Horological Meandering

Hi, I wanted to ask the forum why there are no simple, time only, arabic number or plain marker, manual wind, stainless steel watches with display case backs being made today in the 37-40 mm size? It appears that manual wind watches being made today utili... 

. . . that fills all your requirements, Bob . . . . . . including list price limitations. Unfortunately, I don't have any caseback photos to share, but a Google search for "Eterna Madison Spherodrive" will bring up a series of photos on a French website. ...  

Art, Thanks much for suggesting the Eterna. I had looked at the Eterna Madison Three Hands in my search. While it is a less sophisticated movement, I prefer having the seconds marked in the chapter ring. What I found a bit unsettling is that there are onl... 

. . . in the way of points-of-sale, but that's three more than there were two years ago ;-) . . .

and it is at 40mm... J

Art, This is regular madison without the cool movement feature. Bob...  

. . . ball bearings in the winding stem like the Spherodrive. I'd love to hear from an owner about these Eternas . . .

There are several Reversos that are smaller, and the new Master Ultra Thin Moonphase is gorgeous and 39mm. For independents you might give a look at Henschel. They make some very nice looking traditional hand wound watches. I've never seen one in person, ... 

I considered the Orea but I am looking for either arabic numbers or plain markers. I am not interested in roman numerals for this one.

Thank you for the suggestions. I will check out Hentschel, I had not heard of them. The new JLC is lovely, but I do not think I want a second lunar watch (I have a GO PML). Since I will only wear the manual wind now and then, I do not want any calendar or... 

Bob, The Nomos Club manual winders are at 36 mm, which is below your stated size preference, but there is also the newer Zurich line, at 39.7 mm, using the same Alpha manual movement. JLC's Master Grand Ultra Thin at 40 mm and with a display back might al... 

Nomos have very thin bezels so the dial is relatively large compared to other watches which gives an impression of size, and so on the wrist they look larger than they actually are. This also means you don't have half a ton of metal protruding from your w... 

Tom, I really like the Nomos Zurich, but it is made with their automatic Epsilon and Zeta movements as far as I can tell. Where did you see a version made with an alpha? Regarding their size wearing larger, I agree. I own a Stowa Antea which is 36.5 mm an... 

...my mistake. I thought they also came with the manual movement, but I see from the Nomos site that they are automatic only. Regarding Grand Seiko manuals, the limited edition SBGW003 model (quite beautiful - see Steve G's launchpad) comes with a display... 

I thought that it might be helpful for those of you trying to assist me to know what I have in my collection. Here are my automatic watches.... Bob...  

Interesting question. There are some discontinued options that would be terrific if you could find them such as a Blancpain 7002, a Blancpain 1106, a Minerva Pythagore, Union Glashutte Bergter, Nimes Pharro, , Dornblueth 04.0. Not exactly what you are ask... 

I really like the BP 7002. It is only 26 mm but it might do. The BP 1106 has a solid case back unfortunately. The Union Glashette doesn't do much for me. I do like the Limes Pharo, but know nothing regarding their quality. Thanks again for the suggestions... 

This doesn't really address the question as the quality isn't the same, but it gives an idea. 7002 versus Limes...  

Thanks for the photos...The Limes Pharo is a $1,500 watch which is difficult to compare to a Blancpain. I was really asking in relative terms to other known brands.

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Have a look at the Longines Silver Arrow. Its not a manually wound watch but its a nice plain watch. Regards, Boki

The Du Bois & Fils Record 662 in 38 mm. www.dubois.de

I had not heard of these. How would you compare their cost and quality to a more known manufacturer?

I've had a couple Minervas that qualify too, but can't find the pics Mike Definitely manual wind, display back OREA This message has been edited by cazalea on 2011-01-19 16:29:00...  

God I love your Seiko but it's easier to find a Blancpain 7002 than on of those.

As I am sure that you know, the Seiko SGBW003 is extremely difficult to find on the used market. I actually prefer the dial of the SBGW001 and its larger size (37.4 mm), but long for the display caseback of the SBGW003. The Blancpain Villeret 7002 has def... 

Somehow this fell under my radar. It is 40 mm x 7.7 mm and is built around a modified Marvin 700 turned into a Chronoswiss Caliber C. 111. Thoughts? I have no experience with the brands quality. There are two ADs within driving range.

Hi Again, Here are three candidates that are between 37.4 to 41.8 mm in diameter. They are all similarly priced between $3,500 to $4,500 range. The Chronoswiss has a modified Marvin 700 caliber (sort of in-house at this point), the Grand Seiko has an inho...  

The renewed Elite Ultra Thin houses cal. 681 and is encased in 40 mm. Small second on 9, no date. With a little bit of luck, you can still find the discontinued Elite 37 mm, with date on 3, in a trapezoidal window, handwound version in case of 7mm (48 g i... 

I've owned two Zenith Elite 680s from the late '90s (one of which I still have), and they are wonderful watches (36mm case) with really thin and well finished in-house automatic movements. There was also a handwind version of that movement (I forget the c...