[helloimroberto]

hello everyone. I've been reading about watches non-stop for the past few weeks and came across the Stowa brand. I started out wanting a Movado Museum automatic, changed my mind after discovering the Bauhaus aesthetic and ordered a Mondaine Auto, didn't like the idea of mineral glass so cancelled the order, and now I think I'm settling on a Stowa Antea KS since my wrists are faily small at 6". I just had a few questions before I finalize my decision:

1. How does the small second hand move? I really love the "sweeping" second hand effect and would consider getting a non-date Antea just to get it. Does the small second hand "sweep"? If so, is it around 6-8 beats per second like other movements? Just curious as to how it moves.

2. What are the significant differences between a hand wound movement vs. an automatic movement besides the fact that one requires manual winding. i.e., does the hand wound suffer from lower accuracy/durability, etc.? Comments on auto vs. manual in general...

3. Is there an authorized dealer in the US - I didn't think so, but I read a thread where someone mentioned an overnight shipping special from a US AD.

4. Does the Antea KS or any other watches by Stowa have silver plated dials like Nomos?

5. I know the KS has a Peseux 7001 and the regular Antea an ETA 2824-2 movement. Can you comment on the two? Can one be called better or worse or more refined? Is there a reason why manuals seems to be more expensive? How is finishing when compared to other watches.

6. How accurate is the Antea KS and regular Antea?

7. Do you guys have any suggestions for books/websites/magazine relating to watches/horology?

8. I love the Bauhaus style - do you think its feasable to base a collection around the Bauhaus idea?

Sorry for all the questions! I'm new to the world of fine watches and am an extremely picky shopper/consumer, and being a starving college student, I would like to maximize performance/value ratio - the Stowa line seems to fit the bill. If I had my way, I would buy a Nomos, but with no income, that doesn't seem practical at the moment. I was going to make the Stowa Antea my first good Auto and later get the Nomos Tangente as my required manual piece, but I decided to switch and make the KS the manual one and the Nomos Tangomat my future auto! Anyways, let me know what you guys think. Any replies and side comments are greatly appreciated!

 

[JohnF]

Hi -

Welcome aboard.

I can't answer most of your questions, but will give you my take on 2, 5, 7 & 8.

On hand/auto: this is very technical, but you sound like you're interested. All other things being equal, a hand-wound movement should give you, for the same expenditure of money, a better movement since you aren't paying for the automatic module and the difference in money should lead to an improvement in the manual-wind, i.e. using different materials, a finer finish, etc. In the real world, there is rarely such a trade-off, and fundamentally there should be no real difference between a hand-wind and an automatic in the same price class. There is a world of difference, on the other hand, between a very high grade hand-wind and a garden-variety automatic, but there is a major price difference there as well. Hand-wind watches have their reasons: they tend to be thinner than automatics (no automatic module adding to the height!). Automatics, on the other hand (no pun intended), tend to have more stable timing charachteristics, as they keep the mainspring wound better than a hand-wind, meaning that the watch tends to stay on the better side of the power curve of the mainspring.

So, as to the Peseaux vs. 2824-2: this is a hard comparison even for the experts. The two calibres serve very different purposes, and the difference between the two is significant. The Peseaux is a very nice calibre and beautifully finished: Nomos used Peseux calibres as well before they went house-designed. The 2824-2 is a real workhorse, the culmination of decades of design work and manufacturing expertise. The version that Stowa uses has a high degree of finish and material: it is an extremely solid perfomer.

As to more expensive: by making a hand-wind, a watch designer can concentrate on doing the basics as well as possible. An automatic designer has to do the automatic module as well, reducing the time they can spend on perfecting the core calibre.

As to resources: obviously you've found one of the best places on the web.

Unfortunately, all of my other resources are in German. But I think the best way to learn about watches is to see if there is a local watchmaker who offers a watch course or two, basically taking apart a watch and putting back together so that you have someone looking over your shoulder when you learn by doing. Been a great help for me...

And building a collection around the Bauhaus design? Fantastic idea: choosing a style makes collecting more focussed and concentrated. You'll quickly find that you can't be an expert on everything, and concentrating on one type allows you to focus.

