- Joined
- Sep 16, 2007
- Messages
- 11,152
- Reaction score
- 22,771
What? They have the amount of variations in ceramic as they did with the aluminum. Black, Blue
The Rootbeer GMT deserves to be forgotten!
Never forget!
We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.
STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.
Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.
Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!
Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.
What? They have the amount of variations in ceramic as they did with the aluminum. Black, Blue
The Rootbeer GMT deserves to be forgotten!
Never forget!
They already sell tons of GMT2s be it with the black bezel or the blue/black bezel. Yes, I'm sure there are lots of people who would like to have a Pepsi at a steel price. However, if they offer it in steel, it would kill the sales of the WG model. Why buy the $30K+ version when you can buy one that looks just like it for around $9K? Not to mention, I suspect in that price range the WG GMT's sales are already limited. So yes, its probably about marketing, but they are pretty good and that. Besides, Rolex hasn't offered a steel GMT with a Pepsi dial and they certainly aren't hurting in the sales department.I mean I suspect they would sell even more if they could offer Pepsi on steel models. It's a small wonder why they don't. So either they withhold the Pepsi bezel on steel to make wg more coveted, or because of production difficulties in producing steel Pepsi models at scale.
They already sell tons of GMT2s be it with the black bezel or the blue/black bezel. Yes, I'm sure there are lots of people who would like to have a Pepsi at a steel price. However, if they offer it in steel, it would kill the sales of the WG model. Why buy the $30K+ version when you can buy one that looks just like it for around $9K? Not to mention, I suspect in that price range the WG GMT's sales are already limited. So yes, its probably about marketing, but they are pretty good and that. Besides, Rolex hasn't offered a steel GMT with a Pepsi dial and they certainly aren't hurting in the sales department.
An exclusive bezel certainly would help secure sales of a white gold model. But I'd still take any wager that the failure rate of Pepsi bezels is significantly higher than that of the BLNR.
Imaginary Rolexes
Grey Side
I don't hate the idea of a ceramic Speedy either, and quite like the DSOM. This is nice too, but I couldn't help thinking when I saw one, that it was quite an odd thing to make a ceramic watch and then fiddle around to make the colour look a bit like metal. Now I can't unthink that.
I'll play too. When/if they come out with a modern Coke - do you guys see it as a SS or gold model? As a half black bezel should be cheaper to make than a Pepsi.....
I am considering adding a chrono to my modest collection. A vintage Speedmaster is the obvious choice, but I would appreciate suggestions of bargain alternatives. Not cheap, just good value and perhaps off the beaten path / under the radar. Preference to watches that have an outer bezel like the Speedy.
Thanks in advance.
There's that JLC dive watch - the Deep Sea Chrono - I've always had the hots for that one.
The Heuer Carrera is also a classic chrono and, while is doesn't have a bezel, it has a scale (albeit without numbers) that runs around the outside of the dial. There are some beautiful Carreras out there. The late 1990s re-edition is also nice, in my opinion, particularly the silver-dial version.
The Breitling Navitimer looks a lot "busier" because of the slide-rule and various timing functions, but it's also a great, vintage chrono and you can get good examples pretty easily.
I really can't decide how I feel about Nomos. Been considering adding one of the 35mm Orions to my box. I like the simplicity and utility of the design. But then a voice in my head tells me they're nothing special. Can someone give me a reason to get excited about Nomos?
To be honest, it's been a while since I looked at Nomos. I took a look at one of the worldtimers, before the blue-dial version came out. It was very clear to me from that piece that these were watchmakers who prided function over form, to whatever degree.
But, you know, there's something about them. In a world of watches that either have a full pedigree and a price to match, or are eagerly trying to appear as something more than they are, Nomos have a really acute sense of personal identity. How else could they hope to occupy that difficult mid-market terrain? While that part of me is saying these are a bit "simple," another part of me is saying "well that's the point. Can YOU see any real, major design flaw?"
For comparison, I never "fell in love" with my Seiko Shogun, but I am very happy I purchased it. It's comfortable, decently finished, durable and fills a need in my wrist wardrobe. I actually wear it much more often than I had anticipated. I am thinking one of these Bauhaus examples from Nomos might fill a similar need. Call it the "dress beater," if such a term isn't already an oxymoron. But heck, I don't wear a suit often and they are attractive watches.
