The new Hamilton Sunset watch is worn in the movie I Am Legend, by Will Smith’s character, and follows in Hamilton’s trend of complicated looking chunky watches with lots of functional wrist instrument style. Some of the other watches in this vein are the Hamilton X-Wind and Frogman. The Twilight differs with the Sunset in that it displays twilight info rather than sunset info.
The Hamilton Sunset and Twilight are very cool looking watches with their new Crown Protection system, which looks really cool. I’m unfamiliar as to how it actually works, but it is in several of the new Action series of watches from Hamilton. They are really starting to impress me with their innovative looks and selection of Automatic watches. Here are the specs on this bad boy:
Diameter: 44mm
Water Resistance: 200m
Sapphire Crystal
Movement: ETA 2893
Complications: GMT Hand
Sunset: Sunset times on the 15th of the month for 6 world cities - London, Gander, Los Angeles, Nadi, Manila and Muscat (Why these 6 cities I have no clue.. Muscat? Perhaps the watch is popular in Oman.)
Twilight: Twilight end and start for New York City on the 1st, 11th, and 21st of the month.
I’ve launched my new Omega and Rolex watch information site. It’s pretty sparse right now, but I think its time to announce the site on here. It will focus mainly on more recent models of the watches, but will have some vintage stuff, similar to the Breitling Source site. At the moment, I don’t plan to have forums attached to the website, however this may change in the future. In the works is also a Panerai information site that will attempt to provide Panerai watch models and information in a easy-to-use format as well.
The Omega Rolex site may have some errors but hopefully they will be fixed. Check out the site here: http://www.omegarolex.com
You guys are lucky today.. you get 3 new posts. I haven’t had the time to make a bunch of posts, but had a few ideas started so completed them today, and also decided to post up a Breitling watch video review for you guys too. Check it out and enjoy!
Breitling B-2 Automatic watch.. now discontinued, but still a fantastic watch, great size, and lots of complicated looking things on the dial give it a wrist instrument look that appeals to pilots and professionals.
Faced with the decision of whether to purchase the Omega Seamaster Chrono Diver or the standard Omega Seamaster Chronometer, I ended up with both of these models. They are both wonderful watches, with an understated look compared to that of the Breitlings that I am used to wearing. Most of my friends that see the Omegas think they look bland and not worth their money. I say they are classic icons that stands the test of time.
I’ve taken several pictures of them together for comparitve reasons. The Seamaster Chrono I have is the Bond version, while the standard model is the Black dial/bezel with sword hands.
I like the more dramatic contrast of the black dialed Seamasters, but the Bond seamasters seem to be more popular. The bracelet on the Bond model is also a bit more busy, and the watch overall has a busier look, partly due to the subdials.
As you can see from the above pic, the Seamaster Chrono (right) is MUCH thicker than the regular one. The bezel is thicker, the back is thicker, and the case is thicker. The feeling on the wrist is quite different between the two.
The Seamaster Chrono, which is the one in the front, has a newer style back with the Omega monster logo in super-size. The standard model has the older style back, and I’m not sure if it is because it is an older model or because they just have not changed the back on those yet. I haven’t seen any of the new style backs on the standard Seamaster 300m yet.
Now, a couple of wrist shots so you guys can see the two on my small 6.75″ wrists. First the Seamaster Chronograph:
Now, the Seamaster Chronometer:
So, as you can see they are acutally quite different watches, more than simply the same watch but one with the chronograph. Both are certified COSC Chronometers, and use modified ETA movements.
After using several Rapport Cherry Double watchwinders for about a year, I figured it would be time to post a review finally of how these guys have held up. I ran 2 of them, and I gave one to my father about 1 1/2 years ago. I recently sold one of mine however so I only have 1 now. The reason for the sale was simply because I no longer needed to have six watches winding all the time. I now use a double Rapport and 2 Orbita Sparta deluxe winders. The photo below is of a Mahogany one.. the Cherry is a bit lighter.
Noise
These winders are nearly silent. I did have a problem with one of them making a very slight ticking noise, to which I called their 1-800 number and spoke to a friend fellow there that handles the repairs. He immediately sent me 2 motors and told me to call him when they arrived and he would explain how to install them. The option of sending the winder back was also given to me, but that would have taken a long time and it was not broken.
The procedure was painless, and the winder was restored to its original quiet operation. One thing might need to be said here.. I am VERY picky about noise from a winder. Most people I have talked to tolerate a lot more noise than I do, so when I say a watchwinder is noisy, it is very slight.
