by the WatchBuys crew Tim, Jon and Rob
at the Grand Hyatt earlier today. A great selection of German watches ( and Fortis )
.While most of the watches were beautiful and representative of German “qualitats-engineering” ; I particularly was drawn to the Sinn 1800 in the Damascus steel. Joerg Dandl, Sinn’s Dir. of Sales explained how SINN went thru 9 steel producers before they fell in with Balbach Damask; apparently the “folding during the forging process of the two steels is exacting to prevent any corruption/corrosion of the Damascus steel”... All before the tegiment process. Holding it was amazing. The striations in the steel. I thought my Jaeger & Benziger was spectacular (and it is IMO)...but this Damaszener was truly a one-off piece. I’m getting #92.

 

I missed the last couple in DC. But Watchbuys puts together a heck of a show. Way more models to look at/ handle then I would have thought possible. And they are a class act.

 

I’ve been avoiding the shows they do every year as I know I’ll buy at least a junghans from them and maybe a Sinn.

 

I keep ogling the U1.

 

Yes, holding the U-1, one can see how substantial and hefty this watch is. It’s a
“ bridge too far for me”- it just seemed a bit too big for my taste. The feel of it was solid.

 

Looks like a great Event, some beautiful watches there. And the Damaszener is simply amazing.

 

It is. Changed my mind on it though.With a 43 mm watch head and 50mm L2L it’s just a tad too much for my 6 7/8 wrist. My J&B is 48mm L2L ( 42 mm watch head) and there’s nary any room at the edges of my wrist. Not into the limp strap look.
I like to see a little strap when I look down at the wrist lol. A hard pass but a pass.
The watch mezmorized me!! Wasn’t thinking properly

 

Yeah I can imagine, 43mm would be impossible for me too. I'm still stunned by the high quality of the J&B, really never had them on my radar before. Great one! I can imagine, always hard but probably a wise decision.

 

Sheesh... forgive me @Njnjcfp88 , but that J&B Damaszener gives me big wood..

Please post a good, sharp image of that dial and case. I'd love to see more.

 

Indisputably…too much information

 

ICONO, flatfoot meant “ the Damaszener
Grain looks like big wood”. Lol

 

ahh... Yes, let's go with that.

 

KingC,
I’m thinking of getting this one from Thomas Ninchritz... the Vice Versa ....(same size as the J&B) the workmanship looks amazing. There was a TM watch at the roadshow but not the vice versa ...
He collaborated w Benziger on this one.
Check it out. Another great German yet!!

 

The etch on that case seems very heavy, so I'm assuming you can feel the pattern as well as see it?

Did they talk at all about what the steels are that were used?

Curious when this gets a few dents and scratches, if it can be refinished easily.

 

I didn’t ask Joerg Dandl the question of which specific high grade steels were used.....Yes, the Damascus pattern is definately tactile; I was impressed by that and the fact that the patterns continue throughout the watch contiguously ...
I think he said, if memory serves- that the acid etching brings this out in the watch. I’m not familiar with the tegimented hardening process; but others here might attest to its ability to protect the finish..that’s a good point you make-,it would be a shame if this look went awry ...

 

Yes, acid is used to bring out the pattern, and how long it's left in the acid determines how much etching happens (the weaker material is etched more easily then the stronger). Although Tegimenting (kolsterizing) does increase the hardness, it's only a surface treatment and in research I've done in the past it's unclear how deep it goes. This is a proprietary method developed by Bodycote, which is a company I'm quite familiar with as the manufacturer I used to work for has contracted work out to them in the past, with mixed results as I recall but don't quote me on that. The hardness this process can get to is between 900 and 1300 Vickers (HV) so it's quite hard - I'm used to Rockwell C scale and that's around 64 to 72 on that scale, which is definitely hard.

I've serviced quite a few Sinn watches, although not all of them models with this surface treatment. They can still get scratched, so I suspect at some pint they will need refinishing. I suppose it's possible to refinish, possibly reharden, and etch again to maintain that look, but it's something I would question how it would be handled before I would buy one.

Cheers, Al

 

Sinn got back to me regarding the Sinn 1800:

 

And told you...absolutely nothing...

 

You are correct Sir.