MarkR's Blog

A step forward in time compared to yesterday's Bell-Matic, but not as up to date as the Proteus from the day before: A West End Sowar Prima day-date homage.

I rather suspect this will not be to everyone's taste. Quite a few people dislike homages, especially Rolex homages, they often dislike diamonds even more, and they really hate cyclopes[1]. Well, that's what we've got here. (Except the 'diamonds' on this watch are probably cut glass ).

This watch is a clear homage to Rolex's Day-Date (or President, as some people refer to it). That is day at 12, date at 3, cyclops, Jubilee bracelet. Fact is, I really like it.

I love the Day-Date (i.e. top day) layout and so a year or two ago I sought out some watches to fulfill my desires and I found that there were a load of Swiss manufacturers who had used ETA movements to create Day-Date homages, mostly dating from the 1980s or 1990s as far as I could tell. I also discovered that Orient had made a range of Day-Date homages in various qualities (more on these in a future blog). Many of the Swiss manufacturers' Day-Date homages were, and still are, available on eBay, especially from Hong Kong, at very reasonable prices (although prices are going up) and I indulged in a couple of West End's products. One of them needs to be demagnetised and possibly serviced, and I'll get round to it eventually, but the other one was fine and is the subject of this post.

So what can I say about this watch in particular? It unsurprisingly borrows heavily on the Rolex Datejust/Day-Date case aesthetic which is to say that it's rather elegant. Despite being a homage to a far more expensive watch (with 'diamond' hour markers no less) I don't feel that it's pretentious. One thing that I love about this watch is the incredibly fast snap over of both day and date at midnight. It is spot on and really is extremely fast. The cyclops is somewhat effective: Not of Rolex quality but not the worst I've seen on a cyclopsed homage. Acrylic crystal means that any marks can be polished out easily and it gives a certain warmth which sapphire just wouldn't provide. On the wrist it's very comfortable and surprisingly light. The original West End bracelet is folded metal but well made and the clasp works well. The watch is only 37mm diamter but looks and wears larger. In summary, it's a very nice package.

I can heartily recommend these watches to anyone who likes this layout. Don't be put off just because it's a homage. If Rolex can produce their own ETA-powered Day-Date homages from Tudor, what's wrong with one from West End, Sandoz, Cyma or similar? ;-)

Now for some pictures. I apologise for the glare in these. It's really bad in some shots but my skills just don't allow me to eliminate it.










Specs:

• Model: West End Sowar Prima day-date homage.
• Movement: ETA.
• Hours, minutes, seconds, day at 12, date at 3.
• Push in crown at 3.
• Tiny amount on the minute and hour hands.
• Water resistance: "Water Resistent".
• Flat top raised acrylic crystal with cyclops.
• Screw down case back.
• Stainless steel case, stainless steel case back.
• Bracelet: West End stainless Jubilee.
• Diameter (excluding crown): 37mm
• Diameter (including crown): 39.3mm
• Height: 10.8mm
• Lug tip-to-lug tip length: 44.2mm
• Lug width: 20mm
• Strap/bracelet attachment: Spring bars.
• Weight (on strap): 91g

Footnote:-
1: Yes, the plural of "cyclops" is "cyclopes".