As you've noticed from my watch pictures I'm a fan of cloth straps. There are two major camps when it comes to how people like to wear their watches. First there are bracelet fans. People who prefer their watches on metal bracelets, either OEM or the aftermarket variety. Then there are the strap fans. There are so many different varieties of straps: leather, rubber, cloth, etc. They even have subvarieties of these types: calf leather, ostrich leather, kevlar, natural and synthetic rubber, and on and on. It's an industry unto itself. Just google "watch straps" and check out all the sites devoted to nothing but straps. Strap collecting has become a subgenre of watch collecting!
Getting back to my preference for cloth straps, the reason why I like them is mainly due to comfort. I find they breathe better and they can be easily adjusted to fit your wrist depending on the time of day or temperature (both of these factors can expand or contract the diameter of your wrist). Unlike rubber straps, cloth straps don't trap heat and make your wrist sweaty. And if they get dirty they can be easily washed with a little soap and water.
I particularly like one-piece straps because of their security advantage. If you happen to lose or break one of your springbars the watch will still be secure on the other end of the strap. Thus your watch be on your wrist and not on the ground in front of you in pieces, or worse yet, lost somewhere 10 miles back!
One of the criticisms of cloth straps is that they look cheap. Compared to some leather straps that can cost hundreds of dollars cloth straps are cheaper. However, I only wear tool watches so cloth straps look right at home on them. Now, I wouldn't wear a Rolex Day-Date on one and admittedly that would look cheap, but for example a Rolex Submariner or an Explorer on a grey G-10 just oozes class and exudes a purpose-built aura. Sounds like hyperbole for something as mundane as a strap? However, you'll be surprised at how much a strap can change the entire look of a watch.
My current favorites are the G-10 or "NATO" and the more simple milstrap. If you never have before, try them out on a dive or sport watch and you might become a convert.
Below is a picture of just a sample of the straps I have. This is by no means my exhaustive strap "collection." As you can see they're a lot of G-10s and milstraps with the odd synthetic rubber or calf skin strap thrown in for good measure.
Sinn is a German watch company founded by Helmut Sinn which he later sold to Lothar Schmidt, formerly of IWC. Over the years Sinn developed a reputation for producing high quality tool (or as they like to call them, instrument) watches at very reasonable prices. However, they were virtually unknown outside of Europe, because you could only order them direct from the factory in Frankfurt. But with the advent of watch forums where lucky individuals posted pictures of their Sinns coupled with the rising popularity of online shopping the word was out. By the time I first saw the EZM1 there was already an authorized dealer in the United States. It was marketed as a "tactical watch" and indeed it was developed for use by German law enforcement units. EZM is an abbreviation for Einsatzzeitmesser, which roughly translates to "Operational Mission Timer." You can read more about the EZM1's history here in an article by Bob of MWR.
I was intrigued by some of the EZM1's uncommon features: The crown and pushers on the left side of the case; a count-down bezel insert; a "dead" dial; and finally, the lack of any subdials even though it's a chronograph.
But let's start with the case which is made of titanium instead of steel. Titanium has some advantages over stainless steel. It won't rust and is highly resistant to corrosion, it's hypoallergenic, and is lighter than steel but just as strong. Some disadvantages are that titanium can scratch easier than steel unless its surface is coated or specially hardened. Another aspect of titanium is that over time two pieces of titanium in constant contact with each other can fuse together to form one piece of titanium.
The surface of the case is bead-blasted to a satin finish to prevent any unwanted reflections. The EZM1 measures approximately 16.5 mm high from the caseback to the top of the domed crystal. This is unequivocally the tallest watch I have ever owned. However, the wrist presence is akin to that of a Rolex Sea-Dweller since the diameter is about 40 mm. There's a copper sulfate (CuSO4) capsule embedded in the 1 o'clock lug.
According to Sinn the capsule should absorb any moisture that has gotten into the case. The capsule changes color from near white when it's completely dry to dark blue when it's completely saturated.
The crown and pushers are located on the left side of the case to reduce the possibility of snagging the watch on something underwater. Granted you'll have to be wearing the watch on your left wrist to take advantage of this feature. The signed crown screws down with internal threads, while the chronograph pushers are the non-screwdown variety.
The bezel is bidirectional and solidly clicks into place. I haven't taken the bezel off, but it feels and sounds like a click ball instead of a spring is used to turn it. The anodized aluminum insert features a 60-minute countdown scheme with a luminous triangle insert at 60.
