Blancpain hasn't received due recognition for their successful designs and great innovations, perhaps because they've been all over the place with their classic line, the iconic sports watches and polarizing L-Evolution timepieces. That's unfortunate because Blancpain's best designs, including these complete calendars, deserve more conversation.
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A great opportunity! What's the over/under on the number of tiny screws lost?
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@Kris C I like the analogy, even if I disagree with you. The strap is from a Breguet Marine, but for some reason it came with the watch when I purchased it from the previous owner. While an odd pairing, the quality of the strap is quite excellent, so I decided to stick with it. The blue and gold colour combination has grown on me.
Conventionally, I would suggest a black strap if the watch is being worn with a suit and tie or a brown strap otherwise.
What a neat little complication - I don't think the bulging disc ruins the case and I really like the clos de Paris dial finish. If only the images were transcribed on a transparent sapphire disc against luminous backing...
Nice watch. I prefer black date windows too, but the white background does make it easier to read. The Valgranges movements are great - they give Longines a competitive advantage by ensuring the date windows and subdials are not crowded inwards.
What's with all these dress watches with thick cases though? A 14.4 mm thick case won't slip under many a shirt cuff. Great-looking if the sleeves are rolled-up, but the watch strikes me as more of an all-rounder, not a dress watch.
I like the classic aesthetic that GO is slowly spreading throughout the Senator line. The micro-adjust bracelets are really solid and comfortable too. What GO really needs to do this year is refresh their website and ensure the pages can display on Apple devices - every year I cross my fingers and hope.
Great contest idea: If you place the watch on your wrist and a prominent mole lines up at the 12 o'clock on the mystery dial, you get a free watch, free wrist shave and your wrist is photographed for feature in an ad as the unofficial brand ambassador. Those with sunspots only need not apply.
(Beautiful watches, both of them. They don't look great on all wrists, however.)
Jet engines, these are not. Was it a flying cathode ray tube or a loudspeaker that provided the inspiration? I kid because I really do like it. I think the square hoods take the quirkiness to another level...in a good way.
Love those sci-fi inspired lugs! Are you saying that this your daily wearer now, Ariel? I'm really going to have to step up my blog game!
There's not much to criticize here and I can see that even the little details, like the curved hands to prevent parallax distortion, were addressed properly. The watch looks a touch chunky in your profile shot, but the specifications suggest a perfectly-proportioned case.
The case is the best feature of this watch - that texture helps it stand out from other black composite watches. It doesn't seem to wear too big, even at 49 mm,but the case is thick for only 70 m water resistance. My other gripe is the date location - it looks a bit odd extending from the 4 o'clock index. Some of their smaller watches get the date placement right (e.g. at 6-o'clock), and the hand lengths are correct, so there's a nice foundation to work from here.
Great review Max. I think a bit of red paint on the tip of the date indicator would have been a nice touch, but I agree that the dial is nicely-executed overall. The fake gator straps seem to be standard amongst some other brands' watches in the low end luxury bracket, although at nearly 3k USD MSRP, it's a bit less excusable. As for the basic rotor, I feel it's more honest to outfit a basic movement with a basic rotor. Better to put a few more dollars into the strap!
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I tried on a couple of Rolex models recently when I was testing out the Submariner C for a comparison test that resulted in a very narrow defeat to the 8500 Seamaster Planet Ocean.
So it might not be surprising that for personal wear, I preferred the Rolex Milgauss over the Submariner C. The Milgauss is a cleaner design, absent much of the prejudice that accompanies the iconic Submariner. It is a perfect daily companion, maintaining a nice balance between sporty and elegant. As always, if you're making your first Rolex purchase (or first fine watch purchase), you visit your local authorized retailer and try on a bunch of models. Whether you reward the store with a purchase or head to the online hills...well that choice is up to you.
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I assume others will point you towards Jean Todt's Wikipedia page, so I won't (but will).
Perhaps at next year's SIHH, RM will surprise you and outfit the next Jean Todt timepiece with a mechanical breathalyzer complication.
For those with a good sense of humour, don't forget to visit my new blog, TheTickingTruth: http://thetickingtruth.com/
I assume others will point you towards Jean Todt's Wikipedia page, so I won't (but will).
Perhaps at next year's SIHH, RM will surprise you and outfit the next Jean Todt timepiece with a mechanical breathalyzer complication.
For those with a good sense of humour, don't forget to visit my new blog, TheTickingTruth: http://thetickingtruth.com/
It's quite interesting to note that the case is smaller than the bezel - I assume this helps the watch fit nicely on smaller wrists. So, any live shots of this piece?
I haven't been around these parts as much lately because I've just started a watch blog: The Ticking Truth. The flavour is slightly different (more Canadian), so encourage all of you to check it out and let me know what you think:
http://www.thetickingtruth.com/
Speake-Marin and Piaget are my choices. Piaget's ultra-thin watches are impressive in-person. I'd like them to shrink their best design, the 43 mm Altiplano, down to 39 mm. Also, could you ask them about the feasibility of a dress chronograph with a thickness under 9 mm. Their target market of 1 person is dying to know.
RGM has a shaped caliber - I'll echo the hive mind. I like to read an in-depth report on the watch it is placed in.
As a thin-wristed individual, should I feel left out? #wristfail
I like the approach taken to establish the angular look.
Great post! I will nitpick the final comment though as value and price do go hand-in-hand to an extent though. Taking 2000 as the base year, the 2012 CPI was roughly 133.3. While the average watch MSRP might only be up 33%, the eye test suggests this is not the case at the high end.
Essentially, if the price of luxury watches is vastly outpacing the rate of inflation, the value equation is heavily skewed towards pieces produced during the early days of the current mechanical watch rennaisance (1990 - 2002, say). For example, one could purchase a 1990's Ulysse Nardin astronomical complication from auction for under $20k. The same watches in its most modern iteration is likely to set a collector back double or more, even in refurbished condition. While some of the price movement can be explained by the migration towards in house movements and the associated R & D costs, I remain unconvinced. Most of the new inhouse movements are no finer than the old F Piguet and Lemania options.
Outside of the few JLC Extreme LABs of the world, it is entirely possible that value is absent amongst modern luxury watches in the $20k+ price bracket.That may be why collectors complain about price rather than value.
For a future post, I challenge you to define value in the $100k+ price bracket beyond "how many axis the tourbillon spins upon".
Aw nuts! If this fine repeater won't be out in time for Christmas, what am I supposed to ask Santa for?
Good call in the ultra-thin chronograph movement - the market* is dying for an entry in that department, but will it utilize cam-switching to shave off a few microns?
* my dream market, where sensibly-sized watches are rewarded with sales