Obaku

Obaku!

No it’s not a board game nor is it a type of wood – it is in fact a rather smart and minimalist watch called the Obaku Harmony. I liked the look of it and though it might go well in my collection.

After all I have always thought about buying a Skagen watch – you know the Scandinavian modernist design watch that was all the rage a few years ago. Well maybe that great popularity was what held me back and I never did take the plunge until now with the appearance, not of the Skagen, but another Scandinavian designed watch that looks pretty smart.

A fusion of cultures according to the blurb, minimalist, simple, serene yet modern and elegant – with quite a decent stab at quality I have to say. One of the benefits or maybe a curse to a manufacturer is that when a watch comes along that has very simple lines, any faults show up very easily and obviously. So it is an absolute requirement that quality has to be very good indeed to resist the close scrutiny that is so easily achieved even to the casual looker.

ObakuSide — The Obaku Harmony is slim at 7.5mm depth

This model is called the “Harmony” – deep philosophy going on here and is the brainchild of not one but two designers.

Lan Liengard Ruge and Christian Mikklelsen from Denmark are responsible for the surprisingly diverse range of both ladies and gents models.
Clean lines, simple design and with everything aligning together in peace and “harmony” – more than just telling the time, but an expression of ones inner peace perhaps.

At 42mm diameter this is a decent sized watch and with a depth of only 7.5mm a very slim watch indeed for the diameter, but not too much as to look odd. It is just about perfect. The case is black stainless steel and has 12 stainless steel studs set around the bezel which are basically the minute markers, as the black face itself is entirely without batons. The hour and minute hands are bright white colour for 3/4 of their length and the centre second sweep hand has a nice white tip. The hands otherwise are black like the face, so the time indication and seconds count is very clear.
On this model there is also a date window @6 with a nice white contrasting date wheel underneath showing though.
The glass on the Harmony is rather unique in the watch world as it’s made of Titan Glass, a product over 10 times more crack resistant that either mineral or sapphire – quite exclusive to Obaku I understand. The case too is not just 316 stainless but is additionally coated with Titanium.
The case back is also black, stainless and marked with the usual information plus the designer’s name – in this instance the first of the two mentioned above.
The crown is quite unobtrusive @3 and has nicely wide defined knurl marks so is easy to use and set.

P1000896 — Titanium & stainless mesh adjustable bracelet

FlatWeb The bracelet is a very fine and smooth stainless mesh style with a locking clasp and full adjustment – very easy to set and adjusts for my small wrist with no trouble at all.

On this version apart from the Obaku Harmony name on the dial face there is also reference to “by Ingersoll” who market the watch I understand.

Movement wise not much information apart from the web site specification detail saying that they use a high quality Japanese Quartz movement and the watch overall has a Water Resistance rating of 3ATM – so not really for swimming.

One other noteworthy point is that the battery is probably a SPhon Mercury/Lead free Silver Oxide which is also fairly unique and another philosophy statement in that it will save the planet – maybe! Once it’s dead (the battery, not the planet) you can simply use a standard battery – so no problems there. The bracelet is also a suitable width to match the watch nicely at 22mm.

So there you have it – another nice addition to my collection and very nice it looks too. Finally managed to get my Scandinavian design watch after all and not a run of the mill, but one that’s just that little bit special perhaps.
And as to wearing, well the bracelet and the watch itself as a team is so incredibly smooth and comfortable, I simply don’t realise it’s there. It is a most lovely watch to wear without a doubt.
It is also very clear to read which firmly ticks my clarity issue box that I have with all watches – maybe because I’m getting older and the old eyesight is not what it was.

Oh I almost forgot – this watch has a lifetime Guarantee (yes that’s lifetime!), so that can’t be bad – and it comes in a Zen like white box with full instruction book.

So any downsides?
Well yes as it happens – these lovely clear hands completely disappear at night in the dark as they are not coated with any luminous material at all! Nada, nothing – so forget the time when you go to bed (use the old bed side clock).

But there again – why worry – maybe this is part of the design philosophy of the “Harmony” – don’t worry about the time – now – it’ll still be there in the morning – is that cool or what?

Update – 31st January 2011 – Check out my “watch of the Week” page – I feature this watch again with more info. . . .

Traser Big Date Alarm Watch

As I said on the last post here is an introduction to the Traser Big Date Alarm Watch.

First thing to say it that it is a beautifully made watch, solid and perfectly formed stainless steel casing and bracelet make a very nicely finished combination.

