Fnord.

Not again!

Once again, I am considering the purchase of an expensive watch, and once again I am taking refuge in obsessive research. This page documents what I’ve learned, so that others can be amused at my expense and perhaps find it useful. As with the Marinemaster, I don’t have one so all pictures are borrowed as noted. Links and references are at the bottom.

What is it this time?

It’s the Stowa Marine Original Limited Edition II, just announced. 120 pieces total, 80 to the USA. Here’s the official picture:

This is a variant on the Marine Original Black:

The limited edition is differentiated by having

1. Matte-finished case
2. Metallic silver 12 applied (vs painted numerals)
3. Hand-applied serial number below subseconds
4. Deployant buckle, hand-stitched leather strap

The plain version is (as of 6/09, matte finish and deployant buckle) 915 Euros or $1267. The LE version is $1460, or $193 more. For that you’re basically getting a nicer dial as far as I can tell.

Commenter Henry corrects me to note that the delta is closer to $400 – I was reading the EC price, when in fact Americans pay the lower non-EC cost. Oops.

Specifications

Case

The case is matte-finished 316L stainless steel, 42mm by 10.8mm. Signed crown, waterproof to 50 meters, screwed caseback with sapphire display window and domed sapphire crystal. Not sure if the crystal is anti-reflective or not; I suspect not.

(That’s a picture of the regular edition with polished case)

(Ditto)

Movement

The movement is a Unitas 6498-1, handwind mechanical, 16.5 ligne, 17 jewels, 18000vph, appx 48 hour power reserve. Blued screws, Geneva stripes (Cotes du Geneve), screw balance. ETA sells movements in five different grades; I would guess this to be Elabore or Top grade (3 or 4), and Stowa adds a nice swans-neck fine regulator too:

Dial

Here’s a comparison from Stowa of the changes to the LE dial:

and here’s their picture of the non-LE again:

Discussion and rambling

This watch really reached out and grabbed me. I’ve been looking for a 6498-based watch for a year or two now, as I quite like the look and the movement. You can read more in the links, but the Unitas movements started out life as pocketwatch movements and have taken on immense popularity in the era of larger wristwatches. They’re reliable, easy to repair and nicely designed. In the higher grades, they keep excellent time and are a more reliable alternative to a vintage handwind. I love the subseconds-at-six design, especially when paired with upright Arabic numerals and vintage hands. Retro, yet functional and uncluttered. It’s a coherent and clean design, which for me is very high praise.

I’ve also thought about the first limited edition, which was in many ways even nicer – white enamel dial with a red ‘12′. It sold out in days, and is selling for more than list price. So maybe the LE2 will retain value better as well, but in watches you should never count on making money. I always assume I’ll pay depreciation costs. The blue-on-white version is quite pretty though:

It’d be nice if there was lume for nighttime viewing, but I’ll accept its lack as a design decision.

You can certainly spend a lot more on a 6498-based watch (e.g. Panerai); this is actually a fair market price if not cheap. Sigh.

I spent some time considering the Alpha version with cloned Chinese movement, but I’d rather have a few nice watches and am thus in the middle of an Ebay selloff to fund the Stowa. Look for a review in October or so when it’s supposed to ship. I’ve reserved serial number thirteen!

More information

1. Watchbuys product page
2. Non-LE product page at Stowa
3. ETA pages on the 6498 with drawings, part numbers and other gritty details
4. Unitas reference site – history, links, other watches with the same movement, etc.
5. TickTalk on why he likes this movement
6. Sea-Gull clones are still apparently having QC issues.
7. You can get a base-grade 6498 from Otto Frei here. These are popular with newbies due to the larger size and robust design.
8. (Added 8/20/09) Daos on Horological Meandering has a lovely detailed review of his Marine Original. Must-read!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 3:23 pm and is filed under Reviews and recommendations, Watches and timekeeping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.