getting the black silicone Prospex strap for it since it is water resistant.

Seiko sometimes misses by not understanding that the 70 hour power reserve is a highly desired feature. I wish they would put it into their Presage line more since there are watches I would want to wear during the week and take off for the weekend.

Mechanical GMT

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Few people realize just what a big deal it is that Seiko brought out an automatic GMT movement last year. Not that GMT movements haven’t been around for long. They have. But that this automatic GMT cost less than USD500 that is the big deal. There are not many automatic GMTs in the USD1000-2000 let alone one sub-USD1000. So when Seiko makes one at this price point people’s antennas are going to prick up.

We are certainly going to see this movement in non-Seiko watches as soon as they release it to the public under their NH brand.

Why I want an 80 hour power reserve watch

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The norm for automatic watches is 40 hours power reserve. That is a little over a day and a half.

This in my mind is too short. It means a watch needs to be worn daily in order to be charged, without needing the time to be set again when worn.

This is fine if you only ever wear one watch. Of the watch industry for automatic watches wants me to buy more of their products then a longer power reserve is needed.

I have a 40 hour power reserve dress watch that I used for work. But on weekends it is too formal with my casual clothes. So I have a second watch (a diver watch) to accessorize with my wardrobe. but by the time I comes Monday my work watch has stopped and I have to set the time again.

If I had an 80 hour power reserve dress watch I could come back after the weekend without having to reset the watch. This is why the Powermatic 80 by Tissot is so attractive, especially the Gentleman. To me this is the ideal work watch. Simple, dressy, practical.

Of course, I could just get a quartz watch and never worry about setting the time for years but that wouldn’t be fun at all. There is no romance to that.

Typography, horology and Grand Seiko

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I am a big fan of automatic watches. I wear one, and I love the sheer love, quality and craftsmanship that goes into making these timepieces.

Seiko, particularly Grand Seiko, is a brand which I admire but would not buy at the moment. It isn’t the price tag, but rather it is the choice of font type chosen for its name logo and the use of Roman numerals on some of their timepieces. Simply, it isn’t modern. It says 20th century. And it says wear a suit. I’m living in the 21st century and I wear jeans more often than anything else.

One might not think of font type as important, especially when it is on a watch, but it does. It needs to match the rest of the watch as well as the body to which it is attached. To me, the font type on the Grand Seiko needs an desperate update.