Traser01 — Traser Big Date Alarm (Tritium) Watch

Fits a small wrist and the date is CLEAR to read

And whilst it looks big and solid it is actually very neat at only 40mm case diameter and around 12.5mm depth and sits very well on even a small wrist.
The Traser H3 Classic Alarm Big Date Steel Watch to give it it’s full title features a big date window, steel case and bezel, sapphire crystal, scratch resistant, alarm function plus unusually an illuminated small second hand with one of the 15 Traser tritium lights.
The big date is superb, making it very easy to see through the hard flat sapphire crystal and in contrast to the black face – as you see in the pic.

Traser03 — Solid stainless case & bracelet with double O ring crown

Powered by the very dependable Ronda 4120B 7j quartz battery movement it is safeguarded by a good water resistance of 100m and a push in crown with a double O ring seal.

Of course one of it’s best features are the luminous hands and numerals, which on this watch is produced in no small measure by the Tritium light source. It is quite simply amazing and for those unfamiliar with Tritium I should explain.

The Tritium light source requires no light power source unlike conventional luminous paints etc. and are guaranteed for 10 years. They’re sealed in tiny glass tubes under high pressure, resistant to water, oil or corrosive materials. You can see the little tubes neatly tucked away at each of the numerals in the little indents and also see the tiny tubes on the hands.
Whilst Tritium is a radio active compound – in this form it is entirely safe. The low energy electrons of tritium cannot escape the glass body of the mb-microtec Trigalight (tradename).
Even in the unlikely event of a rupture of one of the tubes and where Tritium gas would escape it would quickly disburse. A typical Traser® H3 watch contains anywhere from 15 to 20 mb-microtec trigalight for a total of no more than 25 millicuries.
In one year the wearer of the Traser might assume an exposure of 0.1 micro sievert, which is about equal to the increase the human body would absorb due to cosmic or random radiation by living approximately 12 inches above sea level, which is very small.
So the luminance is nothing short of spectacular and a I love the comments I get especially on holiday (I used to wear it on these action holidays) when at dusk or at night it really stands out – makes their “G” Shocks look dim!

So all in all a rather good watch and one of the nicer made watches I’ve come across. I’ve not mentioned the Alarm function, suffice to say it does what it says it does.

I’ve had this one for well over a year now and it’s perfect, good timekeeper and looks as good as it did when I bought it. And by the way it also features a quick set date and quick set alarm.

All plus points and no real negatives bar one – and no it’s not the price. And as a Tritium illuminated watch there are few better built than this one – BUT the fact it is a Tritium light source is perhaps the one negative.

Guaranteed light source is around 10 years for Tritium capsules and what happens after that? I’ll let you know if I still have it after that – yes?

March 2025 –
Well my fears were justified – I bought this in 2009 and after 12 years the light source was almost gone and today some 16 years later it is no longer luminous.
Not a trace – nothing!
I suppose I was hoping that the little capsules may have been embedded in or placed on, a luminous painted base underneath, but not so.
Still a lovely watch but today NOT any use in the dark.
Many of my watches from earlier have Super-luminova, which is not radio-active and still perform today – so what can I say. The idea may have been great at the time, but as for longevity – a non starter.

Bruno update

Some time ago and in a previous post I waxed lyrical about the Bruno Söhnle watch I bought and this is simply a confirmation that it has been a wonderful purchase.

In fact so delighted I have been with this one that I am definitely buying another – when I get it I will of course feature it here.

_______________________________________________________

But before I do I intend to feature one of my older watches which has proved to have been a great buy – especially if you’re in the market for a Tritium light source watch.

The Traser H3 Classic Alarm Big Date – an outstanding and very well made Ronda 5040.B Swiss Quartz model.

Coming soon….

Made in England (update)

LATEST>>>>>LATEST>>>>>>LATEST_______________________________________Well it had to happen! Didn’t it?

After about 2 weeks my lovely new watch developed a problem – suddenly! As I was winding it at 9am as I do every morning – the crown, winder and spindle assembly fell out of the watch and into my hand!

J&T Windmills Threadneedle manual wind — J&T Windmills Threadneedle Sterling Silver manual wind

I was to put it mildly – mortified!
Immediately contacted the Dealer and arranged to send the watch back to them so they in turn could return it to J&T Windmills.
Then after about 6 weeks of what I have to say was pretty poor Dealer communication I was sent not the repaired watch but a brand new replacement watch.

Just one of those things? Made-in-England ?……or maybe more accurately – a Monday morning poorly assembled watch “perhaps” in England – I really don’t know, but it has certainly shaken my confidence in this particular “Made in England” watch.
And time will tell if this new replacment model (an earlier one according to it’s number) is going to be as it is supposed to be.

So far so good and it DOES feel better on winding than the first one which was in retrospect a little rough – so perhaps this one will last. It’s certainly much smoother and as reasonably accurate and I do like wearing it.

The J&T Windmills fortunately does have a 2 year Guarantee though I certainly hope not to have to use it yet again.

