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sweets
·Hello
I have been active on a few forums for a while (notably TZ-UK in the same name and DaveS on the ATG Forums) and am branching out a little, so thought I would post this here as an intro, because a quick search reveals that the Omega ofrums have next to nothing on the Siduna, and I think it deserves a bit more coverage.
So far I have only really posted about Lemania watches on this forum, and Lemania watches are my primary collecting focus. Although I also have a few others.
I found Siduna by accident on a picture search last summer, and I got into conversation with them as they seemed to be re-creating an iconic Lemania design, the SwAF or Viggen, as issued to the Swedish Aor Force, and that interested me.
They were kind enough to lend me their prototype to examine, and as a result I put a deposit down, and it was delivered to me recently.
So how is it?
It arrived in a simple, black card slip solding a flat box in a hard, man-made material reminiscent of bakelite with a dark wood veneer outside, signed Siduna. The flat box was chosen to avoid pre-shaping the strap. The box is quite aggressively sprung, ensuring it stays open or closed and moves between the two with a snap. All of this is pleasingly retro and understated. No massive cases, no drawers full of 300-page dealer network tomes and instructions in 50 languages. The watch is retained in clips, and that's it.
It came the darker of the two brown calf leather options, called Havana, 20mm at the lugs and 18mm at the signed buckles, 2 keepers and of notable quality. So far I too have held off shaping the leather to my wrist, I have penty of nice 20mm leather straps to use first. I also have the default tropic-style, textured and vented nitrile rubber en route to me, but I put it straight onto a new Steveo canvas pull-through "zulu", which is very comfy.
I am really pleased that the case finishing exceeds the high standards set by the prototype. The edges are crisp, the main surfaces finely brushed, the chamfers polished and the transitions are very clear.
One change is that the sides of the bezel behind the grip are now polished, which makes sense, and avoids having 2 different directions of brushed finish on the case sides. Excuse the blue in this photo, that's my work sweatshirt.
The stark white on black legibility of the dial and hands is essential on this military style of chronograph. Speedmaster Pro level clarity. It looks great.
The dial is a very nice black, with a finish somewhere between matte and satin. The sub-dials are cut deep into the dial, and have the classic concentric ring finish, which somehow contrives to look more satin than the rest of the dial. The contrast is lovely.
The bezel has definitely been improved, and being slightly glossier it appears blacker than the dial. The protoype suffered slightly from the use of a clear, but grey-looking binder for the luminous numerals and indices, and in daylight they looked dull. No such problem exists now, bezel pops just as clearly as the dial, and in daylight the lumed parts look identical to the un-lumed individual minute indices.
The legibility does continue on into the night, as the lume is very effective. I like good lume, and this dioes not disappoint, with the bezel slightly greener, and the dial and hands in a more icey blue.
I believe the profile of the crystal has changed ever so slightly from the prototype, with a narrower external curved section to the edges, and less distortion as a result.
I admit that I am going to be pre-disposed to like this. The guys at Siduna have been nice to me, and trusted me with one of their valuable prototypes. Also, this is a re-creation of a very well-known and now highly-prized Lemania military watch.
So you could argue that I am pre-programmed to find that attractive.
But that also means I have some relatively well-tuned critical instincts in regard to reincarnating such a "grail".
I feel there is a strong imperative to get such an hommage "Right" in order to respect the original version.
Have they succeeded? Is this worthy to tread in the illustrious footsteps left by Lemania?
Yes. Without doubt.
This watch does everything that the original did. It is a legible, practical, waterproof (WR 100m) chronograph with bezel. The format is right, the sub-dials are the right ones in the right place, and the case has not grown a millimetre in diameter.
But at the same time, the watch has been updated. The movement is automatic (a 7750 customised to their specification), the crystal sapphire, and the bezel unidirectional and 120-click. These are all new things compared to the original.
I understand all these choices, and for an update I prefer them over the original specification. A manual movement would have made the case thinner, but not much, and it would undoubtedly have limited the potential audience for this watch. So automatic is a perfectly sensible choice.
I am happy that the new generations of aspheric sapphire crystals offer a proportion fo the character of the original acryllic crystal, whilst massively increasing damage-resistance. That is a good trade-off, in my eyes. And the 100m WR makes sense of a uni-directional bezel.
So I really do see this as a worthy successor to the Lemania. And with the modern WR, servicability and warranty, it makes a much more practical and affordable alternative to buying the original.
Lemania themselves were definitely form-derived-from-function designers, and the specification changes from that to this really do add to the functionality, in keeping with the Lemania ethos.
I applaud the fact that Francis and Peter have made affordability a key requisite in the design of the M3440 (it is €1860 plus taxes, or €2340 plus taxes if you want the addition of flyback).
A tool watch should be affordable, otherwise it becomes too pricey to justify wearing it. The price of this watch puts it in line with the most notable purveyors of functional chronographs at the present moment - Sinn, Junghans, Damasko, Guinand and so forth. Put this watch in the mix with any of those brands and Siduna come out well in the comparison in terms of tech and in terms of value. I might add that, in my opinion, the Siduna is just better-looking than any of them.
I also know that Siduna will not be standing still, and I look forward to seeing their next moves.
