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

Seven Days with the Archimede 1950 - 4

Starts now -

Stay tuned!

And To Think...I Almost Missed This!

 

Courtesy of Archimede

Yes, I have absolutely been writing a lot about Archimede these past few weeks. It's like that some times, you find yourself falling down a rabbit hole before you realize it.

Why I have become somewhat obsessed with Archimede? Well, after running a few brands, and operating in supporting roles, it is nice to see a brand that does not spend so much time worrying about who / what they are perceived to be. Rather, Archimede seems to spend its time on making solid watches, at a fair price, that people will actually want to buy and wear. 

Courtesy of Archimede

The reason why you've never seen an Archimede brand ambassador? Simple, they are putting the money into their watches!

This is the 1950-4 . GR.SC.LHB, and yes, I'm kinda' crushing on it!

It it is a beautiful green dialed time machine. Hours and minutes, with seconds displayed via a sub dial at 6 o'clock. Everything you need, nothing you don't.

It can be had direct from Archimede for 

€1,020.00
Price incl. 19% VAT plus shipping costs
Price excl. VAT €857.14

Free of shipping costs within Germany

Delivery time approx. 1-2 weeks

Product information "1950-4 . GR.SC.LHB"

Movement	Swiss-made hand-wound movement SW 261-1M Swiss automatic movement SW 261
ICKLER Case	The high-quality case manufactured by ICKLER in Pforzheim. Brushed and polished, domed sapphire crystal, water-resistant to 3 ATM, onion crown, screw-down case back with mineral crystal. Dimensions: Diameter 40mm, thickness 9,8 mm, lug-to-lug length 44 mm
Dial	Domed, green with luminous numbers and indexes, small second at 6
Hands	Vintage, luminous hands, domed
Band	Light brown leather strap, Vintage look, width 20mm, (wrist size: 17 - 21,5cm) (optional: deployment clasp)

Henki's Holiday Shopping List

Every year about this time, anyone who writes, blogs, vlogs, or pod casts about any sort of consumer product will open their emails each day to find a dump of requests from pr firms to write about their client's products for holiday gift buying guides. And while I do read Monocle, Vanity Fair and the Rake (if and when it actually shows up in North America. It is more often than not a no-show, or delayed by 3 months) I am a social worker, and do not foresee any time in the future where a Cartier Tank will find its way into my Christmas stocking ; )

But with that said, I thought I would break with my usual attitude regarding overt product placement by spending the next few weeks writing about watches, pens, shoes, etc. that I actually personally own or admire. With the caveat that almost all of them are actually (relatively) affordable and not the sole domain of the idle rich.

Some years are more challenging / eventful than others. And while we sometimes mark a success or triumph over adversity at the time, we sometimes wait until the holiday and get that extra something for someone we've been cheering for. The first gift suggestion would mark that for me.

And I'd like to kick it of with a watch from Archimede -

Courtesy of Archimede

This is the 1950 - 3. As it is from Arhimede, the case is "in-house" and manufactured by the Ickler family. It is of stainless steel and measures 40 mm in diameter. It is available with either a self-winding Sellita SW 200-1, or an option for a hand-winding Sellita SW 215. 

I would opt for the hand-winding version -

Courtesy of Archimede

The base price is €940.00 incl. VAT €789.92 excl. VAT. The mechanical movement option adds €80.00 incl. VAT / €67.23 excl. VAT to the total price. I personally feel that is more than fair.

And as this is a special year-end self-reward / very special holiday gift for a loved one (assuming I was the loved-one), I would plump for the case back engraving -

Courtesy of Archimede

This does, of course, add a bit more to the total, but this is not a watch for flipping, or for parking in your watch box. This is a watch that I would wear proudly in my "every day".

Courtesy of Archimede

And you have to love the lume! I hate having to grab my cell phone in the middle of the night to get a time check.

As for straps, those are a personal choice and tend to get changed after purchase. One thing I might tweak for weekend wear? I'd pop on an Archimede NATO just to shake things up a bit -

Courtesy of Archimede

At any rate, that is my first holiday gift suggestion. Stay tuned, tomorrow's another day, and another gift ; )

The Defakto Transit 100

The Ickler family continues their centennial celebration with a very special release from Defakto -

Courtesy of Defakto

Limited to just 25 pieces. The Defakto Transit 100 measures 40 mm in diameter, 44 mm lug to lug. The movement is Sellita's SW200. It is also is available with a hand-winding movement.

Defakto Transit 100 // Ref-Nr.: TRA-STA-DLC-100 

1.189,00 EUR (incl. VAT) // EU citizens

999,16 EUR (excl. VAT) // Non Eu citizens

The 100 Jahre Ickler Anniversay Watch

From Archimede -

Courtesy of Archimede

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Ickler family business, Archimede has released a commemorative model - the 100 Jahre Ickler Anniversary Watch.

