Globemaster

Longbow · Feb 21, 2016

Actually come to think of it I know pretty much exactly what I would like....but it doesn't exist; namely a modern re-issue of a 166.024 '69 Seamaster 300M Big Triangle:
. Huguenin Frères designed lyre lug shaped case = Aqua Terra style case today. Brushed surfaces, polished edge facets.
. Screw-down crown (not Naiad)
. Saphire crystal instead of hesalite
. Bi-directional bezel (retained as per Sinn 104 = the benchmark)
. Speedmaster style bracelet (brushed with polished accents - not the blingy centre links of the current 300 model) and the very cool Omega extension clasp
. 300 style dial but with a well executed date window. Date at the 6 o'clock position looks balanced but the digits would be too small. Between 4 and 5 o'clock are the most practical but looks dreadful, so date at 3 o'clock and to try to avoid the mess on a PO with big digits at 6, 9 and 12 and miniscule date digits at 3 Omega would need to push all the compass point digits to the edge of the dial and increase the date digit size to be equal to all the others. Then recess all the compass points to compensate for the recessed date window.
. All packaged up in a functional compact box (black ballistic Nylon webbing) with Nato strap, heritage (distressed) dark tan leather strap, eye lupe, Omega version of Rolex's 3200 spring bar tool and a few spare spring bars.
OK, that's the spec, now I need to visualise it......I do hope Omega do something along these lines for BaselWorld 2016.

Riviera Paradise · Feb 22, 2016

Longbow
Ups, sorry! In my defense the Rolex models that command the big bucks on the second hand market (Daytona, Steve McQueen Explorer II, MilSub) do not use the MB Logo thing. I guess it's just a matter of personal taste and since I was raised on straight hands that's what I find easiest to read. Had Rolex issued the new Explorer II with a 1655 style hour hand I guess the white dial version would have been my next watch. Legibility is important and IMHO many Rolex sports watches seem to have sacrificed this in favour of well, let's call it "presence". The Sub that I recently tried looked cluttered. When I took another look at the (rather poor) photo I made I noticed that I could more easily read my out of focus Speedmaster in the background than the Sub in the foreground. I suppose I should sit down and write a thread on what it is I'm actually looking for in my perfect watch. My watch collection is the by-product of my odyssey to find the right "one". I'm still searching.

@Longbow..I was only joking ...I don´t have any issue with MB logo on their pure tool watches (Explorers, Sub)...though I fully agree with you on the legibility of some modern Rollies, especially the new GMT 2s.

Sometime ago I was quite keen to purchase a GMT 2 BLNR. In fact, I was completely in love with the watch from the internet and forum photos I had seen...but when I tried it on the wrist...a bit of a let down really...I thought the dial seemed to "crowded" and somewhat overpowered by the new fat ceramic multi-colour bezel...then you have a white background for the date against a black dial with a cyclops magnifying that contrast even further, add to the recipe the bling of the PCLs...well it just had too much going on overall and even though I am fully Ok with near vision..it would still take a few seconds to focus and actually read the time, especially for the second time zone.

I had taken along my modern polar Explorer II...so the BLNR did take a bit of a "thrashing" from the Exp II on the visibility & legibility front. See below how even under rather poor lighting you can perfectly read the current time and second time zone on the Exp II, when compared to my "straight" hands (also silver/white dial) Breitling.

Texas_Tom · Feb 22, 2016

The Rolex Sport watches have the larger Lume dial so that one may see the hands better in water, caves, or night time spy missions. The Dressier Rolex (OP, DJ) have stick hands because you don't need a Lume while watching the Opera....

Riviera Paradise · Feb 22, 2016

texas_tom
The Rolex Sport watches have the larger Lume dial so that one may see the hands better in water, caves, or night time spy missions. The Dressier Rolex (OP, DJ) have stick hands because you don't need a Lume while watching the Opera....

I suppose that does depend on what you are actually doing at the Opera...ref Godfather III😉

Longbow · Feb 22, 2016

Riviera Paradise
@Longbow..I was only joking ...I don´t have any issue with MB logo on their pure tool watches (Explorers, Sub)...though I fully agree with you on the legibility of some modern Rollies, especially the new GMT 2s.

