stew77
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| Joined: | Thu Mar 26th, 2009 |
| Location: | Colorado USA |
| Posts: | 10254 |
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Arriving this week is the recently introduced Steinhart Apollon. Initial impressions are very favorable, and the watch lives up to what one would expect from Steinhart in general, which is a piece that over-delivers for the reasonable price of entry IMO.
I really like the unique design of this one with the sandwich dial construction (matte black outer sandwich dial over BGW9 lume, with a very nice horizontal brushed grey/anthracite central portion which takes on a widely varying number of hues and looks depending on the lighting that is present), and the blue highlights on the seconds hand and dial writing seem to really fit nicely with this one. Titanium case is blasted to perfection (really gorgeous and well done). The crown design works well with the overall look of this one IMO, and is super easy to grip. Crown action is solid and screws in and out very positively.
It seems people want to put this one in a specific category of watch (diver, tactical etc…). The bezel does not rotate on this one (which does not bother me at all)…I see a sports watch that is really beautiful in design and uniquely designed as well IMO…a bit of a ‘toolish’ feel due to the hex screws which allow for quickly and easily changing up the bezel and the strap. This fixed 12 hour marked bezel gives me a bit of a military feel and theme, as I don’t think it needs to have a 24 hour marked bezel combined with a gmt hand (my two cents worth anyway). There is a rumored chrono version of this one expected to arrive later this year which should look very cool given the design elements of this one.
Speaking of bezels, this one comes with three (SS, DLC, and Bronze), and the machining tolerance between each bezel and the case is ultra nice and precise. Bezels slip on and off very easily and precisely with zero slop or wiggle between the inner diameter of the bezel and the outer mounting surface to the case. Bezels exchange very quickly due to the four hex style screws that mount the bezel to the case. I decided to install the DLC bezel first, and I expect to mount up the Bronze bezel very soon after I have a chance to “pre-condition” some patina on it…it is just a bit too gold for me fresh out of the case, but I think it will look absolutely killer with some nice patina on it against that nicely blasted Ti case!!!
The case size is 45mm diameter, and the Lug-to-Lug distance is 56mm (max inner lug distance). Due to the angular shape of the lug tips, the lug-to-lug measures 54mm at the outermost portion of the lug. I say all that to say this one wears smaller than a watch with that lug length would indicate (for reference, the lug-bar-center to lug-bar-center distance is 48mm). Steinhart states the case thickness is 17mm (which includes the slightly domed crystal – with zero distortion due to it being double domed in design)... thickness from caseback to the top of the bezel is right at 16mm according to my measurements. The watch has great wrist presence due to the substantial case dimensions, but is very well balanced on the wrist due to the titanium case material IMO.
The only slight negative I can think of is regarding the four raised fasteners on the dial. They somewhat confuse time reading at a quick glance due to their location on the outer portion of the dial between the regular hour markers IMO. I guess they are trying to make the dial look more sporty, but I might prefer them to be further inboard of the dial and away from the regular markers.
Overall though, the Apollon is a WINNER with a unique look and design, and great value for the dollar IMO. 
The specs from Steinhart:
Case: Titanium
Movement : ETA 2824-2
Back: stainless steel screwed (engraved)
Diameter: 45 mm
Height: 17.0 mm
Weight: 137 g
Dial: black, matt , sandwich
Crystal: sapphire, domed, with double anti-reflecting coating on the interior side
Bezel: 1.stainless steel,2.real bronze, 3. stainless steel DLC
Indices: superluminova white , BGW9 / blue luminescent
Lug width: 24 mm screwed-in
WaterRes: 300 metres/990 feet 30 ATM
Strap: leather calf grey vintage, 24 mm
Buckle: stainless steel pin buckle PRE-V screwed-in 24 mm
You guys do like pics, I think :)
Case with bezel removed (excellent fit/tolerances)
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