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Back again….

Well first of all for those of you that care I apologise for not posting for over a month. Unfortunately real life has been in the way, nothing serious just “admin”.

However whilst I have been away the world of British watches has not stood still, there is an increasing stream of interesting content to read, watch or listen to. In particular watch podcasts are appearing with increasing regularity.

One person that has already been the subject of a very listenable Time4apint podcast is Nicholas Bowman-Scargill of Fears. The latest Fears newsletter flagged another interview this time by the gentlemen of the  Wrist Time podcast.

https://player.fm/series/wrist-time/nicholas-bowman-scargill-of-fears-watch-company

This is really worth a listen, Nicholas’s passion and enthusiasm really comes through, also that  of interviewers.  Be careful though, his sentiments are contagious, so you might finish the podcast with a strong need to buy one of his Brunswick watches.

Schofield Daymark Dark

I was very happy, after a couple of not too subtle hints, to be offered my second Schofield watch to review, the Daymark Dark. Unfortunately due to a lack of communication the watch sat in reception of my office for a few days.

  • Daymark Dark – Day One

However, on opening the outer packaging the first impression you get of this watch is a lovely smell of wood from the beautifully detailed wooden box.

The Box

 

Once out of the box and onto my wrist I expected the overwhelming impression to be “black” given the distinctive 44mm Schofield case, instead the first feature that really stood out were the “pink” anodised hardhats filled with Super Luminova C3  that sparkle above the number indices. Not in a blingy way, just making themselves playfully noticeable on what would otherwise be a more muted dial. A detail that I would not have expected from Schofield. Unfortunately, my iPhone photographic skills are such that I was not able to get a picture that demonstrates this surprising feature.

The Schofield case design is worth mentioning again, as it has now become so recognisable that there is really no need for further branding, probably realising this Schofield make you search the dial very closely until you “Schofield” find printed on the bottom edge of the chapter ring.  Will they every make a watch with a different shaped case? There are still plenty of materials they have not used yet after all. Would a slightly smaller version work for female wrists ?

Schofield Branding

So, the Daymark Dark uses the same case dimensions as Schofield’s   Signalman and the other members of the Markers range. Although it has been made from one piece of vapour-blasted stainless steel, the shine and sheen of the Daymark’s case have been replaced by the a Black ceramic coating.  This ‘traditional matte’ coating  is in the lowest band of gloss that is possible to attain by modern standards. In terms of scratch resistance it is, again, right at one end of the spectrum as it clocks in at a 9H in the Pencil Hardness Test  which is the most scratch resistant that a coating can be rated. To give you an idea of the resistance, when sprayed continuously with water two and a half times as saline as seawater the ceramic coating was over ten times as resistant to corrosion as stainless steel.

As you would expect the Daymark Dark features the same tried and tested automatic movement as the first watch in the series, an ETA 2824, which is visible through the display case. Personally I am a huge fan of Schofield’s engraved case backs. Whilst it is interesting to see the automatic movement working, I feel it makes it look a little lost inside in the large case. I am sure Schofield would offer a solid caseback if requested.

Display Back

 

Another Schofield feature  present is the distinctive crown with  nail notch milled into the case with a deep groove running around the circumference. These two details make it easy to pull the crown out. This groove also indicates the ‘affordance’, the action required of the crown, teeth to show rotation and the groove to show pulling in and out.

I reserve my last comments for the 24mm strap, as we expect beautifully made and held to the watch head with screwed bars. Whilst these provide a secure attachment they are super fiddly to undo. Luckily I do not have any other 24mm straps in my draw so I was not tempted to try the Daymark on anything else.

The Daymark Dark, makes a really nice addition to the growing Schofield range and as with the other watches, there are of course many ways to make these already ready distinctive pieces even more personal.

I am really looking forward to seeing the what variants on this cas Schofield come up with in 2019, and if they stick with the core design.

 

 

 

 

£3,840.00

Pinion Atom 39

For those of you not on the Pinion mailing list I thought I should highlight the latest news from one of my favourite brands. The announcement of the latest version of the Atom.

Black & white Atom 39mm

I only know what I have read on the press releases. The new watch is the result of a Pinion asking enthusiasts and collectors what they would like to see in a new Atom. As a result I am pleased to see that Piers Berry, the Pinion founder and designer, has gone for a smaller 39mm case size and, despite the cost advantage offered by a Japanese movement, chosen a Swiss ETA 2824-2 automatic movement.  He has come up with an individual looking modern tool watch, that clearly shows its Pinion DNA.

The watches will be produced in batches of 50 the first being available in February 2019 for £1050. The price will then increase to £1150.

So sign up for one quickly here on Pinion’s website

Personally, I am looking forward very much to seeing one of these watches in the steel.

Maals Watches

Maals – Jump over the Moon

This another brand that I have just discovered via Instagram. I would probably have ignored them when I first started this blog as they make a range of quartz watches. Experience has taught me that this recently is the start of many interesting young British brands, Elliot+Brown, Fears and Fare to name just a few. So let me introduce you to Maals watches.

