Ok, now I'm massively impressed by Sinn, even moreso than I have been over the years.
The tegimented 22mm push button clasp arrived, but it's different from one I had many years ago. It has a normal spring bar connection for the silicone at the six o'clock end, but at the 12 o'clock end it has a jaw which clamps shut on to the silicone, using the metal bar fillers as a 'stop'.
Basically it takes away any "I've cut it too short" anxiety and renders the silicone completely adjustable. Superb idea. And the jaw clamp really is hugely strong.
Pictures are worth a thousand words...
That newer clasp does indeed look a big step in the right direction
The ongoing (and widespread across all brands, admittedly) lack of on-the-fly micro-adjustent remains a sore point with me - the fact Certina coud manage it on a £500 quartz watch suggests it shouldn't be beyond the resources of any maker!
Exactly. Given that micro adjust has been around for some years, and manufacturers like San Martin do magnificent micro adjust on watches that retail for pennies, it really should be defacto on every watch.Originally Posted by earlofsodbury
That newer clasp does indeed look a big step in the right direction
The ongoing (and widespread across all brands, admittedly) lack of on-the-fly micro-adjustent remains a sore point with me - the fact Certina coud manage it on a £500 quartz watch suggests it shouldn't be beyond the resources of any maker!
This Sinn clasp is definitely a work of art though. Looking forward to a tegimented version for the UX bracelet (only non-teg currently).
A bit of colour for the brighter day...
The UX a does look great.
I had the new adjustable clasp on my U1, I think my Tegimented version was £400 with new silicone from Neil at Chronomaster. I eventually tired of the frankly enormous clasp and went back to the bracelet, before I sold it. I found the clasp did have a sneaky habit of coming undone.
D
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That's annoying. Was that from accidental button press? The jaw on this one is almost impossible to open!
Not the micro-adjustment, that was always solid and I rarely altered it. It was the main clasp unlocking, and it sometimes needed a firm press to lock it. Sometimes extending my wrist would put enough pressure on the back of the clasp to trigger it unlocking.
To be fair it was size that cause me to swap back to the bracelet, and that weighed a tonne!
D
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Sounds like it was quite tight on your wrist. I wear my watches loose, always have. I can't imagine this one popping open, even with the buttons it takes a concerted effort to open. At least it stays on the wrist when it is opened.
Looks glorious on the red strap!
Just got the brand new 144 Jubilee II.., bracelet + rubber...., amazing watch!
https://i.imgur.com/wEVjfKV.jpeg
That's what my other half said. She loves it!Looks glorious on the red strap!
Now that really is a result!That's what my other half said. She loves it!
I am truly blessed. Isabel loves my watches and is interested (to a point) to learn about them.Now that really is a result!
I lost her the other evening whilst explaining the differences between the bezel mechanisms of the UX and DC66, but she's largely there.
I am truly blessed. Isabel loves my watches and is interested (to a point) to learn about them.
I lost her the other evening whilst explaining the differences between the bezel mechanisms of the UX and DC66, but she's largely there.
Excellent! Platinum-tier Keeper you've got there!
Mine goes as far as vaguely amused tolerance, which can extend to middling enthusiasm if she wants to borrow something, but that's rare since I bought her a 37mm Luminox in her favourite colour scheme which she basically lives in! Tried to wean her onto fancier brands (even the dreaded R-word) but she's not interested in dressy stuff...
If Sinn ever do a PVD 556 with an orange dial, that story will change!
If only we WIS'ers could be so easily pleased.Excellent! Platinum-tier Keeper you've got there!
Mine goes as far as vaguely amused tolerance, which can extend to middling enthusiasm if she wants to borrow something, but that's rare since I bought her a 37mm Luminox in her favourite colour scheme which she basically lives in! Tried to wean her onto fancier brands (even the dreaded R-word) but she's not interested in dressy stuff...
If Sinn ever do a PVD 556 with an orange dial, that story will change!
I recently bought one of the new clasps to try out. I am very familiar with the original large clasps as my 2007 Sinn U2 came with one. I also used the same when I bought my U1000 in 2017.
