Revisiting this thread has got me wanting a teju strap for no.83 now.... hmm, wonder if John will look at his emails this time!
I was talking to John on Friday of last week and he mentioned he was a little snowed under at the moment, so it might be worthwhile trying him again once the christmas rush is over. Persistence is always best if he doesn't reply!
I've got a deal with him that he'll make a standard or custom strap (any strap from his range of colours, leathers etc) for Field Engineer owners within 1 month of ordering instead of his current, quite a bit longer, waiting time.
Edit: for anyone who thinks the FE is a bit too cheap, there are solid 18ct gold full and partial (bezel, buttons and backplate) options now available.
Last edited by LorneG; 7th December 2018 at 16:42.
Solid gold you say? Please don’t share any photos to tempt me because I definitely can’t afford that upgrade!
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Better show us some pics Lorne, I think I can resist but I would like to be sure
In accordance with the Marine Chronometer Co standard operating procedure (not annoying my wife), I need someone order one before I can make it. I think the partial gold (bezel, buttons, backplate) will be phenomenal though as the colour balance will be just right with the silver dial. It'll have just under an oz and a half of gold. Full case option is just over 3 oz's and really needs me to make a black and gold dial and gold edged hands to go with it.
Maybe you can post some pics of the bezel to tease us then? What is the cost for gold bezel and pushers?
C'mon Lorne no teasing!
I don't have any pics, honest, just a company I've been talking with and been to visit that will do it to the required standard and at a reasonable cost (which was darned hard to find). Bezel and pushers in 18ct gold as an upgrade would be about 2.5k, as a new watch about 4.5k. Full gold case with gold and black dial and gold deployment clasp about £8k.
Edit: if anyone is a whizz with photoshop they could do some recolouring on a standard FE and we'd all be able to see what it looks like.
Thanks, Lorne, thats a chunk of extra but not unexpected. Hopefully, someone on TZ will take the plunge soon enough and we can see the PO sporting some bling! For now, I will stick with Plan A
I'll stick with the original..#148 ordered for Jan..
I am not convinced by the two tone look. Full gold would look amazing but is about £8k over my budget
After my Hirsch strap disintegrated on the third wear (kindly refunded by WatchObsession as its discontinued) I switched to the bracelet.
It's a little fiddly to get on but no worse than any other watch with solid end links. my Christopher Ward C7 Rapide gave me more trouble. Lorne kindly sent it pre-sized but I'm fussy about clasp placement to switched sides of one link to get it just so.
Removing links is fiddly but feasible with two decent 1mm screwdrivers and a steady hand. The screw system is superb, no locked threads, it feels secure and is far less of a faff than the pin and collar system used by TAG Heuer and Omega.
My one criticism of the bracelet is the lack of adjustment. It's a similar bracelet to the TAG Heuer Carrera with no micro adjustment. Every link is a half link so its better than some bracelets but still impossible to get a perfect fit. What I would like to see is either a standard pin microadjust with five holes (so you never get caught ”between links” or, using Lorne’s engineering expertise, something similar to either the Rolex Glide Lock or the sprung system used on the Tudor Pelagos.
Having said all that... It looks amazing and the five link engineer bracelet looks stunning when it catches the light.
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Last edited by Richmondmike; 9th December 2018 at 11:26.
If ever a watch was a 'grower '...
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Looking good Lorne and very pleased with the contrast stitching
All the remaining stock at Watchunique has been withdrawn from sale so I can only assume the last few were part of a bad batch. Loving the bracelet, though, so all's well that ends well :)
You can see where it started to split at the lug near the 5 I clock marker. Then the thin leather layer split and exposed the core.
Last edited by Richmondmike; 15th December 2018 at 11:41.
Made the final payment on #151 today and are expecting delivery next week once Darius is back on deck to size the bracelet. Lorne sent the pic below of my Field Engineer on its contrast strap, I think it looks great but the bracelet is likely the only way it will be worn. One day, perhaps after a few pints, I will make an attempt at changing the stap but after experiencing Johnnys watch on a strap this might be outside of my limited skill.
20181213_205902 by Simon Gee, on Flickr
Never heard of these before but it’s a fascinating piece, too big for me but I had a Christopher Ward C40 Speedhawk and a Steinhart Chrono when I did own some larger watches and you can’t beat the 7750 for reliability and that trademark wobble
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#148 heading to Lincs next week, on the strap..can't wait.. I love everything about the watch.. and the story behind it..
Pics to follow once collected!
#144 is Still on bracelet and although the lack of adjustment makes it a little looser than I’d like I don’t think I’ll go back to a strap now I’m used to it.
