Anyone got one of these? Seem to be extremely popular with celebrities apparently even the Dalai Lama owns one but never see much mention on forums
I see a sif nart on eBay and extremely tempted what’s tz opinions
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Js-Watch-...gAAOSwmFde6RfA
I think there was a guy on the Christopher Ward Forum who had one a few years ago, looked like a nice well made watch but nothing remarkable or anything to distinguish it from numerous other watch brands in the same price bracket. If I recall they did have a rather attractive lady advertising their watches on their website.
Looks ferkin' cheap & ugly to me! So might well appeal to Celebs at that price!
The last thing J&S watches are is cheap! They are exceptionally well made and reliable watches.
I have an Islandus. I got mine a few years ago when the Icelandic Kroner had a bit of a wobble so it was a good price. Display back so you can see the ETA elabore movement and a lovely dual.
The base of the dial is metal which has been treated with a procedure called Lack Brilliance which gives a really nice enamel finish.
They are a bugger to photograph though!
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Looks very nice, what’s your opinion on the sif nart did you handle oneOriginally Posted by village
The last thing J&S watches are is cheap! They are exceptionally well made and reliable watches.
I have an Islandus. I got mine a few years ago when the Icelandic Kroner had a bit of a wobble so it was a good price. Display back so you can see the ETA elabore movement and a lovely dual.
The base of the dial is metal which has been treated with a procedure called Lack Brilliance which gives a really nice enamel finish.
They are a bugger to photograph though!
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First impression of that one on eBay, I thought it looked like an RLT job.
I’ve heard nothing but good things about them. All watches are hand assembled in their own workshop and the quality looks top notch. The designs also seem classic without being boring.
Given the size of the maker I’m much more inclined to believe that the celebrities listed on their site have bought the watches themselves because they have visited the workshop and liked what they’ve seen. I doubt that their budget stretches far enough to pay tens of thousands for endorsements. This is so much more telling than a sports star who puts a watch by a particular brand on after every match because they have been given it for nothing and been paid a fortune for wearing it.
A friend of mine has one. It’s very nice and has the same quality of feel to it as the other J&S I’ve handled (albeit that is a total of 4). I thought it was nicer in the flesh than it was on the website,but then that often is the case!
I had a look in their (closed) shop last time I was in Reykjavik. They had some pieces in the window but they looked a little unremarkable to be honest.
Looks like they photograph movie stars who are on location filming in Iceland.
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Yes, can't imagine all of that lot travelled there specifically to endorse JS Watch Co. They are making the most of their location. Either filming on location or RKV (and moreso KEF) are stop-overs for the smaller private jets with more limited range.
I've seen Village J&S in the flesh and it's lovely, the photos do not do it justice at all.
I'd happily have one in a flash.
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I just think if were in the market for an independent watch like that, I'd much prefer a Dornblüth.
You will probably need a couple of grand more for a Dornbluth
Ah...hadn't looked at the prices at all.
I'd love a Dornbluth as well but Iceland is on the cards as a venue for a wedding anniversary trip within the next few years and I'd combine the two to make it memorable.
A Dornbluth I'd order from the comfort of my sofa. Probably to mark a special occasion, but without the trip attached.
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I have a Dornbluth
I think Stowa would probably be a better comparison (For price) with JS. Dornbluth do a lot of modification to their base movements it looks like JS use top grade EAT movements similar to Stowa.
Thanks for the info, I guess I assumed that with all those celebrity pictures they must be expensive!
That eBay one does not do it for me at all...genuinely looks like an RLT Watches model.
I have one and I like it very much:
Last edited by Padders; 21st June 2020 at 15:21.
Were early RLT watches not made by Ollech & Wajs? I remember Roy used to distribute their watches in the UK and many RLT watches seemed to be Ollech & Wajs designs with the RLT logo.
I have owned some RLT offerings and what Gilbert produces is nothing at all like those. Roy would buy up a batch of whatever case or movement was going and throw something together mixing Swiss and Chinese parts, often with pretty dire resulting quality. Gilbert uses top notch Swiss and German bits which he either has custom made or modifies heavily. There is no comparison there at all. A closer comparison may be with our host, but I think it safe to say that JS Watch do more customisation.
ps the Sif Nart on a leather strap is currently circa £1,850 new so the one on ebay is a bit pricey for second hand.
Last edited by Padders; 21st June 2020 at 15:35.
I visited the shop a few times when I had a week in Reykyavik a couple of years ago...the shop is tiny, interesting owner with lots of stories about celebs contacting him saying when they are visiting & can they have a watch personalised. As for the watches themselves, some were lovely, some interesting, some were average but I guess you can say that about pretty much every brand. Well worth a visit if you are in Reykyavik.
I think that is before tax though?
I dont think so. The prices are listed in dollars but it states the following:
"Prices shown include all Import/Export duties and DHL Express shipping and insurance to customers doorstep Worldwide."
It's a couple of hundred quid more for the mesh bracelet model. It is a Staib mesh so you can add it yourself for cheaper than this last time I looked. The JS one has a custom clasp engraving (mine came with mesh and the rubber strap seen on the website) but that is the only difference I think.
Last edited by Padders; 21st June 2020 at 15:52.
