reesesWeb

Oh frabjous day, calloo, callay.

I've been going through the biennial watch deliberation for the past few months, trying to decide on the timepiece that defines me as a person.

My current daily watch is a JLC Master Chronograph. I bought it as a compromise -- I wanted a chronograph that wasn't 15mm thick and didn't weigh very much, but I still wanted a beautifully made watch.

Lately, though, I've been planning on buying a "purer" watch, a better expression of the craft. I also wanted a white metal case, and if possible, a black face. While I may like the design of some watches that are very recognisable, like the Explorer II or Panerai, I don't like the attention received based merely on the name of the watch. I used to wear a Submariner, and I got a lot of unpleasant attention, none of which was based on the fact that I was wearing an indestructible watch. Therefore, I wanted a watch that wouldn't be noticed except for its beauty.

I originally thought about dual-time watches, since I travel between timezones twice a week. (OK, it's only an hour, but my parents are in a different timezone too!) I have liked Blancpain watches for a few years now, and the Blancpain 2100 Time Zone looked like a great option. However, in reading the fora, it turns out that a) Blancpain is a resurrected company, and not the same company claimed to exist since 1735, and b) there are quite a few QC problems, involving subdial alignment, accuracy, etc.

The other option in the dual-time arena, since I'm predisposed to JLC anyway, was the Master Hometime. Beautiful, of course, but very hard to get right now, and just a little too big for daily wear.

So, I started looking around, and thought,"I should get a Patek." The low-end watches were barely within the price range that wouldn't cause one of those,"You spent how much on a watch?" conversations with the wife that can be so tedious.

If I lied about how much it cost, that is.

I liked the looks and fit of the Gondolo, but it uses the much-maligned 215ps movement. It's definitely a low-end Patek, and the value prop. just wasn't there. I felt like it wasn't the match of watches in the same price range from Lange or Jaeger. The Gondolo is nice in the "ooh, Patek!" way, but is kind of like the Air-King in that it's almost a compromise watch for a better-known line. The Aquanaut was discarded because the mid-size is only available in quartz, and the large watch is too big for me.

The last watch I thought about and decided against was the Glashutte Original Panoreserve. Bloody striking watch, and I really like the offset dial. However, the three different faces on the dial started bothering me after extended contemplation. I don't know if it would really irritate me, but I had the feeling that it was the primary flaw in the timepiece. I decided to add the similar Lange 1 to my list for next time, and gave the GO a miss.

So, I came back "home", as it were. I decided on the JLC Master Ultra-Thin, which is a gorgeous watch in a completely different direction. It has no second-hand, no date (this may bother), no second time zone, no chronograph, no luminova, no RDM, no automatic winding module.

It's just a near-perfect watch that tells hours and minutes in a sick thin case. And, because JLC is still a crypto-house of watchmaking, relatively speaking, the price point is fantastic. The watch is significantly less expensive than the Gondolo, but much more inspirational technically.

Of course, the best part of getting a new watch is sitting there admiring it at close range, and this watch doesn't disappoint. It has been very difficult to find a visible flaw with the cased watch, which is understandable, given JLC's skill of execution and the "1000 hour" scrutiny given each watch before its release from the factory.

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