Nice project. I would be interested depending on dial execution & final price. I am also curious on reason behind the Smith branding rather than Precista.
Nice project. I would be interested depending on dial execution & final price. I am also curious on reason behind the Smith branding rather than Precista.
Looks lovely - I've always loved the look of my uncle's 6105, which he's worn pretty much every day since he bought it. Don't think it's ever been serviced since it came out of the box and it's still going strong!
Another vote for the bracelet from me - I've never found rubber straps particularly comfortable, so a nice oyster or jubilee style with solid links and end pieces and 2.5mm spring bars would be perfect.
Do you have a timescale for when these might become available?
I am officially hyped for this watch!!!
Here is the thread @ scwf that has been mentioned here:
http://www.thewatchsite.com/index.ph...html#msg232428
And the blueprint:
Last edited by yonsson; 18th September 2012 at 12:32.
no thanks, not for me
it looks like a really big diver for my wimpy wrist.
it's what, over 42mm?
If you read the thread over at SCWF you will see that Jake never claims any "right" to this homage, rather it is some of his fans that do. In fact he specifically states that no one is entitled to anything. I've shared a few beers with Jake before and I think he's a good guy who is very passionate about watches. He has a strong vision for his design as does Eddie. I believe both started work on on them without knowledge of the other's efforts so it really doesn't matter who started first. Both watches will be excellent and we get to choose what we want. How great is that? No need for controversy here.
Rick
Looking at the cross-section drawing Eddie posted on p.1, it looks like he is going for ball-bearing clicks, just like the original (and so perhaps bidirectional?). The same drawing also suggests that the crown will be 'locking' rather than screw-down. Eddie's watch looks like being very close in spirit to the original in terms of its engineering and I think that will make for a very distinctive and desirable watch. I'm looking forward to seeing how this develops as more details emerge.
Martin
After reading the whole thread: count me in. And I'm glad that the lug size is 20mm. Not the impractical 19mm. And fwiw: a H-shaped bracelet would be soooo nice!
Now, where can I sign up?
Menno
Thanks Martin, I'd missed the drawing further down the page. I've always thought that, given what it has to do, a well engineered locking crown is a more elegant solution that a screw in one.
How tremendously exciting this is, I think we are in for the most painful wait yet.
Want it! Want it! Want it! And I believe there's enough interest in this particular model, as you've probably discovered ;)
So... there are guys over there complaining that one person's "homage" is the one, true homage because... that is the one they heard of first? It seems pretty clear that both projects have been on the table for a while and independently, and it is equally clear that getting all bent out of shape because one guy has made more progress than the other is just stupid.
To be fair, I expect the case blanks to come from China and be finished in Germany. I don't have the confidence to go the extra mile and have the cases finished in China although it's rumoured some of the top names do. If there are QC issues, I'd rather deal with a German manufacturer than a Chinese manufacturer.
The above is a case blank for one of my watches and as you can see, there's a lot of work to be done in Germany to turn it into a finished case.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
And I couldn't give a toss who's first with this project.
Quality attention to detail and service are important to me.
And on that front Eddie has always delivered.
Daddel.
Got a new watch, divers watch it is, had to drown the bastard to get it!
Anyone care to guess which watch the case blank is from?
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
I would venture to say Dreadnought.
Dear Eddie,
My humble opinion of customer about this controversy.
I don't care about "who was the first"
Each project will lead to produce a watch.
Each customer will make his mind about this watch produced and will choose.
3 criterias IMO : price,quality & design...
As european customer is like to deal with european seller.
Eddie's project seems to be very nice.
I'm very impatient to see the final result.
...
Looks great. I owned an original and it was fantastic (another why did I sell it moment), the only weak point I felt was the twist lock crown. I'd be interested in seeing an updated and improved version of that. Great to hear that you are planning on a bracelet for it. Now what are you thinking of for the dial?
I like the name Smiths for it......................................... though you could call it a "Smeiko" or how about the "Willard"?
Automatic , on bracelet, with 'Smiths' on the dial (subtle, as on the PRS-25), ideally with pronounced domed crystal...and up to your usual high standards.
YES!
(just don't forget the next batch of the Speedbird GMT )
Looking forward to the dial pics.
Will it have a date window?
I hope so...
It would be fabulous to have the Seiko 8F56 movement, or the ETA 255.461 - the Omega Calibre 1538 found in the SMP 2264. Both come as standard with the quick-set hour hand feature which is great for travel. Seiko never got round to putting one in a proper dive watch, alas, and the SMP bezel just isn't as good as the Seiko ones were.
Last edited by HappyJack; 19th September 2012 at 06:12.
Speedbird III ?
Bit late to the party*. And haven't bothered with the SCWF thread.
I know you have moved the discussion on to the bracelet option now but I remember you asking about the design of the waffle strap in the past and specifically the holes on both sides of the strap.
I'd be very interested to hear how far the development of your waffle strap went/is going and which version you had in mind;
Like WillJ's version, the Willard or the XGL-731?
Or something completely different?
Ian
* apart from having an inkling back in February ;0)
http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.ph...highlight=6105
[How do you make old links to threads before the forum update work again?]
Last edited by Emeister; 19th September 2012 at 16:56.
would it be a limited run or something more durable in term of sale ?
regards
I'm not terribly interested in the 'who's first?' argument but the watch is a belter and it's nice to see that Smiths has a future around here.
Eddie top stuff! Is the case blank not actually a case blank but the Sewills G-shock hommage fully machined
case blank is a dreadnought i think.looking forward to seeing how the diver turns out.
I'm guessing Dreadnought too, but it will probably be one of the smaller designs - proving the amount of work that zee Germans do to it :-)
It's actually a Dreadnought blank which I suspect had a bit of work done to it already. Here's the PRS-50 blank.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Very cool to see these pre-production component photos Eddie. I think more of this sort of thing might help us WISs understand that the process is a lot more complicated than we generally think. Further to your statement, I think it's more than rumor and as pointed out above the country of origin is irrelevant as long is QC is maintained. The big guys can afford to have QC experts on site so they can get the results they want/need. The smaller companies don't have the luxury and so dealing with someone more local is easier (though that can be frustrating too, as I'm sure you've experienced). Of course, the more axes your CNC machine has the tighter your tolerances can be, but as far as I understand the requirements for watches aren't so demanding as, for example, jet/rocket engine parts.
This is a photo I call "CPT Willard's Watch", though I don't think using a commercial name is a good idea. I'm sure the folks here will come up with an appropriate nickname if it is warranted.
I like this design a lot; the early Tsunami version looked great, but unobtainable, and an Eddie take on it will be a definite winner. So much to look forward to!
Thanks for sharing the "raw case" Eddie. Fascinating stuff, and adds to my appreciation of the finished article.
Yes PLEASE
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Does that mean the watch will be produced with a coin-edge bezel? I, for one, would prefer the coin-edge type, as imho this is an important design cue for the 6105.
I agree with that 100%, part of the whole look and feel.
I usually wait until one of these makes it to a sales forum in Canada to save that additional 20+% to the cost, but this is one I think will be purchased brand new.
brilliant Eddie.
is there any time frame for these to see the light of day?
I will buy one of these whatever the cost...
I'd never really thought about how much work goes into a watch case.
I must say that the level of finish on my PRS-14 is as good as any Omega I've owned.
I'm very much looking forward to seeing the finished product.