Sometime ago I was quite keen to purchase a GMT 2 BLNR. In fact, I was completely in love with the watch from the internet and forum photos I had seen...but when I tried it on the wrist...a bit of a let down really...I thought the dial seemed to "crowded" and somewhat overpowered by the new fat ceramic multi-colour bezel...then you have a white background for the date against a black dial with a cyclops magnifying that contrast even further, add to the recipe the bling of the PCLs...well it just had too much going on overall and even though I am fully Ok with near vision..it would still take a few seconds to focus and actually read the time, especially for the second time zone.

I had taken along my modern polar Explorer II...so the BLNR did take a bit of a "thrashing" from the Exp II on the visibility & legibility front. See below how even under rather poor lighting you can perfectly read the current time and second time zone on the Exp II, when compared to my "straight" hands (also silver/white dial) Breitling.

Now that's just being cruel, you're not making it any easier for me at all. The Explorer on it's own is fine. But next to that Breitling it just vanishes. I thought the latest EXP II was very comfy to wear (at least for the very short time I had it on my wrist in the AD). How much wrist time does it get, given all the competition you can throw at it from your collection?

Riviera Paradise · Feb 22, 2016

Longbow
Now that's just being cruel, you're not making it any easier for me at all. The Explorer on it's own is fine. But next to that Breitling it just vanishes. I thought the latest EXP II was very comfy to wear (at least for the very short time I had it on my wrist in the AD). How much wrist time does it get, given all the competition you can throw at it from your collection?

In currently live in Rio...hot weather the norm...I generally rotate the Exp 2 with the Semaster 300MC on Nato for my daily beach walk....if I don´t have client meetings for the day I will often be wearing polo shirts to work during the summer...so I often use the Exp II during work week as well and it is one of my favourite leisure travel watches as well because of its GMT "app"...it is also extremely tough/robust for ecotrips. Looks good with any sort of casual wear...the white dial is also a nice "cool" contrast to tanned skin (also pretty much the norm in Rio😀)

It is also runs very nicely at +1.5s/day on average and indeed the bracelet if very comfy. One of the few Rollies where the dreaded cyclops doesn´t really come into play as the white date background blends into the white dial background. I love the orange hand😀. I actually wear it much more often than the Breitling😀

Still looking for a more formal GMT watch for business trips...I hope to check-out some Grand Seiko GMTs soon during a NY trip, though I have been warned by @Nobel Prize not to get my expecations too high. Superdoc has hinted that Omega will launch some new GMT at Basel 2016.

Cheers.

Perseus · Feb 23, 2016

I'm at a loss as to why more watches don't have the date at 6 o'clock. I love how it keeps the dial symmetrical. NO DATE RULES!

Riviera Paradise · Feb 23, 2016

Perseus
I'm at a loss as to why more watches don't have the date at 6 o'clock. I love how it keeps the dial symmetrical. NO DATE RULES!

Omega do it on other watches too such as the Tresor. Longines use the 6 o´clock date configuration in many of their "Heritage" line watches. I think it works well on more dressy watches...not sure about sports watches. Cheers.

Texas_Tom · Feb 23, 2016

I have the Longines Heritage 1940 with the date at 6

Longbow · Feb 24, 2016

Perseus
I'm at a loss as to why more watches don't have the date at 6 o'clock. I love how it keeps the dial symmetrical. NO DATE RULES!

Let me have crack at answering that (p.s. I'm not a watch designer/maker so don't shoot me if make some wrong assumptions).

I tried mocking up a few watches in an attempt to discover what my "perfect" watch would be. One aspect was to have a nice big date (oh the joys of passing the big Five O, the eyes aren't what they used to be). During my creative exertions I discovered a few simple geometry problems.

If you put the date at the 6 o'clock position you will have to have a window that is wide enough to accommodate the widest date combination, something like "28" I guess. The preceding and subsequent dates will also be fairly wide....and they have to fit on the date ring, which is of course smaller than the dial. This inevitably means that the digits will be small and if they are so small that they are hardly legible why spoil the dial with such features at all?

