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Last night while cooking dinner, I snapped some comparison shots of two of my latest arrivals. A B-42 Cosmo GMT and a Stowa Prodiver. I took these shots to tease and tempt our friendly moderator cuckoo4watches (a very appropriate name BTW :-d).
My first impression of the GMT is Wow! The clarity of the AR coated crystal is astounding. It looks as though the watch was delivered without a crystal. Combine this clarity with a dial layout that is absolutely intuitive, easy to read, and uncluttered, and you have one of the best "at a glance" watches out there. Telling time on this watch is instantaneous. The size of the arabic numbers is perfect, with just enough space between numbers, and a clear font that is not too stylized. I much prefer this arabic size to the "oversize" numbers on the Marine Master, but thats just my personal preference. I also like that all numbers are denoted (except 12), again adding to the readability.
The simple shape of the hands is quite simply "perfect". Nothing fancy, just functional and the right length.
The GMT function is also unique for me as the chapter ring that denotes the 24hr scale is colour coded, divided into black for night and grey for daylight hours. This is something I didn't notice on the web pics, but is helpful. Another feature that I haven't had on other 24hr watches, is that the position of the GMT hand at 24:00 (midnight) is at the 6:00 position, not 12:00 as on many other GMT watches. The bi-directional bezel acts as a third timezone and can be adjusted to any position, in either direction. The arrow head of the GMT hand is just right, not too big, not too small, and the "shaft" is nearly invisible. It almost looks like the arrow head is floating around the dial. Very cool design, and exactly right IMHO.
The nicely oversized crown is a push-pull affair. At first I though I'd prefer a screw down crown, but after the ease of use of a push-pull, it is a nice break from the constant screwing and unscrewing of other crowns. If the push-pull can maintain a 20ATM rating, I have no complaints.
What can I say about the bezel? The edges protrude slightly from the case making the serrations easy to grip and turn. The 60 clicks have just the right tension and snap, with zero play. The bezel insert is matte black to perfectly match the dial. Again the arabic numbers are just the right size and font to be clear without being busy.
The bracelet is nice, chunky and uses a unique link design that requires the removal of two screws to seperate a link. This adds a measure of security as you have to lose two screws before your watch launches itself into orbit. The clasp is typical swiss, and that is not a compliment. It is basic and simple and feels a bit tinny IMHO. I wish the Swiss would take some hints from the Japanese brands like Seiko and Citizen and advance their clasp technology into this century. I'm quite disappointed with the divers extension and flip-lock, it is a thin stamped sheet metal design with sharp edges. Not worthy of this price point.
Since I'm pointing out some deficiencies, here come a few more. The lume is just OK. The hands glow well, but have that "soft edge" where the lume is thin and more transparent. The hands don't have that crisp edge when charged. The dial numbers and corresponding markers are lumed, but much weaker than the hands, and very thin. They exhibit that mottled texture of thin lume, and fade reletively quickly. Again, not worthy of the price point.
The bezel detents are a bit of an oversight for this GMT design. The bezel which is used for a thrid timezone, will only line up with even hours on the 24hr scale. For uneven hours, the bezel lines up either slightly before or after the hour. This bezel should have either 48 clicks or 96 clicks since this watch was designed for travel and GMT function, not diving.
I would have preferred a 22mm bracelet on a 44mm watch. 20mm seems a bit narrow. Th ebracelet looks fine in proportion, but a 20mm leather looks undersized for the diameter of the face.
My last gripe is very minor, but I feel that the day-glo orange used on the GMT hand and second hand is too bright. A slightly subtler orange woul dhave been just as effective without being as garish in sunlight. I also think the orange arrow beside the date window should have been white. It draws too much attention in orange for no functional reason.
In conclusion, I'm really pleased with this watch, and the positives far outweigh the negatives. It is not perfect, but it is close. I expect to be keeping this watch for a long time. It has classic good looks and a contemporary large size. Well done Fortis!
Enjoy some pics...
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My first impression of the GMT is Wow! The clarity of the AR coated crystal is astounding. It looks as though the watch was delivered without a crystal. Combine this clarity with a dial layout that is absolutely intuitive, easy to read, and uncluttered, and you have one of the best "at a glance" watches out there. Telling time on this watch is instantaneous. The size of the arabic numbers is perfect, with just enough space between numbers, and a clear font that is not too stylized. I much prefer this arabic size to the "oversize" numbers on the Marine Master, but thats just my personal preference. I also like that all numbers are denoted (except 12), again adding to the readability.
The simple shape of the hands is quite simply "perfect". Nothing fancy, just functional and the right length.
The GMT function is also unique for me as the chapter ring that denotes the 24hr scale is colour coded, divided into black for night and grey for daylight hours. This is something I didn't notice on the web pics, but is helpful. Another feature that I haven't had on other 24hr watches, is that the position of the GMT hand at 24:00 (midnight) is at the 6:00 position, not 12:00 as on many other GMT watches. The bi-directional bezel acts as a third timezone and can be adjusted to any position, in either direction. The arrow head of the GMT hand is just right, not too big, not too small, and the "shaft" is nearly invisible. It almost looks like the arrow head is floating around the dial. Very cool design, and exactly right IMHO.
The nicely oversized crown is a push-pull affair. At first I though I'd prefer a screw down crown, but after the ease of use of a push-pull, it is a nice break from the constant screwing and unscrewing of other crowns. If the push-pull can maintain a 20ATM rating, I have no complaints.
What can I say about the bezel? The edges protrude slightly from the case making the serrations easy to grip and turn. The 60 clicks have just the right tension and snap, with zero play. The bezel insert is matte black to perfectly match the dial. Again the arabic numbers are just the right size and font to be clear without being busy.
The bracelet is nice, chunky and uses a unique link design that requires the removal of two screws to seperate a link. This adds a measure of security as you have to lose two screws before your watch launches itself into orbit. The clasp is typical swiss, and that is not a compliment. It is basic and simple and feels a bit tinny IMHO. I wish the Swiss would take some hints from the Japanese brands like Seiko and Citizen and advance their clasp technology into this century. I'm quite disappointed with the divers extension and flip-lock, it is a thin stamped sheet metal design with sharp edges. Not worthy of this price point.
Since I'm pointing out some deficiencies, here come a few more. The lume is just OK. The hands glow well, but have that "soft edge" where the lume is thin and more transparent. The hands don't have that crisp edge when charged. The dial numbers and corresponding markers are lumed, but much weaker than the hands, and very thin. They exhibit that mottled texture of thin lume, and fade reletively quickly. Again, not worthy of the price point.
The bezel detents are a bit of an oversight for this GMT design. The bezel which is used for a thrid timezone, will only line up with even hours on the 24hr scale. For uneven hours, the bezel lines up either slightly before or after the hour. This bezel should have either 48 clicks or 96 clicks since this watch was designed for travel and GMT function, not diving.
I would have preferred a 22mm bracelet on a 44mm watch. 20mm seems a bit narrow. Th ebracelet looks fine in proportion, but a 20mm leather looks undersized for the diameter of the face.
My last gripe is very minor, but I feel that the day-glo orange used on the GMT hand and second hand is too bright. A slightly subtler orange woul dhave been just as effective without being as garish in sunlight. I also think the orange arrow beside the date window should have been white. It draws too much attention in orange for no functional reason.
In conclusion, I'm really pleased with this watch, and the positives far outweigh the negatives. It is not perfect, but it is close. I expect to be keeping this watch for a long time. It has classic good looks and a contemporary large size. Well done Fortis!
Enjoy some pics...
