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Post by timelessluxwatches on Sept 3, 2019 9:39:03 GMT -6
Another great review. Thank you. I have to re-read it a few times, just to grasp more details of the movement. Fascinating watch, both in looks and in mechanics, but not likely one I would wear myself. And I simply don't have enough understanding of the mechanics. Zenith, over the past few years, has almost become my favorite brand. Mainly, in my case, for the El Primero movement and aesthetics of their models and, as you say, their daring. Cheers, Carl Zenith has been one of my top two brands (alongside Seiko) for most of my life now. HUGE fan of Zenith. It took a lot of time for Seiko, especially GS, to get the respect it was owed, but Zenith is still on that climb. I think new tech like this ZO will help it though. Zenith and GS have so much in common in terms of movement design and their commitment to in-house development and new technology (in GS' case, the spring drive), yet are such polar opposites in terms of styling. So I can get both my crazy wild stuff and my conservative, minimalist stuff from this pair of companies.
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Post by timelessluxwatches on Aug 31, 2019 2:00:54 GMT -6
Zenith has consistently been one of my absolute favorite watch companies for basically two reasons. The first is that they’re aesthetically daring, not afraid to attempt wild, novel designs. The second is that they prioritize movements, particularly high frequency movements, above all else. The Defy Inventor takes both of those traits and runs with them, being only the second watch to use their entirely novel “Zenith Oscillator” movement design and their Aeronith aluminum foam material. The Inventor is the sequel to the very limited edition Lab, names that, surprisingly, don’t undersell the horological significance of the pieces. In a weird and new way, what we’re looking at here is a skeleton watch, despite the fact that you can only see a millimeter or so deep into the case. Perhaps I should say semi-skeleton, as only about 80% of the blue “dial” has been removed, leaving this spoke pattern that’s already familiar to fans of the Defy collection. Beneath it, appearing black in this photo, is a single piece of silicon that is capable of replicating and improving upon the most complex parts of conventional movement design, the aptly-named Zenith Oscillator. But before we get into how the Zenith Oscillator works (and yes, we will be addressing that), we should take a look at the face of the watch itself. The Inventor continues upon the tradition established by its predecessor, the Lab, as well as the new generation of Defys (Defies?) generally, with bold Genta-inspired designs and skeletonized dials. The Inventor, interestingly, is more aligned with the rest of the Defy collection than its predecessor, thanks to a blue dial and a more restrained use of Aeronith. From this angle, you can see the coloration of the silicon Zenith Oscillator as well as appreciate the nice sunburst finishing on what remains of the dial. I wouldn’t call the Inventor a beautiful watch, but it is an impressive one and quite fascinating to behold. Zenith’s large baton hands and their famous star-counterbalanced seconds hand are here, but they really have their work cut out for them maintaining legibility against such a crazy watch face. They do a surprisingly good job at it, backed up by their size and the fact that they’re contrasting with the blue beneath it. This is a good time to point out that the seconds hand is non-hacking, at least on my sample, and it has an incredibly smooth sweep thanks to its ridiculously high frequency movement. While it’s unlikely any truly mechanical movement ever achieves the smoothness of the spring drive, this gets close enough that it makes no practical difference. It beats 36 times per second, nearly five times as fast as an ordinary watch, and amazingly, nearly 4 times as fast as hi-beat watches like an El Primero or GS 9S85. Suffice it to say that, to normal human eyes, it might as well be perfectly smooth. The Inventor remains legible at night, although given the size of this watch, as well as Zenith’s astonishingly good Pilot watches, I feel that they could have taken this a step further. I probably also would have used a luminescent seconds hand, since it’s the only remaining sign of the watch’s incredibly high frequency once the dial is dark and you can’t see the oscillator working. In my opinion, there needs to be some indication of how insane the watch is at night, otherwise it risks appearing sensible. Normally I’d save this for the movement section, but since we’re kind of already here, we might as well explore how this wild new design works and what its advantages are. According to Zenith, the Zenith Oscillator is essentially immune to magnetism, extremely resistant to temperature variance, and astonishingly accurate, the latter beyond the capabilities of any purely mechanical watch ever mass produced. This new movement is the cal. 9100, and it has basically two parts. The first part is “conventional,” which is the part that generates and stores energy–we’ll get to that later. The part you’re really interested in is the Zenith Oscillator, a single piece of silicon that combines the functionality of the hairspring, balance wheel, pallet fork and anti-shock mechanism quite elegantly. Let’s take a close look at it. One of the interesting things about the Zenith Oscillator is not just how alien it is, but also how familiar it is. For instance, this is the new escapement, essentially the place where the timekeeping happens. Apparently, the teeth of this new escape wheel are made of flexible silicon, which is a first, and very much alien, but at the same time, you can just barely see the tiny teeth that replace the rubies on a conventional pallet fork, made possible by the use of low-friction silicon-on-silicon interfaces. Like any ordinary mechanical movement, the extremely consistent action of locking and unlocking the escape wheel is what keeps precise time. The Zenith Oscillator, like the watch you’re probably already wearing, also has an equivalent to the hairsprings you’re used to, these extremely fine silicon blades that are highlighted. As the “balance wheel” equivalent rotates back and forth (only six degrees, whereas many ordinary watches are closer to 300), these flex and behave similarly to conventional hairsprings. There are actually three of these, corresponding to the three sections of the “balance wheel,” but one was sufficiently well hidden that it didn’t warrant our attention. Interestingly, the rotating mass (balance wheel equivalent) spans the entire circumference of the dial and is divided into three separate sections, not too dissimilar to an old-fashioned bimetallic balance. These pairs of thin beams (three sets in all, again, one set was covered up by the dial) form the connection between each section. Effectively, then, this is three separate rotating masses, isolated, to some degree, from each other. As the Zenith Oscillator has no balance shaft per se, it has no need of a conventional anti-shock mechanism. Instead, each section of the rotating mass has two separate oblong anti-shock mechanisms with a fixed pin in the middle. Presumably, if the oscillator is subjected to a sufficient shock, these oblong sections will be restrained from getting too far out of whack by the stationary pins. The fact that there are six of these, combined with the three separate sections of rotating mass, implies either that Zenith took anti-shock stability extremely seriously, or that the Zenith Oscillator presented new challenges in dealing with loss of accuracy due to shock or vibration. It may simply be