The Antea back to bauhaus 355 Limited Silver

From Stowa -

Courtesy of Stowa

This is a limited edition (if I understand correctly, limited to 100 pieces) and here are the pertinents, straight from the source -

Case

Diameter:

35,50mm

Height:

6,90mm

Strap width:

18,00mm

Lug-to-Lug size:

44,60mm

Waterproof:

up to 3ATM 

Weight:

41 gr. (leather strap), about 85 gr. (metal bracelet)

Materiality

Case:

Stainless steel, polished

Dial:

Solid silver

Hands:

Temperature-blued steel

Movement

Caliber:

Peseux 7001

Mechanism:

mechanical, manual wind

Specific features:

screwed caseback. Limited Edition 100 watches. Engraving limited edition on gear wheel.

The Stars and Stripes Forever

Ordinarily I am not super fussed about movement decoration.  That's just me, and should not be taken as any sort of definitive statement as to the importance or lack thereof.  I think the main reason is that it is usually something reserved for mega-high end pieces.  Or, as in the case of a certain would-be movement manufacturer based near the sunny Pacific coast, the end result of "finishing" of the movement renders a look not dissimilar to something being polished with a hot Hershey bar.

And that is why the Stars and Stripes offering from Stowa caught my eye.

Courtesy of Stowa

The look is at once industrial, and whimsical.  The basis is the ETA 2801-2.  And instead of trying to be something that they are not, the folks at Stowa laid out an achievable design that fills, but does not overwhelm the canvas of the base movement.

This is a limited offering from Stowa and there are a few incentives for those interested in purchasing a watch with this option:

If you order your hand wound Stowa watch with this option, you can get it at a very special price.  For the early birds who order a hand-winding Stowa watch priced below 750 Euros before October 24th, this movement upgrade will cost the princely sum of 50 Euros.  But wait!  If the price of the watch is 750 Euros or more, then the movement upgrade is free!

But as with anything special, it is time sensitive, and limited in scope.  After October 24th the price of this movement option will increase to 150 Euros, regardless of the model you order.

Stowa also stressed one final point 

(at this moment we have around 50 movements available, not knowing if we can do this version of movement anymore !) 

My understanding is that the Stowa website will be updated TOMORROW (that is Wednesday, October 19th), to add this option.

Back to Bauhaus

From Stowa -

Courtesy of Stowa

I did a review of the Stowa Back to Bauhaus nearly a year ago - http://www.tempusfugit.watch/2015/10/seven-plus-days-with-stowa-back-to.html


As I said then, it is a fantastic watcher the money.  So as it's summer, here is another look at the Antea B2B (Back to Bauhaus), in green.

Here are the pertinents -

Case

Diameter:

35,50mm

Height:

6,90mm

Strap width:

18,00mm

Lug-to-Lug size:

44,60mm

Waterproof:

up to 3ATM 

Weight:

41 gr. (leather strap), about 85 gr. (metal bracelet)

Materiality

Case:

Stainless steel, polished

Dial:

different colored printed

Hands:

black or white lacquered

Movement

Caliber:

Peseux 7001

Mechanism:

mechanical, manual wind

Specific features:

screwed caseback

Seven (plus) Days with the Stowa Back to Bauhaus

We ended up running a wee bit into extra time with the Back to Bauhaus but the kind folks at Stowa were understanding.  

As you will notice, Stowa is a supporter of Tempus Fugit so I will be tempering this with as much objectivity as I can.

The Back to Bauhaus is referred to as:  Antea b2b contemporary on Stowa's website. It is available if 3 different sizes and 2 different movement options:

Courtesy of Stowa

355 / 35.5 mm diameter with small second hand wound movement
ETA 7001 in Top version, without date

365 / 36.5 mm diameter with big second
ETA 2824-2 automatic movement in Top version, with or without date

390 / 39.0 mm diameter (shown in picture) automatic movement
ETA 2824-2 in Top version, with or without date 

Courtesy of Stowa

Knowing and appreciating my love of all things "bauhaus" the folks at Stowa sent a 355 in blue, or as I like to think of it, blueberry ; )

Obviously a lot of thoughts will immediately turn towards the Nomos Tangente.  But the thing to bear in mind is that the Stowa Antea in many ways "out Nomoses" Nomos when it comes to this watch.  In fact, it is based on a previous Stowa model from their fairly distant past -

Courtesy of Stowa

But this is not the only way in which the Back to Bauhaus (at least in my opinion) out-performs the Nomos Tangente.  Because ultimately it comes down to what I have come to call the Tempus Fugit Theory of "Dopeness".   Price, divided by number of days worn, multiplied by number of people who stop to ask you about the watch.  Needless to say, there are  LOT of people in the Santa Barbara county area with a new awareness of Stowa and the Back to Bauhaus watch.  And let's just say, it's DOPE!  (that means good).

