sham1
9676
To keep or to flog?!
Fiftenn months ago, I decided to try my hand at dial designing and came up with a configuration that Sartory Billard agreed to make for me. The case is in titanium and made and finished by Voutilainen and Cattin while the dial and the final asembly of the watch is done by Comblemine, Voutilainen's dial maker., Prices of new Voutilainens are now in the six figure bracket making them almost unaffordable to the average watch enthusiast so this is arguably the closest I would be able to get to a Voutilainen. The manual winding movement by La Joux Perret has been finished speicially for this SB05. And at 38.5mm (45.5mm lug to lug) and a thickness of 8.5mm, this watch would fit most wrists perfectly.
And here lies my predicament and a predicament common to many - fifteeen months may not seem like a long time to wait for a watch but in this time, I have accumulated quite a number of watches, some totally unexpectedly. Many will argue 'ah well, just keep this piece unique SB05 but I for one believe in keeping the number of watches I own below a 'reasonable' number - ten being that number.
For example, my latest accidental acquisition prior to the SB05 was this beautiful Bovet in a very attractive 39mm white gold case. The elegance of the dial still takes my breath away,
I apologise that the photos of my Sartory Billard have been taken in its sealed plastic because should I decide to sell it, I trust it will appeal more if it remains unopened. Time will tell what I decide to do and thank you very much for reading,
A salmon guilloche dial surrounded by a dark blue aventurine outer circle
The box is made by Nicolas Vonin in French sourced wood
The Raisien Atelier Bolvin makes the silk pocket square that wraps the watch
Scarlett Paris provided the strap
The colour contrast oif the dial is striking
I love the unusual buckle
Lovely packaging and very bespoke
The alluring Bovet
Although it is not light (and I like light watches), I love this piece
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To keep or to flog?!
Fiftenn months ago, I decided to try my hand at dial designing and came up with a configuration that Sartory Billard agreed to make for me. The case is in titanium and made and finished by Voutilainen and Cattin while the dial and the final asembly of the...
I guess you may keep it if you do like your own design?
Maybe the customed watch can not be sold at par value.
Thank you David!
I am assuming you are referring to the Sartory Billard rather than the Bovet?!
I was in your situation looking at a few such as..
SB, Laine, Garrick, etc. In the end, I decided to pass as I could not quite position them in my collection. It is like they are interesting, maybe good to have but I will not miss it kind of feeling. When it comes to “piece unique”, was there a commitment...
Thank you for your feedback
My Sartory Billard actually states 'piece unique' on the movement and Armand has assured me that this would be a one off. It is a lovely watch don't get me wrong but at present I have quite a few lovely watches. Armand though is a great guy and we have be...
Honestly I would keep the SB
It’s Avery lively watch and Armand is a great guy I’m not too fond of the bovet to be honest
Sham, obviously very subjective here but the SB to me is many times more appealing than the Bovet.
Don’t do anything hastily, let this sit for a few months to see how you feel. In the end you are the one wearing the watch and so you will determine what to do. Btw, you should explain to folks here what you did with the time increments on the dial. It wo...
Thanks for the wise words Jay!
I am actually quite surprised that the SB05 is that popular here. I might have to keep both the Bovet and Sartory Billard! I was given options of many types of numerals from Arabic, Roman, Breguet, Chinese and a few others and played around with the vario...
Look up “twelve earthly branches” for meaning.
Basically it’s a Chinese traditional unit of of time representing two hours. So the character at 12 which is “wu” indicates the time block from 11am-1pm and similarly for the others. That lines up with the way they have broken the outer ring into two hour...
Thank you so much for enlighting me Jay!
I had asked Armand to insert the numerals relating to PM rather than AM since I was more likely to be awake during PM!
Well, that makes perfect sense to me.
I do like how it has been executed. I guess some will argue that it only tells the time from 11am to 11pm but I could live with that criticism. As I commented to Christian below my personal feeling, and perhaps this is what you sense too, is that all of t...
I too have been brain washed!
For me, I would prefer almost any independent over a Rolex but then again I have never been a sports watch person so no Nautiluses, Aquanauts, Royal Oaks or Rolexes on my hit list. For me, the SB05 is a good watch and I like it. Do I love it? Nope. And fo...
Thank you for the suggestion my friend!
i actually have made the decision to sell it ! My small watch collection will be reduced to four watches
Beautiful pieces. Firstly the Bovet is too overdone for my taste and it would bother me. Secondly...
I would remove the SB from the plastic wrapping so I can at least see the beauty of the dial while it sits in my watch box while I decide. A plastic covering over a watch, to me, always takes away from it's design and from it's "sparkle" for lack of a bet...
Thank you for your candour!
Much appreciated and it just shows that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. The SB05 just arrived earlier today and I shall decide after the weekend whether or not to remove the watch from the plastic. If there is a 50% chance or more that I will be ke...
I would sell the Sartori Billard ...
I am generally biased to the Bovet but I prefer the newer models with the fully in-house 7 days caliber. This said the Sartori Billiard does nothing for me. Chinese numbers are not for me. In general all these micro brands, even with piece unique, do not ...
Ah! Finally a vote for the Bovet!
Thank you for your reply Chris. The newer Bovets tend to be on the larger side (42 to 43mm as opposed to 39mm) hence my preference for mine. But you are right, if in doubt sell!
I would agree in some part with this.
And it’s kinda what I speculated that Sham was feeling. My take on this is that despite SB and other peers offering good value propositions for many of us they still do not satisfy us. It may be somewhat shallow to feel this way but ultimately all of thes...
I agree..too many micro brands creating an illusion "oh look a tourbillon at only .... " dial made by...movement made by
but in the end you will never be satisfied with the second, cheaper option.
My personal feelings…
It's such a pity because you designed this SB yourself. But just the fact that you're undecided tells me that you should let this watch go. The color composition of this dial is wonderful. Yet the Chinese numbers leave me rather cold. But that's a persona...
Thomas, thank you very much for sharing your thoughts
I agree with all your points actually apart from the subjective one on the Chinese characters!
Thank you for the advice!
I have more or less decided to sell it and move on as you suggested.