the inevitable result of having to secure what is, in effect, an entire balance wheel instead of a single balance shaft. As is the case with most watch movements, the Zenith Oscillator requires a manual mechanism to speed it up or slow it down as needed, and they went with a form of regulator in the tiny screw highlighted, albeit hidden under a slim portion of the dial. Moving this can change the tension of the oscillator, allowing a watchmaker to fine tune the accuracy. In theory, however, there’s no reason that Zenith Oscillators can’t have a variable inertia rotating mass, like those found in most Pateks, Rolexes, and Omegas, at least to the degree that it has a balance wheel in the first place. That they went with this approach shouldn’t be too surprising, however, as Zenith isn’t a fan of variable inertia balances in general. I also suspect that this would have been very onerous to design if the goal is to reduce the total number of components, since something like Gyromax collets or Microstella screws would have inevitably been discrete components attached to the oscillator. The Zenith Oscillator, then, is not too difficult to wrap your head around if you already have a decent understanding of conventional movements. To greatly oversimplify, Zenith has combined the pallet fork, balance wheel, hair spring and anti-shock mechanism into a single piece of silicon. At a very fundamental level, it works pretty similarly to what you already know. On a real-world level, however, you’ve never seen anything like this. We’re used to the reasonably slow back and forth of a balance wheel at the back of the watch, easily identifiable to the naked eye. The face of the Inventor, however, does not have a gentle back and forth rotation of a balance wheel–it’s more like the area underneath the dial just vibrates and becomes a blur. The amplitude (the measure of balance wheel rotation) is tiny, but the frequency is enormous, which gives it an unworldly BPH: 129,600. There are hi-beats, then there are arguably ultra-hi-beats like the Breguet 7727, and then there is this. It’s on a whole other level, and it seems to be picking up, since the Inventor, which uses a new version of the Zenith Oscillator, actually has a higher frequency than in the Defy Lab. Amazing. Since most of the movement is now a single piece of silicon on the front of the watch, there’s not much left to see on the back. Here we are presented with a nice, although very much conventional, automatic winding system and a lovely blue rotor. The system appears to be unidirectional, and this may be the freest spinning rotor I’ve yet encountered. It’s somewhat like the 7750, in that you get a bit of rotor whir (audible only in a quiet room) and a small amount of rotor wobble, which a lot of people really like, I suppose because it’s a tactile and auditory reminder that their watch is mechanical. On the subject, the cal. 9100 is incredibly quiet (aside from the rotor, of course), and you have to put it directly next to your ear to hear it at all. It beats too fast to really appreciate individual ticking, but it’s not quite a solid note yet either. It’s something you’ll have to hear for yourself to understand–to do so, you’ll want to hold the face of the watch to your ear, not the back. As amazing as the new movement is, it’s not the only interesting thing about the Inventor. There’s also this fascinating Aeronith material, here used on the bezel, and, of course, on the preceding Zenith Lab model. Aeronith is a composite aluminum polymer foam, a material that is said to be substantially lighter than titanium and even a little lighter than carbon fiber. It’s quite porous in appearance, creating a very stark contrast between the polished titanium elsewhere. I appreciate the technology of Aeronith, and I can see the advantage of it in future applications, but I feel that the Inventor is sufficiently crazy already without the strange-looking bezel, so I probably would have chosen a more conventional Defy-styled case for this particular watch. Perhaps a super lightweight Defy Classic Aeronith or El Primero Aeronith would be a more fitting design for the material. The watch is quite large, at 44mm, and it looks it. I would normally say that I wish it were closer to 40mm, but I don’t think that’s right for this particular watch. For one thing, if you can see how big the new oscillator is, you realize that it’s basically as small as it could be without redesigning the movement, which probably would have been very onerous since the Inventor’s movement is basically a refined version of the Lab’s movement, as opposed to a new movement from scratch. The other reason I find 44mm to be entirely acceptable is because this is a flashy haute horology piece that was never intended to fly under the radar. The Inventor doesn’t want to be your everyday watch, or the watch you wear to your important meetings and so on. It’s a ridiculous, over the top watch worn because you love watches. I slightly criticized the Aeronith because I think it introduces too much of a distraction from what ought to be the centerpiece, the oscillator, but that isn’t a problem introduced by its large size in my opinion. Fortunately, its extremely short lugs make it more wearable than it at first seems, and its extremely light construction, between the Aeronith and titanium, keep it from becoming a wrist anchor. The crown has a lovely blue accent to it and is quite bold in its own right. It doesn’t screw down, and because the watch has no date and doesn’t hack, it’s about as simple to set as you could possibly get. The crown is also fairly large, so the watch is very easy to use. It winds extremely smoothly as well, almost effortlessly. The Inventor is 14.6mm thick, which I suppose isn’t too bad for a modern 44mm watch, but a big part of me wonders why this couldn’t be considerably thinner. The Zenith Oscillator should make this easier than ever. It doesn’t really hurt the watch, because the design is so over the top to begin with, but I’d love to see some hand wound versions of this movement down the road with much thinner cases too. The A384 Revival I just reviewed has a chronograph plus a date and still manages to be 2mm thinner, and that’s using a 50 year old movement. For most of us, the $17,800 Defy Inventor is not so much of a watch as it is a glimpse of the future. It presents a bold vision for subsequent Zeniths, both in terms of style and, more importantly, substance. It’s pretty clear these days that Zenith views its future as Defy-centric, and that it views radical, high-tech movements as the future the industry. Perhaps almost as remarkable as the watch itself is the fact that Zenith managed to improve upon the Lab in such a short time. The Inventor has a substantially revised oscillator, a totally different escape wheel and an increased frequency, the latter of which is probably responsible for it moving from a 60 hour power reserve to 50. Zenith promised the watch world that their new oscillator wasn’t some one-off, haute horology exclusive, but rather, that it was a commercially viable path to better watches that their ordinary customer base could buy. While the Inventor will only be made in small numbers per year, it’s a huge step up from the 10 Labs sold, and it demonstrates that Zenith intends to follow through. In that sense, then, one might view the Inventor as merely a path, not a destination, but what a path it is. For those few lucky enough to own this insane watch, they’re getting to enjoy something truly remarkable. The rest of us will have to wait a little longer before we have a Zenith Oscillator in our own watch case, but it looks ever more likely that it will become a reality. Click here to visit the product page for the Zenith Inventor.