You may have noted that my next purchase was a German manufactured Swiss movment Quartz model, the Bruno Söhnle….I wonder if this was maybe a subliminal purchase – because out of all my quartz movement watches over the years I have NEVER had a faulty one –

But as for the mechanicals – well every so often……

Apart from my vintage Patek Philippe of course – which just goes on and on…………….Oh Yes!!

Mind you when it was made there were NO imported parts – it was all Swiss……And you know – it shows!

Bruno Söhnle

Spotted this name whilst on a short holiday in Germany and I noted that many of these Bruno Söhnle models on display in this particular shop were rather good looking. But time was of the essence (pardon the pun) and we had to move on – but not (of course) before jotting down the manufacturer’s name.

Bruno Söhnle Rondo Signore Quartz.
Once returned to the UK made a point of looking around for this make and found out very quickly that it was simply not available in the UK at all.
Available in mainland Europe at selected Dealers only.

Fortunately I found an excellent retailer with shop premises in Stuttgart who also trades online with a very good web site.

It was actually quite difficult to choose the model I wanted initially as there were quite a number of them I liked, but in the end I opted for the Rondo Signore Quartz in polished stainless steel – basically as I liked it’s clean design and the neat sizing.

The case is a trim 38mm without crown and with a depth of only 5.8mm makes for a very, very neat watch indeed. The clear off-white dial is very clear and easy to read with Arabic and Roman numerals with contrasting black colored baton hour and minute hands. The clarity is assisted greatly I would suggest with the Sapphire crystal which has an applied internal anti-reflect (de-reflect) coating.

Bruno presentation box + Rondo Signore Quartz

The small seconds sub-dial is in silver @7 with extremely fine guilloche patterning background and features a short center mount black seconds hand.
Date is handled by a rather stylish 3 day indicator crescent window @2 with the current day indicated in the center by a short arrow head pointer in red which is actually very easy to read (some single date windows can be very small).
This triple date design also assists when trying to make out the date when the window is obscured by either the hour or the minute hand – in that the day before or after can be easily seen – a rather neat feature indeed.
The date has a rapid adjustment setting which is becoming a common feature of quartz watches today.

Engine wise it is powered by a Swiss made quartz calibre 1009 Ronda 9 jewel Slimtech movement which allows the watch it’s super-slim profile. The Ronda quartz movements are well regarded and have an acceptable accuracy of around -10/+20 seconds/month and can be found in many of the mid to high range watches from a variety of good Manufacturers.

Bruno Söhnle however have modified this Swiss manufactured version 1009 in-house and re-orientated it with an elegant offset resulting in the winder/crown assembly @4 complete with the Brunu Söhnle logo. The positioning of the date display is also good as it is very easy to read with your arms in front without cocking the wrist towards you.
This gives the watch a little different and unusual look which I find very elegant especially in conjunction with it’s ultra-slim profile.
In many ways it reminds me of the Botta Argos I have in my collection as Botta use quite a number of the Slimtech Ronda movements. This movement has neat features and uses a standard Renata 1.5v battery No.315 * which has a life of around 2 +years.
If you’re not wearing the watch for longish periods it has a very useful power save function. If you pull out the stem taking the date wheel out of gear it reduces the power used by approximately 70%. The movement also is repairable unlike many cheaper quartz models.

Ultra thin profile at 5.8mm & high quality calf leather strap

The watch has a 3ATM or 30m Water Resistance and has a polished and engraved stainless steel solid back. The model number and Bruno Söhnle Glashutte logo complete the back detail and the watch is complimented by a very high quality stitched black leather bracelet strap with stainless engraved logo clasp & steel pin fastening.
The overall weight of the watch is only 35gm including the strap so is a picture of understated elegance on the wrist.

Bruno Söhnle watches are manufactured in Germany in Glashutte/Saxony an area with a renowned history of quality watchmaking and if this first purchase is anything to go by, that is an entirely true statement.
The watch exudes quality from the high polished stainless steel case to the delicate but clear and precision of the dial detail is very impressive.

Especially nice for me is the size and weight of this watch – at 35gm inclusive of strap and a strap length that’s sensible for once and not too long – it is a joy to wear.

The Rondo on the wrist - superb! — The Rondo on the wrist – superb!

So any downsides? Maybe just the crown being inset slightly to the case. When pulled out to set the date for example it is only just far enough and quite small to grip – fortunately and unlike the Botta Argos it IS knurled, so “neat” is perhaps a better description – not a downside as such.

Out of 10 I would give this watch a very solid 9 – and even then I’m still tempted to give it 10…! It is a lovely watch.

In fact I’m looking forward perhaps to getting another Bruno Söhnle and I’ll be trawling that nice Stuttgart Dealer over the next few months.

