My Bruno Söhnle Pesaro IV

My usual daily watch always tends to feature a similar specification. It has to be luminous (properly so), easy to see and read, I like a Date indication, even a Day would be nice and it has to be the right size. Whilst I probably prefer an Automatic (mechanical) movement, Quartz is OK with me too.

In a dress watch, however, I’m not quite so fussy. It doesn’t have to be luminous, it has to be stylish on the wrist, an OK size and a Date is always acceptable and a Day is a bonus.

Which brings me to a watch Brand I’m very comfortable with – Bruno Söhnle. This is a German maker and I already have three models, all bought when in Europe at different times. But as I was over there earlier this year and as I felt like having a new dress watch, I looked them up.

The Pesaro IV Big Day Date dress watch was just what I was looking for. It come in two versions and this is the grey model (the other is a more standard plain) and it met my expectations perfectly. The dial incorporates two different split textures and it features a very obvious Big Date @12, plus the green centre Seconds hand and retrograde Day pointer. This is also a Quartz powered model, based on the Ronda 7003.L, but highly refined by BS in-house, to create a very stylish dress watch. The crown winder is nice and large with decent knurling, which I like.

The 316L stainless steel case is 41.5mm diameter, which is about as big as I can take and is 13.65mm thickness. It has a Water Resistance rating of 10bar (so if I fall in the swimming pool, it should be OK – not sure about me!)

The crystal is Sapphire Glass with an Anti-reflection coating inside and it has a glass back, so the movement and battery type (Renata 381) is visible. All set off by a nice quality dark green coloured fine and smooth calf leather strap, 22mm width with a folding clasp.

All in all this is a very stylish watch, which looks that little bit different and the colourway seems to work well overall. I have always liked the retrograde days of the week idea indicator and it’s not the first watch I’ve had with this feature. Though the green pointer is certainly different.

I also like the fact that the Brand name is subdued on the dial and does not interfere with the visual appeal of the dial, as it’s not obviously as clear to read as the more conventional coloured version. Black analogue hands are admittedly, for me, not my normal choice, but I’ll go with it in what I consider a dress watch.

I refer to two models I already have Posts for here –
https://watchspace.co.uk/2009/07/03/bruno-sohnle/
https://watchspace.co.uk/2015/03/12/german-schonheit/

Variety 2

Another trawl through some of the great watches that are available today and maybe we don’t see too often. Once again this selection are what I’d call in the affordable price range and some good value items. Almost all of them are common in one respect and that is, you can be pretty certain that your friends won’t have one – but will after they see your new wrist wear! My image here is a collage as before with brief details below and in no particular order.

Only 6 are shown here as one of them, the Junghans, has a sideways shot, showing it’s unusual crown/pusher set up and it’s 9.6mm case depth.

Junghans Megasolar Spektrum, stainless & ceramic, solar quartz, 100m WR, – 43.5mm diameter (£600)
Fortis B42 Flieger Black, Auto, Day/Date Titan Limited model at 42mm diameter (£600 – £1500)
Bruno Sohnle Glashutte Rebito, 42mm diameter (£380)
Schaumburg GT “Raceclub”, Auto – 46mm diameter (£900)
Askania Templehof in steel, Auto – 42mm diameter (£850 – £1300)
Schaumburg Regulator, hand winding, 50m WR, 42mm diameter (£850 – £1300)

I’ve listed the case diameters this time, as there are too many models out there that are unfortunately ruined by being way oversize and just too big for comfort. So I’m doing a gentle bit of championing the smaller guys. But let’s not be silly here – most of the models shown here are all decent size, as all are over 40mm (remember many Patek Philippe models are around 36mm and don’t look silly on ANYBODY’s wrist!!).

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.