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Post by timelessluxwatches on Aug 31, 2019 1:51:12 GMT -6
Let’s just get right to it: the Zenith El Primero A384 Revival is, in my opinion, the best new-for-2019 chronograph you can actually buy. You may have noticed my not-so-subtle qualifier. That’s because, arguably, the A386 is the best new-for-2019 chronograph, but although you probably want one, you are unlikely to be able to get one, due to the fact that they made so few and they are, owing to the fact that they’re either gold or in a box set, quite expensive.But that doesn’t matter, because you can get the A384. And that’s because, among other things, the A384 is not simply an El Primero-which would certainly be enough on its own to warrant joining a collection-it’s the El Primero, the very first watch to ever receive this legendary movement, all the way back in 1969. The dial of the A384 Revival is, near as makes no difference, a perfect reproduction of the original. Note the lack of fake aged lume, for instance, which separates this from something that’s merely vintage-inspired. This is virtually identical to the watch as it would look if you were buying it in 1969, not a romanticized interpretation of what it would look like. Despite the wild case, or perhaps because of it, the dial is somewhat more subdued than its more famous A386 counterpart, lacking its legendary tri-color dial. Instead, we have a simple black subdials against a lacquered white dial. The main hands are a callback to the distant past of Zenith. For example, the seconds hand lacks the star-counterbalance found in most Zeniths these days, and instead has a luminous rectangular tip. But it’s clear from the design of the watch that telling the time was of secondary importance, thanks to that bright red chronograph seconds hand that draws your attention. White subdial hands are far more legible than the minute and hour hands against their black backdrops, further demonstrating that the first El Primeros prioritized chronograph legibility over all else. The subdials have a fine guilloche finish beneath them, but you’ll only be able to appreciate it on the 6:00 subdial. The other two have finishes so fine that they cannot be seen with the unaided eye, or at least, my aging unaided eyes. In practice, they give the subdials a slight sunburst effect. As it would have interfered with the subdial were it at 3:00, the date has been located out of the way, just like the original. It has no applied date frame, but rather a gentle step down into the date window, which looks quite nice. Thankfully, the date changeover is instant, a simple, oft-overlooked feature that I always appreciate. The lume on the A384 is surprisingly good, certainly enough to use in a movie theater or to see next to your bed at night. Oddly, the A384 easily outperforms the far larger and more expensive Defy Inventor I reviewed parallel to it in this category. Next we must discuss this wonderful case. Although the A384 kicked off the El Primero legend, it never got the credit it deserved compared to its more conventionally-cased A386 brother, and that’s a shame. While I love the A386’s case as well, the A384’s funky design is so much more unique, and given that the 1970s were coming up, somehow more forward-thinking. Like the JLC Reverso, I think this is a design that many won’t appreciate until they see it on their own wrist. This is where most brands screw it up. They reach back to an important historical milestone for the company, and then they try to modernize it, or worse, to make it artificially old. The watches get bigger and thicker, they get fake aged lume, they make various stylistic changes necessary because the subdials are in different places owing to a new movement. But not the A384 Revival. Take the thickness, for instance. Here is where I should copy and paste my standard complaint about how the chronograph is too thick and it’d be nice if they could work on making it smaller. But I don’t have to today, because it’s 12.6mm thick, despite its enormous box crystal. It could easily drop another millimeter if it used something more conventional, but it’s also worth remembering that this is a full-featured automatic chronograph with a date. I found myself praising the also-superb Omega Apollo 8 last week for its 13.8mm thickness, and that was a hand wound with no date. This is what we’re asking for. Zenith is a brand paying attention. Likewise, had most other manufacturers attempted this watch, it would have gone from its original 37mm size to 42mm or even 44mm. But not the A384 Revival. Zenith had the brilliant idea to not mess with something that was already done correctly. They have succeeded where most others have failed merely by doing nothing. Is 37mm too small for larger wrists? Probably, but given the vast numbers of large and XL chronographs on the market, it’s so nice to see something geared towards those with small and medium wrists, an increasingly rare circumstance. One of the few things they did change was the crown, if only to update the logo. As you would suspect, this does not screw down, and typical to the wonderful and weird world of El Primero movements, pulling it will not cause the movement to hack. Far weirder is the fact that, on an El Primero movement such as this, the first crown position is actually for setting the time, while the second is for changing the date. The El Primero may be famous for its place in history and its performance, but it’s also a charmingly eccentric movement too. It should be no surprise that the original El Primero features an El Primero movement, the first and still one of the very best automatic chronographs. It’s astonishing how ahead of its time the El Primero was. Most manufacturers, looking to announce the first automatic chronograph, would have focused only on that feature to save time and beat the competition to an arbitrary milestone. Zenith, however, was more focused on making the best chronograph in the world. The program was so complex that it began in 1962 with an expected release date of 1965. In reality, it took over twice as long to release the watch, which came out in 1969. But doing things right is preferable to doing them fast. Zenith no doubt could have rushed out a simple automatic chronograph by ’65, and they would have a nice little historical footnote instead of the legend in this watch. Also worth noting is the biggest change from the original A384, namely that the new one has a sapphire back so you can see the movement, a change I entirely welcome. The El Primero has had enough written about it that you could fill a library at this point, so I won’t go into too much detail, but suffice it to say that this movement set the bar so high in ’69 that it’s still extremely competitive 50 years later. I will say, without reservation, that this is singularly my favorite chronograph movement ever made. I’ve always been a fan of high frequency movements, and the El Primero is one of very few mass produced high beats, alongside one of my other favorite movements, the GS 9S85. Another aspect of the El Primero I like is that it’s an integrated chronograph, as opposed to modular, and this goes to that desire to do things correctly from the beginning. In the race to announce the first automatic chronograph, Zenith faced off against its chief rival, a consortium consisting of a number of companies which included, among several others, Heuer and Breitling. Together, Zenith’s opponents developed the Chronomatic, a modular chronograph, which basically means they developed a chronograph mechanism that could be attached to an existing 3-hand movement, an approach to movement design that’s still quite popular today. The big advantages of modular movements, whether chronographs or otherwise, is that they can be (relatively) quickly and cheaply developed, piggybacking off of the R&D that was invested into an existing movement. Speed, obviously, was of the upmost importance in the race for the first automatic chronograph, but it does come with some compromises, most notably thickness. The Chronomatic, despite using a micro rotor instead of the El Primero’s full-sized automatic winding system, was still unable to compete in terms of thickness. With the advent of new Zenith movements, like the El Primero 21 and the revolutionary Zenith Oscillator found in the Lab and Inventor, it’s interesting to go back to 1969 and think about how the original El Primero had pretty much the same effect. Zenith had not only been the first Swiss company to announce an automatic chronograph, but they had created a gorgeous, 36,000 BPH, integrated movement. Simultaneously, the three watches that housed this new movement were eye catching and avant garde in their own right, from the funky A384 here to the iconic tri-color dial in the A386. The original El Primeros are legendary watches that earned their reputations both by style and by substance, just like this new one. But even if we totally disregard the pedigree, I still think the A384 Revival (03.A384.400/21.C815) is the best new-for-2019 chronograph you can buy. It’s reasonably thin, reasonably small, it looks amazing, it has one of the best movements on the market and it’s not a limited edition so you can actually get one. This is, without any reservation, the chronograph I’d buy from 2019. It’s priced at $7,600, an increase of a thousand dollars over similar El Primeros on leather like the 03.2040.400/69.C494, but in exchange you get something very special, a truly restrained reproduction of one of the most important watches ever made. As the El Primero lineup begins to dwindle in favor of increased attention on Defy, it’s good to know there are still some brilliant new non-LE additions to the collection. If you’d like to see the product page for the A384, please click here.
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Post by timelessluxwatches on Aug 31, 2019 1:50:27 GMT -6
I think we're on the same page Carl. Great pics too.
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Post by timelessluxwatches on Aug 31, 2019 1:49:45 GMT -6
Yes, it's a stroke of genius really, to do something so unique.
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Post by timelessluxwatches on Aug 26, 2019 14:13:41 GMT -6
Let's try this one
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Post by timelessluxwatches on Aug 26, 2019 13:03:46 GMT -6
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Post by timelessluxwatches on Aug 26, 2019 0:49:03 GMT -6
Definitely my favorite in the current Speedy lineup. Lots of character and small details that make it really unique and I love the yellow accents too. Definitely, it's a tremendous conversation piece. I really look for watches for my own collection that interest me on their design, their history and their movement, which is sort of my trifecta, and the Apollo 8 can easily do that.
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Post by timelessluxwatches on Aug 26, 2019 0:37:34 GMT -6
Great review and introduction to Credor. I really knew little about them until I read your review. Cheers, Carl Thanks Carl! Yes, Credor remains something of a hidden gem, even with the incredible popularity GS is achieving right now.
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Post by timelessluxwatches on Aug 24, 2019 4:12:17 GMT -6
Omega Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 Review
The Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 was certainly the most exciting watch to come out of Omega in 2018 and one of the most exciting to come out of Baselworld period. It’s a fascinating combination of a crucial piece of Speedmaster history, the cal. 1861, with the cutting edge material science of a DSotM. More than that, its styling was so unlike anything I’d ever seen before that I half suspected it was more inspired by Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon than by Apollo 8.
