View single post by Jeep99dad
 Posted: Mon Oct 25th, 2010 06:08 pm
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Jeep99dad



Joined: Tue Sep 1st, 2009
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina USA
Posts: 5332
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I received my new Steinhart Marine Chrono II this afternoon Thumbsup3.gifand since it is on a strap, no sizing was required so on the wrist it went right awayJ! I had been trying to get this one for a while, but it went out of stock quickly each time Gunter received a new small batch! It is a beautiful watch with amazing wrist presence.

It’s a fairly classic design and dressy enough so that I can wear it at work with a dress shirt. I’ve been looking for dress watches or some that are dressy enough to wear at work as my collection had become more a “diver only” collection. I recently acquired the Orient 60th Anniversary and this one is my second watch recently purchased with the intention to wear it at the office. So I’ll mostly end up rotating this one, the Orient and the SMP 2254 during the work week. The leather strap also helps make it look dressier IMO.

 

I love the simple case design with the large but not huge crown. The Brushed SS is very well finished, really smooth and uniform, the case oozes quality overall. The dial is not too busy in spite of the 6 o’clock sub dial, very clean and very wide with only a thin polished bezel so it is very legible and wears bigger than some of my other 44” watches. This is probably the biggest I’d have been ok with to wear it as a dress watch. I picked the roman numeral version because I thought it made the watch a touch dressier too and it is just cool… J I don’t currently own any watches with roman numerals. It also comes with Arabic # and looks just as beautiful.  I did not know when I ordered it but they are individually numbered on the case b/w the 5 and 7 o’clock lugs and my serial # is 156.

 

I am including the specs below and as you can see it is not a small watch at 44mm diameter w/o crown and 14mm+ thickness. It is also long lug to lug at 53/54mm. It came on an awesome thick leather strap with orange stitching. The exhibition case back allows me to admire the Unitas 6498 Soigné grade, which I love as a fan of hand-crankers… I had not owned a manual watch in a while but now I just got two new ones within a week! J The sapphire crystal is just slightly domed, which looks pretty cool on this wide-dialed watch. One of my favorite features is the hands,(not sure what the style name is) I love their design and how it fits with the overall theme and roman #s… but I absolutely love that they are BLUE!!! That just sold me J and the minute hand is long and reaches almost all the way to the end of the dial within maybe 1mm. It is very elegant. The other features that appealed to me was the seconds sub dial at 6, which I’ve always been a fan of. Finally it is a no date watch, and I am glad as it is one less thing to set J but mostly it fits that style better and adds to its elegance!

I have only worn it a few hours but it seems to be very comfortable and really looks awesome on the wrist on this strap, a much nicer strap than on most watches I’ve bought/seen in this price range. CHRIS... It is a keeper subtlelaugh.gif

 

Specs and some history:


Movement:  ETA Unitas 6498 Soigné, made in Switzerland, Geneva stripes, Plate, gold plated, Blued screws, 17 Jewels
Functions: Hour and minute, Second hand at 6 o'clock
Case: stainless steel, brushed, screwed case back, mineral glass, Diameter: 44 mm, height: 14.2 mm, Weight: 107 g, Lug width: 22 mm
Dial: white
Crystal: sapphire, domed, with double anti-reflecting coating on the interior side
Bezel: stainless steel, polished
Indices and Hands: Roman, black numbers, blue hands
WaterRes: limited water resistant, no swimming or shower
Strap: leather brown, aligator grain, 22x22 mm, orange stitching with stainless steel OEM 22 mm polished buckle

In the 18 Century, the carpenter John Harrison developed on behalf of the British government a precision instrument for accurate determination of longitude at sea, the first marine chronometer.
These high-precision chronometers, gimbal mounted in wooden boxes where mainly built for the Navy in Hamburg, Kiel and Glashütte. They where used on many marine vessels until the invention of the quartz movement and are highly collectable items today.
As a tribute to the craft and to be able to enjoy looking at this classic design on the wrist, STEINHART has developed the series "Marine Chronometer". Powered by a Swiss pocket watch movement, stored in a brushed stainless steel case, you can admire the simple beauty of this instrument under the domed sapphire crystal at any time now.

 

Overall, it is a great watch, with quality parts and finish, and Gunter’s top notch customer service at a great price (310 EUROS to US + 30 for Fedex shipping to the USA)! This is my 4th Steinhart and all have been great watches!

Well, on to pictures, I took some Q&D’s at the office today, not great.. the lighting is just not good for taking watch pics! J I will take a couple of better screen shots outside to get better lighting.

 

Cheers

Brice