The watch has a high domed sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating on the inside surface. The EZM1 is water resistant to 30 bar or about 300 meters/1000 feet.
The EZM1 has one of the best designed dials since the Omega Speedmaster. It's a very dark matte black with luminous rectangular hour markers. There's a double marker at the 12 o'clock. A date window appears offset at the 3:30 position. This prevents the window from "eating" any of the luminous hour markers and helps keep the symmetry of the dial intact to an extent. The luminous material used in the Ar-dialed EZM1s is superluminova and it glows like a torch.
All of the writing on the dial and the numbers on the date wheel are printed in red. The subdued color aids in legibility. When you need to glance at the time, the distractions from the dial text and date window are minimized. The circle Ar denotes the use of Argon gas inside the watch case to prevent moisture from forming. This is a Sinn innovation along with the CuSO4 capsule (the more cynical might call them gimmicks). All I know is that if I need both replaced, only the Sinn factory can refill the Argon and replace the capsule.
(Earlier EZM1 models featured circle 3H dials denoting the use of tritium luminous. I've heard that if you send your 3H-dialed EZM1 to Sinn for servicing they will replace the dial and hands with the superluminova types, no ifs, ands, or buts. Supposedly it's a safety issue.)
The luminous on the hands doesn't extend the full length of the shaft. This gives them a floating appearance. The hour and minute hands are frameless and are "pencil-shaped" for lack of a better term. The minute hand sports a long and thin needle-like tip. The other two hands are only used when the chronograph is activated. There's the chronograph seconds sweep and the airplane-shaped central minute counter (in lieu of a minute counter subdial). The latter is a hallmark of the Lemania 5100 automatic chronograph movement which beats inside the EZM1.
The Lemania 5100 features a day/date window, a 24-hour counter subdial, a constant seconds subdial, a 12-hour counter subdial, and a central minute counter with a central chronograph sweep. As you've noticed, the EZM1 doesn't use most of these features. Instead, the designers focused on dial legibility and being able to tell the time at-a-glance, which meant displaying the time without any "unnecessary distractions." The lack of a constant seconds subdial in particular takes some getting use to. The watch has a dead dial in the sense that you don't see any of the hands moving (if the chrono is not engaged). Sometimes I have to bring the watch up to my ear to hear the ticking just to make sure that it's still running.
The Lemania 5100 is now officially discontinued by the Swatch Group. It was used extensively in military watches by Tutima, Porche Design, Arctos, and others because of desirable features such as the central minute counter and its proven ruggedness. However, the movement is not without its quirks. There have been problems with a low power reserve in watches using the L5100 and the EZM1 is no exception. In the EZM1's case whether this has to do with lubrication issues (Not enough? Too much?), the inefficiency of the unidirectional winding rotor, or an artifact of flipping the movement 180 degrees to fit in the case is still unclear.
Other reported issues with the L5100 in general and the EZM1 in particular is that the chronograph hands don't reset to zero every time. This can be rectified by clicking the reset pusher again or initially pushing it with sufficient force.
The last issue with the EZM1 doesn't involve the movement, but rather the bezel insert. The insert is actually glued onto the bezel. In hot weather, the adhesive has been known to weaken resulting in the insert falling off. An embarrassing and ignominious problem for such a tough and "tactical" watch. Sinn could have avoided this if the insert snapped onto the bezel like a Rolex insert.
The quirks and problems aside, the EZM1 is a looker. I found that it sits most comfortably on my wrist when I wear it on a cloth strap. I currently wear my EZM1 on an olive milstrap. I tried it on the solid end link titanium bracelet and the Sinn stitched rubber strap, but they just don't hold the watch tight enough for me.
The EZM1 was discontinued about 2 years ago (late 2004) shortly after the Lemania 5100 was discontinued. There were only about 3000 produced which makes it a limited production model (as opposed to a limited edition). I arrived at that number since the serial number on my watch is in the high 2900s. I ordered mine right when they were discontinued and not too long before the last EZM1 left the Sinn factory in Frankfurt. So if you want one, you're going to have to look on the secondary market.
Ian P recently posted the completed eBay auction details for a Seamaster 300 over on MWR. I must admit, I was watching this one myself and I'm very surprised at the ending price ($2,025.52). This example appears to be made up of MARS 2000 parts. Demand seems very high right now. After looking at the winning bid from this auction I no longer feel so bad about the price I paid for my SM 300!
