Very rough image but I'm sure you get the idea.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Hmm Speedbird GMT :lol: .
An interesting design, at first sight I thought the dial looked a bit busy but on reflection it's actually very clear and easy to read. Nice hands, with decent lume I think it would glow in the dark pretty good too!
Nice one Eddie.
Cheers
Chris
now't wrong with that .... looks very promising :D
YES! NOW! SOONER! HERE'S MONEY!
See the thing is I reckon this'd be a smucking fart bit o' kit. Would it be the modified movement?
Kevin
You need to quit, you are killing me :lol: :lol:
Nice idea, suggestion howabout the date round with black background and white number. something like the dreadnought stealth. :D :D
I like it, although I think the GMT text should be stacked under Speedbird. IMHO, writing out Greenwich Mean Time and having GMT on the dial is a bit redundant.
It reminds me of a cream-dialled Junkers I bought a while back from Roy. Here's the black dial version:
:thumbright:
but in true Speedbird style I would prefer a less busy dial.... :wink:
nothing wrong with the legibility of this dail ...... but less is more...
the Greenwich Mean Time on the dial is great
as is the speedbird GMT
the design of the hands is distinctive, gives it a character of its own (my Universal compur has hands in this shape... blued and lumed.... verrrry nice.....) length is perfect
how about an orange luminous tip for the seconds hand (but keep the shape...)
......suggestions for the dial...
minute markers could be a traintrack chapterring as in the CAF design... or the SB1903..... (less resemblance with the IWC UTC )
hour markers luminous and just numbers with 3, 6 and 9
no date window ( put a Kylie calender on the wall guys.... :twisted: )
Jeroen
and yes #25 has my name on it.... :) :) :)
Love it Eddie, and agree with some of the comments. I would drop the Greenwich Mean Time lettering it isn't needed with GMT after Speedbird. The minute chapter from the 1903 would look great and I also think the SB2 hands would look hot.
And if no changes still sign me up for one.
What about white on black date / hour wheels?
Suggestion: BLUE LEAF HANDS with Applied Luminova & a SIGNED PRS Bigger CROWN (Like SpeedBird I)
That will make it look good!!!
Hi Edddie, you need to distinguish your watch from the rest. A signed crown is a good start!!!!
You make, we buy. You stop, No Buy.
Regards
jamjeow
Singapore
DN#60
Oops I make a mistake. BLUE HAnds but keep the current design.
:wink:
JamJeow
Might I suggest you mock up another version with the same hands as a Speedy 1 to see what that looks like please?
I'd like to see it with more Speedbird styling rather than IWC. The trick is to give it enough design cues from the Speedbird range but different enough to be it's own watch.
Date at 6, cardinal markers and a big crown would be nice. Not sure about those hands?
Cheers,
Tim.
I never was a big fan of that particular style of watch, but I do think the Greenwich Mean Time legend is unnecessary and the hands ought to be changed. I'd also eliminate the "6" numeral and raise the date opening a bit to see how that might look...the symmetry of the numbers on the both sides with no 12 and 6 might be interesting. Finally, can you do the GMT readout and the date wheel with white numerals on black background?
Eddie, this is the GMT I've been waiting for. The GMT Dreadnought sounds very cool, but I've always been a fan of understated watches, and this will do me very nicely.
Professionally I've worked as an computer user interface designer, and I really care about easy legibility, and intelligent information design. This watch has it all.
I think the GMT legend, if in a very dark red could look great against a black dial. It's barely visible, but you know it's there.
Fantastic, as long as the movement allows easy setting of the GMT hour completely independantly from regular time I think you've got a real winner here.
Mechanical or quartz?
Paul
:) I like it. The white text on black wheels sounds good. How about a blue seconds hand and GMT text in matching blue like the SB 1903 stylee - red seconds hand would be nice too that matches up with the GMT text? Just an idea....
Maybe no date or the numeral at 6 replaced with the date.
DELETED
...if I wanted that style I would buy the original. It doesn't seem to add any ideas over the original and risks being viewed as a cheap knockoff (unless I misunderstand its functions).
Even the GMT logo seems to be a copy of the 'Universal Time Coordinated' writing on the original (which I find a bit unnecessary, by the way).
Hmmm...I think the window thing is a bit too close to IWC. How about putting it across 6 instead?
