Let’s start this review off with a disclosure; I was a consultant to the 32º brand about two years ago during its initial planning stages. I did not do any design work. This is brought up only because I try to keep my reviews objective and so it seems fair that you the reader should be aware. That stated, it hoped that my positioning at that time may provide at least a bit of background insight.
At the onset 32º had a stated goal of producing a line of well made heavy sport watches with some eye catching high-end inspiration, yet at an affordable price level. Even a casual tour around this particular model and its readily apparent that they have succeeded on all points.
In addition to some great design work, what 32º brings to the table is wisdom born of experience. As discussed in an article found elsewhere on this site, “China is not necessarily a bad word,” the key (or at least one of them) is knowing the pitfalls. Knowing not only who the best players are, but often at least as important, who to avoid! 32º has used their considerable experience in the watch manufacturing world to ferret out or forge relationships with the best, including factories that produce cases for some well known brands often thought of as Swiss. In so doing they are bringing high-end craftsmanship standards to the table while at the same time doing it for something less than an opulent price tag.
The watch we’ll consider today — the 32º Swiss Scimitar — seems to be drawing from both the 32º Driver and Impulse series, two very successful models in the current (07/09) lineup. I think one of the lead features of this series is the case, so let’s start with that.
This model case is in and of itself a complication. One of the reasons I know this is that I have met with this case builder at both the Basel Watch Fair and the Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair, both times on business independent from 32º, and can tell you that their case manufacturing and design capabilities are nothing short of impressive. This case is built to high end specs indeed, and consists of numerous pieces, each finished to exacting measurement. All bolts and screws that you see are fully operable and serve a key function; nothing is molded or embossed just for show. Even the strap suspension assembly is done with bolts in lieu of the more commonly found pins. Every line in this case is razor accurate, and you will see the same attention to detail when the finish changes from brushed to polished.
The case is beautifully curved both front and back, with matched custom executed mineral crystals. The lugs themselves appear to be machinery (adding greatly to the aesthetic appeal) and indeed they are hinged at both the case and strap ends, thus assuring a comfortable fit despite despite the watch’s size and weight (see below). It also bears mentioning that the yellow gold finish on this case is excellent! I’ve seen a lot of layering work over my career and can share that this work is high quality indeed, both in color temperature and application.
One of the key visual components (and technical challenges in construction) is that this design boasts a case within a case. As you can see the outer case in turn houses a smaller steel enclosure suspended in space between the twin crystals and outer case, via sturdy brackets at both the the six and twelve o’clock positions. In turn the smaller suspended case houses a Swiss quartz movement, delivering both accurate maintenance free timekeeping as well as a true double rotor Big Date complication situated at the twelve o’clock position. The date is set via the push crown.
This “inner case” also contains all dial work and related decoration.The dial itself is crafted in several pieces, with the focal point being a beautiful circle of smoke blue mother of pearl making up the center. A graceful and precise folded fan texture radiates in black down across the dial expanse from the Big Date display at the twelve o’clock position. The dial’s frames, halos, and hand applied numbers are all finished in yellow gold, as are the hands which are treated with luminous material down the center. A lighter blue enamel is used to highlight the hour markers and roman numerals machined into the brushed bezel. The finished ensemble is presented on a thick single stitched genuine leather strap that has been embossed with an ostrich motif. I think the blue black color selected for this model beautifully pulls from the spectrum found in the mother of pearl.
Watch Specs Overview:
Weight:
finished watch (strap model) 119 gms
Movement:
Swiss Ronda 6004.B quartz
Case:
46mm x 14.5mm stainless steel, finished in yellow gold
Curved custom executed mineral crystals
Water resistant up to 3 ATM
Dial:
Mother-of-pearl center
Folded fan radiant texture
Double rotor Big Date window
Subsidiary seconds dial
Luminous hands
Strap:
200mm x 22mm thick single stitched genuine leather strap with ostrich embossing
Stainless steel buckle, finished in yellow gold
As to cost, I don’t have an exact MSRP from 32º but similar watches in the lineup are compared as high as $1395. 32º has been known to offer generous discount at times so you may well be able to acquire it for less.
Pros: Very well made. Aggressive design and construction based on high end concept. Beautifully engineered case assures comfortable fit. Looks great (and expensive) when worn. Gold finishing is outstanding. Fans of complex mechanical inspired case design will love this production.
Cons: May be too large for some dress cuffs (in fairness it’s not designed to be a sleek classic dress watch). Would have liked to have seen a water resistance higher than 3 ATM, but am sure the engineering challenges of the complex case design factored here.
