With all this IWC talk & recent interest I have received from you privately some excellent IWC reviews. Now I am still waiting on you to share your thoughts no matter we all might find you "WEIRD"! ;-)
Me thinks you owe to rest all of us a share of your krazy thoughts on these wonderful IWC pieces!
FWIW I told you I was going to do this .... now I was nice don't make me ask twice. ;-) BTW the only reason I did this cause I really enjoyed your insightful reviews which made me actually go and search out the pieces for some closer inspection.
Yeh Charlie ...spill it....
The IWC fan club is picking up steam...
Cheers
Mark in California
Dang it, that will teach me to spout emails..
Ok, Ok, I own two IWC's. The Original Cousteau, and just recently picked up the St. Exubery Pilot's chrono.. I wrote down some thoughts on the Aquatimer and sent them to Milan since he was asking about it during one of the Tuesday night chats. Which by the way, if you're not dropping in, you're missing some fun discussions.
Cliff, there is still a place in my heart for Panerai, but I think I documented some of my frustrations with the 225 etc. Everybody can be a critic, so I try to not be negative, because as my dad told me once.
Don't complain about something unless you're willing to be a man, stand up, and try to change it.
Which of course is why you'll never hear me bitch much about the president of the united states..
So, here we go.. Please, don't be offended by anything I wrote, it's ALL subjective..
Hey Milan, I think last week you made mention of a review of the IWC Cousteau Aquatimer, version one. I don't see me posting this, because I'm guessing most of the guys thing I'm a nut anyways, but as long as I had some free time, I don't mind jotting down some thoughts..
I'll do some comparisons to the likes of Rolex, Omega and Panerai, but I don't want this to sound like a recommendation by any means. First off, you get the watch with only the blue rubber strap, I've since ordered the Bracelet (not sure why I waited so long ) but I want a little diversity for the watch. IWC is not Panerai with their design, at least with this aquatimer, you're pretty much stuck with IWC straps or Bracelets as far as I know. The supplied strap is very comfortable, but the blue color takes some serious getting used to, I'm not a huge fan of it, maybe because I'm not as comfortable with my masculinity as I should be! :-)
At the case, the strap is 24mm wide, but at the bottom of the wrist,you're looking at 18mm wide, this takes some getting used to, much like an AP, especially if you're used to a 24mm all the way around strap, or even a 26mm all the way around strap. It almost feels like a jewelry bracelet at times more than a watch strap. What's nice to me is the cooling effect of having a smaller strap under the wrist. The holes in the strap are nice and close, so the fit can be pretty concise, and the strap is
plenty long enough, but also should fit the smallest of wrists (but not my 90lb girlfriend thank goodness or she would be stealing it from me!).
Case, very nice finishing, brushed, with some serious weight/heft to it. For comparison sakes, with a bracelet it's 163 grams, versus a Rolex Seadweller at 143... It's thin compared to an Omega or Panerai, under 15mm to my eye, but it sits nice on the wrist. The crystal is pretty much flat, maybe a slight domed affect, but thick enough (3.3mm) to get the depth rating, and something I have always liked, the distortion affect when viewing the watch from an angle. Oh, the case is 42mm, but with the exposed crowns, it appears a little bit bigger to my eye.
This is my first and only dive watch I have with an inner rotating bezel. What I like is that the outer bezel is smooth, it does not shred shirt sleeves, and catch on clothing. The operation of the bezel is smooth, with the right clicks at the minute markers. What I don't like about the bezel setup is 1 - It takes over 10 seconds to move it around 50 minutes, where as I can zip an outer rotating bezel in about 5 seconds. 2 - By putting the bezel crown on the right side of the dial, along with the time/date adjusting crown, you end up with a nice sized crown right at 2:00. Not a big deal if you wear your watches below the wrist bone (closer to your hand). But if you're like me, and wear your watch above the wrist bone (closer to the elbow) that 2:00 crown can hit that bone and cause irritation to the skin, which has happened to me on several occasions. Of course should I be wearing an automatic watch while playing sports? That's a debatable question at best.
Also, the 2:00 crown is the time setting crown, and I've found it difficult to adjust my watch on the wrist, the bezel crown works fine on the wrist, but by moving the Time crown up, I feel you lose some dexterity. I might have liked to see the Bezel crown on the left, like with AP's new scuba, and leave the time crown in the traditional position.
Also, by placing both crowns on the right, you have pretty much eliminated crown guards, which I'm not so crazy about in a dive/sport watch. It's one thing if the crown is small, or close to being flush to the case, but the IWC's crowns are decent in size and sort of just out there in the open. Also, to the naked eye, it does not appear that the time crown is screwed all the way into the case, even after you've turned it to full tension. I would have liked to see the crown closer/more flush to the case when screwed all the way in.
Technical info, ETA movement, Inca bloc, pretty standard. On the wrist, I've found that it runs a little fast, please don't ask for exact measurements, I'm just not about that. On the winder it runs a little slow, pretty typical for a movement like that I guess. With the Rolex Subs, I think you get a brequet balance spring, and a power reserve of over 50 hours, with my IWC, it's just about 42 hours on the nose.
Visibility is top notch, and I love the use of Orange Luminova on the minute hand, and the 15 minute warning area on the bezel. It doesn't glow bright and huge like a Panerai, but it glows well enough to tell the time throughout the night. The dial is really a beautiful blue color, maybe not as stunning as Rolex's two tone Blue Sub, but it's sharp because it can be darker in dark lighting, and then BAM, super sharp in bright lighting.
Is this a keep forever watch? Perhaps, I think putting it on a bracelet will make me even happier, and my only mild complaints about the watch is that crown digging into me (not a problem if I'm not already dinged up there see the scar in the photo?) and having to take a little extra time rotating that inner bezel. But I like the inner bezel all in all, so it's a fair trade in my eyes.
Nice watch, is it worth the money, that's hard to say Milan, it's not super cheap, and I've not seen them selling second hand as cheaply as I thought they would. Watchtime magazine put the IWC up against the Rolex Seadweller, it was close, I think the Rolex beat the IWC by only 2 or 3 overall points. In fit and Finish the IWC won because of the Rolex bracelet and clasp being poorly designed. In the movement, value and predictable dependability areas they had the Rolex finishing first.
If you have any questions about the watch outside of what I've detailed here, please don't hesitate to ask me!
Cheers!
Charlie.
many will appreciate besides me. While you at it you could have posted the St. Exubery Pilot's one as well! ;-)
Now I just have to choose which IWC I will get next ;-)
Keep up the good work Charlie and never feel too wierd amogst the rest of us freaks! ;-)
Hey Charlie, that's a great report! thanks for sharing. Make sure to be tell us and share all your thoughts anytime, so truly enjoyable!
Yves.
But, then again, it takes a nut to know one and I know for a fact that Milan is nuts, so...
:)
Val
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