The 47° North River Blue

From Cimier -

Courtesy of Cimier

This is part of a new release from the folks next door to Tissot arena in Biel/Bienne.

The The 47° comes in several colorways which we'll spool out for you. This one is the The 47° North River Blue.

Courtesy of Cimier

The case is of stainless steel and measures 38 mm in diameter with a display case back.

The movement is ETA's 2824-2.

And the price - well it's well within reach at CHF 850.

You should want this watch!

Here are the pertinents, straight from the source -

Functions

Hours, Minutes, Central Second, Date

Case Material

Stainless steel 316L

Case Diameter

38 mm (46mm lug to lug)

Case Thickness

11.25mm including crystal

Crown

Large screw-down crown

Lug width

20mm

Crystal

Box sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on the inside

Case Back

Screwed exhibition case back with flat sapphire crystal

Movement

ETA 2824-2

Dial

Grained, river blue, slightly gradient

Indices

Printed numerals with thick Swiss Super-Luminova GL old radium (LE) lume

Hands

Brushed baton hour and minute hands with polished chamfers. Orange-painted seconds hand. All hands filled with Swiss Super-Luminova GL old radium (LE) lume.

Strap

Blue suede calf leather with matching stiches

Buckle

Pin buckle with Cimier logo

Power reserve

38 hours

Water-resistance

10 ATM / 100m with screw-down crown

The M-1 Dune

From AERA Instruments -

Courtesy of AERA Instruments

While they might not be new to you, they are to me. But while re-re-re-reading my September copy of Monocle magazine (shipping has gotten worse and worse over the past few years), I spotted their ad and fired up the Google Machine.

Courtesy of AERA Instruments

The case is of stainless steel and measures 39 mm in diameter.

The movement is the Sellita SW216-1 (hand-cranking).

The lug width is 20 mm, and the lug to lug measures 47.6 mm.

Priced at $1,800 excluding duties & customs charges.

The 1945 D12 Raven Black Field Watch

From Vario -

Courtesy of Vario

This one is an affordable riff on the "Dirty Dozen" style watches circa WWII.

Vario has gained a strong reputation for creating desirable watches and selling them at reasonable prices, and the 1945 D12 Raven is no exception.

The case is of stainless steel and measures 37 mm in diameter. The movement is self-winding from Miyota.

Priced at $368.

Here are the pertinents -

Specifications
Case diameter: 37mm
Case thickness: 10.5mm
Crystal: Sapphire with inner AR applied
Lug width: 18mm
Lug to lug: 45mm
Lume: C3/BGW9 Lume
Case Material: 316L stainless steel
Caseback: 316L stainless steel with option for empty caseback and laser engraving at additional cost
Crown: Screw-down crown
Movement: Miyota 82s5 automatic gilt movement (Côtes de Genève) with hand-winding and hacking seconds. 21 jewels 21.6kpbh more than 40 hours power reserve
Water resistance: 10 ATM
Strap: Cordura
Warranty: 2 year global warranty

• 2 Year International Warranty

The Chamonix

From Elgé -

Courtesy of Elgé

This is a revival of the French brand Elgé. The first model to be offered is the Chamonix -

Courtesy of Elgé

The Elgé Camonix will be available for pre-order (I believe) next Tuesday.

Launch Date: December 3, 2024
Special Launch Price: €860 (price after launch: €960)
Shipping: First batch late January/mid-February, second batch late March/mid-April

Here are the pertinents -

• Movement:
  • France Ébauche – FE AUTO*
  • No Date
  • Accuracy ± 12 s/day
  • Made in France
• Case:
  • 316L stainless steel with polished & brushed surfaces
  • Water resistance 15 ATM / 150m
  • 38mm diameter x 11.6mm thickness x 44mm lug-to-lug
  • Screw-down crown & caseback
• Dial & Hands: Super-LumiNova® “Old Radium” on hands & black lacquered dial
• Glass: Sapphire crystal with inner anti-reflective coating
• Straps:
  • Vegetable-tanned leather
  • Removable “bund” leather plate
  • Available in three color options (natural, brown & black)
• Assembly & Regulation: Regulated and assembled in France
• 3-year warranty

We will be reaching out to the folks at Elgé to see if we can get some more details on the watch and the brand as it plans to move forward.