Strange as it says €2450 on here
http://forum.watch.ru/attachment.php...2&d=1417447448
That price list is from 2014. The vale of the ISK has moved around all over the place in the last 10 years. Presumably he is able to sell at a lower USD price today than he could then. I bought mine in person a few years back and paid less than the current price thanks to the then weak ISK and comparatively strong GBP. Back then prices in person in ISK were a lot lower than he was quoting for International delivery.
Take a look at the webpage, prices are shown clearly on there now.
I see makes a change a watch coming down in price
It was JS Watch that actually got me started in watches.
I had never even held a mechanical watch before I wandered into their Laugavegur store to buy one during a trip to Reykjavik in 2013.
As said, there’s something charming about buying a watch in person from a father & son who (with only two other persons, and some admin help) comprise the entirety of the company - all designs, marketing, assembly, quality control, regulation, retailing & shipping flow from their hands. You don’t get that with many brands, nor a tour of their broom cupboard of a workshop.
The personal touch & service is exemplary. If you want your watch customised to a different hand-set or strap etc., they’ll do it for you whilst you wait.
Yes, they do seem quite expensive at first glance, considering they are ETA/Soprod movements, but like many brands I think it’s short-sighted (if quite understandable, give their scarcity) to make a snap judgement without reading more deeply into them, or trying one on if you can.
They don’t manufacture, but one of two persons hand-assembles them.
Worth noting that attention to detail extends to the fine regulation of the movement - not an especially hard task with an ETA etc., but one that many brands skip. My ETA 2824-2 (Top Grade) is the most accurate watch I’ve owned.
Like anything, economies of scale plays a part too - they aren’t making thousands of them, and you’re unlikely to see many of them out & about.
Each watch case is engraved with both the number that watch represents in that model line, and in the overall production of the company. My 2013 model, for instance, shows that they had made less than 500 of them (across different variants), and less than 1,800 watches total in their 8-year history by that point.
For suppliers, they use only Swiss or German suppliers - these aren’t picks from a Far East catalogue. ‘Top’ Grade movements, blue screws, rhodium plated etc. The white dials aren’t enamel, but have a depth & lustre that make it seem as such, with numerals that are slightly raised/in relief. Domed sapphire crystals, gorgeous hand-blued or rhodium plated hands. The case is also polished to a really high standard. The strap on mine is hand-made ostrich leather, beautifully supple from ‘day one’.
Who really cares much about packaging, but they do it very well - black ‘piano finish’ wood, lovely little bound literature book with parchment-like pages, micro-fibre cloth etc.
The celebrity thing is something that probably works both for & against them. They don’t pay for endorsements, but I think it’s become somewhere of note for celebs to visit when working there (Reykjavik is one of my very favourite places, but let’s face it, it’s tiny and there ain’t a whole lot to it).
I totally understand that they may appear expensive or slickly-marketed to many, but I find watches to be a very personal hobby, and I suppose what they do either floats your boat or it doesn’t.
Roger Smith they are not, but having owned quite a few micro brands, I think they do what they do to a higher standard than many. I own & adore Stowa, but the JS Watch offering is that bit better, to my mind.
I mentioned it earlier but ,at least as far as mine is concerned,the base of the dial is metal which has been treated with a procedure called Lack Brilliance which gives a really nice enamel finish.
This cam from Sigurdur Gilburtsson who is one of the founders of J&S.
Thanks for all the info much appreciated, the thing that is putting me off is a lack of fitted bracelet and whether 40mm might be too small, I’m still slightly tempted as keep thinking about it also it looks like the seller has re-listed at a lower price so I think I will keep a eye on it for now to see if it goes down anymore,
Does the asking price of £1500 sound to much to owners? As I’m hearing nothing but praise from owners on here? It does look in fantastic condition
These wear pretty big, partly due to the slab sides and party due to the large dial real estate vs a diver with a rotating bezel but at 14mm actually aren't all that thick. Impressive for a 1000m depth rating. The bracelet is just an engraved Staib model with diver extension clasp, Very high quality but not difficult to find at around £130-160. As such, I would think nearer £1,300-1400 on the NATO might be nearer the mark by my view. Maybe shoot him an offer.
I think it is this one:
https://www.watch-band-center.com/wa...-20mm-mes.html
Here's the JS bracelet, currently doing duty on a Speedy:
Last edited by Padders; 21st June 2020 at 21:13.
Speedy looks amazingThese wear pretty big, partly due to the slab sides and party due to the large dial real estate vs a diver with a rotating bezel but at 14mm actually aren't all that thick. Impressive for a 1000m depth rating. The bracelet is just an engraved Staib model with diver extension clasp, Very high quality but not difficult to find at around £130-160. As such, I would think nearer £1,300-1400 on the NATO might be nearer the mark by my view. Maybe shoot him an offer.
I think it is this one:
https://www.watch-band-center.com/wa...-20mm-mes.html
Here's the JS bracelet, currently doing duty on a Speedy:
I offered him £1000 but he wasn’t having it he said the best he could do was include a unused JS Watch co rubber strap that he was keeping for another watch , I’ve decided to get a Seiko SPB151J1 instead I know it’s a completely different vibe but resale I think it would be easier to move if I wanted to flip,
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