Dave
I have been active on a few forums for a while (notably TZ-UK in the same name and DaveS on the ATG Forums) and am branching out a little, so thought I would post this here as an intro, because a quick search reveals that the Omega ofrums have next to nothing on the Siduna, and I think it deserves a bit more coverage.
So far I have only really posted about Lemania watches on this forum, and Lemania watches are my primary collecting focus. Although I also have a few others.
I found Siduna by accident on a picture search last summer, and I got into conversation with them as they seemed to be re-creating an iconic Lemania design, the SwAF or Viggen, as issued to the Swedish Aor Force, and that interested me.
They were kind enough to lend me their prototype to examine, and as a result I put a deposit down, and it was delivered to me recently.
So how is it?
It arrived in a simple, black card slip solding a flat box in a hard, man-made material reminiscent of bakelite with a dark wood veneer outside, signed Siduna. The flat box was chosen to avoid pre-shaping the strap. The box is quite aggressively sprung, ensuring it stays open or closed and moves between the two with a snap. All of this is pleasingly retro and understated. No massive cases, no drawers full of 300-page dealer network tomes and instructions in 50 languages. The watch is retained in clips, and that's it.
It came the darker of the two brown calf leather options, called Havana, 20mm at the lugs and 18mm at the signed buckles, 2 keepers and of notable quality. So far I too have held off shaping the leather to my wrist, I have penty of nice 20mm leather straps to use first. I also have the default tropic-style, textured and vented nitrile rubber en route to me, but I put it straight onto a new Steveo canvas pull-through "zulu", which is very comfy.
I am really pleased that the case finishing exceeds the high standards set by the prototype. The edges are crisp, the main surfaces finely brushed, the chamfers polished and the transitions are very clear.
One change is that the sides of the bezel behind the grip are now polished, which makes sense, and avoids having 2 different directions of brushed finish on the case sides. Excuse the blue in this photo, that's my work sweatshirt.
The stark white on black legibility of the dial and hands is essential on this military style of chronograph. Speedmaster Pro level clarity. It looks great.
The dial is a very nice black, with a finish somewhere between matte and satin. The sub-dials are cut deep into the dial, and have the classic concentric ring finish, which somehow contrives to look more satin than the rest of the dial. The contrast is lovely.
The bezel has definitely been improved, and being slightly glossier it appears blacker than the dial. The protoype suffered slightly from the use of a clear, but grey-looking binder for the luminous numerals and indices, and in daylight they looked dull. No such problem exists now, bezel pops just as clearly as the dial, and in daylight the lumed parts look identical to the un-lumed individual minute indices.
The legibility does continue on into the night, as the lume is very effective. I like good lume, and this dioes not disappoint, with the bezel slightly greener, and the dial and hands in a more icey blue.
I believe the profile of the crystal has changed ever so slightly from the prototype, with a narrower external curved section to the edges, and less distortion as a result.
I admit that I am going to be pre-disposed to like this. The guys at Siduna have been nice to me, and trusted me with one of their valuable prototypes. Also, this is a re-creation of a very well-known and now highly-prized Lemania military watch.
So you could argue that I am pre-programmed to find that attractive.
But that also means I have some relatively well-tuned critical instincts in regard to reincarnating such a "grail".
I feel there is a strong imperative to get such an hommage "Right" in order to respect the original version.
Have they succeeded? Is this worthy to tread in the illustrious footsteps left by Lemania?
Yes. Without doubt.
This watch does everything that the original did. It is a legible, practical, waterproof (WR 100m) chronograph with bezel. The format is right, the sub-dials are the right ones in the right place, and the case has not grown a millimetre in diameter.
But at the same time, the watch has been updated. The movement is automatic (a 7750 customised to their specification), the crystal sapphire, and the bezel unidirectional and 120-click. These are all new things compared to the original.
I understand all these choices, and for an update I prefer them over the original specification. A manual movement would have made the case thinner, but not much, and it would undoubtedly have limited the potential audience for this watch. So automatic is a perfectly sensible choice.
I am happy that the new generations of aspheric sapphire crystals offer a proportion fo the character of the original acryllic crystal, whilst massively increasing damage-resistance. That is a good trade-off, in my eyes. And the 100m WR makes sense of a uni-directional bezel.
So I really do see this as a worthy successor to the Lemania. And with the modern WR, servicability and warranty, it makes a much more practical and affordable alternative to buying the original.
Lemania themselves were definitely form-derived-from-function designers, and the specification changes from that to this really do add to the functionality, in keeping with the Lemania ethos.
I applaud the fact that Francis and Peter have made affordability a key requisite in the design of the M3440 (it is €1860 plus taxes, or €2340 plus taxes if you want the addition of flyback).
A tool watch should be affordable, otherwise it becomes too pricey to justify wearing it. The price of this watch puts it in line with the most notable purveyors of functional chronographs at the present moment - Sinn, Junghans, Damasko, Guinand and so forth. Put this watch in the mix with any of those brands and Siduna come out well in the comparison in terms of tech and in terms of value. I might add that, in my opinion, the Siduna is just better-looking than any of them.
I also know that Siduna will not be standing still, and I look forward to seeing their next moves.
Dave