I know Norman likes to talk up the Garinin winders as being silent, affordable and reliable, but I do not know how to compare the noise levels so I can’t compare. Maybe when I visit him in the spring!
Finish/Construction
First Class all the way! The Finishing on the Rapports comes very close to the Orbitas, which is just about perfect. My Orbitas have an inlaid design on them so there might be some sort of bias there, however the wood is solid, heavy and lacquered very nicely. The lacquering is smooth and done with care. The boxes are lined well, and the interior frames are of metal construction, same as Orbita.
The watches mount on pillows, like Orbita and Wolf Designs and Scatola, which is the only way I like it.
One small complaint would be the peice behind the pillow that covers the bottom of the cup holder should be made of foam rather than furry cardboard.. when i removed the peice to replace the motors, I realized that it was cardboard backing. This isn’t noticeable from using it, but now knowing that, I wish it were foamed, like the Orbitas. Seems more high-quality.
Usability/Function
The Rapports have limited controls for keeping the watches wound. The is simply an on-off switch, and a timed or constant mode. The timed mode runs at intervals (i’m not sure exactly what the timing is) and constant just keeps running. The winder alternates between clockwise and counter clockwise. The only problem I’ve had with it is that single directional movements (valjoux 7750) only last about 1 week on it if I do not wind them prior to putting them into the winder. If I fully wind the watch before placing it in the winder, then there is no problem - at least not after a few weeks.
Reliability
The winders have run faithfully (though with the slight noise problem), and I can’t complain that they don’t work. They were making a ticking sound about as loud as a wall clock in a quiet room at night. They have a 2 year warranty and the service from Rapport was exceptional. I actually dealt directly with windyourwatch.com as they were the Canadian distributors for the product. Motors are very heavy duty and the insides of the units are very nicely done.
Conclusion
The Rapport winder is a decent winder for the money. There aren’t a lot of winders out there that give you this level of finish and quality for the amount of money. However, the winder is not perfect, and I have heard some people say that the Official Time winders that have a similar design are a bit cheaper and better on ebay. The Official Time winders are about $50 cheaper, but come in strange colors.. a little less traditional (and less aesthetically pleasing) than the Rapports. But perhaps they are more reliable or run better. I have not tried them yet.
I would recommend Rapport to someone looking for a dual winder in the $350-$400 range, however, I would also say that you’d be better off getting an Orbita if you can spend the money.
I’ve owned a few Orbita Sparta deluxe winders, and the older ones that I own, though still only 10 months old, the motors they shipped with were quite noisy. Not a huge problem for a winder that only winds for 5-10 seconds every 10 or 15 minutes depending on the cycle. I ended up selling one of them, but still have two of the deluxe models, one with a noisy motor, and one with a nice quiet one. The noisy one bugged me, so I emailed Orbita.
My Sparta Deluxe Winder looks like this:
A nice lady named Cheryl emailed me back quite promptly, and we conversed via email and she said that it would be replaced under warranty if I could provide the serial number to her as proof. WOW! That made me a happy guy. I was perfectly willing to pay money for the new quieter motor, but she said that it would be replaced free of charge, which really made my day.
I sent her the serial number and she sent me an email a few days later indicating it would be shipped out. I received it a couple weeks after our emails via Fedex, installed it in my winder, and it is now dead silent! I love it.
I really have to say that my experience with Orbita Watchwinder’s customer service was among the best I have ever experienced, and that all my further winder purchases will be made through them, not just due to the customer service (other winder companies have also been good) but because of the excellent product as well.
This video I made last week, and showcases a Project I made, after purchasing half a dozen Breitling dials on ebay. I got them for a decent price, of $1 each, unfortunately the guy charged me almost $10 each to ship! I guess he was unhappy about the ending bid price. I ended up getting a custom Matte made for a frame that I picked up that would suit the dials. The outcome was very nice, and I finished it up with a metal sticker/label with custom Breitling text written on it.
The dials are mounted on fiberboard and attached to the matte and then set into the frame. Great way to add Breitling decoration to the den!
Looks like Tiffany & Co has joined up with Nicholas G Hayek and company to have their watches built by the Swiss Watch Giant. This would appear to be a smart for both companies, as having the Swatch Group handle Tiffany and Co watches will improve their quality and desirability on the market.
Tiffany makes great jewelry, now maybe they will start making some WIS worthy timepeices as well!
