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Thread: Any Offshore Professional Engineer Chronograph owners amongst the ranks?

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  1. #1

    Marine Chronometer Company - Offshore Professional Owners Thread

    *** THREAD EDIT *** Turning this into an owners' thread - as over time, this has grown to be a bit of an archive of different pics, reviews and input from Lorne himself.

    I first discovered the Offshore Professional Chrono website ( http://www.classicchronographs.co.uk ) a while back and stumbled upon the brand again quite randomly yesterday. A great attempt IMO to build a no compromises tool watch (although as I write... I guess EVERY watch must have a compromise to its spec somewhere?!).





    As for warranty, perhaps the best set of terms and conditions that I have read!

    Warranty & Guarantee
    There isn't much in day-to-day life that will destroy one of these watches. If you break a crown, button, sapphire crystal, damage the movement or do anything else from any reasonable level of accident (dropping onto a tiled floor for instance) over the first 2 years of ownership then just send it back and it will be repaired or replaced. Same goes for any water ingress provided you promise you didn't push the chronograph buttons when swimming.

    The warranty extends to the strap, clasp and bracelet. You can swim or shower with the leather strap as it is silicon impregnated to be more waterproof than your skin, but please remember not to apply any mosquito repellents containing high levels of DEET as they will dissolve the neoprene lining and leave a black stain on your wrist.

    If you manage to break an OFFSHORE Professional Field Engineer through something not covered by the Warranty, like running over it with a car, then I will replace it at half the price of a new one. This is a lifetime guarantee (my lifetime as I don't want to pass any liabilities onto my children) regardless of abuse, lack of servicing or number of owners. Failure analysis is a important part of engineering and from a dent or damage size, I can back calculate the impact energy that caused it and the energy levels that were absorbed or transmitted through each of the shock absorbing layers.
    So, do we have any current or past owners amongst us? I'd like to hear opinions and see how it looks on the wrist if anyone amongst us has tried one on.
    Last edited by JohnnyE; 21st June 2018 at 15:15. Reason: Turned into owners thread to group all into one thread

  2. #2
    Master
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    That doesn't look half bad!

  3. #3
    Here's a bit more info on the man behind the watch - quoted from http://www.watchpro.com/i-make-watch...ilding-things/

    By Lorne Gifford

    “As an engineer I find it impossible not to take things apart and try to improve them, from subsea multiphase flow meters to hi-fis, but watches have been a particular joy.

    “It was only a matter of time before I started building my own watches and in 2012 Offshore Professional was born with the creation of the Field Engineer chronograph based on the 7750 movement and the values of quality, strength and performance.

    “I don’t know, or to be honest care, too much about where my watches sit in the market. I don’t run the company as a profit-generating enterprise since I have a day job as a subsea engineer that provides for my wife and children. I run the company for the love of building and tinkering with things. Of the two dozen Field Engineer chronographs I’ve built half have been bought by engineers in the oil industry. The others have gone to individuals who simply like it, or in the case of Field Engineer 016, fancy taking it to the North Pole to test its ability to survive minus 50°C.

    “At the high-end of the market the emergence of British watch companies is part of a general trend toward diversification and niche manufacturing in the UK. At the low end it’s rebranding Chinese products to be more acceptable to western markets. I don’t really push the idea of Britishness when it comes to Offshore since I largely work overseas in the oil industry but I am immensely proud of the world view of British as a by-word for the very best engineers. And since we ruled the waves I use Britannia and her trident as a logo. For a brand to say it is British-made I do think that there should a substantive British involvement; be it in the design, engineering, assembly, movement or component manufacture.

    “I don’t really believe the government should put up funding to help re-establish watchmaking in the UK as any involvement by government bureaucracy is more effort than it’s worth, distorts the market and would fall foul of EU anti-competitive legislation. A tax break might be nice though.

    “Looking ahead, Offshore’s Field Engineer 016 is going to the North Pole this winter. As far as the brand though, I think I’ll just keep making them in small quantities. I’ve been toying with the idea of building a slim 7750 based chronograph capable of surviving abyssal plain depths. Tooling and machine costs are a little high for me to build them at the moment though.”