This new watch was designed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission, the first time a crewed spacecraft had ever orbited the moon, which makes it especially fitting for a DSotM piece. But before we get to its many lunar accents, we should first note that the watch takes a bit after the ’68 Speedmaster Racing, notably funkier than the utilitarian design typically associated with Speedmasters. The use of brightly colored accents, for instance, likely come from this inspiration, as well as the unusual seconds markers, which were divided into long and short segments to show fractions of a second.
Upon closer examination, the details of the dial start to be revealed, namely that it’s a semi-skeleton and it has an extremely unique textured surface to most of it. The contrast between the smooth, utilitarian metal of the movement with the rough lunar surface is quite fascinating to behold in person. The texture seen on the face of the watch is inspired by the bright side of the moon while the texture on the back of the watch is inspired by the dark side of the moon.
In reality, what we’re referring to is the near or far sides of the moon, as there is, at least in a literal sense, no bright or dark side of the moon. Both sides of the moon experience day and night, about two weeks each of it, but from the perspective of someone on earth, we face the same side of the moon the entire time because the earth and moon are tidally locked. While the other side of the moon is not literally dark, or at least, isn’t for 50% of the time, it is figuratively dark insofar as it is mysterious.
You might, therefore, be thinking that having two different sides of the moon depicted on each side of this watch is academic, since it would make no real difference. But interestingly, that’s not the case at all, as the near and far sides of the moon are quite different from one another. On the near side, the one that people reading this review can see, we see many more dark, smooth areas of the moon, known as lunar maria, Latin for seas. The far side, AKA the dark side, however, is covered much less by these dark areas and far more by visible craters. Hence, you can find relatively flat areas on the face of this watch, like the one visible on the top left of this image, while the back of this watch is almost entirely made of rough surfaces. This is a lovely little touch by Omega. You can look at a photo comparison of the near and far sides of the moon here at NASA.
Presumably whilst still under the influence of Pink Floyd’s 1973 album, someone at Omega decided that having a realistically depicted surface of the moon on the watch just wasn’t crazy enough. No, they were going to cut into their newly-designed dial and make it a semi-skeleton. As semi-skeletons go, however, this is fairly mild, revealing only a small part of the movement, but the contrast between these smooth, shiny, metallic pieces and the harsh, rough surfaces of the dial adds a great deal of visual intrigue to the piece.
Interestingly, you can see the chronograph actuate when you hit the pushers, although the effect is subtle. You’ll also note that, unlike other DSotMs, Omega has skipped the date complication, a decision I entirely approve of here, even if it is just a byproduct of using a different movement.
Hands often reveal a lot about a watch, and that’s certainly true of this Speedmaster. The time is indicated by these polished hour and minute hands, while the seconds hand in the lower left subdial is white. It’s worth noting here that the watch doesn’t hack, a reminder of its old school movement. Given the enormous complexity of the dial, legibility of the hour and minute hands takes a hit, as they are not only slender, but their reflective nature can counterintuitively make them look darker than they are. They are rescued by their luminous stripes, which are far more easily seen against the dark dial than the polished surfaces.
This is not the product of sloppy design. Rather, the designer of the watch intentionally chose to de-emphasize these hands so as not to distract from the chronograph. Thus, while the minute and hour hands may be challenging to read at times, this is not the case for any of the hands corresponding to the chronograph, all of which are bright yellow. It’s usually a mark of thoughtful design when a watch color-codes its various functions, as is the case here.
As is generally the case with DSotMs, it does not disappoint in low light. A fully-illuminated tachymeter is not particularly useful in my experience, but it definitely looks great. The chronograph seconds is still visible, although you’ll have to stick to timing events shorter than a minute. In practical terms, this is enough lume to be useful and reasonably easy to read at night. It won’t compete with something like the Planet Ocean, but you’ll be able to see it in the movie theater or walking to your car after dark.
This unorthodox approach to lume continues to the signed crown, which glows quite nicely at night.
That crown does not screw down, which only makes sense on a hand wound watch. Pleasingly, the pushers and crown remain ceramic, perfectly matching the rest of the watch. In terms of pusher feel, the movement requires quite a bit of force to start the chronograph, although otherwise the feel is very positive.
The case is where an otherwise ordinary Speedmaster becomes a Dark Side of the Moon model, namely, that metal has been replaced by ceramic, and usually of the black variety. Ceramic is a highly desirable material to make cases from because it’s incredibly hard and scratch resistant.
That’s not the only advantage of ceramic, however. Unlike steel, which must receive a special coating to produce a black watch, ceramic can simply be made to be black. That is to say if you broke off a piece of this material, it would be black all the way through. The advantage of this is that, unlike in steel watches where the black material can (and inevitably will) be scratched off, a ceramic case will remain its intended color forever.
Size wise, the Apollo 8 remains quite large at 44.25mm, in line with other DSotMs. It’d be nice if it were offered in the original 1968 size of 42mm, though, as it’d be substantially more versatile. But then, I don’t suppose you wear a Dark Side of the Moon, particularly this Apollo 8, to fly under the radar.
That doesn’t mean that the case has no improvements. The ordinary Dark Side of the Moon, like most contemporary Omega chronographs, is quite thick at about 16.5mm. This new model is no ultra-thin, but it comes in at a far more wearable 13.8mm, very acceptable for a chronograph. The question is, then, how did Omega manage to remove nearly 3mm from the case?
The answer is surprisingly simple: by using a hand wound movement. But this isn’t just any movement, this is the new 1869, an updated version of the incredibly successful 1861, which itself is a version of the 861, the movement used in the 1968 Speedmaster. The 861 and its various successors have formed the core of the Speedmaster lineup ever since, but this is the first time a movement of this lineage has been used in a Dark Side of the Moon model. This is also the first time we see the famous Apollo 8 quote “We’ll see you on the other side,” a nice touch that’s discreetly placed on the back of the watch.
So what differentiates a movement like the 1861 from the new 1869? So far as I can tell, the finishing. These textured bridges resemble the far side of the moon, and the process by which these are made (as well as on the dial) is quite interesting as well, namely subtraction via laser ablation. But there’s so much more to see here than the lunar texture. You’ll not find any German 3/4 plate here to cover up the intricate workings of this chronograph, nor will a rotor block your view. You’re free to enjoy the entire chronograph, and you most certainly will.
I’m very pleased that Omega went with this movement. It is, no doubt, technically inferior to the far newer 9300, but aside from being thinner, it’s also part of the history of the Speedmaster and it makes it much more charming. The 9300 is a great looking movement, but because so much is covered up, it is nowhere near as fascinating to look at as this 1869 is. If you’re shopping for features and accuracy, I have little doubt the 9300 is going to come out on top, but if you’re more of a romantic, it will be very hard to resist the allure of the 1869, a movement so special that it is sold in precisely one model.
On a technical level, the 1869 is very much the old school, non-hacking movement you’d expect it to be. We won’t find any newfangled co-axial escapement here, or even a relatively traditional free sprung balance. Rather, we have a smooth balance, unlike, say, a Rolex 3135 or Omega 8500, which is kept in check via a regulator. Omega has largely abandoned this design these days, but brands like Grand Seiko and Zenith, among others, are still making excellent movements with it.
