British (made) Watches – do they exist?

Unfortunately, today you’ve got to look very carefully to find a British watch – and this would have been unthinkable 200 years ago, when Great Britain produced over 200,000 pieces, or half the world’s supply. Though we are talking of another world in terms of watchmaking, as most all of them would be hand made. This incredible fact I picked up the other day when checking out the great-british-watch.co.uk web site run by Colin Andrews, who knows a thing or two about watches and watchmaking. If you want to know more about him and British Watchmakers, then HERE is where you can find this excellent site and some great information.

It is indeed fact that to find a true “Made in Britain” watch is not that easy and in my watch collection I only have a few models, which apart from one are vintage models. So as this is about British Made, I thought I’d re-post an excerpt from an older 2010 feature I wrote on one particular model, which is as good today as the day it was made.

Called England’s finest.(excerpt)

August 14, 2010 by Bosartis

A simple and stylish English under-statement of timekeeping – a Smiths Astral gold plate Gents watch from the 1950′s.

Smiths Astral 17j

An elegant watch indeed and with “Made in England” below the 6 makes it a rarity these days. Produced by the Smiths Watch Company in the 1950′s it shows all the best attributes of English watchmaking.
Lovely blued steel hands on a virtually unmarked clear dial plus a red filled tip centre seconds hand and with neat raised numerals – it is quite simply – a classic.

Not a UK built or assembled watch with a Swiss movement, but an English watch built with an English movement too – and in reality a darned good one at that – so a bit unique in my opinion. AND as it happens this one is pretty much original and in superb condition – another plus.

I’m sure this one will receive quite a bit of wrist time which is always a good sign as my philosophy on watch collecting is simple – if I get it I have to wear it.

——————————————————————————

So back to today –

That was an excerpt from my article about the Smiths Astral watch I posted in 2010. I can also confirm that has been worn quite regularly ever since. In fact it shares equal wrist time with my vintage Swiss Blancpain dress watch and both a delight to wear.
I also have a non vintage 60% “Made in England” J&T Windmills watch, which within it’s elegant solid silver case sports a Swiss ébauche movement.

For the uninitiated an ébauche (blank) is a generic movement from vendors such as Swiss ETA or Sellita, who supply clients who don’t have in-house movements (and let’s be honest, few do). The client assembles and fits this movement to their watch, often modifying certain elements for their own purposes.

So the J&T designed in the UK, has a Swiss hand wound movement and is UK assembled and worked. I bought it in 2009 and it’s an elegant model with an interesting and original Windmills design dial.

J T Windmills "Threadneedle" Made in England model (60%) — J T Windmills “Threadneedle” Made in England model (60%)

Today as I understand it there are only two (2) true 100% “Made in Britain” watchmakers (according to great-british-watch.co.uk) plus around half a dozen others with varying percentages of British parts or manufacture.

So perhaps seeking a 100% “Made in Britain” watch brand is being unrealistic. A 100% “Made in Anywhere” watch is just about as rare! However finding a watch maker who sources from good quality components and assembles, perhaps modifies and produces an own Brand watch is something else – and easier to find.

After all there are relatively few Watch Makers who do produce 100% of their own models. Parts are often out-sourced, perhaps too the watch case, dial and movements. Movements are sourced from Japan to India to Switzerland and China, then assembled in the home country (as the J&T Windmills) and far from being the precedent, it’s very much the normal.

So what about British Watchmakers – are there any and if so – are they any good?
Well we have J & T Windmills with about 60% Made in Britain, so pretty much on a par with the Swiss edict, but we can do better than that . . .

Our only 100% British watchmaker (as I understand it) is Bremont, located in Henley on Thames in England.

Not as well known as Swiss brands perhaps and relatively new with their first watch appearing in 2007 after 5 years in development. They tend to specialize in mechanical Military and Aviation inspired chronometer models.

They do however assemble and manufacture as much as they can in the UK and quoting from their web site –

“Bremont is on a long term staged investment program to develop mechanical watch manufacturing expertise in the UK”, so are very committed to being very much a British Made company”.
Prices are from around £2000 upwards, so not “man in the street” range, but for quality/price ratio, their watch models appear to represent extremely good value.

Bremont and the other UK Watch Manufacturers I’ve come across I hope to feature in a new series of Posts “Independent British Artists” in the very near future.

So – Made in Britain watches do exist, from designed & assembled to 100% British Made – but you really have to look for them.

Note – It’s interesting that so many watch brands today are simply smart designer watch cases and dials, with a low cost Japanese or Asian quartz movement dropped in and that’s it. Then market the product under “whatever” Watch Company – and job done.
And I should emphasize here that there is absolutely nothing wrong in doing just that.

But when it comes to Britain, maybe it’s something to do with heritage, when the British decide to come up with a British Watch company – it seems we have to be the best, top quality, innovative, inventive (after all we used to be!) and all about true watchmaking, using mechanical movements and not a quartz among them . . . . Now is that British or what?

