Who says bigger watches are going out of style? At SIHH 2008 A.Lange & Sohne announced a new watch, the Grand Lange 1. Which is a 42mm version of the Lange 1, originally in a 38mm case. This is a move towards larger watches by the high-end German watch manufacturer, which has traditionally made watches in the 38-40mm category.
The watch movement is the A.Lange L901.2, which is slightly modifed from the L901.0 in the original Lange 1, in what way, I’m not sure, but enough to warrant a decimal place 🙂
The is manually wound, with power reserve a hearty 3 Days or 72 hours – 53 Jewels, and adjusted to 5 positions. The case is white or rose gold and platinum. Watch complications include a power reserve indication, big date display, and sub seconds. as well as off-center hour and minute hands.
For a change, I decided to get myself a Franck Muller Casablanca watch.. Its now traded, but I really enjoyed it for the short time I had it. The Franck Muller is an interesting watch, very different from anything I’ve ever had, but very well made. The case has an extremely interesting shape, which Franck Muller calls their “Cintree Curvex” shape.
It looks really good on the wrist, and very large for it’s width because of its ellongated shape. The bracelet is a five-row affair, and reminds me a little of the Breitling Pilot bracelet, though without quite the finesse. A beautiful watch however that commands looks when its worn.
The movement inside is one of the most highly decordated ETA 2892 movements on the market, and I took a shot just for you guys to see:
Overall, a beautiful watch with a very distinct look but one that I find myself struggling to read.. the exploding numbers look fantastic but are difficult to get used to… So I’ll leave you with this shot.. and a video review.
Forgot to post this when I uploaded it.. but Figured i’d give you all a heads up.
This is a video review of the Breitling Blackbird.. the newer one that is based on the same case as the Chronomat Evolution, with the faceted Pilot bracelet which is unique to the Blackbird. Very nice. This bad boy is 43.7mm in diameter, and worth every penny. Very beautiful and slightly more understated than the Chronomat Evo. It adds a big date complication and carries a slightly higher price tag than the Chronomat Evo. Dial is sort of a Matte finish, not commonly seen on any Breitling models.
The Garinin Watch winder review was very popular amongst the readers of my blog, as everyone is always looking for a good deal on a watch winder… one of the posters on my forum sent me this youtube video he made! Really nice to see what it looks like in video… Enjoy!
I’ve been starting to try and branch out towards watches witha non-round shape. I’ve owned a few rectangular watches, such as a Longines Dolce Vita and some others here and there, but I really wanted to try a Tonneau shaped watch, aside from the knock-offs that people give you as gifts when they visit China. So I started first with a Franck Muller Casablanca, which I enjoyed, but it was a bit too clean and basic looking for me I think, considering that I was used to the complicated busy dials of Breitling.
Then I saw the Roadster again… Its a watch that I always admired and really liked the design of, and with my tastes maturing and the need to have something a bit more understated for business, the Roadster seemed perfect. Still a recognizable icon in the watch industry, with a bit more individuality than a Rolex. So I snapped one up.
The Roadster is an extremely well made watch, with a three-peice case. Tonneau shaped but a bit shorter than a Franck Muller from lug to lug. The Large Mens size model I bought is 38mm x 43mm, not including the crown. It wears very close to a typical 40mm Rolex. The models I picked up as the oldeer style dial, but still looks fantastic in my opinion. All the pictures were taken with my new Sony A200 camera with the Kit lens.
In the above pic you can see the blued steel hands and Luminous dots on the inner dial. The sapphire date magnifier is tastefully integrated into the crown area. The crown is not screwdown, so when you wind it you can just turn it.
The bracelet is a beautiful peice of work, with screwed in pins, in a very unique style. There are two screws, one on each side, and when you remove them, you push a pin out of the middle. The bracelet has that smooth, tight feel to it that reminds me of my Breitling Bracelets. The watch is all polished, but the bracelet is brushed in the middle links.
Here is a shot of the back, showing a bit more of the bracelet, and notice how the design of the crown even bulges on the back of the watch. That is a very nice attention to detail.
The obligatory wrist shot… showing what it looks like on my 6 3/4″ wrist. The bracelet sizes a bit loose on me. Unfortunately with those double butterfly clasps there is rarely a micro adjustment available, and many don’t have half-links either.
And here’s a rare movement shot of the Cartier Roadster. Very nicely finshed Cartier Caliber 3110, base ebauche ETA 2892-2, 21 Jewel movement. The rotor is decorated with the Roadster logo, which is a nice touch, rather than just a generic Cartier signed rotor, making this specific to only this model of watch.
As you can see there is plenty of circular graining on the bridges as well. Overall, a beautiful watch inside and out. I will be enjoying mine!
Here are the quick specs:
Movement: Automatic Calibre 3110 Movement (Base ETA 2892-2)
Case: Stainless Steel
Crystal: Sapphire Crystal w/Date Magnifier
Diameter: 43mm x 38mm