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#148 collected and back in Stamford... very pleased with both the watch and the strap...and an excellent standard of coffee too :)
I’ve made a little video review of #144
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j7WK3OFUZzk
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Great review Mike... I'll embed it below for ease of viewing:
Great to see the watch in a video like that, thank you for taking the time to do the review.
I would be so much keener on this if the bezel was more useful...rotating being the key! It looks to be knurled already, though making a rotating bezel assembly must be a bit of a faff!
Hi Mike, What an excellent video, thank you very much. There's nothing better than free advertising. Cheaper than free actually because, as you noted in the video, you bought the watch you reviewed!
It must be slightly annoying having a bracelet that is slightly loose or slightly tight depending on how many half links you've removed. I'll have to resolve that, as you suggest with a micro adjustment facility. In the meantime (as getting a micro-adjustment revision into the bracelet is probably about a year to do) I'll send you a Teju strap as a way of saying thank you.
edit: I'm putting your review onto the website as a news item, assuming that's OK with you
Hi Lorne, as you are very much aware the bracelet fit effects many brands and you arent alone - fortunately in my case I get a good fit so no problems but adding the micro adjustment will I am sure open up the market to people who just cant live with the uncertainly of getting a decent fit (I know what it can be like and generally avoid bracelets now without micro adjustment)..lets be clear though, its a stonkingly good watch!
Keith
It feels heavier on the bracelet because the strap holds it right to the wrist, but I wear bracelets half a link looser than a strap for comfort. It’s the sliding around that makes it feel too heavy. A very common occurrence with 7750 watches: a TAG Heuer Carrera also feels unbalanced and they, too, have no micro adjustment on the bracelets.
Look what arrived this morning: one of the best straps I’ve ever worn. Hugs the wrist perfectly and just right for balance between comfort and tightness.
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What sort of money are we talking about for the new strap? I have one of the older Hirsch ones, and fancy a change. Like you, I think that this watch won't work for me on the bracelet.
Quite a lot at around Euro 340 and direct from John at dangerous9straps to cut out the middleman. Tell him it's to fit the Field Engineer as he has the case and clasp jig and will shortcut his 12 week waiting time to 4 weeks. Standard is black teju outer, dark blue teju inner and black stitching, but he'll make any combination of skins and colours you like. The white stitching is quite popular and really rather nice.
edit: and he'll adjust the length as well if you ask and tell him your wrist size
Last edited by LorneG; 19th January 2019 at 16:36.
Thanks Lorne. I'll need to save up my pocket money for a few weeks......
My macro "studio" involves a sheet of A4 on the table beside my patio doors and a steady handheld shot! I've had to wait until now to have nature's assistance with the lighting but now that spring is here, I have some decent macro shots of the detail on the Dangerous9 Teju straps. They really are something else:
I gather John has an OP case so that each strap is literally made to measure. It shows when you look at how the strap follows the profile of the lugs. Excellent work indeed:
Lovely strap..and really suits the watch..
If Lorne was to do a black or panda dial, a nice brown dangerous 9 would be ideal (and I'd be first in the q)
Think I have one of Lorne's prototype case's here
Never got round to using it.
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I can see it's a mid-point prototype case. Bit dinged here and there, so clearly one I was playing with the metal alloys on before going standard 316L and the sapphire might have slightly too much vertical projection above the bezel to get the protection I was aiming for. Back case, I suspect, isn't the standard spec as it took a bit of fettling to get them the way I wanted. And it's on one of those metal bracelets I had made that are simply terrible. (I think I have 250 of them in the basement if anyone fancies one, or all 250 - but only on the grounds they're never to be fitted to an Offshore Pro). I had decided on IIX as being the correct way to write 8 in Roman numerals though, but I can also see that some of the case finishing and brushing isn't current spec.
Not a brown panda faced dial, but on a brown dangerous9 strap with grey lining and hopefully enjoying itself in the mid-west.
Been away a bit recently, but back up and running now : - )
Having finally bitten the bullet I had the pleasure of meeting Lorne today, examining and confirming my purchase of no 154 which I’ll pick up (following its bezel change to the Roman numeral style) next time I’m in London. Apart from one or two of Eddie’s finest this is and will probably remain my only other venture into the world of serious microbrands, but I’m really looking forward to getting this one on my wrist. The quality and presence of these watches really has to be appreciated in the flesh, and I’m quite excited to be joining a very select club of owners.
Great choice; glad you've gone for the Roman bezel :)
Photos expected of course
Up to 154 now? That's enough for a summer GTG, no?
Great choice..look forward to the pictures of it with the Roman bezel..
The dangerous9 strap really complements the watch..
GTG.. I'm in! I wonder how many Offshore Professionals you could get in one photo