And...offering PVD versions? :twisted:
Ming
At first sight I absolutely loved the watch - but the reason is that I have a weakness for IWC. It is very close to the IWC UTC indeed.
On second thought, my suggestion is to add characteristic Speedbird elements, either hands, dial, chemin-de-fer ... white on black date wheel. The proposal is a great watch, but it'll invite criticism of being a copy of a current production model by another company.
As for the date: please note that IWC has modified the date function (so that it'll actually go backwards when you turn the 12h hand back through midnight). I do not know whether that would be standard with a modified 2893 movement.
Personally, I think that the DN-GMT will be a more distinctive watch, but I realize that there is much demand on the forum for a lighter GMT watch. Great projects, both of them.
Crusader
Cheers,
Martin ("Crusader")
Thanks for the feedback guys. Anyone who has been through this design process before will know that the picture at the top of the thread is just the starting point, presented for criticism and suggestions. No offence taken at any of the criticisms, you have to be brutal if we are to get it right.
I'll look at the suggestions and see what we come up with.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Love it, Love it, LOVE IT!!!! (Did I mention that I LOVE it???)
I'd buy it as is, (assuming that it is an auto, modified ETA 2893 as previously discussed to allow for indepemdent setting of the 12-hr hand without hacking the movement). Would prefer the following changes, however:
1) no "Greenwich Mean Time" text on dial. First, it's already obvious what the function of the watch is. Second, many will use this function to track a second time zone (but likely not GMT per se), or even as a simple 24hr indicator as in Lemania 5100 movements.
Maybe you could place slightly larger red "GMT" text under the 24-hour display window, and just "Speedbird" on the lower half of the dial...
2) Black date wheel with white numbering, possibly inboard of the luminous indices at 4:30 so as not to interfere with luminous indices or numeric indicators, possibly round date window.
Note: if date is located at 4:30, I would still prefer for the orientation of the date numerals themselves to be aligned North-South, so to speak. This would likely require a customized date wheel, however, as I have only seen date wheels with the date numerals oriented for proper display at 3:00 or else at 6:00 (most watches with date at 4:30, notably Sinns, seem to use the normal 3:00 orientation of the date numerals, so that the date numerals appear on a slant in the display window)... Am I making sense here???
Eddie, since you may not wish to produce both a Speedbird GMT and a DN-GMT, possibly it would make more sense to produce this watch and also a chronograph version of the DN, instead of a DN-GMT. That way you could avoid too much dilution of the DN line. A DN chronograph (orange dial?) at a reasonable price available around year's end would blow that overpriced Doxa T-Graph right out of the water, and you could follow up that success with the Speedbird GMT, which would have a much longer lead time due to the waiting time for delivery of modifed 2893 movements...
Retain the 24 hour time wheel for those of us who think in 24 hour format but have the wheel change from black on white to white on black at 1800 and vice versa at 0600.
My two-penneth, if I'm not too late:
Keep "Greenwich Mean Time" as it's a nice touch
Move the date window up to replace the "6"
Perhaps a red second-hand to complement GMT
I like it a lot - but I think it needs to be sufficiently different from the current IWC UTC to be its own watch. I like the idea of a 24-hour window and there must be a way to incorporate it on a face.
Again - it must have an independently adjustable hour hand to work as a UTC/GMT watch.
Also - if you are going to use a 'Speedy-type' case - can you change the lugs slightly to have a wider strap (e.g. 20mm) - no need for the watch itself to be bigger, just the strap.
Also - any idea how I can get a old photo off fototime - I had posted a Speedy UTC last August - but the picture seems to have disappeared.
http://www.tz-uk.com/forum/viewtopic.ph ... c&start=15
Reminds me this:
One of the most beautiful dial/hand combinations I've ever seen.
I really love it. Just what i need for travelling :P :P
However I could do without to much writing. :cry:
How about a name such as just: SB GMT (in red or blue)
Original SB 2 hands with a red tipped second hand.
20 mm lug spacing, large crown, HIRSCH Liberty style strap.
That's a first patern B-Uhren dial revisited ...Originally Posted by Pavel
Reminds me this:
One of the most beautiful dial/hand combinations I've ever seen.
http://www.qahill.com/tz/b-uhr/
john
Costume jewellery. Ouch!!!