And what you may want to look at are the vintage Bauhaus that Stowa made and the development of that design style over time. Takes significant research, but well worth it.

But then again, I've got three of the vintage Stowas...

I'm sure that others here will be able to help you with the other questions, hope that this gave you some insight...

JohnF

 

[JohnF]

PS -

What are you studying? Anything that can be related to watches?

 

[quoll]

...But then again, I've got three of the vintage Stowas...

JohnF

I didn't know that, John. Go on then, show and tell...with pics of course.

 

[quoll]

Let's see if I can help - I'm sure others will too.

1. It sweeps. The Peseux is 21600 bph and the ETA 28800 bph, so the Peseux has fewer 'ticks per second' so the sweep will be less 'smooth'. You will not notice the difference on a small-second dial though.

2. Refer to John's reply.

3. I don't think so, but service and delivery from Stowa direct is great.

4. I think that no current models have silver dials. I believe the Icarus was silver?

5. Both good solid reliable movements rather than the very finest. The decoration on the Peseux is much nicer than the ETA.

6. You should get within 10 secs a day with either of them. My Stowa ETAs run within 5 secs.

7. & 8. I agree with John.

Just my opinion, but the KS is closer to the original than the Automatic. (I have the Auto). The main decision for many will be size - there is 5 mm difference in the diameters.

 

[helloimroberto]

Thank you both for your thorough replies! I think I'm going to go with the Antea KS. I read another post about the size of the Antea vs. KS and it seems like the KS would be the perfect fit, plus I think I like it better anyways! I think I'll send an e-mail to Jorg after Christmas - I'd like to purchase without VAT. I've been reading that US customs is only 4% if that, and others paid nothing at all.

Oh, in response to your question JohnF, I'm studying Molecular and Cell Biology (emphasis on infectious diseases) at UC Berkeley, and hopefully afterwards I'll get into medical school. Not much to do with watches, but if I do attend medical school, I'll probably be looking at my watch all the time wondering when it will all be over!

 

[JohnF]

Hi -

Will do so tomorrow. It's late here and time for me to get a decent night's rest!

Merry Christmas!

JohnF

 

[erasuretim]

Hi Helloimroberto,

I too have just started to appreciate bauhaus style watches, but i am limiting my collecting to contemporary vintage pieces. These are still available on ebay for comparative peanuts compared to a Nomos hommage. For instance i picked up this original 1940's example with mint dial, blued hands, fixed strap bars etc for about £50 .

Regards

Erasuretim

 

[Paulo]

You've got great answers, I'd like to add just a small clarificacion about the sweep of the Peseux.

As said the Peseux beats at 21,600 bph (or 3 Hz) and the 2824 at 28,800 (or 4 Hz), so the sweep of the Peseux should look more jumpy.
Actually it's the other way around because the small seconds hand is much shorter than the central seconds (around 1/3) and you notice the "jumps" by spoting the "linear" movement of the hands, which will have a much smaller amplitude (4/9 of the central hand jump amplitude to be precise).

 

[Schmiedel]

I believe that the seconds hand is too small to notice that it is more jumpy.

 

[Schmiedel]

From the description of the Antea KS on the Stowa On-Line Shop.

The silverplated dial is in a nice contrast with the perfect blued steel hands!

 

[JohnF]

Hi -

That's a very nice vintage Nivrel indeed! Please do make sure that you take it to a qualified watchmaker to have it checked on if you do not know its servicing history (this is the standard recommendation we make over at the vintage forum, where I am one of the moderators.

And you're right: vintage watches are an excellent way of getting to know watches without spending a huge amount of money. But servicing is an important aspect and you need to budget that... that's the downside.

But the upside is that you get fantastic watches for little money and can explore what is right for you. That Nivrel has perfect baton hands - note the exact length of the minute hand and that the seconds hand is right out to the subdivisions - and the dial is in beautiful shape.

Enjoy that one!

JohnF

 

[helloimroberto]

That's a great looking watch! Getting into vintage watches seems like a great idea, but the only problem is that I don't know a lot about vintage watches. :-s What should you search for in eBay or other websites? Are there any particular websites you can reccommend for getting into vintage (besides this great resource!)? Thanks!