Just, hm, nothing special...
I suppose it's time to go handle a few more and see.
Very nice frills.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum...
~~
Unable to brush the brand off, I dove into Nomos a bit further and went and saw a few today. Oddly enough, the models I thought I'd like, didn't really call to me. However, I did rather like the Metro (sans-indicator).
In my research, I learned about Nomos' brand new movement, the "Neomatik." If I've understood correctly, it is their first 100% in-house automatic movement (though they may have been fully in-house as early as 2014 when they launched their own escapement). And it's only 3.2mm thick.
Not a bad looking movement at all. This makes for some thin cases as well. To commemorate this new movement, they launched a new family of watches, the "Minimatik."
It is a fun piece. Very simple with a sort of restrained whimsy. Small at 35.5mm x 8.8mm. The first editions are nearly all sold out online and at boutiques (though I suppose the right concierge could put in the footwork for one so inclined). Supposedly, only 3001 examples (it's named caliber DUW 3001) with the new movement were made as part of the "first editions." That's something I may have liked for the collectability as much as the smile I get looking at the playful face of it.
Right then. Moving on...
I'm a huge fan of Nomos (and German watches in general) and if my practicality didn't get the best of me, i'd probably own a few. Before I really got bit by the watch bug, I wore and older 35mm Tangente for about 3 years until a couple of Summer's ago. That summer I got hit by the bug and starting venturing into owning more than one watch. One of the best ones was the Ahoi Atlantik. I really loved it, but eventually I just decided that the lugs made it wear just a bit too big for my just over 7 inch wrist.
After another year or so of buying and selling, Nomos announced the 38.5mm Metro shown above. I still had the Tangente, but after wearing mostly 38mm to Luminor sized cases, the 35mm Tangente was very strange to wear, it just looked too small. IMO, the 38mm Nomos watches are the perfect size for their look, but unless they have the date, they really suffer from small movement syndrome. The sub seconds just gets too close to the hands and the majority of the 38mm dials look unbalanced.
I ended up ordering the Metro the week after it was announced last year and picked it up at the end of October. I also ended up with the Ludwig Neomatik, thinking it would make a perfect dress watch (which after selling my Tangente last summer I didn't have anything near suitable). I actually ended up acquiring my Neomatik and Metro within about a week of each other. After a month or so, I decided that I absolutely had to have the blue Oyster Perpetual (114300) and at that point the only watch in my fold that didn't serve a real purpose was the Metro. (My PAM was casual, the Neomatik was dress and the OP would be an everyday wear).
Between the PAM and my GO Seventies, I've really only been wearing the Neomatik when life calls for a suit, which for me is not very often. If it was bigger, I think I'd wear it more often, it just wears so delicately compared to the other two. Your post inspired me to put it on today and I think I'll try to do a better job of working it in on a regular basis. In many ways this is the best looking piece I own and the one I wear the least. The Minimatik referenced above is going to seem very small after wearing a GMT, but at the same time its probably not dressy enough for more dressy times. The Metro will look less foreign on the wrist coming from a steel sports watch, but of course will fee quite a bit different.
I'm hopeful that Nomos will release some more 38mm watches that are upgraded to the newer movements at Basel, I think it really help them extend the brand further. Anyway, I'm not sure what the point of this is other than just to provide some thoughts of somebody who has gone through a number of other brands. I think I'll always have at least one Nomos in the collection though, the purity of their design really speaks to me more than just about any other company out there.
For the TL;DR crowd, here are some pics:
@BostonHedonist Thanks for inspiring me to wear this today.
Nomos from the past:
Metro is a right pain to photograph though:
I'm not fond of Omega's value though I must admit. They just drop like a rock once opened and even 40% off on grey market with warranty is easy to find. I only paid $7300 for a $12,000 msrp watch new with stamped warranty card. All my Rolex' have either went up in value or hovered right at original purchase price which is a lot more favorable when thinking about purchasing a high end watch. I don't have any "real" high end watches (PP, AP, ALS) yet but am favoring the PP 5164/5167 for my first large purchase.
Don't Omegas seem to hold their heavily discounted value though? Assuming you get the right one of course.