Independents

Fastwong
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I feel nothing. Is it the watch or am I dead inside? 😂

I sat with this for a while because I think I should love it but seeing it brought neither excitement nor disdain, not dismissal, just nothing at all. FB center seconds and offset hour minute, GF style half plate, KV style balance bridge with integrated stud, all in titanium, it checks so many boxes. All my favorite things.

Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm tired of the hype, the growing pile of shiny polished and beveled >$100k my first watch releases from unproven makers. Maybe I just haven't adjusted to the idea that $100k is the price of entry today and I should be excited that this is an incredible value compared to FB's latest release at $400k.

And after sitting with this this is where I landed. It's a beautiful watch, great construction, but to my eye it is too much inspired by other things. The yuge gold chaton and balance bridge with natural escapement just feels too KV, the cutaway plate and subdial feels too GF S1, the long center seconds and floating chapter ring feels too FB. It pulls pieces from others without adopting their philosophies. The hidden stud in the KV bridge is an aesthetic nuance on a clean symmetrical bridge which here is betrayed by the awkward offset and screwed balance assembly. A few big gold chatons only exist on the dial side, no such chatons carried over to the movement side like a GF in adherence to tradition that they implement completely. The long seconds hand from FB is a nod to their accuracy mission and chronometry certification but no such certification or accuracy goals have been stated and the natural escapement is more an efficiency feature than an accuracy complication. It's beautiful, a great value even, but I don't see a clear philosophy behind the watch or the watch maker.

Maybe that's asking too much from a first watch..maybe $100k doesn't buy philosophy anymore, maybe this is derivative in the best way possible because it is giving GF/FB/KV vibes at a fraction of the price, maybe I'm just getting old and grumpy.