RF CLUB

'Jump hour' requires a bit of explanation. If you look at 12 o'clock on the dial, you see a round window with the number '3' displayed. This is the hours, which are on a disc that changes at the top of the hour. Minutes are read from the long center hand, and seconds are at 6 o'clock in a 'subseconds' configuration. The hour change is quite rapid, about 1/2 of one second, which is why it's called a 'jump hour.'

This is more properly labeled a 'jump-hour regulator,' which denotes the central minute hand. It makes an attractive and unusual dress watch, though I must admit that the hours are harder to read than a normal 3-hand watch due to the small window and reflective metal surrounding it.

The sides of the case are fluted, with high-gloss polish everywhere. The crown is onion-style, which is easy to wind and set, and does not screw down. While it's probably splash-resistant, I'd not get this watch wet.

The dial has a nice amount of fine detail and is done in a classical style. The minute track and subseconds are circular-grooved, and the face has a mesh pattern impressed. The hands are blue, with Breguet-style minute hand and simple second hand. Overall, it's well proportioned, not too busy and very functionally attractive.

On the back we see the display window showing a basic movement of Chinese manufacture. You can see that the bridges and rotor have what I would call 'stamped geneva stripes' on them, meant to evoke a real Cote du Geneve finish. It looks nicer than plain or unfinished metal, and does show some attention to appearances.

The watch sits quite well on the wrist on the included alligator-patterned leather strap. The deployant buckle is basic but functional. The watch is approximately 38mm by 10mm, and thus slides easily under dress cuffs.

Probably the most compelling thing about this watch is what I've not yet mentioned: the price. List price on the Alpha site is $63, and I got this one on Ebay for twenty six dollars! That's less than a lot of Timexes.

Alpha has a large line of mechanical watches, many of which are Rolex lookalikes. However, there are increasing numbers of original styles like this one, and they cost less than the leather strap of any European brand. This jump hour keeps excellent time, appears well made, and for the price I would unhesitatingly recommend it for anyone interested in exploring the fascinating world of mechanical watches for the price of a Timex quartz.

By Paul Hubbard

www.watchreport.com

Specifications:

• 35g in weight with strap.



• 42.5mm across with crown, 40.2mm without, 49mm lug to lug.



• 8.5mm thick.



• Black ion plated stainless steel case with polished snap-on caseback.



• Integral black calfskin leather strap with thorn buckle bearing Skagen logo.



• 'Super hardened' mineral crystal.



• Miyota quartz movement with 'big date' complication.



• Decorative dual-layer dial, with center metal section with etched indices and screws.



• Matching ion plated crown, non-screw-down type, with Skagen logo.



• 30m (100ft) water resistant.



• Lumed hands and indices.

As with the Skagen 233XXLSLB, the 697 is clearly a Skagen in style, but look closely and the differences are pronounced.

Skagen describes this dial as 'layered charcoal', which seems appropriate. The outside portion is glossy black, and the center section is sunburst-finished with a lovely dove grey color. The four screws are decorative but attractive, and the etched minute markers add function.

I quite like the 'big date' complication. Unlike normal dates, which are simply sequential numbers 1-31 on rotating disc, big date uses two overlapping discs, one for each digit. This yields a larger and more readable date, at the expense of having a seam down the middle and slight oddness of differing heights. I much prefer this to the glued-on-magnifier (aka cyclops), as seen on Rolexes.

This model is larger than most at 40m across, which goes well with the big date window. It's contemporarily sized without being overly large, and in the brushed black finish still nicely understated.

As with the 233XXLSLB, the strap is attached into a slot on the lugs and secured by two small screws on each side. It's very comfortable and perfectly matched to the watch.

The light weight and low profile make for an excellent dress watch; the tapers ensure an effortless match to any cuff style you prefer.

As with many men's dress watches, the emphasis is on style over function. Most of the minute markers are missing to make room for other things, and the lume fades too rapidly to be super useful. It also takes some practice to read minutes precisely, or maybe I'm just too picky about that. Could be.

Overall, it's an inexpensive watch without being cheap, with a dressy look enhanced by ion plating and unusual big-date complication. This one has a lot going for it.

List price is a very $145. Review watch kindly loaned to us by Skagen PR.

By Paul Hubbard

• 44mm by 9.7mm, 140g.


• 22mm leather strap, black with off-white (ecru) stitching, brushed rivets and a nice butterfly double deployant clasp.


• Antimagnetic inner case and dial.


• Sapphire crystal with inner anti-reflective coating.


• Small mineral crystal on the back for viewing of the balance and rotor.


• Signed oversized crown, gasketed but not screwdown.


• 50m (150ft) water-resistant.


• Matte finish stainless steel case.


• Lumed indices and hands in the new blue-white SuperLuminova SLNBGW9.


