Traineract shares his excitement over acquiring his first Speake-Marin, the Serpent Calendar, detailing his decision-making process and initial impressions. His post highlights the watch's distinctive design elements and the transition to the Vaucher 3002 movement, inviting community insights into the brand's finishing practices.
Very happy recently to have bought my first Speake-Marin. It was a carefully deliberated decision, comparing many brands and models, reading tons of materials, before I finally made up my mind. The final decision was.......
Speake-Marin Serpent Calendar!!
For those who are not familiar with Speake-Marin, the Serpent Calendar is part of the J-Class (as in J-Class yachts) collection which, like J-Class yachts, embody timeless elegance. The key feature of this watch is the serpent hand that is used as a pointer date hand. Mine is the 38mm white lacquer dial version in stainless steel but there are other options with a black or blue inner dial, and also 42mm variant in titanium. Inside the watch, it houses the calibre Vaucher 3002 movement with 50 hours power reserve. All the hands are heated blue.
Without further ado, the pictures:
Beautiful multi-layered lacquered dial, creates a contrast between the date and the roman numerals. All 4 heated blue hands are just beautiful. I especially love the serpent hand and the very fine seconds hand which goes all the way to the edge of the dial. It's all in the details.
Caseback movement shot with the iconic Speake-Marin topping tool rotor. One of the nicest rotors around and the sharp pointy edges are really difficult to execute. You can also partially see the Vaucher movement, which is finished quite nicely. Movement is adjusted to 5 positions. The winding of the Vaucher movement is also nice and smooth.
Watch comes in a really nice box. Adds a nice touch.
Compared to the previous generation of the Serpent Calendar, there were some aesthetic differences, and also a change from the Technotime Eros movement to Vaucher movement. I like the Eros movement for the 5 day power reserve (IIRC) but the Vaucher movement is finished to a higher level. All in all, there are pros and cons but I am still very happy with this current execution.
To all who are celebrating Chinese New Year, happy new year and wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year ahead. Greetings from Singapore!