Oh – I forgot to mention the Dealer’s name – it is Ralf Häffner of Stuttgart – click HERE to view his site and check out the Bruno Söhnle range.

* data corrected 25/11/2011

Made in England

On the subject of unusual and different watches, this week I’ve been searching around for a stylish but different dress watch.
I wanted something not big – and slim & elegant and this one impressed me so much it’s now my very latest aquisition.

And this really is something different – a “Made in England” watch – surely something special?

Certainly the J&T Windmills Threadneedle model 10004/01 mechanical hand wound 17 jewel adjusted movement watch looks terrific. In fact I have to say it looks nothing short of stunning with that special subtle gleam of a Sterling Silver case and those singular articulated lugs and offset onion crown @ 2.

The shape of the case itself is both sophisticated and elegantly slim (7mm) with beautifully rounded and polished sides. The description “sophisticated” suits this timepiece perfectly when one turns it over to see a rather stylish fully decorated back which although quite striking, also has that superb British subtlety – in that it is totally hidden from sight to all but the wearer and owner of this fine piece.

Decorated back with individual watch number

The original WI "Windmills" Sterling silver hallmark.

The dial is classic pocketwatch or even clock in style, so reflecting the origins of the Company it is honouring.

I particularly like the fact that it is a “wide” face and uses the whole case width with long and dark fine shaped hour and minute hands and a fine overhung centre sweep seconds hand. Both the minute and second hands align and meet the first inner curve of the numeral markers perfectly. The hour hand just meets perfectly the iner edge of the roman numerals, thus making a precise reading of the time assured. A simple function that many manufacturers could and should take the trouble to emulate.
Slightly elongated Roman numerals in black and a neat date aperture @6, which is large enough to give clarity without compromising the elegance of the whole, complete the frontage of this very stylish watch.
Note the “Made in England” on the bottom edge – something you don’t see too often these days and which I have to say, it’s rather nice to see it.

So is this Made in England indication justified?

A question which could be asked of many a Swiss Made watch and I fancy the answer to both questions would be much the same if truth be known.
To have the numenclature “made in” or “X made” is basically a matter of where, what and how. And importantly how much of the where, what and how is in the Country so defined.
Here in the UK the Trades Description Act requires certain parameters to have been met – namely “… goods shall be deemed to have been manufactured or produced in the country in which they last underwent a treatment or process resulting in a substantial change”.
Indeed a judication was actually made a year or so ago and these are some of the facts disclosed.

The J&T here is designed in the United Kingdom – in London. Prototypes are developed in China and subsequent samples are refined in their Essex, England facility.
The movement is sourced from Switzerland as a pure “Chablon” movement – this is a “raw” movement set where a complete set of the components of a watch of which all or part of the components are not assembled or partly assembled (marketed in this form). In the case of this particular mechanical display movement the dial and hands are not included.
The chablon is subsequently engraved, tested, and the watches assembled and quality controlled by specialist watchmakers at the Essex assembly facility. J&T watchmakers decorate the movement with bespoke Windmills “plates”, which is a manually intensive task, seat the dial on the movement and fix and set the watch hands in a careful and time consuming proces.

After testing the full “casing up” (assembly) process is undertaken where watchmakers insert the movement into the case, fit the crown to the stem and wind the watch fully, and after a further 48-hour testing process they approve the watch for packaging and despatch.
Also the value of components sourced abroad is only 34% of the ex-works price, so value-wise the watch can easily be described as “Made in England” and as I say, there are many, many so called Swiss Mades, that would struggle to prove their heritage if challenged. So well done J&T.
Indeed the British Horological Federation (BHF) confirmed that the use of foreign movements was common practice in the watch and clock trade, and that labour and parts would provide substantial added value to the final product.

So a British watch promoting British heritage, re-launched if you will and named in honour of the revered watch and Clock making family J&T Windmills of the 19th century. A great idea and from what I’ve seen so far – a very, very well finished and presented watch.

I purchased this watch from the very patriotic sounding http://www.BritishWatchCompany.com and very efficient they were too. Placed the order and received follow up emails with order acknowledged, payment confirmed, order process stage 1, then stage 2 confirmed – posted. All within the space of minutes. Nice web site with a good range of watches at pretty decent prices too.

Couldn’t wait to get it “on the wrist” and pleasantly surprised to find that the strap and deployment buckle were of a sensible length and not overlong as so many are today and with watch dimensions of 38mm diameter and an approximately 7.5mm depth (the sapphire crystal is slightly domed, so 7mm more like). It is therefore very slim to wear and will easily slide under any sleeve.