• Applied double-dot triangle at 12 o'clock to rapidly show dial orientation.


• ETA 2824-2 movement, 28,800 vph and 38 hour power reserve. Hacking, handwinding with center seconds and date at 3 o'clock.


• Swiss Made (which usually denotes a vastly more expensive watch).


• List price is 212 pounds for non-EC buyers, or about $311 as of December 2008.


• Christoper Ward has an unusual "60/60" guarantee for a 60-day no quibble return and 60 month (5 year) warranty.

Other versions are also available (white dial, brown strap, PVD case), but all share the same basics. Read on for our review.

One of the great ironies of life is that technology often advances fastest in times of strife and warfare. For example, the modern pilot's watch, as well as the entire Panerai company, were both created out of the needs of the last world war. Watches are often decorative as well as functional, so the prospect of imminent demise has a way of removing all excess and distracting elements. At the time, watches were an essential navigational component since dead reckoning requires only a compass, clock, and map. All three had to be reliable and functional. Additionally, piston engines of the time had a much higher level of vibration than do modern jets, so legibility was critical. The original watches of the time were quite large because of this, often 50mm or more, designed to be worn on long straps over an outer coat. Self-winding watches lay in the future, so they were handwound pocketwatch movements.

Iconic designs from this time came from IWC, Laco, Stowa, Wempe and Lange. You can read more about them here and here.

If you browse those links and the pictures on them, you can see the inspiration for the Christopher Ward C8 pilot here: big crown for use with gloves, upright Arabic numerals, dotted triangle at 12 o'clock, luminous hands outlined in black and an easy-to-spot second hand. There's also the ecru-stitched black leather band with (decorative) rivets, matte-finished case (a shiny case is bad in a plane -- the reflections are distracting), as well as the invisible antimagnetic case and dial. In this case, CW has updated the classic design with a few modern elements: the movement is a self-winding (automatic) ETA 2824-2, the lume is blue, they added a date window at 3 o'clock, and there's a small window on the back to show the balance in motion.

The dimensions are changed a bit -- for the better, actually. The C8 Pilot is 44mm by a slim 9.7mm. It wears incredibly comfortably because of this, and is effortless to slide under sleeves. After my usual-wear dive watch at 15mm, 9.7 is a lot more versatile and comfortable since the weight sits lower and is spread out, the watch doesn't move nearly as much when your arm moves; less of a pendulum effect. It's hard to explain, but if you've worn a heavy, tall watch, you'll know what I mean. At 140g, this is also a very light weight watch, adding to the comfort. The thinness also means that the C8 can work as an unusual dress watch.

I've bought a couple of watches from Christopher Ward back in 2006, and have been meaning to do a review. On the left is a picture of the C8 behind my Malvern C5. I'm personally a big fan of the brand, which is Internet-only and is advertised via word of mouth. You can actually email Christoper Ward himself, and unlike every other watch brand that I know of, he publishes detailed design notes and specs on his website! For example, here's a snipped from the C8 PDF:

It shows how he laid out the inner portion of the dial and hands, and little details such as the hour hand sweeping over the bottom of the triangle. It's the first time I've had a look at design drawings, and I find it really fascinating to see. I wish other brands would do likewise.

In another drawing, he shows how he used the shape of the Spitfire's wing in designing the caseback:

The movement is the reliable and standard (Swiss) ETA 2824-2. In a recent change, Christopher Ward watches are now assembled in Switzerland and thus now say 'Swiss made' on the dial instead of the previous "Swiss mov't". ETA has changed their rules for their customers to require Swiss casing, and I suspect this is the cause behind the change.

The 2824-2 movement is about 28mm across, and the C8 is 44mm across, so if you look you can see signs of this - the date indicator is closer to the center of the dial, and the movement window in back shows the outside of the rotor sweep. Design purists sometimes are upset if a movement requires a spacer, but it's completely fine with me, and really, there's no reason to limit watch size artificially. The 2824-2 is a good timekeeper, and any competent watchmaker can service or repair it easily. A quick search of Watch Report lists 30 instances of '2824', giving you an idea of just how popular it is.

The case is non-glare brushed 316L stainless steel, as is the signed crown. The matching rivets on the strap are also brushed, lending the watch a tool-like appearance I find appealing. The only reflections are from the applied triangle at 12 o'clock and the inset metallic ring around the date window. I'm not sure why he went with the date window surround, to be honest, as it doesn't help readability, but this is a small minus.

The crown is tapered, signed, and fluted. It's very easy to grasp, wind, and set, but has ample clearance so as not to irritate the wrist below. Lacking crown guards, I can see a bit of risk in it getting caught and damaged on straps or similar if you're not careful. It doesn't screw down, though the watch still manages to be rated for 50m (150ft) of water resistance.

