to begin, one of the snaps i took in a hurry, to illustrate the text. a bit of a tease, hope you don't mind
(note: first attempts at watch photography. sorry about the wb, it _is_ off, the case of this watch is colorless, aka grey/silver)
the road to this purchase is a rather winding one (isn't it always?). i have a thing for timepieces (known issue, since childhood, nothing helped), and i have another thing for sliderules. as there's yet another for aviation.. e6b it had to be. now, this is the main requirement, but there were others.
i have been wearing a watch eversince i can remember, it used to be really cheap junk some time ago: as long as it kept time, i was happy, if it also had some features ("chrono. yyyhhaaa!", you know..), it was great. the first problem i had was that, though i loved my watches, cheap as they were, i didn't understand the concept of leaving them behind whenever (to protect from shock, water, etc). water was the main issue, as quartz digital display watches are basically indestructible by design. finding a decently waterproofed watch was more complicated than you would imagine today. funny enough, the first "success" was a casio (which still works today, more than 10y after, though the case itself is broken and it cannot take a strap anymore).
another issue i discovered after a while was with reading the display. i love digital watches for their price, features, and reliability. but when it comes to reading the damn time, the love afair ends. and i wear a watch on my wrist for the precise reason that i want to read the damn time once in a while. i learned how to read an analog watch when i could barely spell/write (about 3 or 4, i think), perhaps that's the reason why every time i read a digital clock, i see an analog face, and only than i understand what time it is. if i do quick time calculations, i do them the same way. if i am very tired, it helps a lot to be able to look at the watch and do the reading and the time calculation, in one glance. you get the picture. personal preference, for sure.
so:
- slide rule (e6b - like). it is to be used, so it has to be accurate and useable
- analog display (or combined)
- quartz, battery or solar (solar being preferred). not automatic, not manual wind (shock vulnerable, G-forces vulnerable, unless you pay an arm and a leg, that is; accuracy is also far superior for quartz for the same price, and probably for 10x the price as well)
- internal e6b preferred, with crown (sliderule protected by the crystal, instead of exposed to knocks, and general wear and tear)
- clean and discrete face/design (as much as possible for an e6b). no useless markings
- 24h/zulu hand (pereferably not tiny dial, fourth hand on the main dial)
- additional features to taste (chrono, alarm).
- i happen to hate "integrated" bracelets. i don't like the "lock in", i don't like the looks, so avoided if possible.
i had seen the edifice 518 some time ago. something about the design didn't quite click. (maybe that inner circle, the integrated bracelet, don't know). i was pretty sure i had to get the nighthawk or the skyhawk at and get it over with (if you are thinking "why not", there are about 1k reasons not to, down here: one for every buck) and than i saw
ticked all the boxes, except for the zulu. argggh. i'd rather have the zulu and not the chrono. oh well. was looking at the torgoens (those guys seem to know what i want..), but finally got this localy.
some not-so-obvious specs:
- the chrono does not allow split times (like the torgoen eta movement). no big deal, but something to be aware of
- there is _no_ zulu/24h, despite what some sellers say. sorry
- the crown at 3 is screwdown. the sliderule crown at 8 is not.
- the timekeeping second hand is not the "big" one. that one is dead weight unless the chrono is in use. the small dial at the 6 o'clock position is the second hand.
it is _quiet_. seriously. i could hear all the quartz analog watches i had so far (including the previous casio, tough solar). they drive me mad, i can hear them from half a meter, easily, same with mechanical watches, they can keep me awake at night. i cannot hear this one if i put my ear to it. dead quiet. amazing. perhaps the mass of the case alone is enough to absorb the noise, perhaps it's because the second hand is so small, so light, and thus requires such little torque to move. if i start the chrono, i can hear the second hand for the chrono ("the big one"), but barely. it is still quieter than anything i have ever seen to date. nice.
the size of the face is imense. the watch itself is quite big, though i have a relatively tiny wrist, i love it, doesn't bother me at all (yet..). the size of the face means i can dead-reckon the seconds -- to 10-15 or so -- just by looking at the minutes hand. no kidding. this makes me even sadder that they didn't include a zulu hand. actually, the main face and movement should be 24h, too. what's the point of 12h anyway, unless the face needs to be 1cm across? there's 24h in a day! arghh.
the cristal is flat. can't comment on the scratch resistance so soon, it is said to be mineral, but not saphire (not surprising, for the price), and "scratch resistant" (but that's relative, with no scale mentioned, the term means nothing). i see no mention or evidence of any antiglare treatment, but in practice the readability is actually quite good (might have something to do with the size..). here's an attempt to show some glare, while fooling around with the camera:
there is lume on the hour and minute hand, and on the hour markers. it has lasted throughout the night without problems (and without being annoying) after i got it from the shop. however, being winter time, so mostly covered outdoors, only exposed to faint indoors light, it doesn't seem to manage to catch enough light to charge back. hmm. will have to see about that. on the other hand, the thin reflective gold accents on the watch, together with it's size, mean that, so far, it has to be pitch dark to not be able to read the time. that's actually much better in practice than the previous (tough solar), with it's nifty autolight and lume. the test was involuntary, while driving, at night, in town: i just glanced at the watch, and had the time, never thought twice, i realized later that it didn't use to be so easy. i am actually finding the bling (gold plating) useful, what do you know.. (i was afraid i'd hate the ogld accents, at first)
the lume actually looks nice when it "works".
the sliderule: has proven quite accurate so far, and loads of fun (nobody seems to understand what the point is, btw. oh well, no wonder it's so hard to find an e6b watch). the alignment is good out of the box (unlike one other example i saw in a shop, which had a lot of play on the moving part of the sliderule, and looked completely out of whack, thus useless -- so be careful). it is easy to read in decent light, harder as the light levels drop. i guess the white face version would be a partial solution to that, but i decided already that's a bit too "in your face" for me, so i'm okay. the only complaint here is the position of the crown: i find myself actually wearing the watch on my right hand. now, i do this with all my watches, from time to time (keeps them on their toes, you know...), but with this one, i am forced: the sliderule crown is obviously the main thing you need to reach. the main adjustment crown, you don't need 99% of the time, the chrono pushers can be reached either way just fine. sliderule crown on the outside, casio, wth.
the leather bracelet. mhhh. apart from the fact it's "not my thing" (it is destructible, which is wrong
), this one is also a bit stiff, and with that folding/colapsing buckle it can be downright annoying. maybe it will soften with wear, but i might have to get a metal bracelet for "real work" anyway. i suspect people with a bigger wrist will be less bothered, btw. it also makes some weird clicking noise on the lugs which i don't understand (probably has some sort of metal inner jacket to protect it from grinding itself on the lugs?)
overall, the finish looks good, i am a bit surprised actually, can't say i can fault it, for the price (and for quite some way up as well). the weight adds to the solid feel, it's just right, not "overweight". the only issue build-wise so far is that the chrono pushers tend to stick, which is not such a big deal in itself, but can be quite annoying. i also like it that the case is not as reflective as it looks in most product pictures (proper brushed finish would be even better, an option of a mate black anodized case and matching bracelet would be very welcome)
i'd say, for a sliderule (e6b) watch on the cheap, this is way beyond my expectations. not a navitimer, but not trying to be one either. fair enough.
hope this helps someone make a choice. see you around. any questions/clarifications, or feedback, are welcome.
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