The Archimedes Yellow Stone...

From Milus -

Courtesy of Milus

This is the latest iteration of the Milus Archimedes. The nom-de-montre: Yellow Stone.

Now word might not have filtered back to Biel/Bienne that the rather strikingly similarly named television program featuring one Kevin Costner has been cancelled and is sunsetting, not unlike the protagonist's marriage. Sorry, too soon?

Here's the thing - I want to like Milus. I was there at the Hyperion when they launched the re-birthed Milus brand back in 2019. I actually bought the third piece of the new Milus Archimedes in what is now referred to as "gravel black" - note to Milus, you might want to rethink your naming conventions... but honestly? This is a one-trick pony that has done its last trick.

Unfortunately, it seems that the brain trust at Milus has run out of new ideas, and we are getting the latest regurgitation of the 2019 original, which is now available in the aforementioned tragically named gravel black, deep blue, coral orange (little linguistic note, the correct format would be orange coral as in - what color is the coral? It's orange!), silver storm (what the ....?) and wild green. I've seen the watch, it's not that wild.

This is a brand in need of something, but another color code of a watch that is fading is probably not it.

But with all of that said, if you want to save about $300 list over the Longines Legend Diver, here are the pertinents -

MOVEMENT
Automatic self-winding, ETA 2892A2 (TOP) calibre, 21 jewels, 42-hours power reserve, 3 o’clock date window. Pearlised and snailed bridges, blue screws, oscillating wheel with Milus logo open-worked.

CASING
Brushed / polished steel 316L, ∅41.00 mm, water resistant up to 30 ATM, helium valve. Thickness: 11.9mm (glass included). 

Lug to lug : 51mm.

STRAP
Tropic dive rubber, brushed / polished steel 316L clasp 18.00mm or Milanese mesh bracelet / polished steel 316L, clasp 20.00mm

HANDS
“Broad Arrow” hands, diamond cut & rhodium-plated with natural SuperLuminova

CROWN
Screw-down crown, Milus and Diver logo embossed

GLASS
Curved sapphire glass with inner antireflective coating

DIAL
Yellow sandblasted, natural SuperLuminova indexes

BEZEL
Bi-directional rotating dial ring

All for the low, low price of CHF 2019...

The Endurance PD . B.K

From Limes -

Courtesy of Limes

Clean, solid and bereft of any logos or text.  All that you need, nothing you don't.  Limes is owned by the Ickler family.   

Courtesy of Limes

You may remember them from such brands as Archimede, but in fact where they really earned their bona-fides was with the original family business, making watch cases.

Courtesy of Limes

 And that experience shows through with the Endurance range!

This is not a show-pony.  This is a real tool watch designed and manufactured with the intent of making real watches for real life.

Courtesy of Limes

And it even looks good in the dark ; )

Courtesy of Limes

Here are the pertinents, straight from the source -

Movement	Swiss automatic movement Sellita SW 200-1
Watch case	ICKLER diver's case, water resistant to 30 ATM, stainless steel brushed and polished diameter 41,5mm, with crown 46mm, length 6-12: 50mm, thickness 12,5mm, sapphire crystal with A/R coating, blue unidirectional rotating bezel (120 clicks) with 60 min. scale and luminous point, solid screw down case back, screw down crown with I-logo, screw bars
Dial	Blue with large luminous indices, date at 6 o'clock, without logo
Hands	Luminous hands
Band	Rubber strap, width 20mm, wrist size: 18.5 - 22cm

The Coolest Things at Basel - The ARCHIMÈDES

In the time honored tradition of all of my colleagues in the Fourth and Fifth Estates, I too will now share with you what I found to be the coolest items at Basel.  I'm going to be spooling them out one at a time.  

I will kick it off with the feel-good, love-song-triumphant return of Milus.

The story of Milus is a long one, and we'll dig in deeper in a future post, but for many of us we are well-acquainted with the Snow Star.  And again, we'll get deeper into that in another future post ; )

But suffice it to say, not so long ago Milus went dark.  And it looked as if it might stay that way until one Luc Tissot rode into Biel/Bienne and saved the day!  The result was the re-launch this year of Milus.  And to their credit, this was one of the sanest, most intelligent launches I have seen in Basel for some time.  No fashion models, no "famous friends" of the brand, and most certainly not a million different SKUs (Models).  They brought three models, limited color ways, and a clear communication of what Milus is now.

And one model, in particular, caught my eye -

This is the Archimedes. It is available in blue, or my favorite, black.

A solid case back is just one of the many thoughtful design details that I really appreciated.  It is in keeping with the theme of the watch, and let's be honest, why would you want a display back on a vintage inspired watch?

And what is that?  Why an HRV valve, of course!  Which you might expect on a watch costing three times the amount.

A wonderfully soft, yet strong leather strap with signed buckle instead of the all too often used deployment buckle.  Again, it maintains the spirit of the watch itself.  The strap is a "quick spring" version allowing you to change the strap without a tool.  It will also ship with a cordura/sport strap to allow you to enjoy your Milus in the briny deep.

And it is all rounded out by the packaging - a wonderfully practical solution - a leather zippered pouch that can be used for travel.  

The case measures 41 mm and is of stainless steel.  The movement is ETA's 2892A2 "Top".  Helium release valve and internal bi-directional bezel.  Water resistant to 300 meters / 1000 feet.

Suggested retail is CHF 1919 and if I understood correctly, it is available for order now.