Looking for something different as a dress watch – even quirky as this find shows – as I came across what reminded me a little of the retrograde style of the Maurice Lacroix Calendrier model.

The price of course very different – being around 80% cheaper (list) as it is a modern Asian made model, but it has it’s good points.
This is the ‘Thomas Earnshaw’ Retrograde rose gold model ES-8060-03 – quite a title perhaps but it looks pretty decent with it’s satin machined side plates and polished top.

The retro dial reminds me of for some reason of the Maurice Lacroix in it’s general look.  I like the fact it’s a sensible size 42mm diameter and at 10mm depth is a real bonus for the small/medium wristed, so not too big.

The hour and minute hands are nicely retrograde and well made. And I can’t fault the seconds/minute perimeter index which is finely detailed.

Overall, the dial is nicely configured with various textured surfaces, blue steel hands with small inset white dots. There are 3 x sub-dials showing day, date and 12/24 time. These are nicely made and clear and easy to read.

The advertised ‘sweep’ seconds hand at around 4 beats/sec doesn’t quite match a true mechanical sweep hand, but is the result of the Japan made hybrid Meca-Quartz movement. It is pretty decent with good accuracy and reliability.

I would note that Meca-Quartz really was/is a concept to give an accurate quartz timed watch but with a mechanical chronograph function with instant chrono reset function.

But, as there is no chronograph function in this model, it basically gives a semi-sweep seconds hand effect and is therefore described as a ‘hybrid’ MQ – so if you happen not to like the 1/sec tick of a quartz watch – this should please you.

But nonetheless, it’s a decent movement and to set it up to the correct time, it’s quite easy. Though not having instructions I guessed my way around it – I pulled out the crown fully (2 clicks) and moved it 24 hrs until it indicated the day before the one I required – then pushed the crown in to it’s mid position and quick-set the day pointer, again to the day before. Perhaps over careful, but my preference is always to set to the day before, then once happy, a simple time setting through another 24 hrs to the correct time and the current day. Then I can see how the pointers work together and also when. So, pretty simple and it all worked perfectly.

The water resistance is OK for what is essentially a dress watch at 5ATM, so OK for general wear, but I would avoid water immersion altogether.

So, overall quite a nice retro styled quartz watch, nothing particularly special about it, but if you like this different retro look – which seems to me reminiscent of the old Lacroix, as the image below of my old one shows, then it’s OK.   But of course I much prefer my mechanical ML, which happens to be a particular old favourite of mine!  🙂