The M-52 AU

Editor's Note - James Henderson is the North American Representative for Ollech & Wajs.

From Ollech & Wajs -

Courtesy of Ollech & Wajs

This is the latest addition to the Ollech & Wajs stable.

Courtesy of Ollech & Wajs

In their own words:

We are excited to present the new OW M-52 ‘All Units’ (AU), a watch that draws on the archive of Ollech & Wajs military watches used by US soldiers, pilots, sailors and divers from the early 1960s. Highly water resistant, durable and multi-functional, these watches were equally popular with civilian professionals working in challenging environments.

Courtesy of Ollech & Wajs

                                                      Technical specifications

 

Case
39.5 mm × 12.5 mm; 47.5 mm lug to lug, brushed 316L stainless steel, screwed bottom, screwed crown, rotating steel bezel; made in the Swiss Jura

Bezel
12-hour worldtime bidirectional friction bezel

Glass
Sapphire with anti-reflective treatment

Dial
Hands and indexes in Super-LumiNova^®

Water resistance
300 m/ 30ATM

Movement
Automatic, bespoke Soprod P024; date-only calendar, with semi-instantaneous changes and quick adjustment using the crown; stop seconds; 4Hz 28,800 vibrations per hour; 25 jewels; 38-hour power reserve; lncabloc. Bespoke OW Zurich 1956 rotor, OW-engraved platine, custom screws, assembled for OW and adjusted in three positions

Grey RAF strap
20 mm military-grade grey nylon; finished in Switzerland; with a brushed stainless steel thorn buckle, signed ‘OWZ 1956’

Brown Italian leather strap (optional extra)
20 mm Italian leather and natural linen, finished in Switzerland; with a brushed stainless steel thorn buckle, signed ‘OWZ 1956’

M-Heritage bracelet (optional extra)
20 mm medium gauge, stainless steel mesh bracelet, hand-brushed, reinforced ends, with an OW-engraved thorn buckle 

Origin
Handmade in the Swiss Jura

The General Purpose MIL - W - 3818

From Siduna -

Courtesy of Siduna

This is the latest offering from Siduna.

Courtesy of Siduna

A fabulous military inspired time machine from my favorite Nordic watch brand.

The case is water resistant to 200 meters and measures 39 mm in diameter and is of  austenitic stainless steel. The movement is Soprod's self-winding P024. Available with either a leather or nylon strap and very attractively priced -

$425.79 with nylon strap

$473.58 with leather strap

I've Been Hit by the KAAOS Hammer!

In a good way ; )

In the blog formerly known as Tempus Fugit, I have written a bunch about Stepan Sarpaneva. From the time I first pushed my bloggy-wog out into the world, he has always been generous with his time, patient and more than accommodating. His Sarpaneva moon-phase watches have no equal, and I still hold out hope that I can convince him to do a Kalevala themed watch some day ; )

Now a bit about me, I am not fabulously wealthy. I do not see a watch that I fancy, and capriciously grab for my credit card, as much as I might want to. I make considered choices, and I save until I am able to make the purchase. And truth be told, I have not really seen much of anything that has turned my crank. 

Until now.

Courtesy of S.U.F Helsinki

This is the KAAOS KUURA. And to quote that other great commentator on watches, Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld -

I know, that sounds like a lot of hyperbolic spouting from the most cynical commentator in Watch Town, but I stand by my statement.

Not unlike when chocolate's hyper-collision with peanut butter gave us the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, the KAAOS field watches have filled a hole in my watch loving self that I did not know existed. I have always loved Stepan Sarpaneva's iconography, in particular his now eponymous moon -

Courtesy of Sarpaneva

And his watches are beyond beautiful. But going back to economics, while his Sarpaneva watches are absolutely worth every Euro (or Finn Marka), they are not necessarily within everyone's reach. Nor should they be ; ) 

But with that said, it is a wonderful thing when something you have obsessed about - a Sarpaneva moon phase watch - is suddenly within your means!

But more importantly, while the Sarpaneva moon and a moon phase indicator are nods to his namesake brand, the KAAOS remains true to the S.U.F ethos and identity. This is not a show-pony. It is a true field watch, something you could wear pretty much anywhere at any time.

