Falling In Love All Over Again

With RGM -

Courtesy of RGM

As we start to take our collective second lap on the COVID track that is our new (hopefully temporary) reality, it was a wonderful pleasure to rediscover two RGM GMT pieces.  Today I am focusing on the Model-500 GMT -

Courtesy of RGM

The 500 GMT hits some real sweet spots for me. It is not quite a diver, and not quite a dress watch but a true field watch that truly could be the "One Watch To Rule Them All".

It is available in Gray, Black and my personal favorite - 

Courtesy of RGM

A truly lovely green.

The case is of stainless steel, and measures a very reasonable 41 mm in diameter.

The bezel is bi-directional, which is a first for RGM.  The movement is based on ETA's 2893-2.

While not a giveaway, it is very fairly priced at $4,450.

The Concordia - Automatic

From Charlie Paris -

Courtesy of Charlie Paris

Regular readers will know that French watch brands are LOVED here at Tempus Fugit.  This one might have been under your radar because they do a few things - watches, leather goods, with the watches assembled near my absolute favorite watch making place in the world - Besançon, France.

The Concordia is a sporty  adventure/field/dive watch. I say it is all of these things, and not exclusively one of them. And I really like that.

Courtesy of Charlie France

The Concordia was actually released a few years ago (2019) and at that time it came with an ETA 2824 per Fratello's article at the time -

https://www.fratellowatches.com/charlie-paris-concordia/#gref

Its product release was also sent to The Time Bum, and you can read that coverage here -

https://www.thetimebum.com/2019/02/charlie-paris-concordia.html

The current iteration of the Concordia Automatic utilizes the STP1-11.

Here are the pertinents, direct from Charlie Paris, so bear in mind that some of the English is a bit janky -

Made in France:

Assembled in Besancon, France

Box:

316L steel, DDiameter 40mm, thickness 12.7mm, polished and brushed. Iso764 non magnetic shield.

Dial:

Super luminova? Luminous pointer and pointer

Baffle:

Unidirectional rotation, aluminum alloy insert, hourly scale, 12h special symbol

Background:

Steel thread with "objective pole south" shipping logo

Sports:

Swiss automatic winder, stp1-11 caliber. 26 rubies. 28800 alternations per hour. 44 hours spare.

Glass quality:

rainbow, Anti reflection, 3mm thick

an crown:

Screw in screws (30nm) with elox aluminum insert

Water resistance: 

30ATM, 300 meters

Bracelet width: 

20 mm

Guarantee:

24 months

    

The Essence ThirtyNine Automatic in Green

From Formex -

Courtesy of Formex

So this is sort of a trippy post for me to write.  In many ways it is taking me back to November 2012 when I was still living in Santa Barbara and stumbled across the (then) new JEANRICHARD Terrascope - http://www.tempusfugit.watch/2012/11/jeanrichards-terrascope-revelling-in.html

All I'll need is a call from Paul Earhardt inviting me to Los Angeles to view it in person and then the eery similarities will be complete ; )

At the time, what struck me was finally, FINALLY!  Here was a watch that was NOT a dive watch, but of stainless steel and not perfectly round. It was heralded as the perfect ONLY watch.  Meaning if you were a collector of limited, modest means and could only afford only one really dope watch, this would be your baby. Sporty without being too "DIVE WATCHY", a good looking bracelet that matched so smoothly with the case lugs, it could at a glance appear to be integrated. And it came with a promise of "easily swappable" straps so that you could change the look of your watch quickly. 

In actual fact, not so much. I owned a Terrascope and it was a great watch, but the case and bracelet were both too thick, and heavy. The bracelet and straps required a special tool. The watch cost a not exactly reasonable amount of money, was equipped with either an ETA or Sellita mvt. (relatively standard grade)and retailed for $3,500 if memory serves.

So time moves forward, and now I am excited again! I am excited because, in fact, I think the folks at Formex can finally deliver on what so many brands have choked on previously - and deliver it at a reasonable price that the rest of us in the real world can realistically hope to afford without putting our retirement accounts at risk.

Courtesy of Formex

You will note the two buttons position at the end piece of the bracelet between the two lug horns.

They work like this -

And lucky for us, you can also get some pretty dope options for replacement straps -

I'm sold!  Oh, did I mention that it comes standard with a chronometer certified movement?  Oh, and one last thing, the price -

$1,390.00 US

*taxes, duties and shipping included

Here are the pertinents -

MOVEMENT

Swiss Made Sellita SW200-1 (self-winding) Automatic (Chronometer grade), officially certified by COSC. 26 jewels and glucydur balance wheel. Date display. Custom-built skeleton rotor with thermally blued screws. 38 hours power reserve.

CASE

• Diameter: 39mm
• Height: 10mm
• Lug width: 20mm
• Lug-to-lug: 45mm
• Water resistance: 10 bar (100 metres / 330 feet)
• Weight: 65g (case only)

MATERIAL

• Bezel: Stainless steel 316L
• Case: Stainless steel 316L
• Glass: Sapphire crystal (front and back) with anti-reflection treatment

STRAP

• Stainless steel bracelet, or Italian calf leather straps with curved spring bars, Quick Release function and carbon fiber composite folding clasp with patented Micro-Adjustment System. 
• Stainless steel bracelet with Quick Release and Micro-extension function. 
• All Essence straps and the bracelet can be changed by hand without the use of tools. The carbon fiber composite folding clasp with patented fine adjustment system can be changed without tools and can be used for all Essence ThirtyNine leather straps. 

DIAL

Vertical brush finish with horizontally cut lines which are CNC machined into the dial base one by one. BGW9 Super-LumiNova on hands and indexes. 

