What do you get when you combine an Overseas dial, Royal Oak lugs, and a Rolex bezel?
The new Wempe Iron Walker Chronograph, 10 years in the making, with an ETA movement. I find it good looking and wholly derivative. My wife thinks Wempe has adopted the Michael Kors business model. Park ...
Not quite what they hoped
Here's what they had in mind: Photo credit: Getty Images. ...
I get the chills . . .
. . . just viewing that photo. Those guys had iron in their guts to do their job without safety equipment. Art
I just visited an apartment on the 50th floor and couldn't imagine living there after standing on the terrace.
These guys working on girders with nothing between them and a long fall blow my mind.
I think when we have to use 3 or more separate sources to describe a design's derivation,
Then we must admit that the design possesses at least a modicum of its own character apart from being merely derivative. However, that appears to be much more true of the Chopard Alpine Eagle than this Iron Walker.
Having three or more sources shows neither originality nor a character of it's own
I'd find it derivative if a watch brand were to adopt the entirely plagiarized slogan: "To break the rules you must first master them so as to create one of not many and provide a crown for every achievement." Credits: Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin...
Okay, but " To break a rule, you must first create one for the next generation"
Would be...unique! We could call the brand Au-L-Guet
I like it very much . I think of it as similar to the ingenieur as well.
I think the time only model is nicely thin and the diver is special too.
Yes
I like them, too, as they've used lots of my favorite design cues. They seem to have done a fine job of mixing and matching. It's just that innovation requires more. Park
Have you seen the other models?
The others are quite nice actually (from Monochrome): monochrome-watches.com / ...
The middle diver
Inner bezel very similar to the most recent IWC Aquatimers, the metal between the crowns are reminiscent of Enicar. Derivative, yes... but at least they are deriving their pieces from nice looking watches.
....and an IWC Ingenieur bracelet
Not bad, though. At least Wempe could be bothered with a dial color matched date wheel unlike the massively more expensive VC overseas.
Looks like the bastard offspring of the Ingenieur and the Overseas.
Does that make it the "Ingeseas?" Or perhaps the "Overnieur." Frankly, either might be better than "Iron Walker." I have to say, my appreciation for the Alpine Eagle grows when I look at this. Can we tell somebody's in a grouchy mood? 🤨
Not sure what to think of this
Basically looks like a mash up of parts from other more iconic watches and lack any identity of its own.