    This column was taken from the September 2012 issue of WatchPro magazine.
    I was reading a few old threads elsewhere (think it pay have been PH) where Lorne chipped in himself. He apparently has a "loaner" watch to send out to let people try the watch. Finding it rather hard to NOT send an enquiry email off!

  4. #4
    Master
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    Definitely check out the watch forum on PH for more information on these if you are interested. Lorne does post over there and there are a few owners who have given feedback.

  5. #5
    Master
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    A fellow owner here. Will give some thoughts and feedback later. Lorne is a gentleman to deal with, more to follow in the next exciting instalment.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Cat7 View Post
    A fellow owner here. Will give some thoughts and feedback later. Lorne is a gentleman to deal with, more to follow in the next exciting instalment.
    EXCELLENT! Look forward to hearing your experiences on this one...... (although, I may have to shuffle off to the forum of the banned before I break open my wallet one time too many!)

  7. #7
    Master
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    Great build quality and developed from Lorne's exploits. Decent heft on the wrist and you certainly know you're wearing it. Mine has been on the leather and deployment since I bought it which is very comfortable.
    I haven't tried the bracelet which is a decent quality stainless steel jobbie.
    The Engineer is a chunky watch which is quite big and deep as well but sits nicely on the wrist.
    The operation of the crown, which is not screw down and Chrono pushers requires some considerable effort and you get a nice mechanical click each time once the pressure point has been reached. There is no doubt or confusion about the operation of any part of it due to the positive action and sounds.
    The dial is a beautiful blend of colours. Lorne has added an extra day window to the dial since I bought mine and I can upgrade to the new dial for free, but I prefer my single date only window dial to be honest.
    On the whole I think it's a great piece of kit and is probably one of my most robust Chronos with the added back up of Lorne's fantastic guarantee.
    We keep in touch every now and then via email, and he is certainly a great down to earth guy to deal with and listen to, no airs and graces. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending him (buy the seller) or his watch if you fancy something very rare and unlikely to be seen out in the wild, I've certainly never seen another one ever.
    I think I will dig it out and wear it tomorrow after all that.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Cat7 View Post
    Great build quality and developed from Lorne's exploits. Decent heft on the wrist and you certainly know you're wearing it. Mine has been on the leather and deployment since I bought it which is very comfortable.
    I haven't tried the bracelet which is a decent quality stainless steel jobbie.
    The Engineer is a chunky watch which is quite big and deep as well but sits nicely on the wrist.
    The operation of the crown, which is not screw down and Chrono pushers requires some considerable effort and you get a nice mechanical click each time once the pressure point has been reached. There is no doubt or confusion about the operation of any part of it due to the positive action and sounds.
    The dial is a beautiful blend of colours. Lorne has added an extra day window to the dial since I bought mine and I can upgrade to the new dial for free, but I prefer my single date only window dial to be honest.
    On the whole I think it's a great piece of kit and is probably one of my most robust Chronos with the added back up of Lorne's fantastic guarantee.
    We keep in touch every now and then via email, and he is certainly a great down to earth guy to deal with and listen to, no airs and graces. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending him (buy the seller) or his watch if you fancy something very rare and unlikely to be seen out in the wild, I've certainly never seen another one ever.
    I think I will dig it out and wear it tomorrow after all that.
    Thanks for that! It seems that all the owners are nothing short of delighted. I found a good review and picture set over here: http://www.intlwatchleague.com/showt...ronograph-Love

  9. #9
    Master
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    I came very close to buying one of these from Lorne a couple of years ago.
    Kinda wish I had now.

  10. #10
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    They look great. I couldn't find a lug to lug measurement. Does anyone know what it is? It will probably be too big for me but may as well ask.