Courtesy of Archimede

Priced at €3,800.00 incl. VAT, and limited to 60 pieces total, this piece is available with a choice of strap or bracelet for an additional €140.

Here are the pertinents, straight from Archimede/Ickler HQ:

CHRONOGRAPH 100 

Limitierted Special Edition | Collector's Rarity

---

Our anniversary model is a tribute to our 100-year family tradition and combines our classic design with new elements. There are only 60 numbered pieces worldwide. The outstanding, very high-quality Swiss chronometer movement ETA 7754 TOP with GMT function makes your watch something very special and guarantees precision, reliability and durability.

Our brushed ICKLER Watch Case, made of 316L stainless steel, has a diameter of 42mm, is 15.6mm high and has a domed sapphire crystal with inner AR.

Every watch is tested by the Glashütte Sternwarte Observatory and certified as a chronometer. You will receive your anniversary watch with the certificate from the Glashütte Observatory in high-quality special packaging. 

ETA 7754 TOP WITH GMT FUNCTION 

Chronometer Made in Germany

---

Every single watch is tested by the Glashütte Observatory and certified as a chronometer. The title 'chronometer' is hard earned. Chronometers are particularly accurate watches that have to prove themselves in various tests. All tests take place in the Glashütte Observatory in cooperation with the Thuringian State Office for Consumer Protection (TLV) and the State Office for Metrology and Calibration (SME).

For 15 days, 360 hours, the watch movements have to prove at different temperatures and in five different positions that the second hand is guilty of a deviation of no more than minus 4 to plus 6 seconds per day. 

2. TIMEZONE 

GMT hand orange mat

---

Whether you are a frequent traveler or just have regular communication with people in another time zone, knowing the time in more than one place can be very useful. GMT is short for Greenwich Mean Time. It is the average time that the sun crosses the Greenwich meridian — “average” because the exact time can vary by up to 16 minutes throughout the year.

The ARCHIMEDE CHRONOGRAPH 100 displays an optional second timezone with the orange GMT hand. 

STRAP AND ENGRAVING

Stainless Steel clasp

---

The brushed stainless steel clasp of the Chronograph 100 has a special engraving. You can of course also order a folding clasp as an option, which of course also has the special engraving. 

 

The Kinetik Duro Zen

From Defakto -

Courtesy of Defakto

The case is of hardened stainless steel and measures 39 mm in diameter, made by the Ickler family firm. 

The big story here is the dial, per Defakto -

The special dial has fine scratch marks that were deliberately placed by hand and which create an interesting play of light. The individual surface properties were created before a special galvanization in gray and the coating of the indexes with Superluminova. The minimalist design of the Defakto Kinetik Duro Zen 20Atm (39 mm x 45 mm x 9.8 mm, weight 59 g, 20 ATM) watch aims to visually emphasize the interaction of its watch hands and the resulting geometrical constellations. The watch has been upgraded with nightglowing Superluminova (bgw9 and red) coating on hands and indexes.

The movement is Sellita's SW200, and the watch comes with a stainless steel, Milanese bracelet. 

The Kinetik Duro Zen is available direct from Defakto for:

1.389,00 EUR (incl. VAT) // EU Citizens

1.167,23 EUR (excl. VAT) // Non-EU Citizens

Celebrating 20 Years at Archimede

Tempus Fugit!  

Too soon?

; )

One of the first brands covered by the Blog Formerly Known As Tempus Fugit was Archimede. Based in Germany's Black Forest, Archimede was part of a family of brands owned by the Ickler family of watch case making fame.

 

Courtesy of Archimede

In honor of this big achievement, Archimede has released  a new iteration of their OutDoor Protect 39 with a hardened DLC case.

Available in three different colorways, my favorite is the OutDoor 39 BlackForest . LS.

The retail is: 

€1,280.00 incl. VAT

€1,075.63 excl. VAT

Here are the pertinents -

Movement	Swiss-made automatic movement ETA 2824
ICKLER Case	The high-quality case is manufactured by ICKLER in Pforzheim. Hardened, DLC, sandblasted, sapphire crystal with A/R coating, water resistant to 20 ATM, screw down crown, solid screw down case back with special engraving  Dimensions: Width 2-8 h (without crown): 39mm Width 3-9 h (incl. crown): 42 mm Length 6-12 h: 43.5mm Thickness: 11,2mm Lug-to-lug length: 43,5 mm
Dial	Olive with old radium luminous indexes
Hands	Old radium with luminous hands
Band	Olive Canvas strap with DLC clasp with ARCHIMEDE logo, SUUNTO clipper

The 1950-4

From Archimede -

Courtesy of Archimede

This is a new-school take on an old-school classic. Available in two color ways, my personal favorite is the green (above). It is also available in a more restrained black (below) -

Courtesy of Archimede

The hand-winding movement is Sellita's SW 261-1M.

