The Watch Appreciation Thread - Part two (Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Jaeger LeCoultre,

[Woofa]

I'm a JLC man myself, but in this case I vote UN. My watchmaker owns it and has let me wear it. Stunningly beautiful blue dial.

As owner of two UNs, I've been very satisfied with finish and performance. It is the case that you will take a bath on resale (if that matters to you at all) if you purchase close to MSRP. Negotiate.

Can't go wrong with any of your choices. Good luck.

I was just watching a review of the blue grand feu dial and it does look really nice. Gonna try and stop by a local shop to see one in person.

 

[officine]

I was just watching a review of the blue grand feu dial and it does look really nice. Gonna try and stop by a local shop to see one in person.

Yes, well worth it.

 

[pmeis]

Reporting back from the Short Hills Hermés boutique. I called them on Thursday to see if they knew anything about the new watch and the sales woman had no clue but promised she would inquire and get back to me. About an hour later she came back and said she had two of the plain titanium ones, one with the orange rubber strap and one with the black rubber. She asked if I’d like to arrange an appointment to come check one out and even though I wasn’t able to get in until today, she didn’t have any issue holding it for me, so I asked her to hold the black rubber one. I will likely ultimately get the orange rubber strap and possibly the blue fabric, but for some reason I wanted to get the black strap to start. I did ask if the other watch was still there so that I could check it out, but it was already sold.

The watch turns out to be what I had been hoping for. Interestingly finished and shaped case. Mostly brushed with two areas of high polish. One that is obvious from the pics, the bevel around and the squarish bezel and one area that I hadn’t noticed before. There is a downward sloped bevel surrounding the crystal that is polished and gives the watch just a bit of extra interest.

The dial has an interesting texture to it and I like the visual break up that the hour track provides. The font is cool and the applied, lumed numerals are something that I’ve been looking for on a watch for a long time but had not found anything that I liked with this that was within my price range (the steel Calatrava Pilot watch that was released a couple years back really kicked off my desire for this).

The rubber strap is really nice quality compared to other ones I’ve had experience with, plenty supple, but not flimsy. One killer feature that the press didn’t mention is the nature of the deployant clasp. It’s also titanium and actually echoes the case/bezel of the watch. It’s got a couple other nice surprises. They went and rounded the edges that come in contact with your skin. This has been a pain point for me with deployant clasps before. Even more insteresting, the clasp acutally has a built in micro adjustment of about 4 or 5mm, about the distance between the strap holes. So basically, if you find yourself in between the holes on the strap, you can easily adjust it to be perfect, essentially offering unlimited adjustability as long as your wrist falls between the shortest and longest strap holes.

Nitpicks:
*I find the crown a little smaller and a therefore a bit harder to manipulate than I’d like, but that will only be an occasional annoyance.
*If this was a mm smaller, I wouldn’t be mad, but it fits better than some other watches I had been considering
*I’d rather have no date than a 4:30 date, but I don’t think a 6 o’clock date would have been better. I do appreciate that they carried the dial font over to the date window. Regardless, it’s subtle enough not to really bother me.
*Generally I am not a fan of dials with the radial flip of the consecutive numerals. I’m not sure why this doesn’t bother me here, maybe its the funky font choice, but it doesn’t.

For reference, other watches I had been considering, though not all would have served a similar purpose:

• Cartier Santos ADLC Bezel
• GO SeaQ in blue
• Octo Finnissimo
• GO Senator Excellence
• Grand Seiko SBGK009
• Grand Seiko SBGW259

I had pledged to myself this year that I wouldn’t buy any watches. I had a core four pieces that I thought represented cohesive, we rounded group. After living with essentially just the four pieces all year, it was clear that one of them wasn’t holding it’s own weight for me, a Grand Seiko SBGA429, that while a fine watch, just did not enthuse me like my other three. This will be taking it’s place and actually fits in quite well with the other three pieces, making this an easy decision.

TL;DR: I liked the watch and I bought it.

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

Thanks for the review and pictures, @pmeis. I was hoping that you would say that the watch was disappointing in the metal and that you kept your credit card in your wallet, but no such luck. I don't know what I'm going to do with this watch and the Ming launch later this week. (Cue "Why not both" gif.) I was thinking about the graphene, but I'm not sure it's worth the more than $3,000 premium over this watch, which looks great. Hermes seems to have a hit on its hands that's going to be difficult to find, but I can afford to be patient and wait.

Did the sales associate tell you how much the orange strap would cost and how long it would take to come in?