    Sent from my XT1580 using Tapatalk

  11. #11
    Craftsman
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    And here's what the pushers look like with no movement or dial obscuring them. The buttons extend toward the crown to provide protection to it without having to put crown shoulders on the case. Also makes a nice size button rather than a small round thing. The best way to do pushers would be without having them penetrate the case at all. Rare earth magnets are powerful enough to do it, but it might be a flawed solution.




  12. #12
    Master draftsmann's Avatar
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    Good to see you on the forum Lorne. If not a non-date version, could I buy a date-only version?

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by draftsmann View Post
    Good to see you on the forum Lorne. If not a non-date version, could I buy a date-only version?
    You could, as I kept a few dials for possible repairs of O model Field Engineers, but now that I've upgraded most O's to OO's there aren't many of the originals still around so the spares requirement is correspondingly smaller.

    The O dial will fit the date counter of the OO model, and of course the revised hand set.

    There are a lot of differences in the dials though as the below picture shows, including; superlumiova hour markers, the shades of cream and grey, sub-dial and dial marking, higher angle chapter ring (it looks smaller on OO). OO really is the fully fettled version, with all those tiny little things that weren't quite perfect on O all sorted.


  14. #14
    Master draftsmann's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LorneG View Post
    You could, as I kept a few dials for possible repairs of O model Field Engineers, but now that I've upgraded most O's to OO's there aren't many of the originals still around so the spares requirement is correspondingly smaller.

    The O dial will fit the date counter of the OO model, and of course the revised hand set.

    There are a lot of differences in the dials though as the below picture shows, including; superlumiova hour markers, the shades of cream and grey, sub-dial and dial marking, higher angle chapter ring (it looks smaller on OO). OO really is the fully fettled version, with all those tiny little things that weren't quite perfect on O all sorted.
    I appreciate the reply Lorne and it is looking as if I will have to put my money where my mouth is!

    I get the refinements in the OO dial but I just don't want the extra O. Could you please give me an idea of timescale if I place a special order for an O?

    Can I ask a couple of other things too?

    Is the Roman numeral bezel still available?

    And a Google image search throws up a pic of one of your watches on a mesh bracelet (with a comment from your goodself on a different forum that you weren't keen on the mesh - there's something of a pattern here as I quite like it and would prefer a mesh as the alternative to the leather strap!). My last question (I promise) is whether a mesh will work with one of your deployant clasps.

    Thank you.

  15. #15
    Master
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    Forgot about the Roman numerals bezel, I have the tachy bezel which I prefer and the propellor seconds hand.

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    If anyone fancies a bit of a laugh....


    http://www.watchpaper.com/2017/04/18...-chronographs/

    Photography, web-design, and now interview technique all need to be polished a bit! In my defence though it was 'interview by email' so I provided complete answers to be edited down to fit the required word count. Unfortunately no editing down happened.

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by LorneG View Post
    If anyone fancies a bit of a laugh....


    http://www.watchpaper.com/2017/04/18...-chronographs/

    Photography, web-design, and now interview technique all need to be polished a bit! In my defence though it was 'interview by email' so I provided complete answers to be edited down to fit the required word count. Unfortunately no editing down happened.
    Would it be possible to see any pictures of the diver's watch you refer to as your first project?

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by lasz View Post
    Would it be possible to see any pictures of the diver's watch you refer to as your first project?
    dooh, the perils of an interview by email. interviewer asked for full as possible replies to his questions, which he'd edit down to a sentence or two. only went and put in the complete replies!

    No pictures of the original diver I'm afraid as I wasn't overly impressed with the visual design. Sold half a dozen, but I don't think the owners were all that impressed either as they all went straight for the upgrade to Field Engineer when I introduced it. All diver's returned, and all broken into little pieces as part of 'I wonder how strong they really were'. Quite strong and, yes, every single one destroyed. Taught me a lot about the non engineering part of watch design, and also the importance of making the watch/strap/clasp combination balanced and gently fixed to the wrist so it won't slip or rotate.