Courtesy of Archimede

Here are the pertinents -

Movement
Swiss-made hand-wound movement 

SW 261-1M

ICKLER Case
The high-quality case manufactured by ICKLER in Pforzheim.
Brushed and polished, domed sapphire crystal, water-resistant to 3 ATM, onion crown, screw-down case back with mineral crystal. Dimensions: Diameter 40mm, thickness 9,8 mm, lug-to-lug length 44 mm

Dial

Domed, black or green with luminous numbers and indexes, small second at 6Hands

Hands
Vintage, luminous hands, domedBand

Strap
Dark brown leather strap, Vintage look, width 20mm, (wrist size: 17 - 21,5cm) (optional: deployment clasp)

Available direct from Archimede:

€960.00 Price incl. 19% VAT plus shipping costs
€806.72 Price excl. VAT 

The Nightflight Limited Edition

From Limes -

Courtesy of Limes

Available in 2 different dial versions, the black dial Nightflight Limited Edition LB (above), and with what Limes describes as a silver white dial -

Courtesy of Limes

The case is (of course) by Ickler and is of stainless steel, measuring 37.8 mm in diameter. 

Courtesy of Limes

The movement is the ETA 2824-2 TOP.

Here are the pertinents, straight from Limes -

Movement
Swiss automatic movement 

ETA 2824-2 TOP

Watch Case
ICKLER made stainless steel case, finely brushed and polished, diameter 37,8mm, thickness 9,5mm, flat sapphire crystal with A/R coating on both sides, mineral crystal display back, crown with Ickler logo, water resistant 5 ATM

Dial
Black or Silver White , arabic numerals (Superluminova)

Hands
White or Black, luminous hands (Superluminova)

Band
Brown leather, width 20mm, wrist size: 18,5 - 22,5cm

Price incl. VAT plus shipping costs
€980.00
(Price w/o VAT €844.83 ) 

The 1950-3

 From Archimede -

    Courtesy of Archimede

Available in black (above) and blue (below). This is a wonderfully understated watch at an equally wonderfully understated price - Price excl. VAT €621.84 for the self-winding model. It can also be had in a hand-winding movement for an additional €50.42 excl. VAT.

    Courtesy of Archimede

No logos, nothing superfluous.  Just hours and minutes, and the company name writ small at the bottom of the dial.

The lume used is provides the look of another age, and provides a nice touch.  But this is clearly a modern watch built for modern wrists - 40 mm of stainless steel, with a case that is made by the people that many other brands contract for their watch cases.

I love it!

Here are the pertinents -

Movement 

Swiss-made automatic movement
SW 200-1, also available in hand-
winding version

ICKLER Case 

The high-quality case manufactured by ICKLER in Pforzheim.
Brushed and polished, domed sapphire crystal, water-resistant to 3 ATM, onion crown, screw-down case back with mineral crystal.
Dimensions: Diameter 40mm, thickness 9,8 mm, lug-to-lug length 44 mm

Dial 

Domed, blue or black with luminous numbers and indexes

Hands 

Vintage, luminous hands, domed

Band 

Dark brown, black or tan leather strap, Vintage look, width 20mm, (wrist size: 17 - 21,5cm) (optional: deployment clasp)

"10 Jahre Defakto Uhren Manufaktur"

Yes, 10 years of Defakto goodness!

Courtesy of Defakto

Had an interesting conversation about watches, writing about them and what attracts us to them.  I have been a fan of Defakto since Jump Street.  Another generation of the Ickler family continuing in the family business, but in his own way, with his own vision.  And he's also a pretty nice guy!

This is the 10th anniversary edition of the Eins.  The Eins was one of the very first watches that I reviewed when I began this horological writing adventure back in 2010, so it seems sort of fitting to be writing about it again now.  

This piece is available in stainless (above), and three other versions with different PVD finishes -

Courtesy of Defakto

A gold and black finish (above)

Courtesy of Defakto

 A black PVD and steel (Above)

Courtesy of Defakto

And an all black version (Above)

Priced quite reasonably, the entry point is the all stainless which weighs in at:

720,00 EUR (incl. VAT)
605,04 EUR (excl. VAT)

Here are the pertinents -

Limited Edition "10 Years Defakto" 

one-hand watch

Special Engraving: 

"10 Jahre Defakto Uhren Manufaktur", 

running number

Special Edition handmade packaging - 10 Years Defakto Watch Manufactory

Three-piece 42 mm stainless steel case (316L), brushed 42 mm x 51 mm x 9,8 mm, weight 67 g

Also available in three different PVD finishes.

Automatic movement ETA 2824-2, made in Switzerland

Engraved see-through case back, (316L), brushed, sapphire crystal

Matte black dial, fluorescent indexes

Matte skeletonized hand, fluorescent

Ergonomic clasp with engraved Defakto Logo

Sapphire crystal, anti reflective

German-made Defakto cowhide Strap

Water resistant to 5 atm

Made in Pforzheim, Germany

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