The British firm Cabot Watch Company (CWC) currently supplies the UK Ministry of Defense (MOD) with two dive watches. First, there is an all black-anodized dive watch issued to Special Forces, the so-called CWC "SBS" diver, also known (possibly more properly) as the UKSF diver. This watch features a day and date calendar in addition to the time. The other current issue dive watch is the CWC Royal Navy (RN) diver. It has a time-only dial in a polished stainless steel case with the top of the lugs in a brushed finish. These are both quartz watches powered by the ETA/ESA 955.122 movement. I'm lucky enough to own issued examples of each. However, as I'm a fan of mechanical watches I wanted the same styling, but with an automatic movement. Luckily, Silvermans (CWC's retail arm) sell just such a beast.
The watch below is the automatic version of the RN diver and is a factory reissue or "replica" of the original CWC RN diver issued by the MOD in the early 80s as the replacement for the Rolex Submariner. Now while I would love to own a mil-sub I don't quite have the $40,000 or so to drop on a watch!
The CWC RN Automatic diver takes much of its styling cues from the Omega Seamaster 300, which was issued by the MOD in the late 60s to early 70s. However, the CWC also complies with the MOD Standard 66-4 (Part 1)/Issue 3.
The dial is a very clean matte charcoal black featuring large trapezoidal hour markers with arabics at the quarters and a big triangle at the 12 o'clock. As with the current quartz issue RN diver, the automatic RN diver has a time-only dial. Just the way I like it. The circle T below the triangle marker is not a faux marking. The luminous used on the hour markers, hands and bezel insert dot is indeed tritium. Over time the tritium will decay and the dial and hands will "mellow out". The aged-tritium look is an acquired taste, but if it's honest wabi I have no problems with it.
I'm a big fan of MOD sword hands and this watch doesn't disappoint. Unlike the silver-framed MOD sword hands used in the issued SM 300 and mil-sub, these hands are framed in a frosted matte white. The combination of dial and hand set make it easy to read the time at-a-glance. This translates into excellent legibility: one of the most important aspects of a dive watch and a military timepiece.
The bezel is unidirectional to prevent accidentally increasing decompression time during a dive. It features 60 clicks, turns very precisely and has a firm feel to it. The bezel is also heavy and tall enough so that it's easy to grip. The black-anodized (aluminum?) bezel insert has minute markers all the way around, not just the first 15 minutes as used in many modern dive watches.
The watch is quite substantial in both size and weight. The massive polished stainless steel case is about 40 mm in diameter without the crown and 45 mm with it. As mentioned above, the tops of the lugs are brushed. The height is about 12 mm measured from the caseback to the top of the crystal. The case features fixed bars instead of spring bars like a proper milwatch should, although this isn't an issued watch. The unsigned screwdown crown has internal threads like the SM 300, while the crystal is mineral glass...OK I'm not a fan of mineral crytals. Once they get scratched, and they will scratch sooner or later, it's game over if you want to remove the scratches. While I would have preferred an acrylic or sapphire crystal, at least the mineral used on this diver is thick and replacements are readily available from parts houses. The CWC is rated to a depth of 30 atm or 990 feet.
The automatic movement used is the "ever popular" ETA 2824-2 with 25-jewels. Nothing exciting to write home about like an Omega cal.552 or a Rolex cal.1520, but at least it can be handwound and hacked, and is reliable, easily serviced, and spare parts will be available for a very long time to come. My example currently keeps time to +5 to +10 seconds a day. Not bad for a non-adjusted movement. While I don't have my own pictures of it, the movement ring is metal not plastic and there's a dust cover over the movement as well.
The watch comes supplied on a grey G-10 strap and with the fixed bars you can only wear it with similar one-piece or open-ended straps. Since this is in essence a MOD-designed watch, the OEM G-10 in my opinion finishes it off best.
The fit and finish are excellent. For example, under a 10X loupe I can't find any real dial slop. The case is also cut and polished precisely. If this watch carried any of the "big names" on the dial it would probably have a price point of around $1k. Thankfully full retail is about half that and sourced from the secondary market it's about 1/3 that. Not a bad deal for a lot of watch.
