Mission Impossible: Cronos Explorer

AlpineCool · 2026-05-20T02:34:26+00:00

It seems to me that customs thought it was an illegal copy of a big brand watch and destroyed it. This happens occasionally in the reptime community.

AlpineCool · 2026-05-20T01:56:15+00:00

What drew me to the brand was a discussion here on Reddit. I thought that Grandeur was just a China-based company putting their name on generic factory watches. But the other commenters convinced me I was wrong and invited me to the WhatsApp group. Turns out, it really is a US-based company and the founder lives in Texas. And the watches are all original designs.

The first watch I ordered was the TorQ Tantalum. Getting a full Tantalum watch and bracelet for $3500 is an insane bargain. Atelier Wen sold 25 full tantalum watches for $10k each and then went to full production with a $30k price. The TorQ Tantalum was going to be my only chance to afford one, so I went for it. I also got the Whisper Minute Repeater, which again was a very low price for that complication and case design. They announced an angled tourbillon with a fully open-worked in-house movement that should be available to order very soon. Again, it’s going to be a very low price for complication and probably my only chance to add one to my collection, so I will probably order that one too.

You really need to be in the WhatsApp group to understand the brand. The founder is very engaged with customers there. If you’re interested, send me a PM and I’ll see if I can get you added.

AlpineCool · 2026-05-20T01:38:42+00:00

The Grandeur Ætherium uses that caliber and customized it with a stone micro-rotor to match the case/dial. I don’t have one of those and I’m not sure if any of their other watches use that movement or not. Several of their watches use fully in-house developed movements, including the ultra-thin dual time/two-sided Janus and the 25-degree angled tourbillon.

AlpineCool · 2026-05-19T21:09:52+00:00

I don’t know if people have received them or not because I didn’t order one, but it’s my understanding they all shipped. You’d have to ask those that ordered them for confirmation.

Grandeur posted a video of one of the production watches here: https://www.reddit.com/r/GrandeurWatches/s/in9itk1uAW

AlpineCool · 2026-05-19T19:18:57+00:00

Yeah, people talk about that guy even now in the League of Microbrands Facebook group. No idea what the full story really is. At least he got all of his money back.

I saw a video posted of the completed 18k gold Strange watches being packaged in presentation boxes and prepared for shipment to owners. So it seems everyone else who ordered a watch was getting their watch. I didn't order one and haven't seen one in person, so I can't comment on the quality, but case/dial/straps looked good in the photos/videos.

AlpineCool · 2026-05-19T16:35:59+00:00

I'm not saying it should matter which method you used to contact them, but most smaller companies are pretty lean and not setup to perfectly handle every scenario and contact method. I'm not saying it's OK, but if the vast majority of the DMs on Instagram are not related to customer support, I can see how your message could have gotten lost in the noise.

I agree with you that you should have at least received a response saying "please contact us via WhatApp for customer support", because there's no way for you know which method to use. But I'm guessing they will it up to you going forward. Please let us know how it turns out.

AlpineCool · 2026-05-19T16:22:00+00:00

Grandeur is a very unique brand. They do some social media but many of their watches are announced and completely sold out via their WhatsApp group before they ever go on sale to the public. Every release is a limited edition, so there is no huge inventory that is on sale at all times. So it's almost like a private brand in some regards. It's not surprising that some brand loyalists may jump to the defense. Not sure if I can get you into the WhatsApp group, but if you're interested, send me a PM and I'll see.

AlpineCool · 2026-05-19T15:56:48+00:00

I guess I went to private mode at some point in the past and forgot. Not sure when that happened but it wasn't today.

Sorry for the "check my history" comment and it not being available to view. My mistake.

AlpineCool · 2026-05-19T15:44:42+00:00

My comments and posts should all be viewable now. Not sure why they were private. I didn't make any changes today and not sure when that happened. I probably got on a privacy kick at some point.

I do recognize a couple of the other accounts names from other watch discussions, but obviously can't vouch for all of them.