The frequency is true to its era as well. At 21,600 BPH, it is significantly lower than the average modern watch, which is 28.8k BPH. This gives the watch a rather laid-back sound. Fortunately, the staccato nature of a low frequency seconds hand is obscured by its small size. While the watch world has, more or less, agreed upon 28.8k as the ideal watch frequency, it is nonetheless generally believed that lower frequency movements experience less wear than their high frequency counterparts. It also contributes to relatively long power reserves, like the 1869’s above-average 48 hours.
I often say that the worst thing a luxury watch can be is boring, and the Apollo 8 is certainly not that. It’s a watch that delivers on every level. It’s got a fascinating history, an incredible dial, and a great movement, which is pretty much all you could ask of the watch. I love textured dials in general, and the decision to use the surface of the moon as a texture for both the front and back of the watch was inspired.
I love how eccentric this watch is. Dark Side of the Moon Speedmasters have always been a bit more fun-loving than the Speedmaster Professional, beneath their seemingly hardcore exterior, but the Apollo 8 takes it to another level. It completely gives up the pretense of being a tool watch and instead just focuses on being incredibly interesting. There’s just nothing boring about it-even the material the case is made out of is worth exploring.
And what a wonderful choice it was not only to rely on the 1861, but to decorate it in such a unique way. It looks every bit as cool as you imagine it would, but more importantly, Omega fans have been hoping for thinner watches for some time now, and Omega has finally made a DSotM for them. Thanks to the much thinner movement, the Dark Side of the Moon is substantially more lithe than its brethren.
The Apollo 8 is surprisingly far less expensive than other Dark Side of the Moon watches. The 311.92.44.30.01.001 seen here costs $9,750, well over $2,000 more affordable than most DSotMs. Even if the price were the same, the Apollo 8 would be my first choice in the Dark Side collection. That said, this particular model might be too wild for some, so please click here to see other DSotM watches, which are far more mild (keep in mind that this is mild relative to the Apollo 8). If, however, you want to see more about the Apollo 8, please click here.
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Post by timelessluxwatches on Aug 18, 2019 13:12:30 GMT -6
You may not know it, but Grand Seiko has a rival in Japanese watchmaking. That rival is the well-kept, albeit open, secret that is Credor, another elite brand of Seiko, but despite descending from the same legendary parent, they have very different ideas as to what makes the perfect watch.
But before we get into what Credor is today, we should start at the beginning, 1974. Grand Seiko had successfully established Seiko as one of the world’s greatest watchmakers in the 1960s, but the nascent brand’s celebration was cut short by a watch that ended the watch world as we know it, the Seiko Astron, in 1969. By the early 1970s, Seiko was aware that quartz was the future, and that Grand Seiko, a brand known for accurate mechanical movements, no longer made sense in a portfolio that included far more accurate quartz watches.
Now that Seiko commanded some of the most sought-after movements in the world, cutting edge quartz, they suddenly found themselves with a need to produce elegant, upscale watches in precious metal. To meet that need, they gradually phased in a new brand of special Seikos called “Crêt D’or.” This continued an interesting trend at Seiko of borrowing words from languages outside of Japan, be it English (Marvel, Lord, Laurel, Grand) or now French, no doubt as an homage to the Swiss. The term directly translates to English as “Gold Crest,” which figuratively refers to the top of the mountain. The name would later change from Crêt D’or to Credor, and it would adopt the “Yama” logo, which is based on the Japanese and Chinese character for mountain.
Not coincidentally, I speculate, Grand Seiko was discontinued just a year later, in 1975. In its place as Seiko’s prestige brand was a younger, more exotic, more luxurious line of watches that was focused on using cutting edge movement technology. This watch, for instance, released in 1980, had the thinnest quartz movement ever made at the time, under a single millimeter thick.
Grand Seiko, a practical, legible and highly accurate old school watch, had essentially built high-end Seiko from the ground up, and had delivered to Credor an incredible inheritance. Speaking metaphorically, therefore, Grand Seiko was the traditional, highly competent, hardworking parent that put in consistent 70 hour weeks, while Credor was the wealthy playboy son, free of such mundane necessities like legibility or competition and with a penchant for gold.
But don’t let any of that fool you into thinking that Credor was less competent than its predecessor. Credor continued to use excellent quartz movements (during a time when quartz was the pinnacle of watchmaking, mind you), and great mechanical movements, like this ultra-thin 6870.
One enormous feather in Credor’s cap is that it, not Grand Seiko, got the spring drive movement first, back in 1999. This matches Credor’s goal of using the latest, most cutting edge movement technology available, as opposed to the far more conservative approach followed by Grand Seiko. Grand Seiko would wait until 2004 before it got its own spring drive movement.
Today, the few Westerners that are aware of Credor generally associate it with ultra-high end pieces like this, the 2006 Sonnerie. With Grand Seiko performing better than ever as a mainstream luxury watch, Credor was free to pursue exotic watchmaking, the kind we’ve long associated with a handful of elite Swiss and German brands, from Vacheron Constantin to A. Lange & Sohne. While the Sonnerie was not the first haute horology piece from the brand (that was arguably 1996’s 6899 skeleton watch, the GBBD998), it was the first time it had really captured worldwide attention.
2008 would see the launch of the Eichi, something of a reversal of a complex watch like the Sonnerie. Instead of impressive complexity, the Eichi was a masterpiece of Japanese minimalist design, and would set the stage for the company’s greatest watch to be released in 2014.
But Credor hadn’t given up on complications just yet either. 2011 saw the release of the Credor Minute Repeater, an uncompromisingly exquisite watch that featured the rare and beautiful minute repeater complication, which tells the time via chimes. The Sonnerie and Minute Repeater remain some of the most complex Seikos ever produced.
By 2014, Credor released the sequel to the Eichi, the aptly-named Eichi II, widely regarded, including by this author, as the finest Japanese watch ever made. It is a stunning achievement in Japanese minimalist design. It improved upon its predecessor by removing any unnecessary clutter, notably relocating the power reserve complication to the movement side of the watch.
Which brings us to Credor’s most recent achievement, the Fugaku, featuring the brand’s first tourbillon. The rather startling aesthetic differences between this watch and the Eichi II reminds us that Credor is a brand that is not like Grand Seiko. GS has a rigid code of design that all models should adhere to, and a practical one at that. Credor, conversely, is free to experiment, from extreme minimalism to decadent tourbillons.
So that’s a very brief look at the history of Credor, but what about the brand today? Despite the ultra-high end pieces that make the news in the West, most of Credor’s lineup is actually much more obtainable and down to earth. It might surprise you to know, for instance, that there are more than 200 different models of Credor available today–at least, available if you’re in Japan.
Take, for instance, one of my favorite Credors, the GCLP995. This watch is well under $10,000, far more obtainable than something like a Sonnerie or Eichi II, yet it retains a lot of what I love about Credor. In this case, it takes after the Eichi a bit, with simple applied indexes and no numerals. Yet it has a very rare feature, at least for a spring drive, a big date complication, placed in a rather avant garde location. The GCLP995, and its brother, the white-dialed GCLP993, represent a nice medium between Grand Seiko and more exotic Credors, being somewhat more playful and carefree in design, yet retaining a degree of Japanese minimalism.
Similarly, there’s the GCAR055, which would only be about $3,000 in the US. This watch is even more restrained, but features totally blued hands, a design choice that’s a bit too bold for most (all except a few limited editions, anyway) Grand Seikos, but totally makes sense within Credor.