REFERENCE NUMBER

0333.1.6600.100

15 Days with the Aquadive Bathyscaphe 100

And as I say goodbye to my "Tovarich", a new friend has swum up.

15 days with the Aquadive Bathyscaphe 100 begins now.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Watch of the Year “Viennatime” and “Munichtime” 2011

Courtesy of Jaeger-LeCoultre

The Grande Reverso Lady Ultra-Thin won first place in both VIenna and Munich.

Courtesy of Jaeger-LeCoultre 

The Memovox Tribute Deep Sea claimed 3rd Place in the “Sport Watches” category in Munich.

Courtesy of Jaeger-LeCoutre

And claiming 2nd Place in Vienna and 3rd Place in Munich in the “Small Complications” category was the Master Ultra-Thin Moon.

White after Labor Day! 15 days with Roberto Bianci

This is from the nice folks at Roberto Bianci SWISS and it will be my companion for the next 15 days.

More this evening.

The TechnoMarine Cruise Steel - Overview

So after fifteen days with the TechnoMarine Steel Cruise it is time to sum up.

Just to review some quick basics:
The case is solid stainless steel, 40 mm, and is powered by a Ronda (SWISS) quartz movement.  A three register chronograph with date, the Cruise Steel is at once a sporty, yet practical watch.  For me the first thing that strikes me is the legibility of the face - all three registers are very very clearly marked, and the use of skeletonized hands aids in this.  A unidirectional dive bezel is another very nice touch adding to the functionality.  The bezel itself is also stainless steel, with the fifteen minute countdown treated with a pvd like effect to clearly indicate the purpose of this function.

The case itself is very, very impressive for a watch in this price range - or even a watch at double the price.  The finish is incredibly smooth and clean.  No jagged bits, bumps or even swirls in the finish - it is truly first rate and one of the first things mentioned by other people I shared this watch with.

The watch functioned flawlessly - the chronograph functioning exactly as advertised and bang-on from timing events, to my daily commute.  Now it might be easy enough to say that this is a bare minimum requirement, but I have owned and used plenty of chronographs - both mechanical and quartz, and this one is top-shelf, period.

Another aspect about the watch that bears mentioning is the presence.  It is substantial, but the counter play of the rubber strap and the truly ergonomic integration of the strap to the watch case itself lends a virtually organic feel to the overall assembly.

I really was impressed by this design aspect.  It would have been very easy for the folks at TechnoMarine to simply slap a strap on the Cruise Steel and say "done", but they really worked at this design.  The case is curved to contour to the wearer's wrist.  The strap, though soft is very strong.  The underside texture of the strap makes it a much more comfortable strap as well, air can actually get in!

The use of interchangeable straps and the inclusion of an additional strap was a very, very nice touch, and adds even further value to an already great package.

When I had first heard that TechnoMarine was going to be managed by a group of three well-known talents from the upper-end watch category, I was curious how things would develop - and now we all have the answer - the TechnoMarine Cruise Steel is truly a great watch and perhaps the best that I have seen in it's category.

Check it out at:  www.technomarine.com

3 adjectives for the TechnoMarine Cruise Steel

With just a few days left for this review, I took a few minutes and jotted down the three most recurrent adjectives I have used to describe this watch.

COMFORT - for me, this is due to two key things - first the strap - a very soft, yet very strong rubber strap that dovetails quite nicely into the watch case itself.  Keep in mind that this is quite a large watch case, but it sits quite well on the wrist.  The design of the strap and case cause the strap to appear more integral than added.

VISIBILITY - this is a very reader friendly watch face.  Much like other more recent chronographs, TechnoMarine has clearly spent a lot of time and thought on the orientation of the watch face.  The Sub Dials are clearly indicated, and the use of alternating blue and black enhances this.  In addition, the partially skeletonized hour and minute hands are also a plus.

FUN - C'mon!  This is a fantastically fun watch!  I've said it before - I've been smiling every day since it arrived!

I have had a few requests for prices, retail locations, etc.  Stay tuned!

Fifteen Days with TechnoMarine

Okay - day one was really a great introduction to this fun watch!  Very quick first impressions - large but not too large.  A good weight/heft ratio.

Very legible - and what I really like are the blue contrasting sub dials and accents on the dial and inner bezel.

Very comfortable strap.

This just in - ARCHIMEDE SportTaucher

Mr. Ickler was kind enough to send me the details of the newest ARCHIMEDE offering.  The Ickler family are the folks behind Limes, Defakto as well as another brand - Autran & Viala.

This is the ARCHIMEDE SportTauscher

It is available in really nice blue dial - and what I really, REALLY love are the ORANGE hands and the ORANGE numbers - really striking!

But if Blue is not your color, the folks at ARCHIMEDE have you covered with a beautifully understated white dial option.

This is a solid stainless steel watch, and at 41.5 mm it is a refreshing move back to a more traditional sized diver's watch.  Powered by ETA's 2824-2 self-winding movement, ARCHIMEDE has really delivered the goods.  

I also have to say that I really love the use of a sharkskin strap.  You still have the traditional options of rubber or a stainless steel bracelet for an additional purchase price, but I would personally be leaning towards the shark skin strap!

And best of all - you can order direct from the company!  Again, I am of course a little biased, but I have to say that it is great that you can interact directly with the folks who make the watch.  

Ready to grab hold of one of these?

For US customerswww.archimede-uhren.de/US/SportTaucher.htm for US$ 775 with leather strap or for US$ 945 with steel bracelet (including shipping and US duties) 

And for those of you elsewhere - International customers
www.archimede-uhren.de/EN/SportTaucher.htm for Eur 535 with leather strap or for Eur 655 with steel bracelet, plus shipping costs

Check out ARCHIMEDE at:

info@archimede-watches.com
www.archimede-watches.com