Calendar costs

The problem when looking for a Calendar and Moon Phase watch is knowing what the terms actually mean. There are models which show the day, date, month and lunar phase and most commonly will require adjusting the date on short months and leap years. That’s February (28 days), April, June, September and November (each 30 days). Now with most of my old collection of mechanical models this is pretty normal, so no big deal.So to acquire a straight forward Triple Date Calendar and Moon Phase, as described above, isn’t too difficult and OK whilst not quartz cheap, can certainly be found at a relatively “affordable” price.

A Brand that does crop up quite often today is the German Nivrel and they produce excellent quality models such as their Calendar Moon Phase N436.001 AAAS and AHAFS.

The retail price appears to be around £1700 or €2100 which is not at all unreasonable for such a complication model from a decent Maker. The automatic movement is based on the Swiss ETA 2898-2 and is neatly contained in a 38mm x 10mm case with 5 bar Water Resistance.

Now the point I started to make at the start of this Post was about the description of what a Calendar Moon Phase watch was all about.

You can have “Full Calendar” – where the Day and Date are accompanied by the addition of a month display, and – sometimes – also a moon phase. Some movements switch to the next month when the date jumps from 31 to 1 of the next month and there are movements where the month display is not automatic and has to be advanced manually every month. Regarding the two Nivrel models above I’m assuming the months change as the date moves from 31 – 1.

There is the “Annual Calendar” – where the disparity between months is taken care of automatically, except for February, so basically you have to make an adjustment once per year – hence the “annual”.

And finally there is the “Perpetual calendar” – I suppose this is the natural progression from the “Annual” by taking into account the 28 day February and that every 4 years February will have 29 days (leap year). In this case it more or less runs in a four year repeatable cycle so not strictly a “perpetual” either and an adjustment will still have to be made in 100 years time, not that it should bother you – but make sure your son has the instruction booklet! (basically as our Gregorian calendar drops a leap year in every 100).

This is where unfortunately the costs increase greatly with such complications and can be quite expensive. A reason perhaps why so many people prefer quartz digital models, which of course can do “perpetual” using the power of electronics – but as I said at the start – it’s just NOT the same.

However models are available and again Nivrel have a mechanical Perpetual Calendar and Moon Phase model at perhaps the most reasonable price of any I can find.

This is a 3 sub-dial style model that shows hours, minutes and central second, date, day, month, leap year cycle and the lunar phase. This Perpetual Calendar model is the most complicated watch NIVREL produce and as they say on their web site –
“It is a very complicate mechanism that indicates to the year 2099 without external intervention the correct date of the Gregorian calendar. Providing continuous winding up means that you do not have to adjust your clock, even at short months and not even on the 29^th February in a leap year”.

The Nivrel Perpetual Calendar Moon Phase model N401.001-1 AAASS uses an automatic mechanical movement based on the ETA 2892-A2 calendar module and the watch is a really neat 38mm x 10mm, a Water Resistance of 5 bar and retails for around £8300 currently. But if that’s beyond your purse, then the only other option is to look at pre-owned models and whilst there’s often stiff competition, there are good buys to be had.

So basically whilst the “perpetual” idea is easy enough to find today with quartz digital models such as Citizen, Seiko and Casio, we enter a different world in mechanical complications watches. Yes we can fairly easily find good and sometimes exceptional quality “Calendar” models of varying degrees of sophistication and at often quite reasonable prices, but when it comes to true mechanical “Perpetual” models – it can be a sometimes frustrating, wonderful, but expensive game – and if you’re really lucky – a rewarding one.

Finally just to make you drool somewhat, here is my absolute favourite – the H Moser & Cie Perpetual 1

H Moser and Cie - Perpetual 1 - the ultimate Calendar — H Moser & Cie – Perpetual 1 – the ultimate Calendar

Simple and elegant. Check out the small center Month pointer towards 11 (November) and that big Date display (known as the Flash Calendar) which manages an instant change of date at the end of one month to the start of the next month, without any invalid numerals to appear in the date window, so avoiding that uncertain period in between – and lastly a 7 day reserve.

There’s nothing else to say, but I AM doing the European lottery next week . . . . in hope!

Aero Observer

Down to earth today – I feature a watch that has always interested me simply because of the way it looks. It’s just one of those designs that appeals to me on all sorts of levels. And it’s by no means what you’d call a high end watch, but the Brand in my experience, having owned 4 of them since 2008, has never yet disappointed me. Each model has been totally reliable, surprisingly accurate and a pleasure to wear.

The attraction of this particular model to me is that it appears to conjure up visions of vintage aviation, Bomber Command and World Wars, or Boys Own magazine, Captain Jim “Red” Albright or even Biggles. It has a large clear dial in that sepia coloured “vintage” look – all very subjective I know, but marketing by design has that trick – of influencing you without you realizing it. And OK I have fallen for it, but I was already hooked when I first saw it some years ago and in saying that it doesn’t mean I’ve been conned – far from it.

