Review
The Sistem51 is probably the most interesting watch introduced at Basel 2013, unfortunately it\'s not until almost SIHH 2014 that we actually saw the watch come on sale in Switzerland. I\'ve obtained a few and here are my impressions: (disclaimer, I purchased these for resale but will attempt to mai
The Sistem51 is probably the most interesting watch introduced at Basel 2013, unfortunately it's not until almost SIHH 2014 that we actually saw the watch come on sale in Switzerland.
I've obtained a few and here are my impressions: (disclaimer, I purchased these for resale but will attempt to maintain neutrality in this overview).
The watch, like the iPhone 5C, can be said to be "unapologetically plastic" both inside and out. The watch is almost ironic because of how it satisfies many haute horologerie requirements. There is no dust whatsoever inside the watch, it's immaculate. The escapement is held by a full bridge and is even "free sprung" (but not variable inertia). Adjustment is quite good with amplitude around 270 degrees and a promised 5 second accuracy, presumably on the wrist. I found it was +10 vertical and spot on flat.
The watch features 90 hours of power reserve, this is partly due to the 21.6k vph frequency, precision lubrication and assembly by machine only, and plastic escapement that is likely both light and self lubricating.
A few unusual review notes:
The rotor is undirectional (clockwise winding) and seems to rely on a very high gear ratio since the oscillating weight is plastic.
Hand winding is possible, but it requires turning the crown an unusual counterclockwise.
There is an ETA stamp on both the watch itself as well as the movement.
The movement does not hack
Date change occurs between 11:30 and 1:00 am
Different colours come on different straps. The white version comes on a plain silicon strap, while the black comes on a apparently leather strap, and the red one comes on a stitched silicon strap.
Straps are much more comfortable than I expected.
The rotor sounds a bit loose when shaken, but all 6 I have here have the same sound.
The rotor gives a kind of lightweight but noticeable "Valjoux wobble" when rotating counterclockwise.
Escapement is louder than most watches, probably due to the plastic casing.
Enjoy the photos below!
*My wrist is 6.25" and quite flat
Now I know what the fuss is about this "Sistem 51" stuff, thanks to your review and very nice photos. No wonder many people are talking about this. Congrats! Interesting indeed. Ken
...of dots on the dial? This far it seems that every version shares a variation of the same theme. Regards, Adam
Anecdotal, of course. After the first week of wearing mine was around -5 seconds. It would probably have been closer if I hadn't worn it to bed the first night, when I found the next morning that it had lost 7 seconds over the whole day. The rest of the week I left it off at night and tried to find a position which recovered that loss. Then the general trend was a losing tendency while worn during the day which was offset by a gain during the night. Sorry, I have no timing machine which would do
It'll be interesting to see where this technology goes.
it wasnt anything i wasnt expecting so i was happy to pull the plug on a red one last night from France rather than wait until they eventually get to the UK. i got it for a price that i consider is about the same as the UK watches will be once they add their 20% government theft tax and no import duties from France. i know what Steve means about the Irony which is a much more substantial watch, but the old eta auto's in Swatches i found appallingly inaccurate so look forward to having a swatch w
...images or links you can share with details of the balance spring and plastic escapement? Thank you for the update, too.
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