Bronze

[mikeyt]

I showed a preview a few days ago. Today, it arrived.  My first bronze cased watch.  San Martin brand, which I had never heard of before.  It has a Sea-Gull ST 2130 inside, which is a clone of the eta 2824-2 as I understand it, for good or ill.  The case is beginning to acquire a bit of a patina.  We'll see how that goes.  The strap is comfortable, which is a bit of a surprise.  I have had a few Chinese mechanicals and none of those straps were any good.  




Nice gun-metal gray dial.













Based on this short acquaintance, I kinda like it.

[Deleted]

A genuine Sea-Gull ST2130 is every bit as good as the ETA it emulates

[HiBeat]

Wow Mikey she's a looker.  Can't wait to see how the bronzes ages over time.  

A true bronze case is on my list. Someday.

[cd_god]

Brett Favre approves your choice

Now that you have the spirit of Brett Favre on your wrist go out and text some pics to some strange

www.metalsupermarkets.com/difference-between-copper-brass-bronze/

[russtmurray]

That's a nice score. Who says the ageing process can't be fun? 

[mikeyt]

Oct 29, 2018 18:17:25 GMT -8 HiBeat said:

Wow Mikey she's a looker.  Can't wait to see how the bronzes ages over time.  

A true bronze case is on my list. Someday.

Thanks, Jon.  Some, like this one, are quite affordable.  About what one of the Turtles would cost.  And, of course, lots out there that are less affordable.   

[Mr.Jones]

I do hope the back is stainless? I like the look of it, just not the patina part if it comes in contact with the skin...

[mikeyt]

It is stainless.  One thing I'm not crazy about is the brass hands.  Bronze would be better, but somebody said black?  Black would almost disappear against the dial.  White maybe.

[bklake]

I'm pretty sure that San Martin and Sharkey are one and the same.  Where there is a San Martin, there is a shark.  Not sure of the exact connection but I have observed the two closely tied for some time. 

I wish they would stick to there value pricing but the expensive stuff seems to be moving off the shelf on ebay.  The bronze Black Bay style with blue dial is particularly eye catching but I'm not will to spend $300+ on a Chinese watch. 

[mirrorman]

Give it another 5 -10 years o recon and better QC and Chinese watches will be a true force in watch world. There biggest prob ATM is def inconsistent QC and no dealer back .

[mikeyt]

Nov 1, 2018 0:03:20 GMT -8 mirrorman said:

Give it another 5 -10 years o recon and better QC and Chinese watches will be a true force in watch world. There biggest prob ATM is def inconsistent QC and no dealer back .

Most of the micro-brands are built in China now.  All of my L&H and NTH watches included, although they have Seiko and Citizen movements.  And many of the cases and movement parts for the "Swiss" brands are also manufactured there.

[philsinclair]

Nov 1, 2018 0:03:20 GMT -8 mirrorman said:

Give it another 5 -10 years o recon and better QC and Chinese watches will be a true force in watch world. There biggest prob ATM is def inconsistent QC and no dealer back .

Hi. I dispute the claim. I don’t see that Seagull have a quality control problem. Their top of the range stuff is brilliant, they make a tourbillon that is beyond the quality capabilities of most watchmakers anywhere.I have a number of Seagull watches at Seiko 5 level and find them on a par quality wise. The quality levels often drop for 3rd party users but it’s a case of ‘you get what you pay for’.I have also owned an Omega Planet Ocean’ that went back to the factory 7 times on warranty claims. I eventually got a full payout from Omega on the basis that the watch was unsuitable for the purpose it was sold. Cheers Phil

[mikeyt]

BTW, the lume is really good.  It's cloudy this morning, and I held the watch in front of a window for about 20 seconds.  This is the lume shot I got.  What light there is in the background is from my computer screen and a little leaking past the blinds.  The watch is still legible after eight hours of lights out.

[seikoshepherd]

Nov 2, 2018 5:15:22 GMT -8 mikeyt said:

BTW, the lume is really good.  It's cloudy this morning, and I held the watch in front of a window for about 20 seconds.  This is the lume shot I got.  What light there is in the background is from my computer screen and a little leaking past the blinds.  The watch is still legible after eight hours of lights out.

That’s a very cool pic 👍🏻

[mikeyt]

Thanks!

[russtmurray]

Nov 2, 2018 6:53:31 GMT -8 seikoshepherd said:

Nov 2, 2018 5:15:22 GMT -8 mikeyt said:

BTW, the lume is really good.  It's cloudy this morning, and I held the watch in front of a window for about 20 seconds.  This is the lume shot I got.  What light there is in the background is from my computer screen and a little leaking past the blinds.  The watch is still legible after eight hours of lights out.

That’s a very cool pic 👍🏻

I wholeheartedly concur. Looks like it was near one of those Van der Graff generators.

[mikeyt]

Thank you, too.  It has lost seven seconds since Monday, or 1.4 sec/day, so I'm happy with the accuracy thus far.

[mirrorman]

Nov 2, 2018 2:43:27 GMT -8 philsinclair said:

Nov 1, 2018 0:03:20 GMT -8 mirrorman said:

Give it another 5 -10 years o recon and better QC and Chinese watches will be a true force in watch world. There biggest prob ATM is def inconsistent QC and no dealer back .

Hi. I dispute the claim. I don’t see that Seagull have a quality control problem. Their top of the range stuff is brilliant, they make a tourbillon that is beyond the quality capabilities of most watchmakers anywhere.I have a number of Seagull watches at Seiko 5 level and find them on a par quality wise. The quality levels often drop for 3rd party users but it’s a case of ‘you get what you pay for’.I have also owned an Omega Planet Ocean’ that went back to the factory 7 times on warranty claims. I eventually got a full payout from Omega on the basis that the watch was unsuitable for the purpose it was sold. Cheers Phil

Hi, sorry for the lateness of my reply - am in the 2 weeks of graveyard shifts section of the roster and all I tend to do is sleep when I'm not at work.

You seem to have taken my post as some slight toward Seagull. I never mentioned Seagull, or any brand as a matter of fact. I have a 1963 chronograph ( the Chinese pilot watch whic I believe is from Seagull) and so far haven't had a problem.

What I was saying is that at the moment the quality control seen in the general Chinese made watch is still too inconsistant. You can get some very good product, and you can still buy some pretty awfull stuff too.  With the Seagull chrono I mentioned I now have owned at least 7 Chinese made watches, and the QC differences between them is quite vast. Although I can see the QC improved on each subsequent purchase, with the Seagull Chrono being very good - base level Seiko at least. 

So if we do want to talk of just specific Seagull, then this is a brand which has the potential to be in 5-10 years a "true force" in the watch industry.

Sorry to read that you had a problem with your Omega, and yes all watch manufacturers can make a "lemon"- in general though Omega and brands like Seiko and Citizen have a QC that is still VERY good and VERY consitent.  

[mirrorman]

Oh, and mikeyt - I do like your watch ...