One big difference between GS and Credor is an emphasis on ladies watches. One of my favorites of these is this, the GSAW993, a bold design that, through its flower-shaped case and eccentric numerals, showcases the avant garde design of the brand.
But don’t think Credor is strictly a minimalist brand–it isn’t by a long shot, those are just my personal favorites. For instance, you can still get elaborate skeleton pieces like this GBBD958.
A happy medium between the complex skeletons and minimalist pieces might be this, the GBAQ961, which shows off a gorgeous enamel dial and is uncluttered by complications.
Of course, this isn’t a brand guide, so I can’t introduce you to every model they make, but I just wanted to show off a variety of their more conventional models to give a broad idea of what they offer.
So I’ve walked you through a basic history of Credor and a brief overview of some of their models, but where does Credor stand relative to GS? This is almost always the first question I hear about Credor.
In my observation, these are parallel watch brands that are designed to meet very different needs. Grand Seiko, from the very beginning, was conceived to be the ideal everyday watch. It had to be incredibly reliable, uncompromisingly accurate, and easy to read. These were the foundations of GS, and it did them well. But Credor had a very different set of goals in mind. Credor did not want to be tied down to any sense of traditionalism, or even an aversion to traditionalism. It needed to be completely free to pursue the ideas that GS couldn’t, either from even more minimalist designs like the Eichi II or exotic and complex pieces like the Sonnerie.
Furthermore, it was liberated from any need to be practical. Some Credors certainly are practical, but they didn’t have to be. Legibility, for instance, is always a high priority in GS design, but that constricts the creativity of what you can do with dials. No one would argue that this GBBD963 is practical in any sense, and that’s the charm of it.
Credors are also much freer with regard to the materials they use. They very frequently use materials like gold, which is reserved for only a small percentage of GSes, and will also use gemstones with some frequency.
Movement finishing is also a higher priority at Credor. While Grand Seiko movements, even the 9F quartz, are very attractive, they don’t receive the kind of decorative flourishes that many Credors do.
Credor is much more likely to use complex movements as well. From minute repeaters to tourbillons, or even to the first spring drive, Credor is usually pushing the movement envelope in exciting ways. While Credor focuses on complications, Grand Seiko focuses on more humble movement attributes, like accuracy and robustness.
One final differentiator between the brands is Credor’s emphasis on thinness. While not all Credors are super thin, they are, on average, thinner than their GS counterparts. It is for this reason that the brand tends to use quartz and hand wound movements.
In my personal view, then, GS and Credor aren’t really direct competitors. While both are exquisitely well made, Grand Seiko wants to be your practical, reliable and accurate everyday watch, whereas Credor wants to be bolder and more exciting. There’s certainly room in my collection for both, but for those who have found Grand Seiko to be too plain, and I have met many, Credor might be a way to get GS-level craftsmanship or a spring drive in a more elaborate package.
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Post by timelessluxwatches on Aug 2, 2019 14:55:07 GMT -6
GS SBGA211 Snowflake & SBGE249 Silver Blizzard Comparison ReviewNo other watch brand in the world has quite the grasp of winter weather as does Grand Seiko. Its legendary Snowflake, the SBGA011 (the original) and the current SBGA211, have become truly iconic, mentioned alongside many of the greatest watches ever made, and are something of a symbol for the Japanese company. Thus, when we got our first opportunity to create our own Grand Seiko limited edition, we immediately knew that it should have a similar connection to ice and snow. And thus we set out to design the SBGE249, inspired partially by the SBGA125 and its remarkable “blizzard” dial. Forum members have since dubbed the SBGE249 the Silver Blizzard, an entirely fitting title, and so we’ve begun to call it that ourselves. Although the SBGE249 was undeniably inspired by the SBGA211 and the SBGA125, we also wanted it to fill a niche that neither of those watches did. While the SBGA125 was a limited edition that’s long ago sold out, the Snowflake is still around. Thus, we decided to create this comparison, exploring how these two watches differ and why a Grand Seiko fan might prefer one or the other. On our left we have the Snowflake and on our right we have the Silver Blizzard, an order that won’t change throughout this comparison. Although I’ve recently reviewed both of these watches separately, I decided that an entirely new photo shoot should be done to make sure that the watches were photographed under the same conditions to give the most accurate representation possible. Naturally, we’ll start with the dial, perhaps the most important part of watches like these. The Snowflake you’re already familiar with, beautifully depicting gentle snowdrifts with a surprising degree of accuracy. It does an impressive job of making it look as if there is actual snow on the dial. The Silver Blizzard, conversely, differs first by color. Although it comes off as white, it’s actually silver. The texture was designed to resemble that of a blizzard, with countless snowflakes falling, although this design is somewhat more abstract than that of the realistic Snowflake. The difference in texture is perhaps most pronounced at the power reserve. The SBGA211’s beautiful power reserve is recessed into the dial, appearing to sweep across the snow. The SBGE249, conversely, is designed to resemble a blizzard, and it didn’t make sense from a design perspective to depict that the blizzard was somehow swept aside by the power reserve hand. Thus, we opted to place the power reserve subdial over the texture. Despite this, I find the SBGE249’s power reserve hand to be a bit more legible, if only because of the blued hand’s contrast with the silver backdrop. That brings us to our next subtle design change. Our love of blued hands is fairly well-known at this point, so it should come as no surprise that the SBGE249 employs three blued hands compared to the SBGA211’s one. From a practical perspective, this allows the wearer to easily separate the most important hands, the hour and minute hands, from the hands of secondary importance. Those blue accents are carried to the power reserve markings as well. One of those blued hands is a GMT hand, probably the most important difference between the SBGE249 and SBGA211. The GMT hand allows this watch to track two different time zones simultaneously, and like all Grand Seiko GMTs, adds the convenience of an independent hour hand. This makes the SBGE249 somewhat sportier than the SBGA211, and also makes it a good fit for frequent travelers. We decided to use a chapter ring for the GMT numerals, which allows the dial to remain clear and simple. The next biggest change is the material the case and bracelet are made from. Here I’ve created a composite with the titanium Snowflake on the left and the steel SBGE249 on the right. I had always known that titanium, even Grand Seiko’s unique alloy, was darker than steel, but it wasn’t until I put this together that I realized just how pronounced the difference was. The aesthetic differences are larger than merely the color of the metal. The polished surfaces on the steel were substantially more reflective and mirror-like than that of the titanium. Steel is also much heavier than titanium, and the Silver Blizzard is therefore roughly 50% heavier than the Snowflake. Which is better will depend on personal preference. Some people don’t even want to feel the watch on their wrist while others get a reassuring feeling of quality from a watch with a little mass to it. It’s also worth mentioning that steel is somewhat more scratch resistant, a plus if you’re as overprotective of your watches as I am. In terms of size, these two watches are basically identical. Each has a 41mm case and a lug to lug length of slightly more than 48mm. Those looking for a slightly smaller, and somewhat dressier, winter-themed Grand Seiko should check out the SBGA407, AKA the Blue Snowflake, which I reviewed here.There is, however, one area in which these cases differ in terms of size, namely the thickness. The SBGA211 is about 12.5mm thick while the SBGE249 is roughly 13.9mm thick, no doubt due to the GMT complication. In this photo you can see the thicker bezel, likely making room for the additional GMT hand. For whatever reason, this angle really brings out the dark gray hue of the titanium as well. Turning the watches over, we see our final distinction between the two models, the movement. Both use spring drives, one of Grand Seiko’s signature movement designs. Spring drives offer many advantages over competing kinds of movements, most important of which is superior accuracy (accurate to just 15 seconds a month) and a perfectly smooth seconds hand. There’s also the convenience of the 72 hour power reserve, far longer than most movements. On the left we find the Snowflake’s 9R65 movement, the heart of Grand Seiko’s spring drive line, and on the right we see the 9R66 movement. These movements are extremely similar, but the 9R66 adds the functionality of the GMT hand and independent hour hand, as well as a different date mechanism that can be set backwards or forwards via the aforementioned hour hand. You also get a unique blue Limited Edition GS insignia, inspired by the medallions on the back of vintage Grand Seikos, which has an interesting dynamic blue color to it, quite similar to that of the heat blued hands. Each watch has its own strengths. The Snowflake, in addition to its legacy, is lighter, thinner, dressier and ever so slightly more affordable (by $100). The SBGE249, conversely, adds a GMT complication, along with an independent hour hand, two more heat blued hands, and a somewhat sportier appearance, in addition to some added heft for those who like a bit of weight to their watch. We never intended the SBGE249 to compete with the Snowflake, one of our all-time favorite watches, but rather, to be an alternative to it for those who preferred steel, wanted a GMT complication or just desired something a little sportier, comments we’ve heard from many over the years. One additional factor to consider is that the SBGE249 is a limited edition of 250 models, so like the SBGA125 that came before it, it’s not going to be a permanent member of the Grand Seiko family. The addition of watches like the SBGA407, SBGZ001, SBGY002 and SBGA259 suggests that GS may finally be capitalizing on the success of the Snowflake, and alongside the SBGE249, this is probably the best time in GS history for those who like these beautiful cold-weather themed watches. Please click here to learn more about the SBGA211 Snowflake and please click here to learn more (or pre-order) the SBGE249 limited edition.