Bill Yao makes good stuff. His MkII custom parts such as dials, hands, and bezel inserts have been a roaring success. His parts fit Seiko's ubiquitous 7S26 movements and the ETA 28xx family of calibres.
Did you wish that your SKX007 looked more like a vintage Seamaster 300? Well now it can. The parts you'll need for your soon-to-be customized diver are the MOD 300 no-date dial, MOD Sword hands, and aluminum chapter ring. Don't forget the sapphire crystal while you're at it. You can even buy the base watch from Bill and have him install the parts or you can just order the parts and have your watchmaker install them.
I remember trying to decide what I wanted. A Seamaster, Plongeur, or maybe even a Type II homage? Alas, I never pulled the trigger. Then Bill started making his own watches from the ground up starting with the Quad10. True to form you could select which dial and hand set you wanted. This piqued my interest even more, but I still didn't pull the trigger. Finally, the MMT Blackwater was announced on MWR and prototypes were shown not too long after. Now this was a watch I knew I wanted.
I was lucky enough to get on the pre-order list and almost a year later this arrived:
I chose the Type I configuration complete with GMT bezel and the Limited Edition Type I hands. (The difference between the LE and non-LE ladder hands is that there's a rectangle on each hand that doesn't have lume on it. This is just like in the original Benrus Type I and Type II.) I love the sterile, no-date dial. The only disappointment was that the fixed-bar option turned out to be financially unfeasible.
To complete the "look" I wear it on one of Bob of MWR's mil-straps. I now prefer these mil-straps over G-10s. They're soft, comfortable, tough, washable and of consistent quality. Unfortunately, the latter is something you rarely get with "NATO" straps.
My MMT Blackwater has become my go-to watch. I've been wearing it almost everyday since I received it a few months ago. Bill regulates the ETA 2824-2 to 6 positions and it shows. It's keeping time to chronometer specs at +1 to +/- 0 seconds a day! You can't ask for much more than that.
As my first and only MkII purchase I have to say I'm quite satisfied. The quality of the parts, fit and finish is on par with Sinn. I'm looking forward to Bill's next project: A Blancpain Fifty-Fathoms inspired piece!
My friend Jocke from Sweden recently started his own Rolex Forum, which you can check out here. But be warned, Jocke's a black belt in Photoshop. If you post a picture of yourself and he gets a hold of it, don't be surprised to see your head photoshopped to a donkey's ass...or worse! All kidding aside, he's a cool guy with a great sense of humor and an enviable collection of Rolex watches and ephemera.
You have to register to post over there, but it's worth it. I also added a link to his forum on the sidebar. Please give him your support.
This DVD just arrived from Amazon. The Wild Geese starring Roger Moore and Richard Burton. It's about a team of aging British mercenaries hired to complete one more mission: Rescue a political prisoner who's being held by a corrupt African dictator. But what happens when their employer suddenly sides with the dictator once they bust the prisoner out of jail and before they're out of the country? Yes, it's the classic double-cross. Note the cover says it's the "30th Anniversary Edition," but the film came out in 1978. I guess they couldn't wait 2 more years for the DVD release.
Hesalite? I could have called it Perspex's Shatterproof Properties, but somehow that doesn't roll off the tongue as well.
What is it about acrylic crystals anyway? I used to hate them. They scratch just by looking at them. After a while, a scratched-up crystal makes a watch look old and tired. Surely synthetic sapphire (corundum) is the way to go. But then I started collecting Speedmasters and my preference began to change. Somehow the Moonwatch needs an acrylic crystal. It makes the whole thing pop. That beautiful dome you can achieve using an acrylic crystal can't be duplicated by sapphire. All of the domed sapphire crystals I have just don't get it 100% right. Maybe 75%-80%, but that's it. Plus, the benefits of acrylic's shatterproof properties outweigh its nuisance as a scratch magnet. Imagine dropping a Speedmaster from any considerable height and it landed on its crystal. I know what type I'd prefer in that scenario. And when it's time to polish an acrylic crystal you can always use Polywatch, Brasso, or even toothpaste.
I'm up to 4 Speedmasters now. One of them has a sapphire crystal and display back, which was actually my first Speedy. I even had two of these sapphire models, but eventually sold the other. After that, I only started to collect the "classic" versions with the proper Hesalite crystals.
What's my grail watch? It would probably have to be a military issued Speedmaster, preferably issued by the MOD. If you know of one for sale give me a heads up!