Accuracy –

Had the watch for a little while now and on checking accuracy I measured a gain of just 3.75 seconds per day, which is pretty darned good. And this was not winding it as you should at the same time each day, so I’m expecting a slight increase in the overall accuracy as time goes on. I’m used to quartz accuracy but this seems to me to be pretty impressive for a mechanical.

Downsides –

None is the short answer. My only slight issue is with the deployment buckle which I find a little fiddly. But I’m pretty certain this is more me than the buckle as I’m just not used to them. I can however see the clear justification for this option as they without doubt save wear and tear on the strap and having this supplied as standard has to be another plus. And it is very comfortable. So more a personal preference – not a downside at all. 😉

I forgot to mention that the watch also comes supplied with a very nice presentation box around 12″ long in a burr walnut style with a green baize padded interior. Large enough and with interior compartments which can easily be used as storage of cuff links and so on.
In fact I’ve gone and got myself a pair of black onyx and MOP sterling silver mounted cuff links, just to celebrate and compliment my new Joseph & Thomas.
Finally – a 2 year Guarantee, instruction booklet plus a potted history of Windmills – makes this watch complete.

So it’s been a “best of british day” all round….. and as for the J&T ? ….. I’m very pleased and dare I say “proud”.

Affordable Royals – update (1st published 01/04/09)

As you may or may not be aware, I’ve been trawling around looking for “new” watches – or models and brands that are new to me. And specifically in what I call the affordable sector – that is up to £150. For let’s face most folks buy a watch basically to tell the time and sometimes have something that bit different from everybody else.

Now I’m not really particular where the watch comes from but what I don’t need are watches that pretend to be something they’re not. Like those annoying brands that are “Geneve” or “Swiss Made” when they are patently not – you know the ones with an answerphone in Switzerland or Germany and blatantly pretending to be a long established maker of quality. In other words – scam watches.

You think you’re buying a watch of some quality, when in reality you’ve ended up with a cheaply made Chinese watch that you could pick up for a couple of Pounds in a bargain basement.

So it’s refreshing to come across a brand that have a pretty large range of quite stylish watches, at quite reasonable prices in some cases and to suit just about all tastes. They also don’t print patently misleading and often fraudulent information regarding their products.

This is a neat quartz date model I recently spotted, quite liked the look of it, certainly the finish seemed OK – so I took a chance and got it –

It’s actually not a bad looking Cartier Tank styled watch which looks reasonably good on the wrist.

I say “Cartier” as it has the extended side bars, the engine-turned dial decoration, similar numerals and inner chapter ring etc. so it looks the business. Clearly marked Royal London it says what it is.

It’s a slim watch at 7mm and the dimensions are just about perfect for my smallish 6.7″ wrist – 39mm x 28mm.

The case is a PVD gold plate finish it is well polished and has a nice wrist curve to it. The face is a white/silver background and the roman numerals and black hands contrast nicely. The date window is @6 and is quite big enough to clearly read.

I understand all the Quartz powered models feature Japanese Miyota movements and this is no exception being a Miyota 1N12 non jeweled little workhorse.

RoyLonMove — Miyota non-jewel quartz 1N12 movement

These are pretty much staple diet and I’ve always found them to be quite accurate enough and are reliable.

The standard fitted 20mm strap I admit whilst a reasonable quality croc style leather was a little stiff for my taste, so I swapped it for a nice soft leather German made one I had spare.

So where does this nice dress watch hail from?

Well the brand is Royal London marketed by Condor Group Ltd and in the UK are based in Enfield in a 20,00o sq ft premises. They have partner sites both in Hong Kong and the Czech Republic. Condor are more known as a leading watchstrap supplier to the trade in the UK and pretty much everywhere else since 1938.
They now market the Royal London range of affordable watches – and quite a wide range it is too.
I understand the watch bodies are Asian in origin which accounts for the low end pricing and it appears they have good control over the quality. An issue that all too often associated with the Chinese watch Industry in general.
However it should be noted that China is one of the major producer of parts and finished models to even some of the better named watch brands in almost every country.

Where Condor is refreshing is that they don’t try and fool anyone and have made obvious efforts to bring a level of sustained quality of product to the marketplace and without silly hype or preposterous claims.
They are exactly what they say on the tin – pretty fair quality watches, lots of styles (and some little gems in there too) and some OK designs.

This is another model from their range –

Maybe a little expensive in my opinion at £129.99 this is a stylish watch with a touch of the pocket watch tradition. Once again this one is a quartz movement with chronograph funtions and a date window. I particularly like the neat parallel skeleton hands in blue which contrast nicely with the white face. The overall watch style and dial are well suited.

