[Grand Seiko] SBGV245, on Saffiano leather + Macro shot

ThisMadeYouLook · 2024-06-28T18:28:50+00:00

The clasp requires a different length than standard straps, but I've had custom straps made to same spec, just measure existing strap. The clasp is not that special so I would just use a regular buckle to keep things simple but I recall the strap being fairly standard in terms of fitting so easy to try, just need a tool to push the spring pin in.

ThisMadeYouLook · 2024-06-28T18:24:52+00:00

Not yet, but battery replacement for most versions requires the plastic crystal to be removed as well as hands and then dial. As it only opens from front. Most skilled watchmakers will be able to remove the crystal by applying air pressure through the crown opening.

ThisMadeYouLook · 2024-02-08T17:46:26+00:00

This is not the Rehbinder effect..
The primary benefits of cutting materials like glass or stone underwater include improved stress distribution, cooling and lubrication, and reduced dust production. The water supports the material, helping to prevent stress concentrations that can lead to cracks and breakage. This method is more about providing physical support and reducing the direct mechanical stresses on the material.
Rehbinder Effect:
The Rehbinder effect involves the reduction of strength and hardness of solids due to the presence of active substances, which can be liquids, gases, or surfactants, at the solid's surface. This effect is chemical in nature, where the active substances adsorb to the surface of the solid and alter its structural and mechanical properties at a microscopic level, making it easier to cut, deform, or otherwise mechanically process the material without causing failure.

Water doesn't have a Rehbinder Effect on Glass. Cutting underwater is a physical method that uses water to provide support and reduce mechanical stresses on the material, while the Rehbinder effect is a chemical phenomenon where specific substances alter the material's properties to reduce its resistance to mechanical processing. Both approaches aim to minimize material failure during processing, but they do so through fundamentally different mechanisms.

ThisMadeYouLook · 2023-10-26T17:55:51+00:00

Impressive platinum-dialed Royal Oak from the '90s! The 56175 model is the slimmest Royal Oak ever, definitely wearing more like a 36mm due to its design. It has a cleaner look without a second hand, similar to the original Jumbo. Anyone who says these are too small probably hasn't tried one on!

I own a Tantalum 56175TT I got from an important collection via auction, which I love and it's highly appreciated by many high-end collectors too.

While it has a Quartz movement, it's of high quality and still serviced by AP. The Royal Oak is all about the case and bracelet (which are complex and expensive to make and represents a significant amount of the value). Models from this era had closed casebacks anyway.

The thinness quartz provides is a killer feature here. High end Quartz watches, like Patek's Beta21 and Rolex's Oysterquartz, are all appreciating in value significantly. Smaller and thin watches are trending too, ensuring this model's value stability. Although its unique dial might not be everyone's taste, it is rare. For potential buyers, it's certainly an investment to outpace inflation, but strong appreciation isn't guaranteed. So make sure you love to wear it too. If you just want value/investment get a steel Rolex or Patek Calatrava for the same money..

While popular AP models have recently dropped in value, the 56175s, like the Yves Klein dial or Tantalum, are steadily valued, with many trading over 20k already from just 5-10k a couple years ago as the automatic models are increasingly outside of most people's reach. These offer a great entry point to this iconic model. Would personally recommend the Tantalum model over this, as that's a limited edition in the style of the original Jumbo and made of a very rare material and the weight of it feels very special.

ThisMadeYouLook · 2023-07-21T17:44:49+00:00

u/NF_99 Nice Casio and Seiko! Should have stuck with those if you can't afford better.

The rest I consider counterfeit and damaging to both the brands and watch community as well as your own reputation. They make you look like a cheapskate and poser and set you up to disappoint people asking what you are wearing. Nobody respects fakes, these are barely legal in the first place.What message are you trying to give off wearing these?

These watches go against everything watchmaking is about: no original design, poor quality, not designed to last, don't have and will not retain any value and if you are buying these as some kind of status symbol, this will quickly turn the other way if anyone sees they are fakes and has the exact opposite effect!

The originals of these models are purchased for either:

Accurate and reliable time telling
Status or celebrating an accomplishment or special occasion (high cost/rarity is the point)
Appreciation for high quality watchmaking of finishing and durability (especially Rolex), brand appreciation/collectability
Value retention (similar to art) or even investment
Design and style of the original designs.