Close up of the Observer Flier model A1408

Aeromatic is also one of those brands sometimes and unfairly in my opinion, called “Germasian”, and I have a few already, all of which have kept great time over the past 5 years, without problems.
Offices in Frankfurt and marketed in Germany, though whether assembled there I wouldn’t know. The cases I would imagine come from Asia, perhaps using model “blanks” and they may have had a hand in the design, but whatever their sources, they then badge them Aeromatic 1912. Depending on function the mechanical movements will be likely sourced from Asia. Quartz movements are probably from Miyota (Citizen) in Japan or Ronda from Switzerland.

Note the large "flat top" Onion Crown) - stiff but works OK — Note the large “flat top” Onion Crown) – stiff but works OK

As I say I find the term “Germasian” somewhat derogatory, as there are literally hundreds of Brands who use exactly the same sourcing policy these days, including Swiss – in fact finding a brand that makes every part of their watch is not easy and you might count them on two hands – maybe.

Anyway we’re not talking high end here, we’re talking practical and now that’s settled –

Note luminous dot markers include hour markers — Note luminous quality (stock photo) – however in practice lume fades quickly in dark.

This is the Aeromatic 1912, Military Flier Observer Big Date Swiss Ronda Gents watch.

The movement in this model is the quartz Swiss Ronda Powertech 519. What I like about the Powertech series is that they are extremely reliable and used by many watch Brands for that very reason. I know that any watch I have with Ronda movements (and I have a few) – have never ever had a problem.

Military Flier, BIG Date from Aeromatic (A1408) in Nato strap

Anyway the A1408 features a big date double window @3 and the overall size of the etched stainless steel case measures 43 x 15mm. The large beige coloured dial, which looks larger owing to the narrow bezel has luminous hands and dot markers (both hours and minutes), domed hardened mineral crystal and comes with a good quality brown leather strap.

The Big Date has a quick change function, though as most normal Day/Date functions it will have to be adjusted forward on the short months – no big deal. The clock will continue when adjusting. When pulling out the crown to position 2, the seconds hand stops (hacking) and you can adjust the time as normal.

The dial itself is a rather pleasing design, big and VERY easy to read. The large hour and minute hands are white filled with luminous material, though the luminous effectiveness is a little disappointing. I note that the dot markers on the outer minute track are luminous, as are the inner hour track dot markers – a little unusual perhaps, but the inner track lines up nicely with the tip of the shorter hour hand, so the idea would be good if the lume was up to par.

Aeromatic, Nato strap and wrist. Looks quite big. — Aeromatic, Nato strap and wrist. Looks bigger than it is.

The watch back is absolutely flat, so although the watch case is 15mm depth, it sits very flat to the wrist, except when the Nato strap is fitted, as it tends to hold the watch off the wrist slightly. The A1408 also “looks” big though is in fact just about 43mm wide (45 incl large crown), due to the narrow bezel and large face. On the back are the model name, design, model numbers and so on plus the 5o meters depth rating.
Battery wise – it uses a 1.5v Renata 371 or equivalent which is easy to obtain. Battery life according to Ronda is approximately 45 months and note if not using the watch for a while, pulling the crown out to position 2, allows the battery life to be extended.

Case back info: Observer Hawk design - 50m Depth Rated. — Case back info: Observer Hawk design – 50m Depth Rated.

So overall how do I rate this model? First point is that I do like it, it has that solid etched case which is built like a tank and is quite well made. The dial is well figured and the painted numerals and luminous dot markers are well defined with no rough edges to them and the hands are excellent. The large double windows for the date are well cut, defined and the date numbers are also large, clear and with good contrast. I note the second hand tick produces a slight over travel, but hardly noticeable and each tick seems even. The back is a press fit and though I would have preferred a screw back, being very rigid steel construction it’s a nice tight fit.

The most disappointing aspect of this model is in regards to the luminous quality of both dial and hands – the stock image I used above shows the dial immediately after charging, for example under a bed side lamp. However once the light source is removed the luminous effect fades quite quickly. I would estimate perhaps 3 hours effective illumination is about as good as you’ll get depending on how well it charged.

I do note that although the watch is only 43mm wide, lug to lug is 50mm, so small wrists will notice this unless fitted snug. I say this as the leather strap included (as shown above) is quite thick and stiff so doesn’t actually pull the watch in tight as I personally prefer (though for large wrists this will be perfect). Hence my Nato, which although more comfortable may be a temporary affair and doesn’t resolve the snug fit bit. I’m looking around for an alternative silicon or webbing style, which I’m sure will solve the problem and I will update the Post once I get something suitable.