Another model but entirely different in design is this one –

Not quartz this time but an Automatic mechanical model and featuring day and date sub-dials with the date displayed via a double date window @12 so is tad larger than the usual and consequently much easier to read.
Complimented by a large onion crown and two tone case sets this model off nicely.
Just under £150 this maybe represents better value than the quartz model, but I have no data on the movement used here so it will have serious competition out there – but if the style attracts you – maybe not a bad buy.

It also should be noted that all Royal London watches come with a 2 year International Guarantee and the company has both a UK address and contact telephone numbers in case of difficulty and not just a rather vague web site and lack of detail like so many others.

So a very wide range of affordable and pretty reasonable quality watches which are too many to list here – though the little montage image here gives a taste of what’s on offer –

You might just spot a digital watch in there and there are also titanium cased models too.

Nice to come across a range of watches at such sensible prices. As with anything of course check them out carefully and assess whether they offer value for money – sometimes it’s just how they look that may or may do it for you.

I think that Condors philosophy is just about spot on and I’m certainly quite impressed by the watches I’ve seen to date.

So what of this “Cartier” reminiscent dress watch?

Well as an evening watch I’ve worn it on the odd occasion – it’s comfortable, and stylish – it keeps good time – it looks pretty neat and cost me a very reasonable and non Cartier price!

Now that can’t be bad! Who on earth said that Royalty doesn’t give value for money!

Note – I purchased my model RL-4272-D51C from www.Tiktox.com a small company based here in the UK at Stevenage who were prompt, courteous and provided quick and efficient service.

Interesting watches (Part 1 – Buyer take care)

Every so often as a watch collector of the eclectic variety you get fed up with the same names and more accurately, “styles” of watches that are around. You find yourself looking for something new, something different. Something that when you see it, you say “Oh, I like that. I really like that!”.

Now I don’t mean silly like some of the so called new or “unusual” or indeed interesting watches that can be found. You know the sort of thing – a totally way out odd looking lump on your wrist that for the life of you, you simply can’t figure out how to actually read the time on the darned thing! Instead of hands, it maybe has dots, or bars or flashing lights or any other mad interpretation of time they think of to be different. Mostly in my opinion they manage “silly” at best and “unusually” silly at that.

Forget all that stuff – what I mean are stylish classic looking watches with that “something” about their design, an individuality perhaps that also looks good. But not the same old “that’s obviously a Rolex” or an Omega or a Breitling or Longines etc. because you can tell them a mile away and they are just……too familiar……. and dare I say….boring.
(note I don’t include the Pateks or Vache’s or Breguet’s as they are simply in a class of their own and are always interesting).

Anyway I started searching around for such watches and found myself looking at the smaller manufacturers. Ones that may have limited production runs specialising in a select range of classic looking or stylish watches for the discerning……“sounds like an advert! Ha Ha!”

BUT – there are pitfalls of which to be wary when considering some of these lesser known brands. What is their quality, are they what they say they are and if the dial says Swiss Made or Made in Germany for example – are they?
Now because my search has highlighted a number of different aspects re’ what I call the lesser or Private Brand/Name market, I’ve split the blog into a number of parts.

Part 1 – Buyer take care.

This was the very first name I spotted that wasn’t familiar to me and this is one of the models that first caught my attention. A Bossart multi-function stainless steel automatic mechanical date watch. At 40mm diameter and 13mm depth it is a solid and good looking piece. 3ATM Water Resistant (lower than I thought) and a mineral crystal with a see-through back and the large crown protector adds a certain individuality to this watch.

Bossart London BW-0701-SW

This particular Bossart model I found on a retailer’s site though I note that currently is not listed on the Bossart web site. It’s called the “London” and has Bossart on the dial and whilst there’s no “Made in Germany” on the dial, it does say on their web site that the watch brand Bossart is a German registered name. Quoting from their site it says –

“In the heart of Europe in the steeped in tradition watchmaking country Germany in one of the oldest and at the same time most beautiful cities – Monschau, was created the watch brand Bossart®”.

I hope you will forgive me for assuming that the German registered brand name Bossart, might actually be a German manufactured watch. But appearances can be deceiving and in my opinion with that advertising blurb is very misleading.

Interesting multi-function — Million Smart Model:MS1041A006WH

However the blank watch shown here is a model manufactured in China and is obtainable from Million Smart Enterprises of Kowloon. And why am I showing this?

How about – Does it look familiar?

Million Smart are (presently) a highly successful Company with a huge output of Chinese made watches from Standard to multi-function to Chronometers to Tourbillons. Apparently from their 18000sqm Kowloon factory they churn out around 600,000 watches a MONTH. Now that’s what I call mass-production!