The luminosity on the watch is quite good. The blue lacks the initial intensity of, say, the Orange Monster, but remains very legible for eight hours. The numerals (in white) are not lumed, but the hands, minute markers, and triangle are. It's easy to read, and if you look closely you'll see that the second hand has two colors of lume on it; a nice detail to appreciate.

The strap is 22mm wide at the lugs, tapering to 20mm at the double deployant clasp. It's thicker than usual at 4 or 5mm of signed calfskin. I've never seen this before on a watch, but the spring bars are quick release, meaning that you can remove the strap using only a fingernail. I'm a big fan of quick-release straps; I've been using them from another vendor for years now on all my watches. I've never had one come loose, and the ease of changing straps is wonderful. Hopefully other brands will copy the idea as well. (You can see the quick-release catch in the above picture of the back of the watch.) Interestingly, on my 7.25" wrist, the strap was at its smallest setting, which hints to me that this is a watch designed for the large-wristed. It's easy to punch new holes in the strap, however; expect to do so if you have smaller wrists.

I've greatly enjoyed wearing this watch. Christopher Ward provided us a review unit, but if they hadn't, I'd be buying one out my own funds, I like it that much. Highly recommended.

Look for a follow-up email interview with Christoper Ward himself soon on WatchReport as well.

By Paul Hubbard

• Swiss made, Swiss quartz movement.


• Anti-reflective-coated sapphire crystal.


• Stainless steel case, PVD-coated 'gunmetal'.


• Luminous hands and hour markers.


• Crown guard.


• Countdown timer, alarm clock, stopwatch, dual time zone, multiple languages.


• Water resistant to 100m.


• 45mm by 12m, quite large.

List price is shown as $1,095USD, but I would expect a discount from that. Let's compare to the Breitling Aerospace:

• Titanium case.


• Night-vision-goggle-compatible backlight. (I have no idea what that means, but it sure sounds cool.)


• Second timezone, alarm, stopwatch, countdown timer.


• Crown-driven operation.


• 100m waterproof.


• AR-coated sapphire crystal.


• 42mm by 10.4mm, 38g.

(Picture snipped from the Breitling website)

You can kind of see from the pictures that the displays are identical, which makes sense if the movements are the same. You can also see that the Victorinox is larger. 45mm is large but not huge; I'd be happy to wear one.

As with many Swiss brands, Breitling bars selling over the Internet, but Amazon sells them with a list price of $2,795.

There are two things I dislike about this movement: the lack of a second hand (useful for 30-second turns), and the crown-driven operation. It's really hard to manipulate while wearing it, which limits the functionality a bit. Nevertheless, I'm hoping that I can try the Victorinox, as that price is much more up my alley, and I really like how it looks.

By Paul Hubbard

First up is the BR01 Instrument Pro Titanium. Like their predecessor Instrument models, it has the square case, bold dial and aircraft-gauge style paired with a reliable ETA mechanical movement. This new model is now made of lightweight titanium, and they've also changed the style of the hour and minute hands to a beveled/polished look that I quite like. It's very similar to the style of the hands on the Seiko Marinemaster SBDX001, another watch slated for review here. The BR01 has a chronograph, using the ETA 2892 base coupled with a Dubois-Dupraz chronograph module. Specs are 46mm, grade-2 titanium with a satin finish. The dial is grey with white Superluminova coating on hands and hour markers. The crystal is sapphire with an anti-reflective coating, and the strap is rubber.

About the only thing I don't like is the MSRP of 5500 Euros, or $7900. That's quite a bit for a stock-ETA watch, and probably reflects how well B&R has been doing in the marketplace with the Instrument series.

The other new model is the BRS Ceramic Instrument. This pays homage to the immensely influential Chanel J12 series, debuting in 2000, which were the first to ship watches made from super-tough white and black ceramics.

(The picture is from the Chanel site) Ever since the J12, other companies have introduced watches made of ceramics, which we consider a fine thing: ceramics make excellent watch cases and bracelets. I should also note that other companies have been making ceramic watches for a while, such as Rado, but for some reason the J12 proved more influential. Such is fashion.

Bell & Ross have done some interesting things with it - they used it to make an ultra-thin watch of more moderate size, which combined with the quartz movement chosen should result in a fantastically durable watch.

The specifications for the Ceramic Instrument

• 55g, 6.8mm by 39mm. Only 7mm less than the Ti Pro, but that's quite a lot in a square watch.


• More than one material is available - white or black ceramic, steel or gold, with or without diamonds around the bezel.


• List prices range from 2900 to 7900 Euros, or 4100USD to 11,300USD.

Here's a shot of the family faces, courtesy of their PR:

And one closeup of the black dial with diamonds:

By Paul Hubbard