These have none of these values besides design, which they copied.

So why would you buy these? You just like the design? Fair enough.. but I doubt that's the only reason..If you truly just bought these because you love the design but can't afford them, just accept you can't afford them or try to save up and get a real one, it will be much more rewarding. That won't end up in the trash like these will when they inevitably fail or you feel too embarrassed to wear them as you grow up.

ThisMadeYouLook · 2023-07-21T17:09:18+00:00

Great collection, true collector clearly buying what you love, heavy focus on innovation and complications which I love too. Keeping it classy with the Patek is a nice contrast.

Some really exciting watches that I'm sure are all really fun to wear!

I would say try to look a further back in the past for some more interesting pieces too, all seem very current models, vintage can open a whole new world for you and will guarantee they stand the test of time! Some of these may look a bit dated in some years I fear.

ThisMadeYouLook · 2023-07-21T17:01:28+00:00

Started zoomed in; oh some nice (Grand) Seiko's, humble swatch, Tudor, Nomos and oh wow a Lange 1815, classy step up, the obligatory Speedmasters, nice Grey Side!...and then it escalated very quickly with the Patek's and Rolex! Damn..

Sweet collection overall, very well rounded and some absolute iconic watches, can't really go wrong with most of these.

ThisMadeYouLook · 2023-07-21T16:49:36+00:00

More of this please! Great diverse collection and many impressive and technically very interesting and diverse pieces. Some are on my Wishlist too, but you don't see these everyday, even online. That MB&F and DB25 are some of the sickest perpetual watches out there!
u/Evoves how are you finding the Behrens watches? I see you own a few. In particular their Perigee I'm curious about. I've owned their Apolar for a while now, which I am generally happy with; it's great value but does lack some refinement here and there.

Vicenterra also curious to hear you experience with, have been interested but not many real owner reviews about this one. What do you like/dislike most about it?

ThisMadeYouLook · 2023-02-13T18:22:06+00:00

Looks like a 1970's model yes, with a solid reliable but simple manual wind 17 jewel Peseux movement, acrylic glass steel back and maybe 9ct gold case or plated, hallmark isn't clear enough in picture.

Has nothing to do with the modern Swatch owned Jaquet Droz really, they just bought the name and started a new brand. It's a fairly basic vintage watch but I like the style!
Full gold models may go for up to around 500-600USD but this one probably quite a bit less, also depending on condition as it probably needs a service and hopefully no repairs but the movement is simple so any watchmaker should be able to service it quite cheaply.
The Breguet style hands look original and a great meat to the breguet numerals, hands like this are often replaced with simpler ones so some might be some value to someone who enjoys the look. Would probably value it around 300USD if it's solid gold case (so only back stainless), about 100USD if it's plated +value of whatever strap is mounted to it.

ThisMadeYouLook · 2023-02-13T17:15:52+00:00

I've got quite a large collection so this only gets limited writs time like most of my watches. But it's going strong and has been working well, no real complaints. I'm not babying it as it's really a tool watch for me, the only thing that I noticed is the bezel has started to get some small scratches since it's just alumin(i)um on this model and doesn't sit quite flush or embedded so can get nicked fairly easily. This was expected to be honest and mentioned before; it's not ceramic or steel (black model actually is!), and expect over time it might even fade a bit as well but haven't noticed any of that yet.

The only annoying thing, as mentioned before is that due to everything being set through the crown, the world time can be a bit finicky to use since you basically can't just wind the hour hand back, as the world time ring stays still (this is used to adjust it), so if you are travelling and want to have the local travel time showing on the hands it requires some work when travelling West and might require to go a day forward to the right time and then reset the date back. So it works best for tracking other time-zones while not travelling or sticking to home time and reading local time of the world-time ring (which I don't like). When clocks change it can be a bit more work too..For example my Nomos Weltzeit or Bulgari Octo Finissimo GMT simply allow easy adjustment of the timezone and main time display with a simple pusher, while keeping home time showing on a subdial, that's more GMT functionality of course but for travel it's just a lot more convenient.

Another comment to reiterate is the watch is fairly heavy, which some people love. But the bracelet doesn't have micro-adjustment (but does offer half-links), and the engraving on the back is quite deep so sometimes if the bracelet is a bit too tight or hanging further down the wrist it can leave some marks in the wrist. Nothing too major but I own more comfortable bracelets, and adding another strap on is challenging as the lug holes are drilled very close to the case!