Courtesy of S.U.F Helsinki

The KAAOS is available in 3 different dial colors with further options for the moon phase indication color. Purple (Kaarki) above. Black (Hiili) below -

Courtesy of S.U.F Helsinki

And my personal favorite, the white dialed Kuura with blue moon phase indicator -

Courtesy of S.U.F Helsinki

The blue indicator and hands on the white face reminds me of the Finnish flag, and takes me back to four of the happier years my wife and I spent overseas when we lived in Turku and Helsinki in the 90s.

If you are as intrigued as me, here are the pertinents, straight from downtown Helsinki -

TECHNICAL SPECS

Movement
Modified Swiss Soprod A10 Calibre, 11.5 lines, 28800 vph (4 Hz) - in-house phases of the moon complication
Mechanical Automatic winding
Hours, Minutes,Seconds and Phases of the Moon ( 29.5 days )
25 jewels
42 Hours power reserve
Rhodium plated, Perlage & Côtes de Genève Finishing
Every movement has been thoroughly checked, correctly oiled and regulated at our Helsinki Gable factory workshop

Case
Outokumpu Stainless Steel from Finland (SUPRA 316L/4435)
Case size: 38.7 mm
Case thickness: 9.4 mm
Lug to lug length: 46.4 mm
Water-resistant to 10 ATM
Open caseback

Dial
Frosted silver dial
Stepan Sarpaneva Scandi-noir typeform numerals in grey print
‘Railroad’ minutes track in grey print
Painted Superluminova indexes
Three color options for the moon phase indicator, hand painted with Superluminova: White, Blue or Orange
Polished Blued steel hands with Superluminova
Blued steel Lollipop design seconds hand with Superluminova

Strap
Leather: Black - Nordic elk
18mm Sarpaneva stainless steel pin buckle
Delivered with one additional Grassbay strap. Included custom engraved buckle. Made in partnership with our good friends at The Erika's Originals MN™ Strap
Lug width: 20 mm

$5,038.26
With taxes (24%)

$4,063.11 

without taxes.

Why I Bought (and kept) the Echo/Neutra Cortina 1956

GREEN!

Courtesy of Echo/Neutra

One of the advantages of participating in trade shows is that you get to check out a lot of watches that you would not normally see "in the wild". Insofar as North America goes, this can be a real opportunity to see first hand what you would typically have to pay for first, wait to receive, and then decide if it was really for you. Fortunately, fate had me at the Wind-Up show in New York this past autumn, and I got to see, touch, and try on the Echo/Neutra Cortina 1956 for myself -

Now to be clear, I was in attendance working for another brand. And proudly so. But if you are serious about your work, you will (at a minimum) take a walk around the space and see what else is out there - first hand.

I had been following Echo/Neutra from my previous Tempus Fugit blog, but had yet to see one up-close and personal. I had my eyes laser-focused on what Serica was offering. And while their field watch was (and is) very nice, I had sent multiple emails to them as a potential customer that went unanswered. (and multiple emails regarding availability and pricing since the Wind-Up show have also received no reply). So I would be less-than forthright if I gave the impression that I only had eyes for the Cortina. But the lack of response I had from Serica prior to the show made me reconsider my first impulse - or at least put it on hold for the time being. And so when I happened upon the Echo/Neutra Cortina 1956 I was somewhat blindsided by how cool I thought it was.

There was not a whole lot of discussion about the pros and cons with the two guys from Echo/Neutra. It was a pretty straight-forward pitch:

"This is the watch, this is the price."

I have to say that I truly appreciate and respect that level of clarity. So after checking it out on the final Sunday morning of the show, I walked over at around noon and to paraphrase that other great commentator on the watch business, Boz Scaggs - "I put my money on the table and drove it off the lot". 

So now nearly 3 months later, it is still in fairly heavy rotation. Which begs the question - why?

In and of itself, it is a fairly straightforward field watch, much like many others. It's a nice "Goldilocks" size (not too big, not too small, but just right) at 40 mm in diameter. The strap width is 20 mm, and if you order online, my understanding is that your purchase price includes 2 straps. I opted for the original green and a black tropic strap. While both are well made and comfy, I find that the retaining loops on the tropic strap are slightly too large and tend to slip over the end of the strap and buckle. Not a massive issue, but one to be aware of when you take the watch off at the end of the day.