Many private watch brands use them and it’s quite easy. You simply check out their web site, choose the model/s you would like, check the minimum order quantity, agree the price, send a jpg of your logo and wait for the order coming in.
And that’s it basically – no overheads, no Quality Control, no after sales – no worries……….If a watch supplied to a customer is DOA you simply send another – problem solved. The profit margin should be enough to keep you well on the right side and any guarantee issues simply get the same treatment.

My concern here is not that a Company sets up to sell it’s own range of watches – that’s absolutely fine. Nor do I have anything against what may be a reasonable watch at an apparent bargain price of around €160.
My real concern is that you may well be completely and utterly mistaken in your assumption that you’re buying a German watch, with it’s associated traditions of quality watchmaking (remember all that hyped and frankly misleading web site blurb about German watchmaking tradition etc)……… and you’re NOT!

Instead you have got yourself a rather smart and “interesting” looking, but low quality mass produced Chinese watch with no vestige of European pedigree or tradition and which may be worth €50 at best.

So when looking for “interesting watches” – buyer take care!

Note – Part 2 – is called “Buyer beware” and for good reason – I hope to blog this soon – So look out for it.

Radio Times

Question – What do these watches have in common?

Radio Control 1991-2009 — Radio Control watches from 1991-2009

Answer – Radio Control and split second accuracy!

Although it’s been around since the mid ’80’s, Radio Control on clocks and watches is still very much in the minority.

There are plenty out there of course, but rather like 4 wheel drive cars – you know – safer, better traction in poor road conditions and reasonably priced, they haven’t taken the world by storm.

And it’s the same for the Radio controlled watch. It too has many advantages, all good, but not universally accepted.

It does beg the question – why? and what ARE the advantages of Radio Control.

Note – top left is the Junghans Mega 1, the first RC watch, others are Casio, Oceanus, Citizen, Dugena, Regent, Skagen, Kienzle and others.

Well first off – your watch always shows the right time. The watch receives the correct time from atomic clocks – so you have the most precise watch in the world. No setting, no resetting and always on time….which is arguably the most important requirement for any watch, surely.
Then the watch movement doesn’t have to be expensive high-end quartz – I mean around + or – 15secs a month should do it. So it can be low to mid priced and affordable.
What else?
Well it makes World Timers for once a really practical proposition – no worries about moving the time forward or back and being slightly out – because it’s never “out”. Just set your zone and it automatically moves to the “correct” time, every time. And DST or Daylight Saving Time……forget it – that’s done automatically for you every time, so no missing that appointment!

So where are these Atomic Clocks, how accurate are they and how do they control your watch?

Well it’s all pretty simple as far as we are concerned. Various countries across the world have these marvelous caesium clocks (Atomic Clocks). The ones that are accurate to a second in 20 million years sort of clock.
These in turn send their time signal to a transmitter and it is received by your watch……There – I said it was easy!

Where are the clocks –

In Germany, the official time is established in the Physkalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt in Braunschweig the national
meteorology institute.
In Great Britain, the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington near London is in charge of their clock.
In the USA, the responsibility falls to the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) at Fort Collins in Colorado.
In Japan, it’s the responsibility of the Communications Research Laboratory (CRL) in Tokyo.

How –

The time calculated by these atomic clocks is first sent to radio towers.
In Germany the transmitter is in Mainflingen near Frankfurt.
In the UK there is one in Anthorn in Cumbria, England.
In the USA it’s located in Fort Collins in Colorado.
In Japan it’s in the Otakadoya mountains in the North East and Hagane in the South West.
The German radio tower in Mainflingen for example has a range of up to 1,500 km & covers most of mainland Europe.

Atomic Radio tranmission ranges UK, USA, Germany, Japan. — Atomic Radio transmission ranges UK, USA, Germany, Japan. (image ©Casio)

Today the Atomic clock transmitting stations have a quite incredible range.

Here in the UK we’re also spoilt for choice. Depending on the watch model we can pick up the transmitter in Cumbria (it moved from Rugby in 2002) or from Frankfurt in Germany, which is over 700 miles away (I live in Scotland).

In the USA their transmissions are even more powerful at a 1500 miles radius or more.

The graphic on the right here shows their respective ranges and rough locations….

Today there are watch models that have pretty much world cover. In some models they have as many as 5 tiny built-in receivers. Those models will pick up the Atomic signals from all the locations shown on the map here – the USA, UK, Europe and Japan – and incredibly these watches are still relatively inexpensive!