The company was started by two brothers from Warwickshire, Mark Anthony and Andy Lee Sealey – MA + AL + S = Maals. Like many of us the brothers shared a passion for watches, Mark was even taught  the basics of mechanical movements and repairs by an older neighbor from an early age.

They decided to take a chance and start their own company creating eye catching, high quality affordable watches that they themselves would be proud to have in their own collections. All of their watches are designed in the UK influenced by a love of all things design, Italian cars and 70’s classic watches.

For the moment they offer two versions of their “Jump over the moon”  watch, one steel and one black PVD. They both share these specifications:

  • Japanese Miyota 6P24 quartz movement
  • Central second hand
  • Hour and minute discs
  • Moonphase element
  • Domed silver sunburst dial
  • Domed mineral crystal with anti-reflective coating underside
  • 42mm 316L brushed stainless steel case
  • 5ATM water resistance
  • Curved steel snap-on caseback with exclusive etched artwork by Okse
  • Laser etched steel crown
  • Leather vintage style strap
  • 12 month International warranty

The case back of both versions

The watches are available for pre-order  on their website for £249.

So for me it could all have stopped here with two reasonably priced eye-catching watches. However remembering my premise that many new British companies have started with quartz movements I contacted the brothers to see if they had any plans to go mechanical. The good news is yes. They are working three/four designs.

So from what I can glean online this should be a brand to keep an eye on. Hopefully I will get to see a watch in the steel soon.

 

Elliot Brown – Military Watch

Many watch lover’s have a special attraction to military watches. I have posted recently about the “Dirty Dozen” and 6BB watches, both past and revived.

Holton – new military watch

Elliot Brown are now offering something slightly different a new watch designed together with the British military, not an old design refreshed or relaunched.

It’s the first military issued watch from a British company in over ten years and prior to being approved, was the subject of intense testing, surviving some of the most hostile conditions imaginable.

The Brief: capable of prolongued exposure to water and dust, durable, shock resistant, clear visibility day or night,  unidirectional timing bezel operable with a gloved hand, easy strap changes and comfortable strapping options that don’t break.

As a piece of equipment issued by the stores, the Holton has been assigned the NATO stock number 6645-99-303-0677: Time-measuring instruments; United Kingdom, and features the ‘Crow’s foot/Pusser’s Arrow/Broad Arrow‘ on the dial in subdued grey.

The watch will also be available for non-military wrists from £425. I have not seen a watch in the metal, but Elliot Brown do have a good reputation. I hope to get my hands on one soon. In the meantime you can get more detailed from the Elliot Brown website.

 

Bremont Supersonic

Last week there was a significant amount of stories in the blogosphere about the latest limited edition from Bremont.

The watch was launched at an event at the London Design Museum, an event for which Grinidgetime’s invitation was “lost in the post”, or at least I kid myself.

Bremont Supersonic

The watch is a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Concorde and incorporates parts of the supersonic aircraft. It will be available in three case materials, steel, rose gold and white gold at prices from £9495 to £17995.

To save me time Bremont have published their usual video explaining all we need to know.

This is a very handsome looking watch celebrating an important part of Britains aviation history. I just wonder at the logic of using a manual wind movement, what does that say about advanced technology ?

 

Pinion Atom

For a couple of months I have been the proud owner of a rare first series Pinion Atom, which are now no longer  available. For those of you not familiar with the Atom, it is the first watch from Pinion to use a Japanese Miyota movement.

Pinion Atom

At £790, this watch offered a lower entry price than that usually associated with Pinion, whilst maintaining many of the qualities and design elements for which the brand has become known .

As the owner of a Pinion Pure Bronze I was very keen to compare the two watches.

Next to the Pure the obvious difference is the case material and size. The Atom having a 41mm bead  blasted steel case. Then their is the movement, the Miyota 9015 being an automatic. The Atom case is slightly shorter than the Pure and has 20mm lugs rather than 22mm. Despite these differences the two watches are very clearly from the same parents.  Which given the price difference is by no means a small achievement.

Pure & Atom

Pure & Atom profiles

I am a big fan of manual movements, I am attracted to the apparent simplicity and the ritual of winding the watch in the morning. So initially hearing the movement of the automatic rotor in the Atom was a little disconcerting. I have seen other reviews mentioning this, but once I compared the Atom to other watches in my collection in particular a Seiko 5 it is fair to say “they all do it”.

The other difference to many of my watches is the date window. This is a feature I personally unnecessarily clutters the dial, as without the aid of glasses I am usually unable to read.

So getting these minor gripes over with I would like to cover the overall experience of living with the Atom. The dominant feature is clearly the beautifully finished  black dial  with a gillouched machined centre and the sword hands, This shape hands being a first from Pinion . The detailing belies the apparent simplicity of this field watch style dial, with numerals in the Pinion style and the two different levels of black. The small date window placed above the 6, the numerals of the date wheel also use the same Pinion font. Details that become evident if you give this watch more than a quick glance. Finally, for those with very good eyesight the word England appears beneath the six.

