Horological Meandering

Dear PuristS

I'm pretty much sure that my next timepiece will be alarm watch ... think that this is very convinient complication for people who hate beeing waken up by sounds of radio or mobile phone ... so cut the story short

can you please help with throwing in all the brands that are making them AFAIK there are JLC, Breguet, Eterna

 

regards

Photo courtesy Ulysse Nardin website

Blancpain, the "cousin "of Breguet Reveil du Tsar.
GP: Travel Time.
IWC
UN San Marco Alarm + Sonata.
Panerai PAM 98,And Cricket, too!Best.
Nicolas. This message has been edited by amanico on 2008-01-21 14:29:43 This message has been edited by amanico on 2008-01-21 14:32:17

I have some serious issues with my computer...As soon as I solve them, I will post you some pics...
Best.
Nicolas

This has been very helpful ..... can hardly wait pics :0)

regards

what about Omega's only entry to the alarm-watch field? 

Forgive my ignorance, but I don't know many things about Omega..I'd love to leanr more about this Omeaga Alarm watch , so please...Pics and details????
Best.
Nicolas

I'm not sure what happened, but my original post (the first one on "memomatic") somehow got attributed to someone else.

 

The Omega Seamaster Memomatic used the 980 calibre (a Lemania movement), and was the first alarm watch to incorporate an alarm that was wound off the rotor and was settable to the minute.  35,000 were produced, circa 1970-?  As for pictures, here's a link:

 

http://www.omegawatches.com/index.php?id=495

saying the word, Quartz. basically only 10,000 made, a JLC reverso rip off with quartz movement.

i've had both of the Omegas and not been impressed with either of them with regards to sound quality. the memomatic only rings for about 15 seconds which is not long enough to wake anyone up. equinox is so quiet its pathetic.

i must say i've not heard many mechanical alarms, but the ones i have heard have been a bit disappointing. the best i've ever heard is a Casio G-shock.

This message has been edited by gmhutton on 2008-01-25 14:19:56

Ah, you don't need help in getting to know that JLC makes alarm watches? Well, hope it is still OK that I post a pic of the JLC alarm watch which I like to be woken up by. A great metallic ringing which takes you back to a bygone era and somewhat makes you feel like Philip Marlowe each morning.

This is the cheapest you will find for a mechanical alarm - a few hundred dollars for a "new old stock" Swiss watch.
You could go up to a few dozen thousand dollars.

Besides all the mechanical alarms, you can find the JLC / IWC Mecha-quartz chronographs with alarms too.
And you could even get a Shellman Grand Complication or buy one of Kurt's Campanolas with an alarm.

Mike

JLC extreme world alarm . New alarm function with world time and shock proof case and an ingenious strap change mechanism .

 

 

Hi Aeres501,

Nicolas mentioned Breguet alarm watch Reil De Tsar(if i am not mistaken) very classy very elegant and user friendly.

If you need more info,please let me know further.

Here it is,enjoy......

BHK9

and it was not easy to find the "perfect" alarm watch for myself.

My selection at the end was:

JLC Amvox:   Very nice design, but I don´t like the sound of the alarm

Ulysee Nardin Sonata: Marvelous sound, but NOT my design

Breguet  Classic Reveil: Movement is "similar" to the movement of the Blancpain Alarm GMT; sounds and looks nice, but is not my kind of lifestyle

Blancpain Alarm GMT: great movement, great sound and I like the design (especially in steel or titanium it offers great value for the money)

Blancpain vs Breguet


Variations of the Alarm GMT

WG, RG, Steel, Steel
Titanium, RG (matt finish)

There are some more, but these are my favourites.

RG - warmest sound
Titanium - loudest sound

My personal choice & some pictures of the movement (look at the hammer - isn´t it nice?):










What else can I say: watch is userfriendly, sounds good, runs well, is very reliable, offers a lot of understatement (steel), great for business trips and traveling, ...

By the way it also comes on a bracelet, which is great in countries with high humidity ;-)

Enjoy research & "hunting" and show us your final decision.

Cheers
oliver

to torture my self ... choices choices damn choices ...... alarm watch is so

undervalued and underappreciated complication

 and few of them are around still so much torture in choosing

Once again this has been very helpful ....

regards

 

IMHO, the quinessential alarm watch is the Ulysse Nardin Sonata -- here is mine:

I also love the Jaeger Master Grand Memovox (which is also a perpetual calendar) -- here is mine:

Regards,

Craig

I have several of these and all of them will wake me up, sounds like an old Big Ben. I also have the Shellman and the Citizen Eco Drive repeater. The repeater function is not very loud but have the alarm go off in a meeting and you can hear it just fine. Of these all the Shellman is the loudest, but the Bellmatic rattles as well as rings so it wakes the best. Of course the JLC's are excellent but pricey. The Shellman's repeater function can actually be heard due to some holes in the back that allow the sound out, no, they do not compare to my pocket watch as far as authenticity of the ring, but it isn't bad for quartz and was about 7,000 dollars less.