Interestingly whilst the case height is 15mm, this is deceptive, as the hardened domed crystal is nearly 4mm thick to the centre, so effectively the watch wears like a 12mm thick watch. Possibly the reason that with only a 170mm wrist, it actually sits OK and doesn’t look like a wall clock!

Am I happy with it? Well yes – I do like the “vintage and flying helmet retro stone washed jeans look”, which looks more authentic than the first images I saw all those years ago. But in the dark at 3am in the morning? A diet of carrots or a torch might be handy.

Note – I’ll update as and when I get my new strap…….Done –

Well I removed the Nato strap as it caused the watch to sit off the wrist a little, which meant the Nato had to be tight to stop it moving – so – decided to use a conventional leather strap. The difference here from the supplied strap is that it is much thinner and much more flexible. The supplied strap was much to think and inflexible for me and was actually too long for my smallish wrist. Now I think we’re getting somewhar and the watch now feels so much better on the wrist and is becoming a pleasure to wear – and for me that is very, very important. After all you wouldn’t wear a pair of shoes that didn’t feel right – would you?

Here’s an imags with the new strap –

Another angle on a neat case/strap combination — Conventional leather – note the thick dome crystal!

Well I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the right strap and bracelet is so important to a watch, it can make all the difference. Another reason why I always prefer standard lug/strap pins to any custom supplied one.
However I also tried and stuck with a FastWrap webbing strap as the perfect accompaniment – as here –

This FastWrap webbing strap like may others features a double strap, one part slips under the lug pins and the other bypasses these, and BOTH go under the back of the watch case. I always find that on watches that are quite thick already (this one is 15mm) this can make the watch too thick to sit neatly on the wrist. So I sometimes cut off the short part of the strap that would normally bypass the lug pins and rest against the wrist. This means that one piece of webbing only goes under the lug pins and under the watch back – and that’s it.

Footnote –

Coincidentally the watch model that the Aeromatic basically is a homage to, comes up at an auction soon here in the UK. With the appearance of a rare A. Lange & Sohne German observer aviators watch, Circa 1940`s. In an anti-magnetic silver nickel case, but with a black dial with luminous hands and hour markers.

Lange & Sohne German observer aviators watch Estimated £3000+ — Lange & Sohne German observer aviators watch
Estimated £3000+

Note the case numbering is prefixed by the letters FL, denoting Fliegnummer or Flying Number FL”. The Lanage & Sohne model is somewhat larger at some 56mm wide excluding the crown. Note if you want to own this you’ll have to fork out at least £3000 which is the lower estimate.

The Watchmakers Art

It’s always been fascinating to me the extraordinarily different and diverse media surfaces upon which people will add their personal artistic talents. The street artist for example
directly on the pavement or sidewalk, the graffiti merchant to walls, under bridge supports, on the side of a bridge span in the centre over the river and even on the
sides of skyscrapers. The more conventional manage their stuff to paper, wood, canvas, metal, ceilings mural walls – in fact almost any surface that happens to be blank!
Even at bottom of swimming pools and cars don’t escape their attention and I’ve even seen stuff on grass! (maybe I should re-phrase that last statement!)

But there’s a specialist group of Artists who just happen to have a skill set that transcends them all and will be immortalized perhaps for all Time.

Yes this is “Dial Art” –

Van Cleef & Arpels - California Landscapes (inspired) — Van Cleef & Arpels – California Landscapes (inspired)

Where the very best of the world’s top watchmakers create not only masterpieces to adorn the wrists of men and women, but engrave, paint and enamel some fantastic Art
to the face of your watch.
And they have the benefit of the fact, that the wearer or viewer, doesn’t walk past and no longer sees that nice picture on the wall, but looks directly at that art
perhaps many, many times a day, something few artists can manage.

Here are just a few of the amazing creations and for no other reason, but an appreciation of their collective skills.

Cartier - enamelling technique called grisaille of an Andalusian horse — Cartier – enamelling technique called grisaille of an Andalusian horse

From the gemstone mosaic horse of the Cartier Cartier Santos-Dumont in white gold to champlevé enamelling, hand Gilloche, added diamonds. Mother of Pearl engraving and goodness knows what other incredibly difficult technical art feats, they are quite amazing. A far cry from my daily beater I can honestly say – though . . . . it has to be said that within the limitations of my own small budget it’s just possible that I can acquire an equally (well not quite equal) piece of immortalized Art work on my wrist too.

Ta Da! I give you my personal favourit Classic of all –

Mickey O'Clock — Mickey O’Clock Watch – Mickey Mouse in red – Model OCD02.

And be honest – there’s not too many folks on the planet who don’t know who this is – Oh Yes! OK – I’m sorry and no disrespect intended – but I’m retired (did I say?) 😉

Looking back – on balance

Despite the new and current watches that appear every month, I often find myself looking back at some of the older models and realizing that I’d maybe lost out on some classics. For I confess there are many reasons I find find some of them far more appealing than current models.
If I look at Citizen for example one reason might be that many of the older models featured dial designs that were both simpler, easier to understand and read and use practically. They were also economical with inappropriate colors and managed to achieve a balance between data overload and clarity – in other words they avoided “dial clutter”.