 

[TheFoo]

After catching-up on the new Calatrava today, I went back to examine my 5296. I really wish they had not done the hobnail bezel or gussied up the dial. I guess I should just be happy to hold onto what I’ve got!

A new version of the 5296 without the date window — now that would have made me jealous.

 

[Neville Southall]

After catching-up on the new Calatrava today, I went back to examine my 5296. I really wish they had not done the hobnail bezel or gussied up the dial. I guess I should just be happy to hold onto what I’ve got!

A new version of the 5296 without the date window — now that would have made me jealous.

View attachment 1591934

I miss my 5296R, but I love the new releases. May get one.

 

[TheFoo]

I miss my 5296R, but I love the new releases. May get one.

I’m not hot on them. The date read-out on the new perpetual calendar may be a feat, but it’s very un-Patek in that it’s all jammed together and not very pleasant to read. If there were three separate windows, one for each date element, I’d feel quite different.

The new Calatrava is not a total travesty or anything, but there is an awful lot of jumbled window dressing: the hobnail bezel, the railroad minute track, the gold trim around the seconds sub-dial, etc. Hate to say it, but it almost looks like a knock-off, what with the jumble of elements. Pateks are at their best when they don’t look like they’re trying particularly hard to get your attention.

The steel annual calendar doesn’t look like a Patek at all. Could be a Fossil. Not a fan.

 

[usctrojans31]

I don't think I'd ever buy an Hermes watch, but I feel like the world is better with Hermes making watches. They're fun, well made and offer something unique in a marketplace filled with redundancies.

Enjoy it!

 

[Omega Male]

I’m not hot on them. The date read-out on the new perpetual calendar may be a feat, but it’s very un-Patek in that it’s all jammed together and not very pleasant to read. If there were three separate windows, one for each date element, I’d feel quite different.

The new Calatrava is not a total travesty or anything, but there is an awful lot of jumbled window dressing: the hobnail bezel, the railroad minute track, the gold trim around the seconds sub-dial, etc. Hate to say it, but it almost looks like a knock-off, what with the jumble of elements. Pateks are at their best when they don’t look like they’re trying particularly hard to get your attention.

The steel annual calendar doesn’t look like a Patek at all. Could be a Fossil. Not a fan.

The Clous de Paris is Marmite, you like it or you don't. But it's completely authentic to Patek. I agree the more traditional railroad track and more modern small seconds treatment don't really hang together consistently. Not perfect, not terrible.

 

[edinatlanta]

Admittedly that doesn't spell out the reason why it's in bad taste, but do I have to?

Because people love ******** on other people for having fun when it doesn't impact them in anyway.

 

[TheFoo]

The Clous de Paris is Marmite, you like it or you don't. But it's completely authentic to Patek. I agree the more traditional railroad track and more modern small seconds treatment don't really hang together consistently. Not perfect, not terrible.

The hobnail pattern is from the 70’s and looks that way. The predominant Calatrava design since the 30’s has been guided by Bauhaus simplicity.

 

[Neville Southall]

The Clous de Paris is Marmite, you like it or you don't. But it's completely authentic to Patek. I agree the more traditional railroad track and more modern small seconds treatment don't really hang together consistently. Not perfect, not terrible.

If they left out the railroad track and the gold dots at every hour marker, it’d be bad ass. I’m kind of digging the bezel.

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

Well, I have made an affirmative decision on my next watch (unless something better comes up between now and when I purchase it). After I purchase that watch, I really look forward to dipping back into some "fun" stuff. The Zenith Chronomaster Revival Shadow is on the list, as is the new 36mm Explorer SS, and others.

You've gotten by this entire time with one nice watch? You should leave this thread and never return for your own good. The Watch Acquisition Disease is real and has no cure. I've been in remission for several months but feel something coming on.

 

[pmeis]

I don't think I'd ever buy an Hermes watch, but I feel like the world is better with Hermes making watches. They're fun, well made and offer something unique in a marketplace filled with redundancies.

Enjoy it!

I was about to say that I would have agreed with you before this, but then I remembered the Slim d’Hermes watch that I would absolutely own if I had reason to wear a nicer, dressier watch more than once a year.

 

[mak1277]

I was about to say that I would have agreed with you before this, but then I remembered the Slim d’Hermes watch that I would absolutely own if I had reason to wear a nicer, dressier watch more than once a year.

Agree. Slim d’Hermes is great and I am all over the orange strap version of this.

@Ambulance Chaser is there a DC metro Hermès AD?