The case back is solid (mille grazie Echo/Neutra) because display case backs are very annoying from an aesthetic point of view, particularly when discussing field / tool watches. They just look cheap.

The crown bears the Echo/Neutra logo (which I love for its subtlety), and is screw-down, helping ensure the advertised water resistance of 100 meters/330 feet.

The dial is what you would want and expect for a field / tool watch - large numbers and indices, highly legible. This is enhanced by the second hand with its red and white striped tip.

The domed sapphire crystal is the perfect "capper" to the watch as a whole. The bezel is fixed, with a standard 60 minute scale, green with yellow markers and numbers.  While some others have commented that this is a "vintage" vibe, I think that is a bit too simple an answer. It is clearly a field watch with its own sensibility. In a world filled with black dialed watches, it is something special.

And finally the movement. The Cortina 1956 utilizes the STP1-11 automatic. This is (to the best of my knowledge) the first STP equipped watch that I have owned (or worn, for that matter), but I have only positives to report. The timekeeping is solid, well within the advertised specs, and the power reserve is slightly above those same claims. Always nice to under promise and over deliver ; )

And finally - pricing. The Echo/Neutra Cortina 1956 is not the least expensive micro / small brand field watch out there. The Serica that I had my eye on will set you back about $622 (Euro 575) at todays exchange rate. And the Swiss Watch Company Bunker is $450. And these are certainly fair prices. But I also think that, at least for me, the Cortina was an emotional purchase. Trying to drill down to what a visceral choice should be priced at is like trying to make a cat bark like a dog - it's a pointless exercise. In the end, you like what you like - what speaks to you. And the Echo/Neutra Cortina 1956 speaks to me. 

After everything is said and done, you have to be honest with yourself. Most of us, in this day and age, do not need a watch. We can get the time from our phones, our computers, pretty much any other gadget that we come into regular contact with. A watch is something we want. It connects us to something emotional, something that can't really be quantified like the infamous "Pritchard Scale" in Dead Poet's Society:

"I like Byron, I give him a 42, but I can't dance to it" -

And because I know you want them, here are the pertinents, straight from Echo/Neutra:

Cortina 1956 | 3H Green

FROM: $750.00

→ DIAMETER: 40mm
→ THICKNESS: 11.9mm
→ LUG2LUG: 46mm
→ CROWN: Screw-down type
→ CRYSTAL: Box-shaped Sapphire glass
→ MOVEMENT: STP1-11 Swiss automatic
→ BEZEL: Ceramic fixed bezel
→ STRAPS: 2 X Straps included
→ WR: 100m
→ SWISS MADE

The OW 350CI S

From Ollech & Wajs Zurich -

Courtesy of Ollech & Wajs Zurich

This model is inspired by the the Condor 350 motorcycle and its inverted controls ("commandes inversées").

A left side crown and a pretty cool muted green dial add that extra something different to this model.

The case is of stainless steel and measures 39.56 mm in diameter.  It is rated to be water resistant to a depth of 300 meters. The movement is ETA's 2824-2 OW5P.

Best of all is the price - CHF 1,296

Here are the pertinents -

REFERENCE: OW 350CI

YEAR: 2021

DIMENSIONS: 39.56 mm X 12.5 mm

CASE: brushed 316L stainless steel, screwed bottom, screwed crown, rotating steel bezel 12h. Made in the Swiss Jura

GLASS: sapphire with anti-reflective treatment

CADRANT: hands and indexes in Super-LumiNova®.

WATERPROOFING: 300m/ 30atm

MOVEMENT: automatic ETA 2824-2 OW5P, 28,800 bph, with a power reserve of +/- 38 h. Engraved main plate Ollech & Wajs Zurich 1956, and machined rotor OW

ORIGIN: more than 90% Swiss Made, excluding belts and packaging

BRACELET: 20mm 316L stainless steel beads of rice with double lock deployant clasp

PACKAGING: leather from Great Britain, Italian kraft paper

WARRANTY: 3 years against any manufacturing defect