In terms of the size and fit of the 355 - it is "just right".  The case measures 35.5 mm in diameter and is made of stainless steel.  

The finishing of the case is top notch.  Although there are some "sharp angles" every surface is smooth and pleasing to the touch.  In particular, the lugs are wonderfully done.  Owing to the attention paid in the finishing of the case, the Back to Bauhaus has been a true pleasure to wear.

Interestingly enough, the 35.5 mm is more than large enough for most average sized wrists -

This is a wonderful example of less is more.  Less bezel "girth", more visibility of the dial, more visual perception of "size".  This was similar to my experience with the Partitio.  But interestingly enough, I have found the Nomos Tangente to be a wee-bit "light" in feeling by comparison.  that might just be my impression.  But the Antea Back to Bauhaus seems to have a bit more to it, feeling that little bit more substantial.

In many ways it is reminiscent of the 1927 Stowa, but what I really like about this is that the seconds sub-dial does NOT obscure any of the nearby indices or numbers.  it is very pleasant to look at.  The blue is, well, soothing.  There is no other way to put it.  It is colorful and calming all at the same time.  

In addition, Stowa opted to use ALL of the numbers as opposed to 12, 3 and 9.  I have to say that I sort of prefer it.  And again, it is also consistent with the original.  But the addition of color to the dial and the strap give it that extra "what's it".  Of course, you can get white or black if you are not feeling so "daring" ; )

The movement is a Peseux 7001 which is a movement I have come to love.  It is "of a time" but yet timeless.  Clean, simple, practical and somewhat elegant in its way.  And provides some of the smoothest and most satisfying winding around.

A lot of this is aided by the crown. And this is another difference between the B2B and the Tangente from Nomos. The crown is that little bit more solid, more grippy, more substantial.

And this is one of those things that seems so obvious when you think about it.  It is a hand-wound watch.  Shouldn't it be easy to wind?

The time keeping was bang-on and the greatest deviation I experienced over 7 plus days was 12 seconds of "gain".  

The strap was wonderfully comfortable, and blue!  And secured by a Stowa stainless steel buckle -

It doesn't hurt that the B2B is priced at just south of 800 Euros.  But I think that for myself and others it is not about the price, that is just a happy coincidence.  The quality of finish, aesthetic detail and precision of timekeeping all are testimony to the work of Stowa.

I would highly recommend the Back to Bauhaus, like other Bauhaus themed watches, it is not for everyone.  But if it is in your "wheelhouse", I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Feeling Green at BaselWorld

Again, sorry, not a great photo - but this is this one of the new colorful Bauhaus style inspired watches from Stowa.

This is the hand winding model, and if you know anything about my watch proclivities - you know I prefer a hand-wound model.

Although it was available in several color options, my favorite was the green.  And as a bonus, this was the first year that I can remember that Stowa was displaying in the BaselWorld halls.

For those of you that would like to see what these watches look like with competent photography -

Courtesy of Stowa

So my choices would be blue, green and pink.  Yes, I said PINK!

The specs -

Dimensions 

Diameter:  35.50 mm

Height:  6.90 mm

Strap width:  18 mm

Lug-to-Lug size:   44.60 mm

Waterproof:  up to 3 ATM 

Weight:  ca. 41 gr. (leather strap)

Materiality

Case:  Stainless steel

Dial:  different colored printed

Crystals:  Sapphire crystal and sapphire display case back, inside A/R coating

Hands:  black or white

Starb:  handsewn leather strap, croco strap or metal bracelet

Crown:  Stainless steel with STOWA logo

Movement

Caliber:  Peseux 7001

Mechanism:  manual wind

Half vibrations per hour: 21,600 A/H

Function:  hour, minutes, small second

Power Reserve:  approximately 42 hours

Number of jewels:  17 synthetic rubies

Finish:  Cotes de Geneve`, blued screws, golden STOWA engraving

Specific features

screwed case back, small second

You KNOW YOU WANT THIS -  I KNOW I DO!


More to come!