Citizen JQ8250-52E World Time (Wingman) — Citizen JQ8250-52E World Time (Wingman 11 or 111)

And “balance” is a good description and not only regarding data clutter, but in the overall look of the watch. For example, the size ratio of case to wrist and to dial, the bezel to dial and how the overall thickness of the watch doesn’t compromise the wrist fit.

As an example I highlight the Citizen JQ8250-52E to the left here, which would be interesting alone for the fact that this watch is 43.5mm x 11mm – an achievement I wish they could manage today! But when I look at the overall “balance” of this model it really is very, very good. Note the slightly dated bracelet fit, but importantly note that it can easily be changed for a strap, Nato or whatever and then it truly starts to look the part. It coincidentally affirms my contention that in many cases bracelet/strap changing can dramatically change a watch from the ordinary to something special. Like a frame around a painting.

JQ with Nato - (watchyouseek) transformation! — JQ8250 with Nato – (watchyouseek) transformation!

I attach here an image of a Nato strapped version (watchyouseek.com) – the Nato strap shows off the “balance” to perfection. Note too the broad diver like hands which again balance the dial layout. So often chronographs have slim hands and lose visibility as a result. This version features the C460 Quartz movement, Ana-digi, two alarms, world time, stopwatch/chronograph, countdown timer, EL backlight and three LCD displays. It is 100m Depth Rated, domed mineral crystal, luminous hands and markers, bi-directional slide rule bezel with fuel consumption markings and a 20mm wide bracelet (or strap) to standard lug pins.

Now I don’t know about you, but for me this model has that balanced look of a Classic – it looks and feels just right.

But conversely another Citizen model in the same family is the JQ8995-56E and whilst it has a similar a function set, ana-digi display, you would think that it should have the same “look” – well it doesn’t – not at all. For some reason it just doesn’t have that “balance”.

The bezel appears far too large and the same size hour and minute hands are too thin for the size of the dial – somewhere here the ratios just don’t work. And here’s this idea of having to add color, where color is not needed. It simply distracts, which I’m sure was not the intention. Now don’t get me wrong here – I mean it looks OK . . . . but nothing else and it certainly doesn’t look a Classic. It might look a little better with a Nato strap I would imagine, but overall it doesn’t work for me.

And neither I’m afraid do a good number of the current crop from Citizen. And from the above examples it is very evident that a fine line exists between data, clarity, size and function – even a color here and there can make or break how a model will turn out. A bit of a muddle with overdone clutter or a Classic?

It’s not easy, but my advice for what it’s worth, if you see a model that just shrieks Classic and it has that “balance” – don’t assume the next model will be better – don’t hesitate at all – buy it!

Something completely different!

And I have to say right from the outset – I actually quite like the whole concept and for some reason I also like the product.

Vintage style Handmade Bracelet watch "KAKU(Blue)" leather steampunk — Vintage style Handmade Bracelet watch “KAKU(Blue)” leather steampunk

This is A STORY, Tokyo, the handmade watch brand of Gothic Laboratory – Designer Kouhei Yanai and Mari Goto (watch creator). The web site says their works are influenced by modern Japanese culture, which means animation, cartoon, game, J-ROCK and J-Pop music. Now we’re really into something that’s way beyond me, BUT I do like the punk style look of their watch collection, some of which I feature here. When I said something different I really did mean it.

Brand：Mari Goto
Material：Brass, Acrylic tempered glass, Bull leather
Body size：Diameter 35mm × Thickness 11mm
Movement：Japan SEIKO Quartz movement
To fit wrist size：17cm ~ 19cm
Width of strap：25mm
Non-waterproof
Guarantee：One year

Vintage style Handmade Bracelet watch "Hole" leather steampunk — Vintage style Handmade Bracelet watch “Hole” leather steam-punk

Brand：Mari Goto
Material：Brass,Acrylic tempered glass, Bull leather
Body size：Diameter 24mm × Thickness 9mm
Movement：Japan SEIKO Quartz movement
To fit wrist size：15.5cm ~ 17cm
Width of strap：10mm
Function：Non-waterproof
Guarantee：One year

Vintage style Handmade watch "macaron" (Mint) L-size leather steampunk — Vintage style Handmade watch “macaron” (Mint) L-size leather steam-punk

Brand：Mari Goto
Material：Brass,Acrylic tempered glass ,Bull leather
Body size：Diameter 40mm × Thickness 10mm
Movement：Japan SEIKO Quartz movement
To suit wrist size：16cm ~ 19cm
Width of belt：18mm
Function：Non-waterproof
Guarantee：One year

Definitely NOT the mainstream, but nevertheless these are such an inspired artistic mix of rock and pop culture, grunge and steam-punk that they smack of “today” and modernist young “in your face” if ever was!
A bit like science fiction, the end of civilization, yet from the bits left over – we start again, we start out time again from zero and on.
Now OK, waxing a bit lyrical there for a moment, but you’ve got to hand it to these two and applaud their efforts. Thing is, it’s not beyond possibility that I might just order one just for me, maybe as a statement – you know I might be a bit frayed about the edges, but I’m not done yet!