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Post by timelessluxwatches on Jul 20, 2019 7:18:36 GMT -6
The New Timeless Grand Seiko SBGE249 Limited Edition
Timeless Luxury Watches is very proud to announce our first limited edition collaboration with Grand Seiko, one of our earliest partners and one of our all-time favorite brands. It’s long been a dream of ours to create a watch with GS and it’s wonderful to finally see the result of that dream in real life.
The SBGE249 is a love letter to some of the best modern Grand Seikos, as well as our own love of blued hands. We’ve combined elements from classic watches like the SBGA125 and SBGA211 while also incorporating other design changes to make it our own.
We love the contrast of blued hands and silver dials, so we really wanted to bring that to the front. On our new LE, every hand other than the main hands is blue. This looks great, but it also increases the legibility of the watch as your eyes can easily separate the two most important hands from the rest.
One of those blued hands, as you might have noticed, is a GMT hand, making this watch well-suited for travelers. Like all Grand Seikos GMT, this is a “true” GMT complication, so you get an independent hour hand as well, allowing you to easily adjust for new time zones or for daylight savings time.
But that’s not to say that the hour and minute hands are unremarkable. These are the classic polished dauphine hands that Grand Seiko is so well known for. These are likely my favorite watch hands in the entire world, so while they are not unique to our limited edition, it was a joy to be able to use them in this project.
The hour markers, too, are my favorite within all of Grand Seiko, some of my favorite ever made. This style of hour markers, as found on legendary watches like the SBGA211 Snowflake, is really the perfect companion to the dauphine hands, owing to their similar shape and polishing.
The GMT numerals are placed on a chapter ring, keeping the dial clean and legible. The GMT complication isn’t subtle here, but neither does it intrude in telling the time, a far more important need for most wearers.
The power reserve complication, from hand to markers, is also entirely blue. The power reserve is one of my favorite complications, but it’s nicely separated by color from the hour and minute hands, allowing the wearer to focus on either the time or one of the secondary functions of the watch.
The part we’re most proud of, however, is the dial. No watch brand is better connected to snow and ice than Grand Seiko, and we wanted to focus on that unique connection. We’ve created a dial, inspired by blizzards, but with our own special take.
Instead of solid white, our dial is actually silver, although it looks white in some situations. This gives it a slightly more dynamic character, shimmering at certain angles.
As is always the case with Timeless designs, the date ring matches the dial, although, given that the dial is silver, this was a considerably easier task than with watches like the Timeless Club II.
The 41mm case is a versatile, modern size for a watch that we wanted to be able to be worn everywhere. It is neither a dress watch, owing to its complications, nor is it purely a sports watch, thanks to its understated design. We want the SBGE249 to be a daily-wear watch that’s suitable for almost everything.
Unlike some of the watches that inspired it, namely the SBGA211 Snowflake and the SBGA125 “Blizzard,” we opted to use a steel case instead of titanium.
In general, we prefer to work with the hardest and most scratch resistant materials available, which means that we’ll generally go for steel over titanium. We also don’t mind a little mass to our watches, which contributes to a feeling of solidness and quality.
Powering the new SBGE249 is, of course, the 9R66, the spring drive GMT movement. The 9R66 is outstandingly consistent, accurate to about a second a day, thanks to its unique combination of quartz precision with mechanical sophistication. Almost as impressive is its 72 hour power reserve, and, as I mentioned before, its complications, which include an independent hour hand, date and power reserve.
But the 9R66, like all spring drives, is more than a collection of impressive stats and performance figures. It’s an extremely beautiful movement, more than worthy of its sapphire back. This is, perhaps, the most important aspect of the spring drive. It is the only movement that unifies our rational desires for extremely accurate, reliable movements, like quartz, with our emotional desires for beautiful mechanical works of art.
The SBGE249 was a dream project for us, one where we were able to pick from a lot of our favorite aspects of Grand Seiko. From GS’ connection to snow and ice we created our version of the blizzard dial, we used their most beautiful hands and hour markers, a mid-sized case and an incredible spring drive movement.
The Timeless GS SBGE249 is a limited edition of 250 pieces, each priced at $5,900. The first orders will begin arriving in August or September of this year.