  19. #19
    Master mycroft's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LorneG View Post
    If anyone fancies a bit of a laugh....


    http://www.watchpaper.com/2017/04/18...-chronographs/

    Unfortunately no editing down happened.
    Apparently not a lot of proof-reading either, Lorne, since the article gives the watch diameter as 4mm!

    Simon

  20. #20
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    Pretty cool watch for £1500 though potentially on the too large side. I really do quite like it though especially with tach bezel and day and date Windows.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnnyE View Post
    I first discovered the Offshore Professional Chrono website ( http://www.classicchronographs.co.uk ) a while back and stumbled upon the brand again quite randomly yesterday. A great attempt IMO to build a no compromises tool watch (although as I write... I guess EVERY watch must have a compromise to its spec somewhere?!).
    No compromises and ground up built with no consideration to cost, maximising British content or anything not core, just to be the best. The (very reasonable) final price is simply the cost of build with a pretty small profit margin. Thought about increasing the price to cover the drop in GBP value post EU referendum, but what the heck I'm sure it'll recover.

    Engineering and shock resistance is as good as can be achieved with a mechanical chronograph, but obviously bettered by a plastic digital, so when asked for ultimate ruggedness I point to a Casio G-Shock. No point inviting repairs!

    Climate proof from the North pole to rain forests and deserts, it’s been to them all, and will go deeper than you can get and still reasonably expect to come back from. It can actually go to any depth on a sat divers wrist as helium diffusion during compression and decompression balances pressures (tested). It’s not a diving watch though as I use a floating crown to fully isolate the movement from the outer case and don't have push button locks so silt and sand jamming into the seals is possible. Good for swimming pools and surfing, which is all I do these days.

    Sized around the movement architecture and inner case movement holder. The movement is a special specification because I’m fussy on materials and like a decorated finish with blue screws. The watch sits very nicely on a slim wrist as my wrist is slim. To get the balance perfect I have a particular case and clasp profiling, tight strap to case transition, enhanced bending modulus of the layered strap and a clasp that has one extra hinge over everyone else’s so it can gimbal, a solution I once used on a drill rig to allow slightly off vertical drilling. The metal bracelet is similar, but has a different weight distribution to compensate for lack of bending modulus. Interestingly the fixity and clasp reduce strap flex and kink points so it appears to last a long time. And when it is time for a new one then since Hirsch make them for me I dimensioned it the same as their standard 22mm curved end range. Any from that range fit perfectly. It’s just the layering materials on mine that differ.

    To ensure a classic and fashion proof design I removed my own prejudices by using a mathematical basis. The 12th Century Fibonacci sequence; 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34… the numbers move toward the ‘golden ratio’ of 1 to 0.618 which da Vinci was so fond of. The sequence features everywhere including colours as each change varies through the pallet by sequence steps. The dial is big and subdials are 1.5mm bigger than other chronographs (not that you’ll notice) and devoid of spurious marking, so layering and colour shade transitions are necessary to prevent blandness. A similarity to Corum Romulus has been pointed out, but not as often as the ‘why is it a Maserati logo’ comment.

    Up to nearly 100 made now with owners all around the world, so is and will remain incredibly rare and very unlikely you’ll see another one. I like this as I’d hate to see someone else on a tube train wearing it. Actually, that’s not true because it’d be a really good conversation. I sat opposite someone once who was reading a book of mine and had a quite uncomfortable journey looking at a smiling picture of my younger self on the dust cover. If it had been a pretty lady reading it I might have made eye contact and motioned to the picture, but it wasn’t so I kept eyes to feet level. This is why the Field Engineer doesn't have any personal references on it. Not sure what level of egotism requires naming things after yourself, but will ask Christopher Ward if I ever meet him.

    I do tend to post on Pistonheads quite a lot because I like cars, and it’s the only forum my computer remembers the login too. Had to re-register on TZ to post this! Thank fully though I remembered to click 'remember me' so I don't have to remember the 216th password this year.

    Love the comments written here. Watch tastes are very subjective so I really don't mind people saying it’s not their style, or as one commentator on an American forum said, 'Fugly'. Had to google that and was quite shocked.


