Today my Magrette Regattare Bronze arrived! I was not really sure about this one, pictures on the website show a very goldlike/shiny bronze colour but I ordered anyway. I asked Stephan from Magrette Europe not to assemble the watch strap, as I read he received them unassembled. My initial goal was to use the egg treatment or sulfur to darken it before wearing it. I didn't see myself wearing it as depicted on the website.
So when I opened the box I was less enthusiastic than last time, but then wow!!! It actually does come with a great bronze tint already. Just went out to buy a second 2mm screwdriver, this one is going straight to the wrist.
Here a first picture with the website picture in the background. Poor light, bad iPhone camera but you can still see what I mean. Wanted to share this with those in doubt of purchasing.
Edit: attached straps, included second picture with straps. Still some tapemarks on the bronze and glass if you spot any specks.
Congrats Glen - would be interested to hear some more of your first impressions if you have the time e.g build quality, weight, crown action etc. Also, is it definitely a 2mm screw head on the strap bars, sure i read somewhere that the usual 1.6mm drivers were the ones required, could be wrong though. Anyway, congrats again, hope you enjoy wearing it 8)
Oh and we need more pics in good lighting please :)
Thanks, very happy so far! Just uploaded a second picture, no natural light left today so will post better pictures tomorrow. Guess more people will be receiving their watches and posting pics online the next few days.
I used 2mm screwdrivers, never assembled a watch strap before but went great. Stephan advised me to use tape to protect the watch from scratches so need to use a little soap now to fully clean up again.
Watch feels lighter than my Anonimo Millemetri steel watch. Case has an even bronze colour, with a matt appearance which I guess comes from how it's cut/polished. Strap feels decent, but need more wrist time to judge that accurately. The inside is red which you ofcourse don't see when it's on the wrist. I know it's obvious but again in the website pictures you see so much red that you shouldn't forget you'll actually only see it at the strap tip or when not on the wrist. Crown is metal and pretty small, unscrewing is easy and there are two positions, but without date or seconds you only need the second one. Will update tommorrow!
ollocks!
I've not even got a dispatch email for mine! Then again I didn't order it from the eu website.
Have to agree the real thing looks wayyy better than the website photo. As soon as mine arrives I'm going to try the straps below and 'if' its keeper treat myself to a Toshi for it.
i really like that.
id be interested to see how it colours with age.
will you be doing the egg in a plastic bag trick I read about? to get some 'ageing' on it?
I like the Magrette range, but like yourself wasn't sure about the bronze based on the website pics, but that looks great, congrats.
Any more detail on this ? Sounds interesting :)Originally Posted by markblack
Egg treatment changes the colour of bronze, it accelerates the natural process. In short you boil an egg, put it and the watch in a plastic bag making sure they don't touch each other directly. Then in the closed back you smash open the boiled egg, this releases vapors in the confined space of the bag and will change the colour of the bronze (patina). You can also buy liver of sulfur which does the same but might result in slighly different outcome. Guess we'll start seeing results from others receiving these watches soon.
I was planning on doing this straight away based on the original colour I saw on the website, but now that I have the watch I like it as it is and will wear it first some time. It will also change slowly and naturally over time.
So far I'm really pleased. Don't forget this watch is around €300 only, by far the cheapest bronze I've ever seen. I had a Magrette PVD ordered, and when the bronze came out I changed to this one for only €10 more.
ordered mine at the weekend. looking forward to it arriving
egg ageing technique http://www.timetechtalk.com/forum71/22360.html
This watch intrigues me, and have been watching with interest members who get one and their thoughts about it - however, I've always been a bracelet man and even though I've tried to get on with straps, I just can't. It is for this reason that I would be unlikely to get one, but I do like looking at them and would be interested to see how the case changes with age.
Congrats and thanks for sharing :)
Congrats Glen, looks good!
Very cool, I think this is the first post of the bronze in the wild.
Hard to tell how the bronze looks off the monitor, but its promising you opted not to age the patina yet.
I was thinking to do the same, but will wait and see.
Look forward to seeing some daylight pics from you or other lucky owners receiving the first bronzies.
Cheers, enjoy.
Dave
Being a Kiwi myself, I'm very interested to see how rate these pieces. I've not stepped up to buy one yet but am certainly very interested as they seem to be a great potential option for a beater.
This might sound stuipd but are the results of this process permanent ?
got beat (pun intended) on the answer on the egg treatment - I just read about it the other day... never had a bronze watch... but it looking nice when it's a bit 'loved'
enjoy it.
M
lovely looking watch!
Paid for mine yesterday so now just have to wait, but based on your pictures I'm really looking forward to it :)
Just out of interest can you confirm the water resistance on this?
5 ATM according to the back. Alsno noticed I have #468 out of 1000, if they are shipping out in order then this one is going fast but I doubt that. First production run was 500 pieces so should be sold out then already.
Will post daylight pics after work.
I emailed Stephan yesterday and he still had some so I've ordered mine. Just waiting on delivery now, not sure how quick he is on getting them out. Now on the hunt for a bronze buckle - any top techniques for turning a stainless one bronze other than a blow torch...
DC
[quote=Mitch Buchannon]This might sound stuipd but are the results of this process permanent ?[/quote:3bz3qn2a]
It's permanent, however the patina will continue to develop naturally over time, so the watch will become darker in tone. If you wanted to reverse the process, or "start fresh," you can use some Brasso or the like to polish it back to original.
