[blue_quartz]

I have a white Nomos Tetra currently and am looking to "complete" it by getting a mechanical chronograph that will have two opposite characteristics of my Nomos: a round black dial.

Models such as Bell & Ross BR-126 and IWC Portofino range are sadly triple my budget, so I hunted a bit more and arrived at either the Stowa's Chronograph 1938, the Archimede Klassik Chronograph or the Archimede Pilot Chronograph.

Stowa Chronograph 1938:
Likes: design (++); if it was the price range of the Archimede pair (or say "just" a 20% premium) I wouldn't even need to post this
Dislikes: more expensive than the Archimede pair

Archimede Klassik Chronograph:
Likes: will be the cheapest option
Dislikes: design is the most "cluttered" of three

Archimede Pilot Chronograph:
Likes: the black PVD case option
Dislikes: design (again, looks like I'm already prejudiced against Archimede :think

With the points above in mind, I have a couple more questions for these watches:
1) Build quality, a tie between these two brands?

2) Is Stowa perceived to have a stronger brand recognition? I'm no stranger to indie brands since my Nomos, but at the back of my head, I will be a little inclined to the brand that may become more prominent after a period of time. In other words, would you rather keep a Stowa or Archimede down the road?

3) Is the 7753 in the Stowa that much better than the 7750 in the Archimede pair, or am I just splitting hairs at this point?

4) I have pretty slim wrist for guy, measuring only 16.5 cm/6.5". I read that the lug-to-lug size for the Stowa is 50 mm, and my guess is the Archimede pair will be equally large too as they roughly have the same diameter (41 mm vs 42 mm). Will these watches be too large to even fit nicely on my wrist?

The reason why I'm posting this in the German watch forum is that I already have a Nomos, and my selection happen to be German watches too. If there are other brands that you think I ought to seriously consider besides Stowa and Archimede, please do suggest them too. ;-)

Thanks a lot!

 

[Kilovolt]

I don't have a Stowa or an Archimede so I can't comment but I am very happy with my black Steinhart Nav B II

 

[rationaltime]

Hello,

The 7753 and 7750 movements are based on the same design with a
function difference. Slight quality differences are based on the grade.

Stowa has a strong following here, but we think Archimede is fine.
You can resolve prejudice for yourself.

While I understand large watches are in style in Singapore, in my opinion
the Steinhart chrono is too big for your wrist. You can try it and decide
for yourself.

You are but one MRT from Gnomon Watches. They sell Archimede,
Damasko, Laco, O&W, and Steinhart. Most of us do not have the
opportunity to see all these watches. You should go do the recon
and report back to us what you find.

I suggest you study the Damasko DC56 black. I think that is the watch
you are asking for, but you have to satisfy your own taste. I think I
would like it even better with a yellow or red center second hand. If
you are not in a hurry you may be able to order that.

-----
Gnomon Watches
100 Beach Road,
Shaw Towers, #01-06
Singapore 189702

Tel: +65 63966920
Fax: +65 63966921

Operating Hours:
Mon-Fri: 11.30am to 7pm
Sat: 12.30pm to 6pm
Closed on Sunday and Public Holidays
-----


Thanks,
rationaltime

 

[george88]

As Robert L. Frazier would say" .. We know the truth is that a lot of things are done by machines in industrial, mass production, settings, but some of them, to some extent, are still trying to realize some of these craft values in their production.
IMHO Stowa has something like honesty in craft. This is difficult to characterize, but, in this case, it has something to do with an complete expression of the watchmaker's craft. This doesn't require anything to be tarted-up, but does require attention to detail.
Archimede and Steinhart are probably just about as good mechanically. But, they don't reflect much of the honesty of craft that I want.
Stowa and Nomos that you have, incorporate the attention to detail that reflects the craft values of watchmaking. others treat it as an industrial exercise")))d

 

[blue_quartz]

I don't have a Stowa or an Archimede so I can't comment but I am very happy with my black Steinhart Nav B II

Unfortunately that's a bit big... I think 42 mm is already stretching the limits.

 

[blue_quartz]

Hello,

The 7753 and 7750 movements are based on the same design with a
function difference. Slight quality differences are based on the grade.

Stowa has a strong following here, but we think Archimede is fine.
You can resolve prejudice for yourself.

While I understand large watches are in style in Singapore, in my opinion
the Steinhart chrono is too big for your wrist. You can try it and decide
for yourself.

You are but one MRT from Gnomon Watches. They sell Archimede,
Damasko, Laco, O&W, and Steinhart. Most of us do not have the
opportunity to see all these watches. You should go do the recon
and report back to us what you find.

I suggest you study the Damasko DC56 black. I think that is the watch
you are asking for, but you have to satisfy your own taste. I think I
would like it even better with a yellow or red center second hand. If
you are not in a hurry you may be able to order that.

-----
Gnomon Watches
100 Beach Road,
Shaw Towers, #01-06
Singapore 189702

Tel: +65 63966920
Fax: +65 63966921

Operating Hours:
Mon-Fri: 11.30am to 7pm
Sat: 12.30pm to 6pm
Closed on Sunday and Public Holidays
-----

Thanks,
rationaltime

This is an excellent suggestion! Now I know where to head to this weekend.

 

[blue_quartz]

As Robert L. Frazier would say" .. We know the truth is that a lot of things are done by machines in industrial, mass production, settings, but some of them, to some extent, are still trying to realize some of these craft values in their production.
IMHO Stowa has something like honesty in craft. This is difficult to characterize, but, in this case, it has something to do with an complete expression of the watchmaker's craft. This doesn't require anything to be tarted-up, but does require attention to detail.
Archimede and Steinhart are probably just about as good mechanically. But, they don't reflect much of the honesty of craft that I want.
Stowa and Nomos that you have, incorporate the attention to detail that reflects the craft values of watchmaking. others treat it as an industrial exercise")))d

That's partly what I hope to look for too.