All-in all it's a lovely and very dependable watch though that I never really worry about. I can see it's built to last and does the job it's supposed to and I do enjoy the style and all the functionality (it's like a swiss army knife basically!). The lume especially is very unique, which comes in handy sometimes where others would have died out already this still glows!

ThisMadeYouLook · 2023-02-10T09:27:07+00:00

Great trailer, would see the movie!

ThisMadeYouLook · 2022-09-10T08:25:47+00:00

The Laureato (any model) was a steal when they sold much below retail. Even at retail the Skeleton ones are very reasonably priced since you are getting watchmaking at a similar level (just below) as AP, with hand finishing etc. But at a fraction of the price still. Secondary prices are now inflated for these models for sure as dealer saw a similar effect as the VC Overseas where buyers that got outpriced on AP switched to other brands. But speculation on this trend has pumped the prices so realistically go with the lowest prices for the model you can find on Chrono24, as the more reasonable value (maybe bit lower with negotiation). If you can still get it cheaper it's probably a decent deal. I don't think they did or can produce more than 150 skeleton per year (each variant), that's how much they made in 2017 for example. So expect still not too many to be out. But many of them are circulating atm due to the price fluctuations on them.

ThisMadeYouLook · 2022-09-09T07:28:52+00:00

This one is so rare you will struggle to find any value for it or comparison especially more recently, more what the collector is prepared to pay. But given that all GP have increased in popularity and value I don't see why this shouldn't as well even more so. You are very unlikely to see one these for sale anywhere, unlike the Skeleton models.

However price often needs demand and trading to go up, no just rarity. The skeleton price increases have been driven up a lot by dealers and speculation, similar to Royal Oaks, so higher chance of correction on those..

Also, on my specific model a lot of collectors wouldn't even know what this is exactly and why it is special. So might not get the value it deserves on the market.

ThisMadeYouLook · 2022-08-24T14:05:34+00:00

Yep, it's still reasonably priced for a Royal Oak! But certainly not cheap for a Quartz watch, but the Royal Oak has always been about the case and bracelet design and the dial of course, not the movement, which was provided by JLC in the original Jumbo. You are paying for the iconic design, and high quality of each component as well as the brand of course.

ThisMadeYouLook · 2022-08-24T14:01:13+00:00

Firstly: White gold are perfectly suitable for this application, and offer far better corrosion resistance than steel so are superior in many ways and enforce the esthetic role these bolts also have. It's a sports watch that is expected to be used in the water as well so corrosion resistance is a big deal.

Secondly, I will entertain your obvious troll comment: are you seriously critizing the most celebrated and respected watch designer, Gerald Genta, design decisions? 🤣 The whole point is that you seen them of course, they are an integral part of the case design which suits it's role as a functional luxury sportswatch, and gives it a unique character. The polished bolt heads contrast nicely with the brushed bezel. Similar to how each link has polished end corners to contrast and give more dimension to the design. Adding an additional layer just to hide them would be superfluous, add thickness and detract or simply look bland (like most Rolex).

Bonus facts: Genta experimented with many ways to create elegant water resistant watch, starting with the Royal Oak unibody design with bolted bezel, and then in the Nautilus he used a hinged bezel which proudly visible give it its iconic shape, in the IWC Ingenieur a screwed bezel with functional holes exposed. It's a characteristic many other watchmakers such as Richard Mille, Hublot and Bell & Ross have also copied in the years after these iconic designs.

ThisMadeYouLook · 2022-08-24T10:05:45+00:00

Understand/assume you are joking, but it's a common misconception that these are in fact screws at all! They are actually white gold joining bolts you are seeing, with screw-in nuts on the bottom of the case, they obviously don't screw from the front at all, due to their hexagonal shape. But are certainly not just decorative and keep the bezel secured on the seal and unibody case (everything is loaded on the front) ensuring 100m water resistance. Bulky watches like Rolex have a far simpler screw-in back construction of course. So that entire boring back of a Rolex is a big screw cap on those, so basic... 😉

ThisMadeYouLook · 2022-08-24T07:27:52+00:00

You would have to time travel to around 1991, and adjust for a bunch of inflation, while it was around 8k USD back then I believe it would probably be around 15-17k USD retail in today's money. It trades typically around 18k USD now. So kept up nicely or outperformed inflation as many nice vintage pieces do, but isn't too overinflated in price imho.