  22. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by LorneG View Post
    I do tend to post on Pistonheads quite a lot because I like cars, and it’s the only forum my computer remembers the login too. Had to re-register on TZ to post this! Thank fully though I remembered to click 'remember me' so I don't have to remember the 216th password this year.

    Love the comments written here. Watch tastes are very subjective so I really don't mind people saying it’s not their style, or as one commentator on an American forum said, 'Fugly'. Had to google that and was quite shocked.
    Lorne, thanks for taking time to pop in and share that! As you say, style is so subjective... but I'm in the camp of "fascinated, with no idea why"! It just works for me. Must be that magic number ratio kicking in with my sub conscious perhaps?!

    Actually, I DO know why I like your design and suspect there are many others on this forum with similar thinking. I've bought and flipped quite a few watches over the years, trying to find one that "clicks" as such. Truth is, mass produced stuff quite bores me now. At the end of the day... they just tell me the time... so if its going to float my boat, it needs to have a bit of a back story; something more than just a movement in a case.

    Its at THIS point that the watch industry marketeers dance up and down. They can now sell me a dream! Mark it up a few grand - make me think when I wear my watch I'm James Bond (actually.. they got me there... wearing a SMP today - oops!).

    So what I'm rambling towards is this!... well done on a no B.S. product. Designed with purpose. I like that!

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnnyE View Post
    Lorne, thanks for taking time to pop in and share that! As you say, style is so subjective... but I'm in the camp of "fascinated, with no idea why"! It just works for me. Must be that magic number ratio kicking in with my sub conscious perhaps?!

    Actually, I DO know why I like your design and suspect there are many others on this forum with similar thinking. I've bought and flipped quite a few watches over the years, trying to find one that "clicks" as such. Truth is, mass produced stuff quite bores me now. At the end of the day... they just tell me the time... so if its going to float my boat, it needs to have a bit of a back story; something more than just a movement in a case.

    Its at THIS point that the watch industry marketeers dance up and down. They can now sell me a dream! Mark it up a few grand - make me think when I wear my watch I'm James Bond (actually.. they got me there... wearing a SMP today - oops!).

    So what I'm rambling towards is this!... well done on a no B.S. product. Designed with purpose. I like that!
    That number sequence and the ratios it provides are the key, I think. It's everywhere on da Vinci's Vitruvian man, and any building, shape or object that just looks good.

    Marketing is something I've never quite got to grips with as you can probably tell. OFFSHORE Professional is an engineer and a master watchmaker. If anyone is good at marketing and wants to be the third person then I'm more than happy to hear from them.

    Edit: there's reason for every detail in the Field Engineer. The fan hand for running seconds for instance is because mechanical watches drift by a second or two a day and it used to annoy me when the running seconds was more than 10 or so seconds off the radio 4 pips. With 3 second hands that doesn't happen. The circular day date at the 4 O'clock line is to balance visual weight and remove crowding from the 9 to 3 line. Two letters for day indication because no day of the week actually needs three to identify it. Lots of details but as you say hopefully all hidden from concious thought so you can just look at it and see what time it is.
    Last edited by LorneG; 23rd September 2016 at 12:06.

  24. #24
    Not a marketing man myself Lorne.. although I do have a degree in Business and Marketing!.. I moved into ICT and am a software developer / systems analyst and run my own part time web design business outside of the day job.

    Funny thing about doing web design as a hobby turned part time income is that I'm not that needy of marketing either. My day job pays the bills and keeps me and my family comfortable. I take the extra/private work as I get it via personal recommendation (like your watches). People get hung up on design... the latest look.. but I always say this; Look at Google. A white page with one logo. A no nonsense approach because what matters there is that their page is fast and does what is needed - ie. gets results back fast and accurate.