So, the mission is to make the digits big enough for (most) people to read. There are a few ways one could achieve this. One approach is to add a lens to the outside of the crystal to magnify the small digits like Rolex's Cyclops, but that will be challenging if you have a curved surface as is the case on most Omegas (not to mention the question of lens aesthetics). Another is to put the lens on the underside of the crystal, but it doesn't seem to give the same magnifying power. Finally you could try to build a movement that puts the "10s" and "1s" of the date on two separate "kissing" wheels so that there is significantly more annular space on each disk and hence larger digits become possible. This has several challenges: getting the digits correctly angled, getting them close to the edge of the case and the killer - what does the date look like for 1st - 9th...it's asymmetric unless you use a "0" which is a bit naff.

If you move the date window to the 3 o'clock position then the "10s" and "1s" will be side-by-side. This means the annulus of the ring increases but not it's diameter, in other words you get a fatter ring and hence larger digits in a bigger window. Which all sounds great until someone asks for digits at the 6, 9 and 12 o'clock positions, or heavens forbid ALL of the hour positions. Now you have to either accept that the date digits will be smaller than the other hour positions, or you have to balance everything up. This means slightly smaller hour digits and pushing all of them towards the dial perimeter to allow the date wheel to have as large a diameter as possible.

And if you want the ultimate in symmetry there is still the question of vertical symmetry or the relative heights of the hours vs the date digits above the date wheel.

It's all just a matter of personal taste in the end and whether one prefers a Rolex with a small date and magnifying lens or a Globemaster with just a small date, both solutions are beautifully engineered and executed.

CanberraOmega · Feb 24, 2016

The ALS answer:

Longbow · Feb 24, 2016

CanberraOmega
The ALS answer:

A magnificent timepiece but not "6 o'clock" and I think Omega and Rolex would struggle to find a home for their Corporate Logo with that configuration.
Breitling have a similar solution.

Archer · Feb 24, 2016

Longbow
Finally you could try to build a movement that puts the "10s" and "1s" of the date on two separate "kissing" wheels so that there is significantly more annular space on each disk and hence larger digits become possible. This has several challenges: getting the digits correctly angled, getting them close to the edge of the case and the killer - what does the date look like for 1st - 9th...it's asymmetric unless you use a "0" which is a bit naff.

Not "naff" at all in my view...

ALS tends to leave out the leading zero, which indeed does make the date look very awkward and unbalanced. That is one of the primary reasons why I bought the GO over the ALS Lange 1 - GO's big date is significantly better executed with the printing on the same plane for both numbers, leading zero, and no "mullion" bar between the digits to try to hide that they are on different levels...

Longbow
A magnificent timepiece but not "6 o'clock" and I think Omega and Rolex would struggle to find a home for their Corporate Logo with that configuration.
Breitling have a similar solution.

Where it is on the dial is inconsequential. Easy enough to relocate...

Cheers, Al

Longbow · Feb 24, 2016

Hypothetical scenario: Guy buys Globemaster. Globemaster doesn't have the typical guy's generic solution: namely Black or white dial and steel bracelet, i.e. fully neutral to all events and clothes combinations.....instead he buys a stunning Blue Dial, Dark Blue Leather Strap Globemaster.
Wakes up on Monday, puts on suite, black Oxford Brogues and black belt.....er Blue Strap...OK? Maybe. It's summer, back from work, change into Black Polo, light tan Chinos, BROWN belt and suede shoes...Blue on Blue Globemaster still OK? Only a woman can answer this......Help us out @meganfox17

Longbow · Feb 24, 2016

Archer
Not "naff" at all in my view...

ALS tends to leave out the leading zero, which indeed does make the date look very awkward and unbalanced. That is one of the primary reasons why I bought the GO over the ALS Lange 1 - GO's big date is significantly better executed with the printing on the same plane for both numbers, leading zero, and no "mullion" bar between the digits to try to hide that they are on different levels...

Where it is on the dial is inconsequential. Easy enough to relocate...

Cheers, Al

OK, you're right, thanks for enlightening me. I think I prefer the GO version over both the Blancpain and the ALS though.

Archer · Feb 24, 2016

Longbow
OK, you're right, thanks for enlightening me. I think I prefer the GO version over both the Blancpain and the ALS though.