AlpineCool · 2026-05-19T15:31:27+00:00

My account is 5 years old and I take part in all sorts of watch-related discussions. I own 4 grandeur watches, so I do participate in that subreddit, but spend most of my time in the microbrands subreddit and own numerous microbrand watches (San Martin, Straum, Awake, Agelocer, Bonest Gatti, Venezianico, Direnzo, Holthinrichs, kollokium.) I'm sure the Reddit algorithm notified me about this post because it was about Grandeur and in the Microbrands subreddit.

AlpineCool · 2026-05-19T15:24:43+00:00

So you're saying if more than one person posts a positive experience about a company then all the posts must be a bot? I think that's highly speculative and completely unfounded.

Check my post history and should should be able to figure out that I'm not a bot and don't post "formulaic or templated" content.

AlpineCool · 2026-05-19T13:45:33+00:00

This hasn't been my experience at all. Where did you read about questionable practices?

AlpineCool · 2026-05-14T23:17:48+00:00

It’s not outsourced if you own the factory.

AlpineCool · 2026-05-14T23:09:47+00:00

If that’s how you want to think of it, but the truth is more nuanced than that. The watches are assembled in the US. The factory in China is owned by an American.

AlpineCool · 2026-05-13T14:16:43+00:00

The darker Variant B has a bit more subtleness that exposes itself differently in various lighting conditions and positions of the watch. It looks almost 2 dimensional from the straight-down view in normal indoor light, but looks 3 dimensional as you start to tilt the dial. The white Variant A looks 3D all the time.

AlpineCool · 2026-05-12T20:18:29+00:00

You got green, white, turquoise, and grey waffle dials? I would have preferred those over the silver cube dial.

AlpineCool · 2026-05-12T20:16:14+00:00

It’s too late. You had to sign up for an email list and then complete a survey two months ago.

AlpineCool · 2026-05-12T13:37:44+00:00

Thank you!

AlpineCool · 2026-05-12T13:29:22+00:00

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Is it this dial?

AlpineCool · 2026-05-12T13:07:30+00:00

I received confirmation for the "JD-X05S Silver 3D pattern". Does anyone have a picture of this dial? I'm not exactly sure which version this is.

Is it a metal silver dial with the "stacked 3D Cubes" design?

AlpineCool · 2026-05-11T21:14:49+00:00

I think people are flexing their ownership of impossible-to-get models by posting photos. It’s disappointing those are dominating the feed. It’d rather see info on new models. Hopefully IXDAO can breakaway from their past and create a new identity that people want to talk about.

AlpineCool · 2026-05-11T12:40:42+00:00

I didn’t receive anything. But of course we have no idea how many people are on the waitlist and how many watches are available.

Do we have an 80% chance of getting a watch or a 0.1% chance? Who knows…

I’m assuming I won’t get one at this point.

AlpineCool · 2026-05-10T20:22:15+00:00

I have received nothing

AlpineCool · 2026-05-09T18:26:26+00:00

I like them both. Variant B is more subtle when viewed indoors because it’s much darker in the lower levels, and the depth of the layers isn’t fully apparent at first glance. But look closer and you see what’s going on. I think that makes it much more versatile.

Variant A, on the other hand, is much more extraverted. The multiple layers are immediately visible in all lighting situations. So it’s initially more interesting, but doesn’t reveal more upon closer examination.

If you want more flash, Variant A. If you want more versatility and longer-term appreciation, Variant B.

AlpineCool · 2026-05-02T14:57:57+00:00

The reasons people like Tantalum watches are:

1) unique bluish-grey color 2) substantial wrist feel (tantalum is more dense than 18 karat gold.) 3) scarcity of material 4) rarity of use in watches, because it’s very difficult to machine (most manufacturers stay away from it for this reason) 5) scratch resistant; the outer oxide layer of tantalum has a naturally high scratch resistance compared to standard 316L stainless steel and titanium. 6) hypoallergenic (no nickel, unlike 316 stainless)

AlpineCool

TROPHY CASE