Prices are around £100 – £200 and sent directly from Tokyo. Give them your wrist size, color of strap and they can provide engraving too (free) to your requirements. Each model takes about a month to make and around a week to get to you – can’t be bad. And it certainly makes a change from the high end Independent Makers and maybe brings us all down to earth that little bit.

Maybe it’s time for A Story. HERE.

G-nostalgia.

The G-Shock range from Casio is such an iconic one I’m constantly on the lookout for “the” one that will suit me best. But unfortunately so far this year here in the UK anyway, I’ve been disappointed. Invariably the models are too big and too often overloaded with “dial clutter”, with one exception perhaps – the PRW3000 Triple ABC model I featured recently and which would fit the bill, IF I could get hold of one! It manages to get ABC functions (and most of the alphabet!) into a smaller watch case, which is my “grail” as far as Casio G-Shocks are concerned.

I really wish Casio would re-introduce the GW2500B-1A or any variation of this model, which appeared a good few years ago now (2008-9?) which in my opinion was and still is better than the current “Aviator” series, for the simplest of reasons – it is smaller. As someone else said in a previous Casio review, why do I need a wall clock on my wrist! This model is about as small as you can get with these functions, so far.

So the first point, as said – it is smaller than the usual G-Shocks – and that is a real plus when it comes to G-Shocks. Secondly it arguably (definitely, in my opinion) has the best dial configuration of Analogue and Digital data display of any G-Shock. It’s neater buttons and sleeker case make it a much nicer watch to handle. I also noted the crystal is recessed in the case so has some protection. The analogue hands arrangement is super simple and effective – large luminous hands, a 12/24 hour sub-dial with a neat red indicator hand, plus the usual Selector sub-dial which is also neat and clear to read. Digital displays are again, simple. Basically one at the top and one at the bottom (like Breitling, Tissot and Victorinox) with pretty good contrast and quite large enough to read.

For me this is one of the best dial set ups Casio have ever managed.

As to the features – well it has a lot of them. Radio Control and Solar Power are the main ones. World Time, (you can display your home time and destination time and swap between analogue and digital display of each, which is useful when traveling). Neo-brite hands and numeral/markers and 200m Depth Rated. LED dial light, 4 daily alarms plus snooze alarm, 1-60min Countdown Timer plus optional repeat, 1/100 sec Stopwatch, full Auto Calendar to 2099, Power Indicator and dimensions of 46.9mm width x 15.8 height. Plus the usual Casio resin strap.

Of course there are a few niggles, but not enough to stop me getting my hands on this model IF I could. The LED dial light is fine but doesn’t back light the digital displays. Though at night I can’t see me needing to know much other than the time anyway (it’s got lume for that). The Stopwatch is not 1/1000 sec, but again for me 1/100 sec is fine. So nothing major to worry about.

But an updated version of this model could be something very special. I’m told the latest modules are slightly smaller, so potentially an update on this series maybe, just maybe, could produce a watch that’s smaller than it’s predecessor – now wouldn’t that be something! Well for me anyway!

Anyway I live in hope!

Note – The current Aviator models (GW3500-1A2) are once again larger at nearly 50mm diameter – and with increased “dial clutter” – this is NOT good!

The new Casio Aviator - larger and more dial clutter — The new Casio Aviator – larger and more dial clutter

Independent Artists (1)

My first “Independent Artists” Post today is the independent French born Watchmaker Ludovic Ballouard, now based in Geneva Switzerland, having worked previously for 3 years with Frank Muller and 7 years with J.P Journe to name but two. Now an Independent Watchmaker he produced his “UPSIDE DOWN” in 2009 and followed with his “HALF TIME” in 2012. With a new creation every two years – what’s in store for 2014?

It’s the “UPSIDE DOWN” that intrigues me. With 12 upside down numerals, each one changes right way up with a dot marker beside it, after one 60 minute sweep of the single hand. The position of the single hand denotes the minutes. The complication viewed from the exhibition back is quite amazing.

The "Upside Down" watch — The “Upside Down” watch

The amazing "works" — The amazing “works”

A few versions are made of this extraordinary watch and of course they are all fabulous, though I do have a favorite, which is the following one – just sublime!

The web site of Ludovic Ballouard can be found HERE.
Check out the first page animation, though remember the hour transition is a bit quicker than normal!

I should also mention that Ludovic Ballouard is also responsible for the 2013 Harry Winston Opus watch, the X111. Introduced at the 2013 Baselworld watch fair in the haute-de-gamme (high end) Opus collection.

