Horological Meandering

G99
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An Addict takes one last hit before going into rehab..........

i've bought a lot of watches over the last 6 months( but sold far more ) and after my Maurice le Croix regulateur arrived a few weeks ago i promised on this forum that i wasnt buying anything else until my MIH arrives in November, but.......................i'm glad to say i fell off the wagon for one last hit.... my wife is convinced that i'm a collecting addict and i'm starting to think she's right. at least i'm addicted to quality timepieces rather than sex, drugs or rock and roll

anyway,.....i have wanted one of these watches, an NHC( Nouvelle Horlogerie Calabrese ) for a long time as they have unusual time displays which, as most of you know, is something that really floats my boat.

a week or so ago i saw a 'Jean marcel Mystery' which has the same movement by Vincent Calabrese and are a lot cheaper than this is(and look it!). i thought about buying one until my lovely adorable wife said that if i wanted a watch with this style of display i might as well buy the one i really want and not the cheap version as i would never be happy with 2nd best. how right she is!

anyway, over the last few months i've seen several models for sale in steel cases with blue dials or gold cases with cream dials, even a rose gold case with gorgeous chocolate dial. i've always discounted gold cases as there are steel cases available and the other dials didnt really do it for me until last week when i found this!..... a black cased NHC Ottica with black dial. 'black is the new black' as they say and it really appealed to me especially as it came with a black carbon fibre strap.

after a bit of negotiation its mine and in the post.

it arrived today and it is superb. the case is black ion coated just like the seiko burger, 40mm diameter with unusual 'double' lugs. its 12mm deep due to its domed sapphire glass.

the movement is a standard ETA 21 jewel 2892 item modified by Vincent Calabrese into a wandering jump hour with rotating centre disc.

the dial has a black outer ring with 5 second markers. the major portion of the dial is a black rotating disc with a hole in it for the hour to show through and a pointer to indicate the minutes. in the centre is a fairly small disc with the NHC logo on it. this acts as a rotating seconds indicator. the lettering and numerals are silver and under a loupe appear to be spray painted.

one of the best things is the domed crystal which has a ring around the central disc. when looked at from an angle it is very funky. its major problem is lack of ARC. this may be intentional although it does hinder good photography.

the strap is leather carbon fibre style and comes with a push button deployment clasp. amazingly the unseen bits of the clasp have engine turning detail. this is totally unnessesary but a nice touch.

you might think it sounds a bit boring so far so to add a bit of spice the numbers 3,6,9 and 12 are actually displayed as T,S,N and M(midday or midnight).

anyway, here's some pics. the best i could do with spotlights and reflection.

Lots of reflection, but you can see the lovely shiny black case and dial with silver numbering.

Bomb proof ETA 2892 movement nicely finished by Vincent.

a wristshot where you can just see that the time is 'S'47pm, sorry i meant 6.47pm

the watch is a nice size, very comfortable to wear and should be as accurate as any other ETA movement.

Enjoy

Graham