 

[usc1]

I have a white Nomos Tetra currently and am looking to "complete" it by getting a mechanical chronograph that will have two opposite characteristics of my Nomos: a round black dial.

Models such as Bell & Ross BR-126 and IWC Portofino range are sadly triple my budget, so I hunted a bit more and arrived at either the Stowa's Chronograph 1938, the Archimede Klassik Chronograph or the Archimede Pilot Chronograph.

Stowa Chronograph 1938:
Likes: design (++); if it was the price range of the Archimede pair (or say "just" a 20% premium) I wouldn't even need to post this
Dislikes: more expensive than the Archimede pair

Archimede Klassik Chronograph:
Likes: will be the cheapest option
Dislikes: design is the most "cluttered" of three

Archimede Pilot Chronograph:
Likes: the black PVD case option
Dislikes: design (again, looks like I'm already prejudiced against Archimede :think

With the points above in mind, I have a couple more questions for these watches:
1) Build quality, a tie between these two brands?

2) Is Stowa perceived to have a stronger brand recognition? I'm no stranger to indie brands since my Nomos, but at the back of my head, I will be a little inclined to the brand that may become more prominent after a period of time. In other words, would you rather keep a Stowa or Archimede down the road?

3) Is the 7753 in the Stowa that much better than the 7750 in the Archimede pair, or am I just splitting hairs at this point?

4) I have pretty slim wrist for guy, measuring only 16.5 cm/6.5". I read that the lug-to-lug size for the Stowa is 50 mm, and my guess is the Archimede pair will be equally large too as they roughly have the same diameter (41 mm vs 42 mm). Will these watches be too large to even fit nicely on my wrist?

The reason why I'm posting this in the German watch forum is that I already have a Nomos, and my selection happen to be German watches too. If there are other brands that you think I ought to seriously consider besides Stowa and Archimede, please do suggest them too. ;-)

Thanks a lot!

Having had a Archimede Pilot and a Stowa MO, I would say slight price difference is worth it. The Ickler casing is really nice but the dial and three hands do not match up with Stowa. Also, the movement on the Stowa usually includes a nicer finished movement although I am not sure if the grades are equal?

I would pick the watch with the dial design you prefer more though. The pricing is not different enough in my opinion.

 

[Fantasio]

Re: Deciding between a black chronograph...

How about Sinn 103 or 756? And earlier suggested Damasko DC56 would be a great choice too. |>

 

[blue_quartz]

Re: Deciding between a black chronograph...

Having had a Archimede Pilot and a Stowa MO, I would say slight price difference is worth it. The Ickler casing is really nice but the dial and three hands do not match up with Stowa. Also, the movement on the Stowa usually includes a nicer finished movement although I am not sure if the grades are equal?

I would pick the watch with the dial design you prefer more though. The pricing is not different enough in my opinion.

How about Sinn 103 or 756? And earlier suggested Damasko DC56 would be a great choice too. |>

After more research, I realised what I had in mind are the (popular? vintage-popular?) Flieger or Type 20/21 chronographs... pretty fascinating design history!

So after links such as this, this and this, I am impressed with more options.

Updating my criteria as such... (from most important to least)

1) Budget: US$1600 is still ok, I'll need really convincing reasons if it goes more than US$1900
2) Bi-compax layout, I'm only making an exception for the Damasko DC56 because of the perceived technological prowess within (sadly, this means Archimede gets the boot now)
3) Cleaner design, starting with lesser numbers, lesser minute/second marks etc.
4) Size (42 mm is good, 40 mm is better, and will prefer a slimmer one too)
5) "Future" brand perception aka "would you keep a ____ down the road" question

Contenders (in order):
Stowa Chronograph 1938
Ollech & Wajs Flieger Chronograph
Damasko DC56 Black

Possible contenders:
Junkers 6110-2/6524-2/6216-2: they will fit my budget easily, and they're running off the Poljot 3133. Hence I'm putting them separately from the contenders above... if they are worth their merits I may just go for one of these too.

Honorary mentions (they are nice, just that little bit over the highest-end of my budget for me to say "I have to draw the line somewhere"):
Tutima Classic Flieger Chronograph
Hanhart Fliegerchronograph 1939

Am looking forward to the weekend so that I can drop by my local shops for my dosage of some of these watches. ;-)

 

[blue_quartz]

Re: Deciding between a black chronograph...

Thought I'll bring some closure to this thread...

The Damasko DC56 still looked a bit cluttered in real life, although it does look ok on the larger DC66. So I'm forgoing the DC56...

Ollech & Wajs have limited production, and I wasn't able to see one for myself. This can either mean two things... (I'll let you people draw your own conclusions)

Had the time to play with the Junkers 6110-2, and am quite impressed with it. However, the price at the local shop is considerably expensive than ordering online, and besides that piece's chrono wasn't working correctly. So my attention that day turned into buying my Fathers' Day gift for my father.

Anyways, I decided to save more for the Stowa in the end, and I'm even open to considering the Flieger Chrono (it currently leads by a bit too). All is good, I guess!

 

[marzen]

Re: Deciding between a black chronograph...

I had a pleasure of seeing Stowa Flieger Chrono in person. I am a fan.

 

[eliz]

Re: Deciding between a black chronograph...

i'm 100% sure you won't be disappointed with your choice.

 

[shanesyd]

Re: Deciding between a black chronograph...

Bit late for this thread BFWIW my vote goes to the Stowa. I do agree with eliz that whatever you choose you won't be disappointed. Let us know the outcome.