Wrapping Up a Week with the Archimede 1950 - 4

Courtesy of Archimede

Tempus Fugit (Time Flies)!

Seven days have come and gone, and it's time to wrap-up this review, whether I like it or not...

When most of you gentle readers out there think about German watches, and German watch makers your mind might go to the rich and famous denizens of Glashütte, such as A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte Original, and the wanna-be haute and (let's be honest,  somewhat snotty) Nomos. You might think of the former Swiss/German now German once more Hanhart. You could even drill down into obscure levels of minutiae bringing you to independent wunderkinds who make things so incredible you're surprised they haven't already been kidnapped by Richemont or LVMH ; )

But "The Blog Formerly Known As Tempus Fugit" firmly believes in living in the real world, and more importantly? Telling you about really good, cool time machines that are more about substance than hyperbole. And with that in mind, I think I have found the perfect watch - at least perfect for me. 

So that's the spoiler alert out of the way, let's get down to it -

Archimede is one of a few watch brands that sail under the Ickler family flag. Archimede is headed up by Lisa Ickler who with her team are creating highly desirable watches that you can wear and enjoy without the worry of wearing a few months' of mortgage payments on your wrist.

Now every wrist watch needs, by necessity, a case to hold the movement, dial, and hands safely and securely on the wearer's arm. Okay, fair enough. There are a lot of watch case makers out there - some are better than others. But a truly great watch case will not only provide the basics expected, but it will be not only striking to look at, but even more importantly? It will be comfortable to wear. And the case of the Archimede 1950 - 4 is without a doubt one of the most comfortable I've ever worn. It makes it a lot easier to have a fantastic watch case when your family is one of the most well-respected case makers out there, and yes - BELIEVE THE HYPE!

Courtesy of Ickler

The case is of stainless steel and measures 40 mm in diameter, and 44 mm lug to lug. 

The thickness is 9.8 mm.

The display case back gives full view to the movement, Sellita's SW 261-1M.

The 1950 - 4 can be had with either a self-winding / automatic movement or a hand-winding mechanical. In addition, you can further customize your watch with a personalized case back, and / or customized rotor -

Courtesy of Archimede

Courtesy of Archimede

The watch comes with what Archimede describes as a light brown vintage leather strap, which is secured with an engraved buckle -

The 1950 - 4 offers three different dial colors - black, blue, and green. Each feature what Archimede describes as "old radium" lume.

Being a "Man of Oregon", I opted for the green dial. 
 

The domed crystal is the perfect finishing touch, pulling all of the elements of the 1950 - 4 together. 

Okay, so that's the descriptors, but how did the watch actually run?

This was my first time down the road with one of Sellita's mechanical movements, and I must say that I was truly impressed. The winding was incredibly smooth, and the time keeping was spot on.

As previously mentioned, the finishing on the case is wonderfully smooth. Not a single sharp end or brittle point. It was truly a pleasure to wear.

The dial's layout is clear, legible, and... fun! I found myself smiling each and every time I looked at it ; )

All in all? If you want a very well-made watch that is comfortable to wear that will not break your budget? Then the Archimede 1050-4 could be right up your alley-way. And as stated earlier, for me it is perfect. The dial color, hand-winding movement, and the "Goldilocks" case (not too big, not too small, but just right!) all make for a truly special time machine.

Here are the rest of the pertinents, straight from Archimede:

Movement	Swiss Hand Wound Movement SW 261-1M Swiss Automatic Movement SW 261
ICKLER Watch Case	High-quality ICKLER Watch Case, manufactured in Pforzheim / Germany. Brushed and polished, domed sapphire crystal, onion crown, water resistant 5 ATM, screw down case back with mineral crystal Measurements: diameter: 40mm, thickness: 9,8mm, lug-to-lug length: 44mm
Dial	Curved, green with luminous indices and numerals, small second at 6
Zeiger	Vintage luminous hands, curved
Strap	Light-brown Vintage leather strap, width 20mm (for wrist size 17,5- 21,5cm) (optional: deployant buckle)

The price for the 1950-4 is very reasonable, per Archimede - 

$1,193.40*

Prices incl. VAT plus shipping costs