Bottom Line: If you are looking for an aggressive large production in a dress-sport watch based on very high end design concept but at an especially attractive price, buy this watch immediately. For dollar spent it’s got to be one of the best choices out there.
Quinting describes their product as “the first and unique transparent watch in the world” and that certainly a true statement. The high profile personae wearing their watch is indeed impressive, including former President Bill Clinton, at least three Swiss Presidents, and Secretary General to the United Nations and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Kofi Annan.
Historically it has been a “holy grail” of watch making to create a see-through watch in which the movement was rendered invisible, in fact that reasoning is thought of as the genesis of creating skeleton watches. The idea was to remove more and more of the mass to create increasingly transparent mechanics, and it was thought of as being at an end with the “bridge” styled mechanical movements (such as the Corum or Vincent Calabrese) until Rene Quinting’s breakthrough thinking and design, the research of which began in 1993. The first non-prototype watch did not appear until quite a bit later, and was awarded the “Official Prize of the Revue des Montres” in 1999.
So, how did Quinting do it? The answer lies in a combination of completely re-inventing the watch movement so that it completely fits inside of the bezel area of the case, and twelve stacked sapphire crystals, each designed to facilitate a different portion of the watch complication, and coated with glare resistant material on both sides to render each custom disc basically invisible. These tolerances of these sapphire discs are so exact that even the added diameter of the glare resistant coating must be accounted for within the stack. Every part of this brilliant complicated movement is made and the timepiece hand assembled within their clean room (dust free) facility located in St. Blaise, Switzerland.
Today Quinting builds in 316L stainless steel, 18k gold, and platinum, all available on either exotic strap or bracelet. This review is based on the stainless bracelet example.
Total weight 187 grams
case diameter 44mm (47mm with crown)
case thickness 14mm thick
bracelet 21mm
bracelet thickness 4mm
As you can see from these stats, this is a big heavy watch, especially in the height department. This was considered an unusually large watch upon its introduction years ago, but now with so many luxury watches well in excess of 44mm the dimension can be considered quite mainstream. At 14mm I still consider the watch thicker than most, and depending on the shirt I sometimes have issues getting the cuff to slider smoothly over the watch.
The wearability of this watch is excellent, especially given its heft and size. I attribute this to the exceptional engineering, especially in the hand built bracelet. Each handfinished segment is slightly kidney shaped, so when combined in the finished bracelet the total wraps perfectly around the wrist. The top four links (closest to the case) are permanently installed, with the remaining lower links secured by an elaborate screw and sleeve system which facilitates not only sizing but beautiful flexibility without impacting the way the screws nest.
Quinting produces a beautifully complex watch. Many of you appreciate the complexity of a mechanical chronograph, but now add to that an outer track pointer date that doubles as an am/pm indicator. It does so by pointing to the first half of the designated date section in the am hours, and the second during the pm. Now factor in the additional complexity of doing so with an invisible movement.
For those who would point out that Quinting is a quartz watch, consider this. The electronics only acts as the source of the power, and even that is complicated, divided between four separate engines in turn driving two hundred and thirty two custom built mechanical parts, and it does it all with an ordinary hearing aid battery. The engines are so efficient that if applied to a “normal” watch you would change the battery about every ten years. As it stands, I change mine about every three years, though I don’t run the chronograph very often.
One of the design ingredients I find especially clever is the vertical mounting of the battery, thus taking up very little physical width in a bezel where space is at a premium. Another great idea is to house it just below the serial number plate, which means you can access the battery compartment without ever cracking open the case, so water resistance integrity remains intact.
Quinting also produced one of the most original presentation boxes I’ve ever encountered, building a decorative wooden frame around a real ostrich egg which opens like a “pac-man” revealing a custom pyramid to display the watch. It is my understanding that due to shipping issues Quinting subsequently adopted a more traditional package, and that the original ostrich display now commands a secondary market price tag in the $600 range.
So, on the big question — pricing.
Retail (chronograph model)
Strap model, steel $15,000 (have seen one source listing the strap for $16,000)
Bracelet $16,000
Noble metals
well north of $20,000
Have found the occasional pre-owned example in the $8000 range.
At one point there was a couple of retail counters in the US, but recently have had difficulty locating a current retail counter in the US. Currently they seem to be marketing to high end European and Middle Eastern markets.
Pros: One of the world’s most unique watches. Ingenious complication. Great looking and very comfortable. Brilliantly executed handcrafted excellence.
Cons: Pricey. No retailer currently in US (as of April 09).
Bottom line from this reviewer: if you have the means and appreciate a truly beautiful and complicated watch, don’st hesitate to own one. You will never regret it.
http://www.quinting-watches.com