This amazing concept watch certainly drew the attention of the world with its 242 functional rubies and it’s revolutionary indication of time by use of tiny, pivoting markers round the dial. The Opus XIII has 11 triangular hour hands, which jut out from the polished dome in the center of the dial , retracting again at the end of each hour. For minutes there are 59 minute markers (every 5 minutes tipped in red) and these pivot in towards the center as each new minute starts. Initially not the easiest watch to read, though that said, once you understand the dial mechanics, it becomes much easier to immediately tell the time. And seeing it in action, the detail technology is quite incredible.

The incredible Ludovic Ballouard movement of the Harry Winston Opus X111

The Harry Winston Opus XIII – Ludovic Ballouard movement is really something very special – with 660 components, 242 functional rubies, 59 minutes hands and 59 blade springs carved from a single piece of steel, 11 Triangular shaped hours – it is without doubt a masterpiece of watch engineering.

But personally for me – the “Upside Down” model is my choice. It simply has an elegance and artistry which is Ludovic Ballouard, without influence of projects such as Opus – and that surely is why he does what he does.

His next concept creation hopefully is in 2015 and I for one – can’t wait!

Soft landing?

It’s amazing how popular these rugged “G” shockproof style watches have become over the years, with their “tough” resin case design and macho looks. When they first appeared I was pretty impressed at this super tough case idea, though at the time wasn’t sure about the digital display. I found previous digital displays hard to read in sunlight so resisted, sticking to my analogue Seiko automatic, picked up in Singapore for a few dollars, which was my daily beater in those days. I did however succumb to the lure of the “G” and today I do have a “G” Shock Casio DW-5600-E, which whilst it has the look of the original, it’s digital module updated by nearly 15 years and with an EL back light, so a little more modern.

However I really want to ask the question of these plastic, resin cased “G-Shock” and other Shock style watches – Are they really tougher? Boy’s toys or Fashion?

The original G-Shock, the Casio DW-5000C first appeared in 1983 – designed by Casio Design Head Kikuo Ibe, with the brief that the new model should meet the “Triple 10 Concept”. Which was a 10 year battery life, a Water Resistance to 10 bar and finally, able to survive a drop of 10m on to a hard surface.
Now it is not as some think, just a resin cased plastic watch. It can have up to 10 layers of protection, urethane rubber outer, applied over a stainless steel case (yes there is one under there), hardened mineral crystal, a “floating urethane cradle” in which sits the quartz module. Even flexible cable connections to both the module and the various button controls are used and all to minimize shock. The original model actually has a screw down stainless steel back, though that changed in later models.

Such was the success of the Casio “G” Shock that over 19 million had been sold by 1998 and it has gone from strength to strength ever since (70 million would you believe). Now I’m not questioning the fantastic success or the undoubted fact that it was and is a great concept, but maybe I have a sneaking suspicion that like every great marketing idea, the market is often “created” and then placed in the minds of the customer. Most of the great products have done just that – Coca Cola, Corn Flakes (Kellogs), Beanz meanz Heinz and so on. It’s all about Brands and making the Consumer want what you have to sell.

CasioDW5600E — I had to have one – so picked the nearest to the original.

Well “G” Shock – is certainly a classic brand – a series of “rugged” and “tough” timepieces, designed specifically for the active man – or so everyone was told. The tried and tested marketing technique, trigger words (Shock, rugged, tough, active man, etc) in the adverts and photographs and showing you the MUST HAVE features. And an awful lot of folk had to have it, then and today.

Now the fact you might not need it at all and dare I say, because you might have a conventional timepiece survivor on your wrist already. Let’s face it – watches are small, usually steel cased and externally already pretty tough. If it’s mechanical as long as it’s movement has Incabloc or similar – you have some shock protection. And if it’s quartz then let’s be honest, with few or no moving parts there’s little to worry about. Add a half decent Water Resistance, look after your watch as best you can and that’s about it.

So is it a case of Technology for the sake of Technology perhaps?

Well No has to be the answer – because things move on, everything improves, techniques, materials, movements, modules – everything – and that’s progress.

I like this version as it gets away from the angular, but still well protected.

However, taking a step back here and from personal experience – my old standard 1970’s automatic Seiko 5 Day, Date (luminous, 5bar?, screw back) had been with me many years and in quite a few conflicts around the world – “muck and bullets” as we used to say, that is “tough” environments – and would you believe, it survived somewhat better than I did. A little scratched maybe (again like me) but still keeping good time and with the same strap it came with (the “resin” straps of some “G” shocks can easily break in a year of 24/7 wear). And I’m not talking of a once in a lifetime “tour”, but maybe over 20 years, where my watch and I jumped from one pile of rubble to another and from jungles to sand and back again. But that’s another story for another place.

What I’m saying is that it was a fairly common steel Seiko mechanical automatic model with analogue hands and a leather strap and yet somehow it managed over all these years and in situations that would test most things.