Very nice. That reminds me, I've just had had an email from Benarus, their Bronze is ready for shipping.
Thanks. It's a shame as I'd like greater WR on a watch that looks like that. Irrational perhaps.
Hi,
I see your point, had the same initially. Then again it has a leather strap so would you actually wear it in the shower/pool/ while diving? I wouldn't. Had this been a more expensive piece it would have been a point of principle, but at this pricepoint I can't care, and I know it is safe against accidents spilling water etc.
Included a few more pics from today, hard to get the color right as it reflects. See for yourself.
Some more observations (mind you i tend to be critical, but overall love this one so fare)
-Glass has a blue hue, guess that is the AR coating
-From the right angle you see 4 colors: chocolate dial, bronze case, black strap, steel buckle. I think I'll go looking for a brown strap to match. Dstrap offers one with bronze buckle but I don't think it's cheap
-The glass is domed. With the chocolate dial if looked at an angle my brain thinks it's a black dial that's distorted by the dome/glass, expecting it to turn black when you turn the dial towards you but of course it stays chocolate. Don't know how to better describe this
-Strap is very comfortable so far
Thanks. It's a shame as I'd like greater WR on a watch that looks like that. Irrational perhaps.
Thanks for the additional pictures Glen.
They have my money, but still no dispatch email :(
I'll post some pics in a month or two when it arrives via steamboat from NZ.
I ordered from Magrette Europe here in the Netherlands, why not try him? I know he is busy shipping now but who knows, distance is shorter.
Looks good Glen, thanks for the additional pics - mind and keep us updated with any strap changes or patina updates too :)
do you get any marks on your writst from wearing a bronze watch I wonder? :?:
I've been wearing my zenton bronze for quite a while now and no marks on my wrist as yet.
Just received my Bronze Ragattare here in Sydney, I am a lot closer :lol:
I concur with the OP, the colouring is fantastic and I will let it patina on its own. I do find the color of crown and buckle a touch jarring, will have to do something about that :roll:
The backside is glass and metal so hardly any bronze touches your wrist.
I've been wearing my zenton bronze for quite a while now and no marks on my wrist as yet.
Me neither although my Zenton has picked up a few marks (easily removable though)
What color is the dial?
My one is on its way now :)
Chocolate. I just ordered a limited edition handmade vintage leather strap with bronze buckle made for this model from Dstraps. I included a picture. Initially I favoured the chocolate strap to match the dial but this combination blew me away.
Thanks, that dial color fits very nice to the case and the strap!
Waiting for mine still, ordered from NZ site and was told it was sent over a week ago excited
congrats looks great :thumbright:
Final payment on the 15th but heard nothing as yet, as an aside anybody who has had delivery from NZ encountered any HMRC charges?
I FEEL LIKE I'M DIAGONALLY PARKED IN A PARALLEL UNIVERSE
Hi Andy
Did you pay for yours on the 15th and have you had further correspondence since to confirm receipt and/or shipping confirmation ?
Like Mart, I also paid on the 15th but haven't heard anything since - only the mail from PayPal saying that the payment was made.
Not panicking as I'm sure they've quite a backlog to work through (is it 500 in this batch?), just looking forward to receiving.
I just dropped him a line about the army green strap - we'll see what happens...Chocolate. I just ordered a limited edition handmade vintage leather strap with bronze buckle made for this model from Dstraps. I included a picture. Initially I favoured the chocolate strap to match the dial but this combination blew me away.
Finally had the time to take some decent daylight pictures, two in direct sunlight and one in the shade. Spilt some water on it in case you are wondering.
I do like that vintage strap. Works well with the case.
Love the case and the idea of it ageing over time, complete freedom from the compulsion to keep watches pristine and sterile. So very temped, but overtime I looked at pictures the double digits on the dial started to bug me - I find the zeros in front of the 3, 6 and 9 superfluous and they seem to me to clutter dial space although I suppose there's an argument that they balance the 12. If it wasn't for this, I'd be a customer.
At the price they are asking i wouldn't worry about zero's in front or balancing 12 , take the watch for what it is : a bargain !
Zero's in front have never done anonimo any harm.
The dial is a straight Anonimo copy. I'm a very critical person and there is a lot to get stuck on with this watch: the dial is a copy, it has "bronze" written on the dial which to me is kind of unnecesary, might just as well add "watch" then too :wink: No bronze buckle but that can be solved. On the other side I've always wanted a bronze watch, can't afford the Anonimo in bronze and all in all this one still looks very very good, even more so if you factor in the price and maybe tweak it a little with a different strap.
[quote=Dai Capp]I just dropped him a line about the army green strap - we'll see what happens...[/quote:2va3teoo]Chocolate. I just ordered a limited edition handmade vintage leather strap with bronze buckle made for this model from Dstraps. I included a picture. Initially I favoured the chocolate strap to match the dial but this combination blew me away.
Bugger, looks like he's sold out of all of them.
Wow, sold out already?
I may be wrong but i think he's talking about the bronze buckle straps from Dstraps not the Magrette watches.
I hope he meant the straps. I was looking to get one of these watches. I have family from NZ so it has extra appeal for me, over and above the obvious bronze case/good price.
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