Me too, which is why I sold the Blancpain and own the GO! 😉

Riviera Paradise · Feb 24, 2016

Archer
Me too, which is why I sold the Blancpain and own the GO! 😉

That GO is certainly a winner👍

But the Blancpain does not look bad at all... @Archer: could you tell me which version of the Leman Big Date you sold? The power reserve on those are 100h, correct? Were there any issues with the Blancpain that might have provoked the trade in for the GO?

Cheers

Riviera Paradise · Feb 24, 2016

Longbow
Hypothetical scenario: Guy buys Globemaster. Globemaster doesn't have the typical guy's generic solution: namely Black or white dial and steel bracelet, i.e. fully neutral to all events and clothes combinations.....instead he buys a stunning Blue Dial, Dark Blue Leather Strap Globemaster.
Wakes up on Monday, puts on suite, black Oxford Brogues and black belt.....er Blue Strap...OK? Maybe. It's summer, back from work, change into Black Polo, light tan Chinos, BROWN belt and suede shoes...Blue on Blue Globemaster still OK? Only a woman can answer this......Help us out @meganfox17

I agree that @meganfox17 is quickly becoming our style/fashion guru on the forum...but @Superdoc and @alford78 seem to be well versed in that area of expertise...perhaps they can offer some insights as well?

I certainly do not consider myself an expert which is why I would certainly opt for the SS bracelet rather than the blue leather strap😀

Archer · Feb 24, 2016

Riviera Paradise
That GO is certainly a winner👍

But the Blancpain does not look bad at all... @Archer: could you tell me which version of the Leman Big Date you sold? The power reserve on those are 100h, correct? Were there any issues with the Blancpain that might have provoked the trade in for the GO?

Cheers

The BP was the Leman Ultra Slim Big Date model. It was the original version with the 100 hour power reserve, so with the Cal. 6650 (based on an F. Piguet movement):

They changed the movement later (can't recall if there was a caliber designation change or not) and dropped the power reserve to 70 hours, and made the date change faster (mine had a slow date change).

I didn't trade this for the GO - owned them both at the same time, along with a couple of JLC's. But I was not wearing it much and after the last service I put it up for sale - went to someone in NYC if I recall. I will say a prime consideration was that although I have a spare parts account with Swatch group, they will not sell me parts for any brand above Omega (I can get them for Omega and anything below that, so Longines, Hamilton, Tissot, etc.). Having to send my own watches away for service was not sitting well, and I wanted to minimize the number of watches in my collection that had this problem, so the Blancpain was sold on. I will never sell that GO, and like it enough to keep it and send it in when needed.

The Blancpain was at one point the most accurate movement I had by far (with a little tweaking from me), and I never had an issue with it other than the need for regular service. I do sort of miss it sometimes, but not enough to consider getting another...

Cheers, Al

Riviera Paradise · Feb 24, 2016

Archer
The BP was the Leman Ultra Slim Big Date model. It was the original version with the 100 hour power reserve, so with the Cal. 6650 (based on an F. Piguet movement):

They changed the movement later (can't recall if there was a caliber designation change or not) and dropped the power reserve to 70 hours, and made the date change faster (mine had a slow date change).

I didn't trade this for the GO - owned them both at the same time, along with a couple of JLC's. But I was not wearing it much and after the last service I put it up for sale - went to someone in NYC if I recall. I will say a prime consideration was that although I have a spare parts account with Swatch group, they will not sell me parts for any brand above Omega (I can get them for Omega and anything below that, so Longines, Hamilton, Tissot, etc.). Having to send my own watches away for service was not sitting well, and I wanted to minimize the number of watches in my collection that had this problem, so the Blancpain was sold on. I will never sell that GO, and like it enough to keep it and send it in when needed.

The Blancpain was at one point the most accurate movement I had by far (with a little tweaking from me), and I never had an issue with it other than the need for regular service. I do sort of miss it sometimes, but not enough to consider getting another...

Cheers, Al

Thanks Al...made note to self...definitely need to check-out Blancpain😀

Globemaster

Longbow

Riviera Paradise

Texas_Tom

Riviera Paradise

Longbow

Riviera Paradise

Perseus

Riviera Paradise

Texas_Tom

Longbow

CanberraOmega

Longbow

Archer

Longbow

Longbow

Archer

Riviera Paradise

Riviera Paradise

Archer

Riviera Paradise

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