How would it fare on the Triple 10 concept?

Well 10 year battery – no problem – being automatic.
Water Resistance only 5bar (maybe)- but it managed and although submerged a few times, it never let in water or indeed condensation.
And as to dropping it on to concrete from 10m? Well I did a few “drops” myself, but as the watch was attached to me, you could say that I was the “shock” protection!

And I survived . . . . 😉

And so to the future – this is one of the big case models for 2104 – the GA-310

The Casio GA-310 - still G-Shock, but better access to controls. — The Casio GA-310 – still G-Shock, but better access to controls.

Bit of a statement this one, though if I can get past the color, I like the fact the control buttons are not quite so well shrouded and larger, which means that I can probably find them in amongst the protections around the case, without looking at the watch. Something I still find hard to do with my DW-5600E.

Anyway as to the question – Are they tough? well the answer is yes absolutely.
But if I’m honest I haven’t had any of my watches so damaged over the years to have stopped working, though one did fall about 100 feet once from a cooling tower, bounced off this guys shoulder, who was on the ground looking up (he was lucky!) and landed on his kit bag. When I got down, he handed me the watch and said “You was lucky, mate, it’s still going”. It was an old Timex Atlantis and I think my brother’s still got it!

Quite a “shock” soft landing or not!

Out of reach? I’ll wait.

Once again arguably the best Protrek Casio yet is NOT available here in the UK. The model PRW3000 series improves on the current range and uses the Ver 3. Triple Sensor (Altimeter/Barometer, Thermometer & Compass), it’s solar powered and Radio Controlled with Multi-Band 6 Atomic Timekeeping, with a 100m Water Resistance case.

PRW-3000 series from Casio Pro-Tec — PRW-3000 series from Casio Protrek

Owing to the improved and updated modules the direction sensor is smaller (plus improved power consumption) means that the overall dimensions of this model are at last reduced. And if familiar with my web site you well know this is an ongoing issue I have with watches today. At 47mm diameter x 56mm x 12.3 height and only 62g weight, this is at least moving nearer the normal wrist size, without looking like a Marvel comic character.

Accuracy too has been improved with Altitude measured in 1m increments and the display compass readings have 60 seconds of continuous measurement. Added to that there is a Barometric Pressure Tendency Alarm that alerts the wearer to sudden changes in pressure readings – more like GPS units.

As I understand it – can only be purchased from outlets in the Far East and if you need one, then that’s what you will have to do – and run the gauntlet of customs delays, high customs Duty and VAT charges and perhaps an overpriced model at the end of it all.

Of course some will ask if an ABC model is worth all the hassle at all and perhaps rightly so. If into trekking or mountaineering, then you are presumably pretty efficient with map and compass already and maybe have a GPS unit, which after all gives the same data (possibly more accurately as it’s not as confined space wise?) plus a positional indication moving map.
And that’s a valid point – most GPS units are very, very good at horizontal positioning, which is arguably the most important aspect for the majority of recreational walkers, as opposed to serious mountaineering. It actually tells you where you are! The ABC watch of course doesn’t have that function!

And there are the gadget freaks who simply must have the model as it’s the latest high tech wrist fashion. How often have I seen a Tube video of someone showing off his ABC and saying – “Well I know I’m at 400ft, though the watch says 320ft – not too bad is it?” My own thoughts are he’s used the wrong description – not too bad? I think a better one would be “utterly useless”. Or being charitable – perhaps he doesn’t yet know how to calibrate the thing.

And that IS a point. With all ABC watches you have to calibrate them . The Compass and the Altimeter, Barometric pressure and so on, all have to be calibrated otherwise the unit will NOT be accurate. And if as in Scotland where the atmospheric pressure changes often by the minute (our weather is unpredictable to say the least) you might as well forget it, as most readings will be worse than useless.
However if using GPS with a barometric/altimeter and pressure is changing due to weather and not elevation change, at least on some units you have the option of selecting “fixed elevation” mode when it then uses the GPS only for elevation data. But I don’t think you can do this on a wrist watch – yet.

I’ve decided already not to rush to the Far East for one just yet. I’m thinking why do I need one? Maybe I’ll wait for a few UK or USA reviews (not the hype) and consider carefully if I really want one at all.
And when you sit and think about it – time is actually on your side. These units will surely get better and who knows – v4 might just be around the corner – accuracy and calibration factors could improve out of all recognition next week or month!
Imagine Calibration could even be a totally automatic process for Altitude, Pressure and Compass! Carrying around a 90 page instruction booklet is not my idea of fun! The ultimate goal has to be – buy it, strap it on and go!

Now OK just supposition on my part of course and don’t let my hangups stop you rushing out and getting one, from wherever. But personally even with the latest ABC’s, I have to admit to viewing them in the gadget category, albeit a “work in progress” – so I’m quite happy to wait.