Eddie great looking watch, however the second hand might look good in red.
Rod :wink:
8) idea, endure!
Crusader
Cheers,
Martin ("Crusader")
IWC Big Pilot Watch is obviously an hommage to this piece. What would you think of an affordable Speedbird Big Pilot? It might be smaller than the original, say, 44 mm. I would starve only to be able to buy it. The hands. The dial. The diamond-shaped crown. The two-riveted strap. Wow. An IWC is, unfortunately, way beyond my financial strength and the closest match - Stowa Flieger - is too small and lacks the proper crown.
I like the idea ... my preference would be a white on black GMT and date and to remove the "Greenwich Mean Time" from the dial. I use two time zone watches a lot and always have one zone set to UK time be it GMT or BST; having the watch telling me it is GMT when it is set at BST would annoy me :lol:
Great idea, as long as we retain the 24hr format (no am/pm designations)8) idea, endure!
Crusader
Here's another possibility
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Hello,
The hands seem too "bold" for the dial. The original ones were nice.
The extra marks in the minute chapter? Maybe. It is starting to look busy.
The GMT and date and markings look perfect.
Just on my view .... (goes without saying)
Best wishes,
Bob
Eddie the second version is the one. No need for any more modification. What will be it's PRS #? It's Speedbird siblings are waiting for it to join them here in NY.
Still playing Bob & Ron. I'm not sure about the hands myself so if anyone has ideas for another style, let's have 'em.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
prefer the seconds chapter on the second version... :thumbright:
Looking good, how about some hands like the Omega dynamic late 1999 models and luminecent numbers.
I think it would look good. IMHO
:Dhttp://www.tz-uk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1929
The hands: since I now own a Speedbird, SB II black and Ivory dial and the Omega Dynamic, I must say I like the SBII Ivory and Dynamic hands the best.
Why? With the ivory dial the black border to the hands stands out very well, and the hands appear more pronounced. On the dynamic the hands are completely "white", so again they are more pronounced.
On SB and SBII black dial the only part of the hands you really see is the lume insert, which just doesn't seem bold enough. I'd really like to see the SBII hands but done totally in "white" (or lume colour).
I would love to see a crown the size of the original Speedbird, rather than the more slimline version of the SBII.
I like everything else about this latest version.
Kevin
I like the arabics, indicators, seconds track and hands from this dial:
but I much prefer the layout of the "Speedbird GMT" text and the date location / color on this dial:
Also, now that I think about it, I think I actually prefer the all-white 24 hour wheel with black 24-hr format numerals, instead of the combo black/white background style...
Eddie any chance of seeing a photoshopped combo of the arabics, indicators, seconds track and hands from the first dial coupled with the layout of the "Speedbird GMT" text and the date location / color from the second dial??? Please??
Thats why I love that My omega Dynamic Chrono, My aging eyes can see it. and it's beautiful and bold. :D
Eddie, looks good.
I agree with Brian. The strongest design might be to take your Speedbird dial and simply insert the GMT window. The indices on the first mock-up were almost too harsh.
The hands from your first mock-up looked great, I also like the hands from the Speedbird I, very purposeful.
I know it's too early to ask, but if you were to build this watch, when might you consider shipping it? :D My birthday's 6 months from now, and this would be an amazing gift to myself. All I need to do now is find reasons to buy the Seamaster 300 tribute
Paul
I agree with Brian. White hands like Omega Dynamic or Sinn 656 will be great.
How about PRS-1 style hands? I reckon a PRS-1 with a date window and the 24 hour time ring would look stunning.
Eddie, would it be possible to have a 'big date' to match the arabic numerals? that would be the dogs, failing that lose the date alltogether.
Vic
I agree with Brian and Adrian.
What I don't like about the second version is the 1/5th marks - the watch does not have a 36'000 bph movement, but one that will justify only 1/4 or 1/8 marks. But not being a chronograph, the subdivisions of a second are misleading (as is the case on the Omega X-33).
I would need the minute indices to be more pronounced than in the second version.
The center of the dial is perfect, though.
Crusader
Cheers,
Martin ("Crusader")
This is very nice. I like this one. The dial really looks great here. :D Make it, please. :DHere's another possibility
Eddie
My thoughts exactly!
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