The new adjustable large clasp works well, but I do agree that it seems to take more effort to push closed (without using both buttons).
One issue I had when fitting the clasp was getting the spring bar to seat in the non-adjustable side of the clasp. I first tried it one new silicone that I was fitting to the U1000..... it took me the best part of an hour! (I even trimmed the silicone edge as much as I dared, to make more space). After switching back to the bracelet on my U1000, I decided to fit the new clasp to my U2 as it was time for new silicone on that watch..... same struggle, albeit not so long to fit. Has anyone else had this issue?
I have plenty of experience changing the silicone straps on U-series, so can normally do it in a few minutes or less.
It is a bit tricky to seat, although I found that by inserting a thin screwdriver first, a little leverage made it pop straight in. Removing a strap bar first made it a lot easier.
Just had a custom leather strap made to fit the clasp I went for a 20mm instead of of the 22mm, looks great I think
Definitely looks better for the added taper. Bet it wears better too?
It does to be fair feels lighter on the wrist
John over Black_Isle_leatherwords made it for me, it comes with 3 brands so you have adjustment
and only cost £50 delivered
Very nice indeed Bazza. Love it on the UX!
Excellent stuff. Now going to put my UX on. Eyeing up a 556 on eBay at the moment too.
Excellent stuff. Now going to put my UX on. Eyeing up a 556 on eBay at the moment too.
Hold out for an 856, more wrist presence and a much better feature set (tegiment, Ar-Dehumidifying, much better antimag...).
I've had a number of 857 UTCs, always looking for another. I find the 856 a bit to spaced out on the dial. 856 UTC perhaps though.
Never had a 556, but always admired their cleanliness and dimensions.
I purposefully went for a 657 rather than an 857, when I went looking, and bought a 657 in 2016. I wrote the below at the time
And so on to the 657. It gave way to the 857 in the model line-up. At a glance you would struggle to tell them apart.
However, during the transformation from 6 to 8 it gained some extra paunch in the form of 2mm larger in diameter, plus a tegimented case, a re-orientation of the date window, copper sulphate capsule and a matte dial. The tegiment is a good idea, the others are meh, for me.
The 41mm diameter 657 is plenty big enough. I personally cannot see that moving from 41mm diameter to 43mm diameter is progress in anyone's book. Unless you are rather too pumped by the gym or the donut stand.
And why take away that glorious deep gloss dial? There is nothing blacker than a lovely deep shiny piano black. The flatness of matte renders the dial grey by comparison (see above matt EZM1 for comparison). I have spent a few TZ GTG evenings looking very admiringly at Mike's 556i dial (before he moved it on), and that was the primary inspiration for me to seek out this version. That black is much nicer. And a gloss dial is not even an option on the 85* series.
I suspect the main reason for the up-spec is to differentiate in price for the new model.
Compare the 556A to the equivalent 856, almost equivalent watches except the size and tech referred to above.
Page and Cooper have inc-VAT prices of £695 for the 556A on leather. The 856 on leather? £1145. That is a £450 lift or 65% more than the smaller model.
For what??? Tegimenting???Technically the only other uplift between the two is the addition of CuSO4 capsule. No addition to WR.
It seems clear that Sinn wanted to keep a basic cheapie, but remove the option of a cheaper model with a bezel.
So rendering the 657 obsolete was without doubt a means for Sinn to add to the arms race of technology and increase the price of the replacement model a looooooong way.
I would have thought there is still room for this model in the line-up. What is wrong with a 657 or a 557 (not that this ever existed, but I mean a 556 equipped with a bezel)? I would have thought it might be popular, but then again, it may damage 857 sales. Perhaps that is why we do not have it.
It seemed very clear to me that the 85* range was made in order to upsell. Add a few techy features, and fluff the price by a long way.
Sinn have some very useful tech. Tegiment is definitely one.
But The Copper Sulphate? Ar filling? Diapal? These are techs that are solutions to non-existant problems, imho. They are also ways to ensure that you have to go to Sinn for your servicing........