    As a potential customer of one of your watches (bearing in mind I work at websites!) - I didn't care less that your site is home made and a few years old. It won't display easily in my mobile device.. RH edge of the pages is getting chopped off for me... but I wasn't that bothered! Reason?.. its the CONTENT that mattered. If you do want to modernise the site later, your content is spot on (to me anyway). You just need it brought over into a proper, responsive framework (ie. it automatically fits the device - whether tablet, smartphone or desktop pc). You also could do with plugging in Google Analytics too. It gives you a WORLD of business critical info on your site. I wrote a short article a while back on that which may shed light on that for you: http://egewebdesign.co.uk/advice/analytics

    Photos - nice crisp photos will make a MASSIVE difference here for you. There are some RIDICULOUSLY talented photographers on TZ here who do a better job than I've seen on the big branded watch websites. I'll be the first to jump in before the queue!... if you still have that "loaner" mentioned on PH... I'll happily spend some time trying to capture it on camera for you for free. It'll probably end up with me being a grand and a half worse off... but none the less, the offer is there if you fancy my attempt at improving the images on your site.

  25. #25
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    Good article! Looks like I'm going to be playing with the website soon. Photographs also not my speciality and unfortunately the 'loaner' watch didn't come back from one potential customer, although an envelope of cash did so I'm not complaining. Will build another loaner in due course but at the moment chronographs are built to order as the profit margin is too thin until the pound recovers some of its value.

  26. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnnyE View Post
    Not a marketing man myself Lorne.. although I do have a degree in Business and Marketing!.. I moved into ICT and am a software developer / systems analyst and run my own part time web design business outside of the day job.

    Funny thing about doing web design as a hobby turned part time income is that I'm not that needy of marketing either. My day job pays the bills and keeps me and my family comfortable. I take the extra/private work as I get it via personal recommendation (like your watches). People get hung up on design... the latest look.. but I always say this; Look at Google. A white page with one logo. A no nonsense approach because what matters there is that their page is fast and does what is needed - ie. gets results back fast and accurate.

    As a potential customer of one of your watches (bearing in mind I work at websites!) - I didn't care less that your site is home made and a few years old. It won't display easily in my mobile device.. RH edge of the pages is getting chopped off for me... but I wasn't that bothered! Reason?.. its the CONTENT that mattered. If you do want to modernise the site later, your content is spot on (to me anyway). You just need it brought over into a proper, responsive framework (ie. it automatically fits the device - whether tablet, smartphone or desktop pc). You also could do with plugging in Google Analytics too. It gives you a WORLD of business critical info on your site. I wrote a short article a while back on that which may shed light on that for you: http://egewebdesign.co.uk/advice/analytics

    Photos - nice crisp photos will make a MASSIVE difference here for you. There are some RIDICULOUSLY talented photographers on TZ here who do a better job than I've seen on the big branded watch websites. I'll be the first to jump in before the queue!... if you still have that "loaner" mentioned on PH... I'll happily spend some time trying to capture it on camera for you for free. It'll probably end up with me being a grand and a half worse off... but none the less, the offer is there if you fancy my attempt at improving the images on your site.
    Respect to you Johnny and great info from Lorne and all.

    I like TZ for the help the members offer. This is a beacon of that.

    Sent from my [device_name] using TZ-UK mobile app
    Last edited by mangoosian; 28th March 2018 at 01:24.

  27. #27
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    Just an update:

    6.5 years in to production and I've build around 120 Field Engineer chronographs. As you can tell, I like to fettle things to get them as close to perfect as possible, so whilst the current Field Engineer is still very recognisably similar to the original, it does have numerous small changes and 'tinkering' within it. Of course, all earlier Field Engineers can be upgraded to the current spec at cost-price, and like the pics below, many have.

    Recent fettling includes;

    A change to the same butterfly deployment clasp I use in the metal bracelet.

    A compression system underneath the dial that gently compresses the movement in the vertical plane to improve shock resistance from any knocks or drops on the front face. The front sapphire is still recessed 0.3 mm below the bezel which has been very successful as no Field Engineer has ever broken its front glass. A couple of OO spec watches with my replacement day/date arrangement and mechanism did require resetting the day wheel however, as it had slipped after a knock, so the compression system also keeps that in place.

