MarkCarson
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With the pointy case (which is also tall), I think this would not easily slide under a dress shirt sleeve and suit jacket or tuxedo. The sub-dials are difficult to read and the St. Patrick's Saltire (red cross on the 45) does not have the proper slight counter-clockwise offset over the St. Andrews' white cross on the Union Jack.
Wait - none of that matters!!! This watch is funky and cool. It does not have to be practical, that it more or less displays the time and a chronograph is just a bonus - this is rock-n-roll jewelry that coincidentally is a timepiece.
I think the case shape could be used for some Goth variations (maybe with skulls where the tuning pegs/machine heads are). I like it but perhaps, just maybe, not as a daily wear item.
Finally a watch where I won't complain about its price :-) What a masterpiece. The gran- daddy for all of those co-axial Omegas of today. Thanks Adi.
@DangerussArt Yep - makes about as much sense as the German watch makers promoting their "Pilot" style watches as inspired by what was worn by World War II pilots. Hey wait - that means I must want to wear a watch like what was used by the Luftwaffe to bomb and strafe the Allies. Hmmm - maybe not.
But I'm more OK with Omega's Moonwatch as it was a functional item used by real pioneers of outer space.
It will probably work for Rolex. I wonder if Proctor & Gamble will do something similar for Crest toothpaste. I'll bet a lot of famous people brushed their teeth with it. Then again, P&G also makes Charmin toilet paper which has to have been used by a lot of famous a-holes. The tie-in possibilities are endless!
Seriously, this will no doubt be a successful campaign for Rolex.
Funny how much it looks like the Grand Seiko but looks so much better. The detail differences between the dials are subtle (the Patek having tapering hour makers and dots for the minutes) yet effective.
And I agree with cptodd - the A. Lange & Sohne Saxonia Thin beats out both the Patek and Seiko from the dial side. But the PP is hard to resist with that cool hinged case back. I'd still be more than happy to wear this Patek.
I don't have any issue with the price of the Grand Seiko (compared to many of the other similarly priced watches on the list). My gripe is the styling. Yeah I know, I heard the Seiko spiel at BaselWorld about the styling being to Japanese tastes, yada yada yada.
I know (and appreciate) the 36K bph movement, resulting accuracy and that it is hand built. But it looks like a 50's Timex watch to me. A number of the other watches on the list are very simple and clean, yet they still have a visual appeal. Honestly, dial and hands on the GS look cheap to me. I know the gold hands are laser cut, etc. so I'm not complaining about materials or execution. Only the boring, cheap looking, dated design.
And I also would have preferred to see a JLC Reverso instead of their Master Control, but no big deal.
Cartier, Chopard, JLC, Parmigiani - neutral
Seiko - thumbs down
GP, Lange, Piaget, Vacheron - thumbs up
Patek & Breguet (my fav) - big thumbs up
Too bad they did not go with some blued hands (for hour & minute). That would have solved the 'glancibility' issue. Nice to see a full calendar at only 12.5 mm (thanks to the SW 300 being an ETA 28982 clone plus the DD calendar module). If this had been SW 500/ETA 7750 based, it would have no doubt been much thicker. So I applaud their choice of movement & module.
James - I think deployment buckles are like beer. Your very first taste is often less than pleasant. But once you settle in and find something you like, there is no going back!
I drove past (but did go in as it was a holiday) the B&M facility in Les Brenets. Lovely location. A few photos here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=369183316521795&set=a.369183296521797.1073741834.259714650801996&type=1&permPage=1
@Panagiotis Without their trigger lever it looks like it could cost $3500.
Still a bit pricey for a 7750 based watch. But it is nice to see them becoming a more refined/restrained than what I have seen in their past creations (which seemed to border on the absurd to me). I did find at BaselWorld that their watches do wear much nicer than their odd looks might lead you to think.
@CG I hope that would not be one of those new tech watches with a lube-free movement, ahem....
@DG Cayse Wow - unusual to find a real panda hater. Did one trick you out of some money? Ha ha.
I think the panda's name is "humper" (as in Humperdink) as the watch is the "humpee". Tht is unless there is flying tourbillon with a large protruding diamond we can't see at the bottom of the watch case (yeah, I know a quartz tourbillion would cost more than than 75 large).
@Ulysses31 @aBlogtoWatch The British Invicta?
@hobycook @MarkCarson @Ryan B @rsternadel Complex issue. But the deal is that the Swiss federal regulations (which keep changing) only are enforceable if you are a Swiss company.
One screw won't do, but even with a 50% content rule there are ways to fudge (cheat). For instance if your "Swiss" movement has parts from Asia but is assembled in Switzerland and the labor rate is higher there so the cost of the finished movement could easily have more than 50% "Swiss" content (really labor) even if the majority of the physical parts came from elsewhere.
I believe the current regs say the watch must also be encased and that final calibration must take place in Switzerland. Note that does not say where the case, crystals, straps, etc come from. Since the movement is the most expensive item in a watch (that does not have a precious metal case), the 50% content can be satisfied with a LOT of stuff made outside of Switzerland. Some of that makes sense as alligator skins for straps only come from the U.S.
I hear that the Swiss are wanting to up the content to 60% for "Swiss Made". But it will still not stop companies outside of Switzerland from abusing their laws and trademarks far too often.
BTW - "Swiss Made" is an international trademark so there should be some enforcement of that in other countries.
@Ryan B @MarkCarson @rsternadel My bad - $606 USD at today's exchange rate. But I still stand by my comments.
@rsternadel Yeah, that and also replacing "Waterproof" on the case back with "Water Resistant" and a depth indication. Smacks of Invicta's use of the word "Swiss". For $100 USD, no problem as an entry level mechanical. But for about $700 USD this is a joke. Heck, I bought a nice Chinese tourbillon for $500 a number of years ago. So $700 for this makes no sense to me.
Is he wearing a purple Patek tie? Ha ha ha.
Having seen this watch in person, I will say that it looks good and does not embody the negative comments posted so far (which are valid considering how the watch looks in photos). I don't count myself as a B&R fan but I did like this watch. An to be fair, I liked one of the "circle in a square" watches much more on my wrist that I would have expected (it was actually comfortable).
@Ulysses31 You are absolutely right. The relatively narrow dive bezel changes the look compared to most other dive watches. This is a most elegent watch that also happens to be a dive watch. The gray dial (with its beautiful sunray finish) was my favorite. Pair that dial with the gray (or black) sail cloth strap and you have a fantastic looking watch that is also functional. You could wear this watch with a tuxedo one night and then scuba dive with it the next morning. Hard to beat that combination. And it is not one of the thick tuna cans on your wrist either. Thin for what it is and does. One of my favorite watches in this price range at BaselWorld 2013.
In photos (even on my laptop computer) everything looks larger. In person, the blued screws are not out of place. This is a gorgeous watch. I even had a hard time seeing the blued power reserve indicators on the sides in person with my old eyes (without reading glasses that is). $40K is a lot of money for any watch, but if you look at other watches in this price range, you will find that this watch is no doubt more distinctive than say a $40 annual calendar from a better known brand.