The bracelet on my son's Sinn watch is getting too tight on him so I'm going to need to add a link.
A quick search seems to indicate the screws are a bit of a bugger to remove.
Any experience with these and tips. Generally for my Rolex bracelets some boiling water does the trick so not sure if the same with the Sinn bracelet.
I normally use a hair dryer
Yep boiling water or hair dryer will shift the loctite
Ok. Thanks.
Just the EZM1 at the moment but fancy adding an Arktis and still looking for a U1000/756 DIAPAL.
Sanjay
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I'm practically bed bound at the moment due to a medical issue.
That's no reason I can't wear a proper tool watch though😉
Even if it is only currently being used to time my meds rather than a decompression stop.
My Sinn U2 SDR, on a bracelet (for now) I may yet rock it in red or white silicone for the summer 🤔
Holiday watch
That's interesting. What's the reference?Holiday watch
It’s 105 St Sa UTC W
Also available with black dial and non-UTC. Wears very nicely at 41mm.
As it's nearly a week since the T1 B arrived - and it's yet to leave my wrist - it seems like time to post some impressions and a few pics in this thread.
I've wanted a blue-dialled U1 B ever since I first encountered the Sinn brand five years ago, but they're fairly scarce, attract a price premium, and seem to sell instantly the rare times they appear on SC. There's also no denying that I really like the standard U1 I already own: I feel it's a design classic in its own right, so there's a risk I'd end-up with two U1s when the plan was always to fund the B by selling the standard U1...
I never expected to even see a T1 B in my lifetime - not seen one for sale - and so it wasn't on my radar when one unexpectedly popped-up at a stiffish price for a somewhat battered watch. Still, too nice a watch to hesitate and I'm one of few happy to live with some battle-scars. Luckily (!) the T1 is different-enough to the U1 that I can manage a kind of demented rationalisation for keeping both...
One of few things the T1 and U1 share is (give-or-take 0.5mm) their size. 44mm was a very popular size a decade ago when the big-watch trend was peaking, but the reality is not everyone can carry it off. The sweetspot for me is around 38-42mm, but (e.g.) the smaller U50 fails dismally to translate the U1s proportions to a smaller diameter, having too wide a bezel; the T50 works better, but nearly £3K for a fairly basic 3-hander with a workhorse movement is just way too much: £2K would be ambitious; neither offer a blue dial.
Next to the U1, the T1 appears bigger, chiefly due to the tonneau / barrel-shaped outline, which Sinn cleverly and neatly use to provide a degree of protection to the 4'o'clock crown (something the U1 lacks). Yet the T1 wears better than the U1, it seems to conform more closely to my wrist. The lighter weight of Ti obviously helps how it feels, as also do the very short and heavily-incurved lugs. It's also an agreeably slim watch - certainly by the standards of 1000m-rated divers - at just 12.5mm thick, making it an easier wear. Overall it's a good, function-led and effective design.
In many ways it's a more premium watch than the U1. An obvious example is the use of titanium - it's not a cheap material, it's more difficult to machine than steel, it's obviously lighter than steel, it's hypoallergenic, and less thermally conductive - which tends to feel pleasant to wear. It's still a surprisingly heavy watch, which will be due in part to the bezel, which rather-sensibly is made from Sinn's proprietary scratch-resistant Tegimented steel, plus the thick sapphire crystal which is required to help ensure the T1's 1000m depth rating.
It also incorporates Sinn's Argon inert-gas filling which should ensure the movement, and epecially its lubrication, suffer less degradation over time. With this comes Sinn's internal dehumidfying capsule, filled with colour-indicating copper sulphate crystals which let you know if moisture-ingress is a problem. It's good to have this, and it's conspicuously placed at 6'o'clock on the dial for ease-of-notice - though the disadavantage of this placement is that it cannot be easily changed without a fairly comprehensive strip-down of the watch. The newer T50 improves on this by placing the capsule in a screwed-inclosure in the case of the watch.