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Post by timelessluxwatches on Jun 15, 2019 23:54:01 GMT -6
Grand Seiko Blue Snowflake SBGA407 Review
I’ll be the first to admit that Grand Seiko’s strategy with the Snowflake has always been, to put it charitably, mysterious to me. In creating the Snowflake, the brand found its first truly international hit and an icon that may one day rival watches like the Speedmaster or Submariner. Every other brand, like Tudor with its Black Bay, for instance, doubles down on these successes and creates dozens of versions of their recent masterpiece. But not GS. GS has only released a handful of different versions of the Snowflake over the years, and these have generally been slight tweaks, like gold accents on the SBGA259. This new SBGA407, then, along with models like the SBGZ001, represents a turning point for one of the most important dials available today. So what’s changed? Well, obviously, it has a new blue dial, although it sports an extremely similar snowdrift texture (as you would hope). But this new Snowflake is also slightly smaller, and slightly dressier than the original. Matching this more classic case, it’s one of few Grand Seikos that comes on a strap instead of a bracelet. Perhaps the biggest change, other than the blue dial of course, is that the new SBGA407 comes in steel, not titanium. More on that later. First, let’s get right to what most people really care about: the new dial. The blue, to my eyes (and camera) at least, is softer than in Grand Seiko’s stock photos. By that I mean it’s a slightly lighter, more subtle blue. It does a good job of taking on the hues that deep snow can sometimes resemble, but never approaches the rich, bright blues associated with glaciers. Suffice it to say, it remains a fairly under-the-radar look. Looking much more closely now, we can see the intricate snowdrift texture that covers the dial. Grand Seiko has, since its earliest days, been associated with incredible dial craftsmanship, but it was really the SBGA011 (today the SBGA211) Snowflake that captured the world’s attention. I suspect that people have an immediate connection to the Snowflake because the human psyche already has a connection to snow. When we look at a fine guilloche or sunburst dial, these too are quite complex and intricate, but they are also very abstract. Snow, conversely, is something that the human mind recognizes instantaneously. The Snowflake, either this SBGA407 or the SBGA211, therefore, succeeds because it is somehow more primal than most watch designs. It immediately has an association with everything you already like or don’t like about the snow and all of its connotations. Or, alternatively, maybe it’s just really pretty. Either way, just like the regular Snowflake, you do get a glimpse at some more traditional dial textures in the divisive power reserve complication. As I’ve already said a dozen times in my last Snowflake review, while I love power reserves, it would be nice if collectors got to choose for themselves. As the Snowflake collection expands, and it seems like it will, perhaps GS fans will get that option on some of these more obtainable models. This is perhaps signaled by the SBGZ001, the so-called Snowflake Maximus, which kicks out the power reserve entirely. The date, thanks to its applied frame, remains unobtrusive and easy to read. Because the white date ring is fairly consistent with the light blue (as opposed to white on a black dial, or vice versa), it doesn’t bother me at all. I do wonder what it might have looked like with a blue date ring, however, but since watch brands in general seem absolutely determined not to color-match their date rings with their dials, I suppose we’ll never find out. The hands remain stylistically identical to those on the SBGA211, and thank heaven for that. These are perhaps my favorite hands in the entire world of watches, and I wouldn’t change a thing. The applied hour markers, on the other hand, have changed. Gone are the tapered markers at 6, 9 and 12, and in their place are rectangular markers. To their credit, they are more consistent with the other hour markers, and therefore less noticeable, all the way around the dial than the SBGA211’s, but I’ve always viewed the Snowflake’s hour markers as a masterpiece. They’re my favorite hour markers in the entire Grand Seiko lineup, so anything other than them, for me, is a bit of a step down. But tastes will vary, and I’m sure just as many people will prefer them to the SBGA211’s markers. Part of me is glad they changed them just to help make this a more distinct model. Overall, I’d define the SBGA407’s dial as a variation on a theme, rather than as a rival to the SBGA211. On one level, it loosens up a bit, adding more than a bit of color. But on another, the more angular markers and classic case also contribute to a dressier appearance. The case is ever so slightly smaller than the SBGA211’s, 40.2mm versus 41mm, so if you felt like the original Snowflake was too large, the SBGA407’s probably isn’t going to change your mind. However, it’s stylistically quite different. The SBGA211 has a much sportier case, made all the more apparent with its bracelet and screw down crown. The Blue Snowflake, conversely, has a more elegant case, aesthetically similar to the original 1960 Grand Seiko. Unlike the SBGA211, its crown doesn’t screw down, which I prefer in a dress watch like this, as it just makes the watch that much easier to set or wind. It’s also entirely polished, unlike the alternating brushed/polished surfaces of the SBGA211. This tends to compensate for its overall understated design a bit. Oddly, the smaller, dressier SBGA407 is also ever so slightly thicker than the SBGA211, 12.8mm versus 12.5mm. There’s no way you’d ever appreciate that difference in real life, but it is a step away from the overall dressy direction the design is taking us. The changes in the case design play almost as much a role in differentiating how the watch looks as the blue dial does, but it also hides one of the other important distinctions, namely that the case is made of steel instead of titanium. This might annoy Snowflake purists, as “being as light as a snowflake” was one of the traits of the SBGA011/SBGA211 Snowflakes. Others, like me, however, have a preference for steel and don’t mind a little weight in our watches. Steel tends to be more scratch resistant, offering a functional improvement as well. Whether using steel or titanium is a good thing is ultimately up to individual preference, but I’m certainly not upset by the lack of titanium here. One thing that hasn’t changed is the presence of the extremely popular 9R65 movement, the core of the spring drive collection. This super-accurate mechanical/quartz hybrid has been found in Snowflakes since the beginning, and it doesn’t seem like that’s going to change anytime soon. The 9R65 boasts quite a few advantages compared to other movements in this price range. For one thing, it has a 72 hour power reserve, but more importantly, it’s exceedingly accurate. GS rates the 9R65 for 15 seconds per month, although most users experience significantly better than that in the real world. Perhaps its most interesting trait, however, is its lack of an escapement, the beating heart of a conventional watch movement. Replacing it is the glide wheel, which rotates in a single direction constantly, as opposed to the oscillations of a balance wheel. This results in one of the more fascinating traits of the spring drive, namely that the seconds hand is perfectly smooth, even under close examination. It is not the illusion of smoothness, as achieved by high frequency movements, but rather the lone example of true smoothness. The seconds hand glides completely silently around the dial, making for an oddly soothing experience. Perhaps no other movement more accurately reflects the passage of time better than the spring drive. Beyond these technical achievements, the 9R65 movement is quite beautiful to behold. Spring drives clearly receive the most aesthetic attention of all of GS’ movements and are the ones you’ll find yourself turning the watch over to look at more often. So that’s the new SBGA407, but it will inevitably be asked whether the SBGA407 is better or worse than the SBGA211. In my opinion, this is simply the wrong question. The SBGA407 exists alongside the original, and not as a rival, but as an alternative. The SBGA407 will be there to serve fans who want something dressier, something in steel, or something, well, bluer. Meanwhile, the SBGA211 isn’t going anywhere. If you like it more, you can still get it, and if you already have one but find yourself wanting more Snowflake in your collection, the SBGA407 is there to fill that empty spot in your case. If I had to make a complaint about it, it’d be the price. It doesn’t cost a cent more than the SBGA211. In fact, it costs exactly the same, $5,800. My question is why not charge at least a little less for a steel watch on a strap rather than a full titanium watch and bracelet. For those primarily concerned with value, then, I think the SBGA211 clearly has an edge. The SBGA407 manages to perform the delicate balancing act of being different enough to justify its existence, yet incorporating enough Snowflake DNA to warrant its namesake. It’s genuinely a great watch, and I hope it’s the beginning of an entire line of Snowflake watches. The basis for the Snowflake design is just too good not to see at least a handful of versions in different sizes, colors, and metals to fit every need. If you’d like to learn more about the SBGA407 or pre-order one for yourself, please click here.
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Post by timelessluxwatches on Jun 10, 2019 9:36:18 GMT -6
Whew! Thanks for your exhaustive review on literally every model. I think it's the No. 01 43mm model that comes in some LE issues as well. I think a number of cities have a LE of 10 each. New York for sure. I was also surprised to see one for Vancouver. We now have an AD here who carries this brand, so I have had a chance to see quite a few of them. Very interesting, unique brand. And congratulations to Timeless for starting to carry them. Cheers, Carl Thanks Carl! Vancouver's a pretty major city alright, so I wouldn't be too surprised if there were models tailored for it.
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