Just as an example the Casio watch shown here in the first small image is a 5 receiver model and quite inexpensive at around £30.00

They can also be highly sophisticated – here is another Casio – an Oceanus Manta 5 receiver model. Somewhat more expensive perhaps but with Solar Power in addition to RC, Chronograph and Timer functions and a very high quality build, it shows the wide variation in styles available today –

Like some of the more expensive Oceanus and Citizen Attesa models, these tend to be marketed and sold in Japan only, though with the internet of course, now available to all.
The Oceanus shown here is an all analogue Radio Controlled watch and like others of this type, attempts to synchronise (get a signal) at night, say at 1am. If successful OK, if not it tries again at 2am then 3am and normally takes around 2 minutes.
This model is also a World Timer and has a Titanium case and bracelet and for an RC watch is very neat at only 8mm thickness.

Of course Radio Controlled watches are not the sole preserve these days of the Japanese, there are many others, such as Junghans of course as the originator of the first Mega 1 – this is their latest version – the Mega 1000 –

With this watch they hark back to the days of the first Mega 1, with it’s digital presentation, but with superb clarity and the very latest in radio reception movements. Junghans have a wide range of more traditional Radio Controlled watches and again for this technology are not expensive.

And let’s not forget dress watches – they too can be Radio Controlled –
This one is a Dugena, a rather stylish German designed and manufactured watch complete with Radio Control, with a digital calendar display, auto DST and a signal call on demand feature. So there are plenty designs and styles to choose from.

Dugena Radio Controlled Watch — Dugena 4381661 Bicolor Gents Radio Watch

So back to the question.

Why is it that this fabulous watch technology isn’t more widely accepted?
I mean not only do you get Radio Control now but it is often accompanied by so many other upmarket features.
Solar Power (no battery changing), World Timer (with RC this really comes into it’s own) plus chronographs & timers features, alarms, Titanium, Water Resistance, anti-reflective coatings, scratch resistant this and that……the list goes on.
There are lots of styles available now such as divers, aviators, minimalist or dress and surely are becoming the ultimate watch…..so what’s the problem?

Well I suppose it’s us again…..people….and our likes and dislikes and of course that peculiar place that a watch has in our affections.
It’s really very personal…..

I mean – clockwork people are not in the least interested – those of us who love the mechanics of a watch, the quality of miniature wheels and cogs all working in harmony to create a measure of – time. A work of art even.
They don’t care a jot if it’s a few seconds out in a day or a week! – it’s close enough – we’re not computers anyway!

And there are many others. I mean and I’ve heard it said – do we NEED to be so accurate?

Do we really need 4 wheel drive when it only snows for maybe a week each year and when do we ever go off-road?

Well maybe not often I suppose, but it’s nice to have the choice and maybe that’s what it’s all about. Yes we have innovation, new technology and so on and good that we have it otherwise we’d stagnate. But we also have tradition and elegance and craftsmanship and beauty.

Watches may be about time, but in a way are somehow timeless – so as long as the price is right, why not have both!

Deutsche Uhremacher-Genossenschaft Alpina

A nice new aquisition to my collection – the Dugena Calendar Moonphase. For those unfamiliar with the name “Dugena” it was established in 1917 in Eisenach as a branch of the Swiss brand Alpina. The name is an acronym of “Deutsche Uhrenmacher-Genossenschaft Alpina“ (German watchmaker association Alpina) and soon became a brand in it’s own right. A somewhat fragmented ownership over the years in 2009 it became part of the the newly founded “Nova Tempora Uhren und Schmuck GmbH” and is becoming a collectible brand worldwide.

40mm x 9mm so nice and slim, elegant too with its beautifully formed gold plated stainless steel case. With a silver dial and separate Month and Day windows, a Day pointer in blue. The hour, minute and centre seconds hands are polished gold and the moonphase a colourful sight which matches the deep blue cabochon inset to the gold knurled crown.

This is what they call a quartz analogue – with mechanical month and day wheels plus the moon-phase. The quartz movement used is the Miyota 6P80 and I have found it to be accurate and very reliable. It has a recessed pusher to adjust the month and the crown has two pull-out positions for setting the time, day and moon indicator.
Don’t confuse the moon-phase with a day and night indicator. It works on a 29.5 day cycle and is normally set either at new or full moon. Setting the watch is quite tricky as the different parameters have to be set within certain times. The Month and Date are neatly synchronised too, which makes it quite a careful process.

The solid case back is polished gold and engraved with the serial number and water resist info – the watch is 5 bar resistant, so not for swimming. The crystal is sapphire so pretty scratch resistant.

It comes with a nice soft matte reptile strap of 19.5mm length and 20mm ( at the lug) tapering to 16mm at the polished Dugena gold engraved buckle.

All in all a rather elegant watch with a beautiful case design reminiscent of Jaquet Droz and it makes for an excellent addition to my collection.

The style of this particular Dugena model is very pleasing though perhaps sadly may not be available now and I don’t see it in todays line-up, which will be a real shame in my opinion. But as the company will once again soon be fully German owned and driven, they are certainly worth a look.