Other characteristic Sinn technologies include low-pressure resitance - so if you were to experience depressurisation at altitude (heaven forfend!) your T1 won't blow its crystal out: though your blood may boil and your eyeballs end-up on your cheeks... It's also lubricated and toleranced to work in temperatures from -45C up to +80C . . . . Since I am neither lubricated nor toleranced for ANY of the conditions this timepiece can withstand, I'm battling with a growing inferiority complex caused by the T1!
The lume is by some margin the best I've encountered on any Sinn I've owned (104, 140, U1, 756, T1). It's two-coloured to aid reading in difficult conditions, but more-importantly it's bright and long-lasting: knocking on the door of the better Seiko models I've owned. This quality of lume extends to the bezel, which itself is also an upgrade from the U1's simple unidirectional effort, in being a push-and-turn design that is both easy to use and less likely to be displaced accidentally. The smaller number of notches on the bezel are also more in keeping with some of Sinn's 'Mission Timer' roots and reflect Lothar Schmidt's time at IWC, being influenced by the iconic Porsche-designed Ocean 2000 - it's a look I love.
The design aesthetic of the dial and hands, with punchy-but-rounded indices paired with a long arrow-shape minutes hand and short, obelisk-shaped hour hand, plus simple, slim stick seconds is very much Sinn of a few years ago when they were still willing to innovate (I do feel they've played it safer since - even faintly retro - with most designs since the 105. Such is commercial-expedience). Anyway, here again is a design ethos I enjoy: for no rational reason I just love me a Tic-Tac shaped index!
The colour of the dial came as a surprise to me having never previously handled a blue-dialled Sinn diver. I'd expected the darker powder-blue tint of the renders Sinn use for their products, so when the watch arrived and an almost purple, faintly micaceous dark blue popped from the dial I was surprised but undismayed - it's gorgeous, and also makes matching with coordinating straps much easier, which since I'm a strapwhore (WAHEY!) is handy...
Downsides - Sinn's horrible oversized and adjustment-free clasp for their bulky, cheap-looking silicone straps makes that a no-go for me: Sinn is REALLY bad at clasps IMO. It could be smaller too - but if you can find the smaller T2, for some bizarre reason Sinn decided to give that model double the WR of the T1, so the T2 is actually fatter! Really, though, there's nothing to complain of here - it's a genuinely great watch.
It's a bold and potentially divisive design overall - I happen to love it, but I'd also guess that its scarcity and fairly short period of availability (~2014 - ~2018) suggests not too many people wanted to pay the premium for one versus a U1 or UX. Personally I think it's one of Sinn's very best designs and I'm chuffed to have got my hands on one...
Last edited by earlofsodbury; 4th July 2024 at 14:56. Reason: Sooooooo many typos...
I don't think I have ever put all mine into a group shot before
That's a cracking combination right there.
Enjoy it good Earl.
That's a cracking combination right there.
Enjoy it good Earl.
Thank-you very much
I'm a little spoiled for choice, as another FKM strap arrived today, plus a consignment of assorted sizes of Ti and SS buckles from Sinn themselves:
...though I think my personal favourite remains the blue-and-white strap.
That FKM works a treat on that too.
Double German..both beautiful.
^ cracking photo ^ - and agreed, both are lovely
Dug out this picture of the Sinn T2.
Having owned probably about 20 Sinn’s.
This is the one that I regret selling the most.
I don’t have any German watches, but do have this. Dave says hi.Double German..both beautiful.
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Hi Dave...Elsie waves a paw back.I don’t have any German watches, but do have this. Dave says hi.
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Very nice / I bet!
I might be going crazy (good chance to be fair) but did Sinn used to have a model with multi coloured markers?
If so id love some pics and an idea on model number.
Like I say might just be going mad.
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Both the Sinn EZM 4 and EZM 7 had colourful markers - firefighters watches and the colours were used to measure oxygen usage apparently.
Neither are in the current catalogue.
Here's my st104. Love this watch. The clarity and lume are so good. I would however prefer the shiny case to be brushed. I would do this myself but there are some awkward corners at the lugs that would be beyond my skills.
[IMG][/IMG]
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