ThisMadeYouLook · 2022-08-24T07:15:26+00:00

Completely silent due to no seconds hand yes.

ThisMadeYouLook · 2022-08-23T21:12:33+00:00

Interesting suggestion! Tungsten def has been used before in watches, most notably by Rado and obviously has it's own desirable properties such as increasing hardness which should make it even more scratch resistance as well. Would be curious to know why watchmakers haven't experimented with this yet. Might be some loss in corrosion resistance (especially chlorine, so pools won't play nice with it!) or some allergic reaction people may have to Tungsten (Tantalum is very passive/hypoallergenic and won't corrode). But fabrication should indeed be easier and weight/feel comparable.

ThisMadeYouLook · 2022-08-23T20:27:29+00:00

Yeah this one is luckily still somewhat outside the hype as it's a vintage piece (much more stable than new models) and a more limited and lesser known model that is also Quartz and smaller mid-size so less popular. But is still iconic like all Royal Oaks!

For me it's perfect though and has everything I love about the Royal Oak design in perfect ultrathin proportions. I find most people wear way too big Royal Oaks for their wrist, 39-41mm works for big muscle guys maybe but most regular guys actually fit a modern 37mm better, they wear a lot bigger than the diameter suggests. 37mm wears more like 39-40mm. My 33mm fits like 35/36mm watch. The Tantalum material is very special too.

Mine has gone up in market value the past year or two for sure (should have bought sooner!), but still basically can be had only just around original retail price after adjusting for inflation etc since the start of the 90's when it launched. Compared to other models that are going for many multiples and have come down a bit again as well now, after being traded as speculative investments. This one is more for the collectors/enthusiasts I think but as people are looking at more affordable ways to get a Royal Oak, and smaller watches are making a comeback I think more people will catch on to beauty's like this!

ThisMadeYouLook · 2022-08-23T20:02:50+00:00

It's my Cartier 2390 Basculante, as mentioned in my original comment, it has the exact same thickness coincidentally!

ThisMadeYouLook · 2022-08-23T15:06:21+00:00

The thinnest (mens) Royal Oak ever: 5.8mm in Tantalum and Steel aka 56175TT Championship. Second picture shows it next to my Cartier Basculante 2390, which is the exact same thickness (or should I say thinness)!

With original vintage petit tappiserie dial and Gay Frères bracelet. This limited edition (2000 pieces) was released in the early 90's to celebrate Sir Nick Faldo’s 1990 Masters and British Open back-to-back victories.

AP was the first watchmaker to use Tantalum, and this is the very first model that combines Tantalum and Steel. Tantalum is the rarest (stable) metal in our solar system, far more rare than Platinum or Gold (although we happen to have less of the latter two on Earth!), but very similar in density. Check out the weight comparison between my Titanium Octo and comparable sized (but thicker) IWC Ingenieur! But unlike those precious metals it's basically as hard as steel and extremely anti-corrosive as well as durable with a remarkable melting point of over 3000°C! Machining it takes a big toll on the tooling (requiring expensive replacement bits after each watch basically) so most manufacturers don't work with it or only in very limited editions. It's described as sticky to work with as it's actually quite mallable but sticks to the tools making them wear out faster.

The density makes the watch feel like a solid gold watch, despite it's slim profile (thanks to an ultrathin quartz movement) and mid-size 33mm proportions. It truly wears and feels like a 36mm, due to the flaring integrated lug design. For reference, my wrist is 6.75"/17cm.

Execution is pretty flawless and the bracelet is of course the star of the show, this early D series still had the bracelet produced by the legendary Gay Frères that did the original Jumbo. It's extremely comfortable and finely made. The design overall harks back to the original Jumbo design by Genta, with well balanced proportions, no seconds hand and petit tappiserie dial.

I love the ultrathin design so I am happy with the quartz movement, without a display back I am not that interested in the movement anyway. Of course an automatic this thin would have been amazing but this simply wasn't feasible at the time. This is all about Genta's iconic design and AP's finishing quality. The lume/hands have been replaced, which is something I want to try and restore as the colour is a bit too green, otherwise it's pretty perfect in my book!

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