The 41mm bead blasted steel case that possibly represents a new direction for Pinion. The Atom being the first to feature bead blasting. This has now been followed by the Atom ND, and the recently announced TT (Twin Time). In my hands this finished has proved to be very resilient. I use this watch as my “doing things” watch and there are still now signs of scratches or blemishes of any kind. The lugs are the now almost standard 20mm which is a godsend for habitual strap swappers like myself, although I wondered whether a slightly larger 22mm might not have suited the watch a little better.

Atom on sand Nato

For anyone who dedicate less time to strap switching than me this watch was supplied with a lovely  rugged brown leather strap with a neat looking branded buckle which rather than the more usual spring bars is attached with little screws.

Atom on original strap

Turning the watch over you find a solid case back. I have never been a fan of display backs, especially on tool watches. As you see the Atom case back is tastefully decorated with an Atomic design.

Atom Case Back

Then should you need any more convincing that this is a practical watch, instead of coming in a beautifully designed box, for which you have to find cupboard space for, it comes in a beautiful handmade  watch roll.

Pinion Watch Roll

I think Pinion have managed to pull off nicely the idea of a well designed and finished watch at a lower cost. It will be very  interesting  to see where this watch leads. As mentioned above we have already seen some indications of this direction with announcement of the TT and the short run of Atom NDs (No date).

Farer Automatic Chronograph

Farer’s launch of an automatic chronograph took me a little by surprise, mainly because it was my first week back from my holidays which meant me having to catch up on paying day job. This is not the first time this has happened since the brand appeared in 2015. I must get better at seeing their PR releases.

Farer Cobb

 

The new range consists of three versions the Cobb (above), the brown dialed Eldridge and  mint handed Segrave.

The 39mm cases are built around the Swiss-made ETA 2894-2 Élaboré movement. The 316L stainless steel outer case profile has a depth of just 12.5m, the drop lugs should keep the straps tight to create a case that hugs the wrist.

Farer Eldridge

Farer Segrave

Farer Segrave

 

These new additions to the Farer range nicely follow the design code of the previous models of traditional looking case designs combined with modern color ways on their dials.

I have still yet to try any of the Farer range so must reserve final judgement but these very individual pieces do look great value at £1675.

 

6BB – Fabulous Four

The launch of the  Vertex M100 made many of us non-military specific watch enthusiasts familiar with the concept of the “Dirty Dozen” , a series of watches built by different manufacturers to British Ministry of Defence specifications. Given the number of watches and the limited numbers of particular watches available this is quiet a difficult collection to complete.

For those wanting  a different challenge I have recently discovered the “ Fabulous Four” , or 6BB aircrew chronographs from the ‘70/80s. Four companies were contracted to produce these watches over that period: Hamilton, CWC, Newmark and Precista (prior to the 1970s there had been others).

 

6BB Design

 

These watches were based on the MOD specification DEF-STAN 66-4 (Part 2) issued in April 1970 which included a small but significant change from its previous version of 1969 . It  allowed for pilot’s chronograph cases to feature either one or two “pushpieces,” or buttons, to control the watch’s chronograph function. That change allowed for manufactures to use the cheaper Valjoux 7733 movement.

These mechanical chronographs were eventually phased out in favour of watches with quartz movements.

Modern versions of three of the watches CWC, Precista and Hamilton  are available and now the Newmark version is being re-launched via a Kickstarter offer this month. This watch re-edition is of the watch issued to RAF crew in 1980 but with the modern a reliable Seiko VK64A Meca Quartz movement.

The specifications will be :

16L Brushed Stainless Steel case
Case Diameter 38mm 12 – 6 and 41mm 3 – 9
Lug to Lug Length 46.5mm
Total Height (including crystal) 12.8mm
Lug Width 20mm
Water Resistant to 50 Metres

Domed Acrylic crystal with tension ring
Matt black dial with Super Luminova C3
Frosted steel hands with Super Luminova C3

The initial images look promising.

The new Newmark 6BB

For those making an early commitment the watch will be available for £200.

I am keen to understand more about this watch although my initial thought are slight disappointment at the choice of movement, I would have preferred to see a mechanical one. However, I reserve judgement until I actually see one of the watches.

If you are interested you can visit the companies website.

 

 

Schofield Six Pips Podcast

I have just dedicated two evenings to listening to the first and second episodes of the Schofield podcast – Six Pips.

Both episodes feature the “Principle Keeper” of Schofield watches, Giles Ellis in discussion with his colleague Harry.

The first episode covers at length Giles’ thought on design, at well over an hour it is pretty long but really fascinating, so much so that I immediately listened to the second episode the following evening.

In the second episode, which debatably should have been the first, Giles explains how and why he founded the Schofield watch company. Whilst doing so he gives great insight into what the brand is all about. We also gives some very useful pointers to anyone thinking of starting a watch company  thinking it is an easy way to make money ( a clue, it is not).

I always find, after listening to the personalities creating British watch brands, a great admiration for their passion. People like Giles really love what they are creating despite the numerous obstacles.

These podcasts are definitely worth listening to. Personally, I am really looking forward to the next episode.