Horological Meandering

Hi Again, I posted here a few weeks back, looking at a number of different hand wind watches that met a set of criteria. I was looking for my first manual wind watch to add to my collection of six automatic watches (Ball Engineer Master II Diver Chronomet...  

the Grand Seiko is a superbly made watch with an inhouse calibre so that would be my choice. on a bracelet it would look good in jeans or suit very much like a Rolex. the Nomos is a great watch with inhouse calibre and its german which makes it a bit diff... 

That would mean ordering a GS SBGW005 instead of the SBGW001. I also belive that it has a blue seconds hand unlike the SBGW001 which is silver. I would probably be wise to order the alligator band at the time of purchase. They are an unusual size (19 x 17...  

couldnt you order the watch you want if it has a display back and order a bracelet as well? if you want a display back, and they are worth it, then go for the model you want. a bracelet isnt important if you dont need one, but you can get a very nice shel...  

Graham, The only GS hand wound with a display back was the SBGW003 which is out of production and they don't come up very often. GS makes two manual wind watches currently (not including some precious metal models): SBGW001 with a alligator band and SBGW0... 

that makes the choice easier then. go for the 005 with bracelet and buy a quality aftermarket strap for it. best Graham

. . . when perfection . . . . . . is at hand? [my wrist, Cazalea's impeccable SBGW001]...  

Art, I take it that you like the GS and not the regulateur. I like both, just differently... Bob

Grand Seiko all the way! I love the sleek, clean dial. It reminds me of classic 60s men's timepieces. The Chronoswiss has its charms, but I must admit the out-sized crown, while easy to manipulate, is a drawback IMO on the eyes. Cheers, Daos

... there are someone who converts the screw back to display back later on. Or, there is SBGW003 that has display back, but it rarely pops up in the secondary market.... Nonetheless, GS would be the one I would choose.... Check out SBGW005, although it co... 

If I decide on a Grand Seiko instrad of the Chronoswiss, I would order the SBGW005 and a GS alligator band with a GS folding clasp. I have not made a decision yet. The regulateur would definitely diversify the collection in terms of look. I need to think ... 

iim7v7im7, Of the shortlist, I would choose the Grand Seiko mainly because I have one and it works very well indeed. Original chronometry results in the +/- 1 sec/day range and in actual use, about that. But your price range just about reaches another und... 

The Zenith is a beauty, but the 681 is an automatic movement correct?

I have a Roamer 'La Grande'. Beautiful, classic looking, simple, nicely decorated manual Unitas 6497 movement, sapphire back. Not sure of todays prices, but when I bought mine 5 years ago it was a LOT less than 8000 dollars. They can be a hard-to-find bra... 

Hi, Roamer Compitence La Grande is a large 44 mm Unitas based watch. They seem to go for <$1,000. I visited the Company website (slow site). The watch is too large for what I am looking for. All Unitas 6497/6498 based watches are in >42 mm cases (like the... 

Well, even if Dirk Dornblüth must be considered an independent watchmaker, he is nonetheless not an AHCI member. If you are interested in manual wind, combined with unusual indications, then you might also look at Rainer Nienaber, who is famous for h...  

I own several of both and the quality beats Chronoswiss in my opinion. Most notably in terms of the movement, both GS and Nomos have a consistently good and honest level of finish, while Chronoswiss has highly decorated bridges and rotor while the details... 

SJX, I am curious about your comment regarding details within Chronoswiss movements being poorly executed (see below). I have not heard this other than one review about 5+ years ago commenting on the lack of decoration on the dial side of a Delphis moveme... 

Great Look, hand wind, 8 days reserve and reserve du marche. Maybe a little larger, and a used One shold met you budget criteria.

I actually considered a PAM 337 or 338 (Radiomir 42 mm, Ti and Stainless), which I understood to be the smallest HW. I believe that these watches are 15.2 mm thick which is way thicker than I was looking for.

What a superb timepiece and very worthy of it's accolade.

I actually bought both ..one in ss and one in yg. No regrets. Alongside my other rather "unusual" watches, and along with my ordinary ones...the GS is superlative.