    A couple of materials changes in movement components to move cyclic stress ranges outside their lower fatigue levels.

    Extensive discussion on pistonheads about whether the movement modifications and new day/date system mean it's ethical or not to now call the movement 775M2; 775x family, 2nd Modification set to go into production.

    Front and rear views of Number 036 after an upgrade from O spec to OO-775M2.

    [IMG][url=https://postimg.org/image/5d6rmi5wn/][/[/IMG]

    [IMG][/IMG]

    [IMG] [/IMG]

    Still rubbish at photos and uploading via image hosting sites!

  28. #28
    Master alfat33's Avatar
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    Any Offshore Professional Engineer Chronograph owners amongst the ranks?






    Quote Originally Posted by LorneG View Post
    Still rubbish at photos and uploading via image hosting sites!
    Hopefully this worked. Well only in part, I don’t know enough about postimage. Lovely watches.

  29. #29
    This has got the juices flowing,I better do some research,not everyday the owner of a watch company signs in for a chat ,well done that man,great reading


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  30. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by mk1974 View Post
    This has got the juices flowing,I better do some research,not everyday the owner of a watch company signs in for a chat ,well done that man,great reading


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    The engineer of a watch company. Owning it is an expensive by-product that is annoyingly all to do with accounting, imports and exports, taxation and other things that have no interest whatsoever. I love talking engineering and watch design!

    Edit: Just realised this is an excellent excuse to post some (blurred) pictures - marketing and all that!

    Or may be not, as that didn't appear to work.

    Here we go, approved water depth rating:
    Last edited by LorneG; 23rd September 2016 at 14:28.

  31. #31
    What's with the blue date wheel on the right hand side here Lorne....



    The splash of colour looks well to my eye!

  32. #32
    Master sweets's Avatar
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    Nice looking watches.
    With the knurled edges, it would seem that the front bezel is crying out to rotate (either 0-60 or 60-0, or even 1-12). Any plans for such an option? I personally find tachy's a long way less usefull than a bezel.
    Dave

  33. #33
    Craftsman
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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnnyE View Post
    What's with the blue date wheel on the right hand side here Lorne....

    The splash of colour looks well to my eye!
    I think that might be a good example of me taking a picture in which the sapphire glass is somehow enhancing the colour of a nearby light. The only blue you'll find is the screw heads in the movement:



    Does look rather good though!

    And an edit: decided against a rotating bezel. Used one for timing my car park meter countdown, but the stopwatch in a chronograph is a nicer way of doing it. Agree through that a tachymeter scale is not overly useful, so the option is roman numerals. Ratio of sales is 9 tachymeters to one roman numerals.
    Last edited by LorneG; 23rd September 2016 at 17:25.

  34. #34
    Master sweets's Avatar
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    Fair enough, it is just that some of my favourite chronos (Zenith DeLuca, Sinn EZM1, Tutima ZUZ, Leonidas AMI, Zenith Cairelli etc etc) have bezels.

  35. #35
    Master ditchvisitor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnnyE View Post
    I first discovered the Offshore Professional Chrono website ( http://www.classicchronographs.co.uk ) a while back and stumbled upon the brand again quite randomly yesterday. A great attempt IMO to build a no compromises tool watch (although as I write... I guess EVERY watch must have a compromise to its spec somewhere?!).




    Damn it and there was my Seadweller fund getting a bit more healthy! Have been in contact with Lorne! Really really like that a lot!

  36. #36
    Quote Originally Posted by ditchvisitor View Post
    Damn it and there was my Seadweller fund getting a bit more healthy! Have been in contact with Lorne! Really really like that a lot!
    Excellent! I'm smitten too.... And in discussions.

  37. #37
    Master
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    You won't regret it, I've been wearing mine since my last reply still on the leather, proper bit of kit.

  38. #38
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    I really think that they're stunning and would love to have one in the future, seem great value to me too.

  39. #39
    Master draftsmann's Avatar
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    A non-date version?

