Fortis Novonaut N-42 Cobalt Blue Edition

[rw16610]

I've been a Fortis fan and owner off and on since 2006 (mostly off). For me there has always been an appreciation for them but disappointment when we lost the Canadian service centre. Hopefully they have one again, but seeing this today on A Blog to Watch piqued an interest!

My favourite colour and with a ceramic bezel, pretty cool.

Price for the reference F2040012 Fortis Novonaut N-42 Cobalt Blue Edition watch on the Block Bracelet is $5,250 USD. Learn more at the Fortis watches website.

Necessary Information:
>Brand: Fortis
>Model: Novonaut N-42 Cobalt Blue Edition
>Price: $4,850 – $5,250 USD.
>Size: 42mm-wide (44mm wide with bezel), ~16mm-thick, ~51mm lug-to-lug distance
>When reviewer would personally wear it: As a large tool watch when a legible dial and chronograph are useful.
>Friend we’d recommend it to first: Lover of analog astronaut watches that doesn’t want an Omega.
>Best characteristic of watch: Really spirited dial is great to look at and handsome. Solid build quality. Nicely operating movement. Good luminant.
>Worst characteristic of watch: Large and heavy. Hard to adjust or remove the bracelet. Expensive.

My only concern not having a Canadian service centre is when the Chronograph pushers need to be replaced many years in the future. That aside, later down when these come up for sale on eBay and Chrono24 pre-owned at a significant discount it might be worth buying.


www.ablogtowatch.com/watch-review-fortis-novonaut-n-42-cobalt-blue-edition/

[wario]

Feb 21, 2024 20:01:04 GMT -6 rw16610 said:

I've been a Fortis fan and owner off and on since 2006 (mostly off). For me there has always been an appreciation for them but disappointment when we lost the Canadian service centre. Hopefully they have one again, but seeing this today on A Blog to Watch piqued an interest!

My favourite colour and with a ceramic bezel, pretty cool.

Price for the reference F2040012 Fortis Novonaut N-42 Cobalt Blue Edition watch on the Block Bracelet is $5,250 USD. Learn more at the Fortis watches website.

Necessary Information:
>Brand: Fortis
>Model: Novonaut N-42 Cobalt Blue Edition
>Price: $4,850 – $5,250 USD.
>Size: 42mm-wide (44mm wide with bezel), ~16mm-thick, ~51mm lug-to-lug distance
>When reviewer would personally wear it: As a large tool watch when a legible dial and chronograph are useful.
>Friend we’d recommend it to first: Lover of analog astronaut watches that doesn’t want an Omega.
>Best characteristic of watch: Really spirited dial is great to look at and handsome. Solid build quality. Nicely operating movement. Good luminant.
>Worst characteristic of watch: Large and heavy. Hard to adjust or remove the bracelet. Expensive.

My only concern not having a Canadian service centre is when the Chronograph pushers need to be replaced many years in the future. That aside, later down when these come up for sale on eBay and Chrono24 pre-owned at a significant discount it might be worth buying.


www.ablogtowatch.com/watch-review-fortis-novonaut-n-42-cobalt-blue-edition/

Wow - very handsome watch. It’s thick - but, the character is beautiful. I see a lot of Sinn and IWC influence. I dont know that I would jump into that purchase price, but it’s very striking and seems to be very solid. I had a Fortis awhile back that needed to be serviced - and the experience was no picnic. Took too long and set me back top $.

[rw16610]

wario That's a shame about your service experience. My first B-42 Cosmonaut was sold to my brother and shortly thereafter the crown tube stripped. At the time Fortis had a watchmaker in Toronto dealing with service and even he couldn't get the part.

Back in 2006 when I bought the watch I never thought this would happen. Sending it to the U.S. service centre without a registered Canadian entity can be a pain (and expensive). That experience stuck with me and the focus shifted to larger brands that won't have the same issue.

[wario]

Feb 22, 2024 8:08:18 GMT -6 rw16610 said:

wario That's a shame about your service experience. My first B-42 Cosmonaut was sold to my brother and shortly thereafter the crown tube stripped. At the time Fortis had a watchmaker in Toronto dealing with service and even he couldn't get the part.

Back in 2006 when I bought the watch I never thought this would happen. Sending it to the U.S. service centre without a registered Canadian entity can be a pain (and expensive). That experience stuck with me and the focus shifted to larger brands that won't have the same issue.

I hear you Rommel - my crown/winder on my cosmonaught was semi-stripped. Had to wind the watch slowly and carefully. Considering it was an ETA movement i figured repairing it’d be a no brainer. I sent it off for a full (not cheap) service here in the states and they overshot their estimated completion date by 3 months and were very rude about updates. Once I got the watch back, it never felt quite right. Felt like the stem was too long and that it was not screwing down nicely. I never bonded with the watch to begin with so I sent it to a friend as a gift.

[rw16610]

Thankfully they've stopped using the screw down crowns, as my current B-42 Cosmonaut has this update. Before buying it I made certain to check and can't remember how I found out, but it was a common issue regarding the screw down crowns.


You did the right thing there as these items should be connected to fond memories.