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Watch Snob Talks Birth, Death and Quartz

High-End Quartz Watches

Thank you for your continuous effort to educate watch lovers of the world. I think, being able to hear your perspective brings a lot of value, saving us from regretful decisions and orienting towards more mature choices.

My current question is about high end quartz watches. Over time I have overcome the inner resistance to the quartz technology and am now able to appreciate its practicality and ease. I am considering three options for my everyday watch and I would appreciate your input.

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First, it is Grand Seiko SBGV245. I like its casework, its lines and geometry. It reminds me of the Royal Oak in that it combines a refined elegance with a dose of sporty self-assuredness. The only apparent drawback is the fabric strap, which I believe could have been better executed in metal or rubber.

Second, another Grand Seiko —the SBGN005. I like that it comes on a well made bracelet, and I like the Explorer II style. The drawback is that I don't really need the GMT function and I would prefer to keep the watch as simple as possible, without the distraction of an unused functionality.

Last, I also consider one of Cartier's old Chronoflex models. I like the value proposition of it - the price, the original design, the perpetual calendar function. A Tank Francaise in steel seems like a pretty versatile model for all life situations.

These are all interesting watches, in somewhat different ways. The simplicity and austerity of the SBGV245 is beautifully offset by the rather luxurious quality of the finish of the case, dial, hands and so on. In this wedding of great restraint and great craft, it is perhaps one of the most purely Japanese of Grand Seiko watches — in some ways even more than the rightly admired and very admirable Spring Drive Snowflake.

The GMT-equipped SBGN005 is actually a quite different watch — while it certainly has all the quality of execution that one expects from Grand Seiko, it is also more conventional and if you really don’t yearn for the GMT function (which is a handy thing to have if you travel enough to benefit from one) I think that for your purposes the SBGV245 is the better watch, at least if you are evaluating the pros and cons of Grand Seiko quartz watches.

As far as the Chronoflex goes, I consider myself a rather broad-minded fellow when it comes to quartz — an absolute advocate if done nicely — but in this case, I would say that the Chronoflex is a less successful watch than either of the Grand Seikos. The Tank is like a very high quality whisky in that it is best taken neat and suffers increasing degradation in quality, the more you add to it. A quartz Tank can be a fine thing, but the Chronoflex has a fussy, cramped quality which is off-putting, at least to me.

A Watch to Pass On

I've long enjoyed your commentary and opinions on all things horological, and would appreciate your thoughts on an upcoming purchase.

As a new father approaching a milestone birthday, I've been looking to add a classic, relatively understated timepiece to my collection that has some intrinsic value beyond the sentimental —something that could be passed down to, and hopefully appreciated by my son. I've settled on two models by Jaeger LeCoultre that fit the bill, though in different ways: the Reverso Classic Medium Thin and the Master Control Ultra Thin Moon.

Why these two? In some way they each possess a bit of what one might call whimsy; the Reverso by virtue of the slide-and-reverse case mechanism and art-deco styling, and the moon phase dial, instant change date, and — to be honest — visible and nicely finished movement of the Master Control.

Having written that, it would seem the appeal of one is in the outward design, including minimal simplicity paired with a novel case, whereas the appeal of the other springs from the movement inside. I suspect you might recommend the Master Control because of this, but I would be curious to know if there are any other features of the Reverso (other than a lower price) that might cause you to recommend it instead?

The subject of the term, “ultra-thin” and Jaeger-LeCoultre, is an especially sore point for me. I have always found, over the decades, much to admire about the Grand Maison, but I do not think I have ever really forgiven them for discontinuing the Master Ultra Thin, which actually had a real ultra-thin movement in it, and which was shockingly affordable in steel. The Master Control Ultra Thin watches can be quite lovely but they do not use a true ultra-thin movement. The JLC 925/1 is a wonderful movement in many ways, and it is certainly a flat movement — with a date, it comes in at 3.30mm vs. 3.05mm for the AP caliber 2121 (these are the dimensions, in both cases, for the movement with a date display added) but it is not in my view really an ultra-thin movement.

This whole business is even more upsetting inasmuch as Jaeger-LeCoultre historically has been one of the most important makers of ultra-thin movements — their “knife” pocket watch movements from the 1920s are legendary — and they certainly have the history and the technical capacity to make a true ultra-thin movement if they wanted to. Here is where it is possible, if you are a suspicious person, to wonder whether there has not been some nefarious behind-the-scenes shenanigans at the Richemont Group, to make ultra-thin watches exclusive to the brand identity of Piaget and thereby deprive JLC of a part of its birthright.

Anyhow, this all may be a personal problem of mine, but I would still do the Reverso. It has a rather specific kind of charm but to me, its handsome elegance is as smooth and refined as Fred Astaire in a tailcoat, and I don’t think you would ever regret allowing it to cast its spell over yourself and, in the fullness of time, your son.

A Watch to Remember Him By

I greatly enjoy your recommendations (“if you want to be mistaken for a billionaire in a strip joint from 5m” was particularly inspired, I thought) but today I write to you on a matter of some gravitas.

My father recently passed away after a short illness after a good innings. He was a good man in many ways and I would like to buy a watch to remember him by.

I've narrowed it down to either a Zenith 146 Heritage in blue, or a Glashutte Original Senator sixties (no date) also in blue.

Both, I think, are nice watches with a classic and elegant way about them and suit the occasion and memory. I'm leaning towards the Zenith but would appreciate your opinion.

Well, first of all my condolences sir, although at the same time I think you have expressed a kernel of important wisdom in your missive. After all we are all gathered up unto eternity sooner or later and if your father was the sort of gent who inspired in you and yours the desire to remember his legacy even as you mourn his passing, why, what more can one ask of life. All passes: fame, wealth, all; but to leave behind kind memories, even if they are themselves doomed to be no more one day, is the noblest of all things to bequeath to one’s descendants.

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That said, I think the Zenith 146 is the more interesting watch. This will not I hope be taken as a slight to the GO. They are a fine and worth company which is for various reasons (perhaps the Byzantine internal politics of the Swatch Group which in their intricacies would have done credit to the Renaissance nobles of Florence) not sufficiently appreciated on their merits. And, I will say, I like the Sixties series in general; they were refreshingly different when they first appeared and continue to be both a great example of classic watchmaking, as well as offering a light-hearted yet elegant design.

But the Zenith I feel, has, to borrow your term, more gravitas. You would know best of course which one is more, shall we say, congruent with your recollections of your late father’s character but as a touchstone for such recollections the Zenith feels a bit more enduring in nature.

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Watch Snob, Khareem Sudlow