    I keep coming back to this thread and lusting over these. I've concluded that the only thing that has stopped me from placing an order is that Lorne isn't offering a non-date version. If he did I would buy it today. Obviously I understand that a "micro brand" may have to standardise its products to a large extent, but I will continue watching for the non-date version.

  40. #40
    Master draftsmann's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by draftsmann View Post
    I keep coming back to this thread and lusting over these. I've concluded that the only thing that has stopped me from placing an order is that Lorne isn't offering a non-date version. If he did I would buy it today. Obviously I understand that a "micro brand" may have to standardise its products to a large extent, but I will continue watching for the non-date version.
    At a push I would even prefer one of the earlier date-only versions to the current day-date. For me, having a large rotation of watches where I typically only pick up and wear a piece for 2-3 days at a time at the outside, setting day/date is a faff (although I do it), plus more importantly as a rule I prefer a less "cluttered" dial. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone and if a non-date version could be offered there would be other takers, but obviously given the product's small market I do understand if it isn't viable to offer a non-date alternative.

  41. #41
    There's something a bit off on the chrono reset pusher. Either it's not seated properly or the knurled finish is a bit uneven. Similar on other pictures too. Dial is nicely done though.

  42. #42
    Grand Master Sinnlover's Avatar
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    I too came back to this threat this week
    I really really like the watch.
    It also has the added bonus of being made less than a mile and a half away from my front door.
    The only thing stopping me buying is lume on the dial.
    Not sure if there is any.
    I would love to hear from owners if we have any on the forum.

    John

  43. #43
    Master draftsmann's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sinnlover View Post
    I too came back to this threat this week
    I really really like the watch.
    It also has the added bonus of being made less than a mile and a half away from my front door.
    The only thing stopping me buying is lume on the dial.
    Not sure if there is any.
    I would love to hear from owners if we have any on the forum.

    John
    According to the FAQ page:

    The Field Engineer double O variant is now available. Modifications from the earlier Field Engineer are quite extensive and all in the movement and aesthetics. These include include day of the week indicator, a full set of revised hands slightly different in size and shape, different tube alloys, a completely new and totally unique day and date arrangement, C3 superluminova added to hour markers, small changes in the chapter ring and dial layer sizes and layout, and numerous other very small tweeks that pull everything more tightly to the Fibonacci sequence.

  44. #44
    Master
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    From memory only the main hands are lumed the dial is non lume

  45. #45
    Grand Master Sinnlover's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cat7 View Post
    From memory only the main hands are lumed the dial is non lume
    Cheers
    That puts me off a bit
    I like to have useable lume on a 'tool' watch.
    I might pop along to the watch shop where they are sold and serviced today to have a look.

  46. #46
    Master
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    You could always have a chat with Lorne to see if there's anything that could be done. He's a great guy to deal with, and exceptionally helpful.

  47. #47
    Grand Master Sinnlover's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cat7 View Post
    You could always have a chat with Lorne to see if there's anything that could be done. He's a great guy to deal with, and exceptionally helpful.
    I might do that
    I didn't get up to the shop today but I think I will drop him a line.
    I take it you moved yours on?
    If so was there a reason why?

  48. #48
    I've just ordered one of these ,but lorne as one in stock,as he likes to be in front ,so 105 should be here next week,watch this space


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  49. #49
    Grand Master Sinnlover's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cat7 View Post
    I haven't sold mine, still going strong
    Good to know.

    Cheers

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by mk1974 View Post
    I've just ordered one of these ,but lorne as one in stock,as he likes to be in front ,so 105 should be here next week,watch this space


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    Please let us know what you think

    John

  50. #50
    Master
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    [QUOTE=Sinnlover;4357299]Good to know.

    Cheers

    The other thing to note is that Lorne can update anything when watch is in for service so if you wanted new dial, hands etc Lorne could probably fully update it then if you wished.
    Mine is one of the originals and I want to keep it that way.
    This along with, my GGB mk2 and my 29a are top keepers

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