colinmet
November 29th, 2006, 13:05
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f320/colinmet/DSCF0362.jpg
So the Quadtec tour kicks off in Belfast.
Welcome to the Emerald Isle!!
Initial impressions.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f320/colinmet/Mainbox.jpg
The first thing that entered my mind when I opened the box on this one was, ‘I shouldn’t have made jokes about that 12,000ft diver the other week!’ I mean this is no shrinking violet here. Standing a noble 13mm up from the wrist, it is certainly not discrete! 40mm wide by 46mm tall, it sits right up there with the big boy divers watches such as the Planet Ocean by Omega, even some of the Panerais! But it doesn’t half catch the eye!
It’s not a lightweight either, weighing in at 83grams, with the leather strap option, or 180 Grams with the steel bracelet. Heavier than my Doxa and a Seamaster or any other good divers watch. A nice solid feel to it any way you wear it!
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f320/colinmet/WristShot.jpg
So anyway, on it got strapped. Like the typical bloke, I plunged straight in, without reading the instruction manual, and tried my best to work the whole thing out. Trust me, just read the manual, it will save you half an hour of frustration.
Like most digital watches it’s fairly simple to get to grips with, setting time date and the alarm function is straightforward. So what makes this different from any other digital watch (Except for the size etc etc.).
A perfect lead in to the whole Elapsed Forward, Elapsed Segmented, Elapsed Unified modes. Even after I agreed to try out the watch for Watchuseek, I still couldn’t get my head round these concepts. I don’t know if the website has changed recently, or maybe I just understand the whole thing now, but it is really simple.
Let’s work backwards for a minute……..
Elapsed Unified is the mode we all know and love with a digital watch. Hour on the left, minutes on the right and away we go. Couldn’t be easier!
Elapsed Segmented has the hour displayed in the middle of the watch, with the minutes display at progressive quadrants round the outside of the face. 0-15 mins at the top right, 16-30 to the bottom right and so on. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it eventually makes some sense.
And so finally the ‘revolutionary’ Elapsed Forward mode. Now this I thought would take a real head twist, being totally an analogue watch guy. In this mode everything starts off as previously mentioned. The hour is displayed in the middle of the screen as before. For the first half of the hour, the minutes count down as usual, EG 25 minutes past 9 o’clock. The big difference comes with the latter half of the hour. At 30 minutes and 30 seconds past the hour, the display changes to show the time in the format ’minutes to the hour’ While all this is going on, the minutes display is moving round the quadrants as in the Elapsed Segmented time.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f320/colinmet/ElapsedForward.jpg
At first I thought this would be really awkward. I use time a lot, especially at work, and I don’t have the time ‘pardon the pun’ to keep doing mental calculations for reports etc reading from a digital display. That’s part of the reason I moved to analogue watches in the first place. But think about it, we normally read time in the form of ‘past the hour’ and ‘to the hour’ when looking at an analogue display. This idea is not only revolutionary, it’s SIMPLE and to be honest, natural!
I have never found a digital display so easy to read. I promised myself I would change the mode each day to try out each one, but I don’t think the 2 other modes have got more than 20 minutes between them in the past week. I actually put one of my analogue dress watches on this Sunday to go out, and found it more awkward to read than the Quadtec. Don’t get me wrong, I will not be trading in my analogue watch club membership just yet, but I sincerely believe that the Quadtec is so easy to read and understand. I think a lot of analogur die hard guys could get very used to this watch.
As for the rest of the watch, let’s look at the wider picture. It sits very well on the wrist; the nice flat rectangular surface gives a very comfortable wearing watch. But as I said before, it’s not exactly subtle! It sits so high, you can’t wear a good shirt with it. It simply won’t slide under the cuff! That puts it into the category of a casual, or a fashionable lifestyle watch. Casual, absolutely and a very modern style it is! Cool……yes! Trendy……yes! Even possibly a touch of the retro, harking back to the sixties. It has gathered more than its fair share of glances, and comments, from friends, work colleagues and even one or 2 strangers.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f320/colinmet/Littleone.jpg
As for the lifestyle bit, I suppose that depends on your lifestyle. Rated to 50 Meters, it’s not going to the pool or even the shower with you. In fact, I was too concerned to even wear it doing the dishes, but maybe that’s partly due to past experiences with digital watches. Saying that, I haven’t been gentle with it this week either. This model comes in 2 finishes, satin and polished. Ernie sent me the Satin finish and it would be interesting to see if someone else has reviewed the polished version. Mine has taken some bangs, a couple of knocks and the general wear and tear of life, yet there are no marks I can see, even on the stainless steel bracelet. The clasp, where most watches take some damage has remained spotless. This is no mean feat, seeing as:
A…. it’s a big watch and seems to attract other things.
B…. It doesn’t get protected like other watches when they slip under your sleeve.
I think it would wear the test of time quite well.
Right on to the bracelets etc.
The Quadtec comes with a nice selection of alternative straps and bracelets. However, that’s a good thing, because the distinctive design of the strap fitting in relation to the watch means that it is unlikely you’ll ever find a third party strap to fit it!
The options start with the factory fitted black leather strap. And what a strap! I don’t know if this is made from hand reared calf, kept in darkness and fed moisturiser to keep their skin soft and free from UV damage, (And with apologies to the animal rights lobby I don’t care either), as this one is so soft and comfortable I would gladly wear it all the time. Big thumbs up for this one!!!!
Next the alternative strap, in soft orange rubber. Now, this one is comfortable too, but a little sticky after a while. I can’t see this one as an all day option to be honest. It sort of reminded me of a hot summer’s day. Then I thought the last strap I would want to wear on a hot summer’s day would be this rubber strap. Nice, high quality, but not for me!
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f320/colinmet/SteelBracelet.jpg
The last option is the stainless steel bracelet. I like my bracelets, I love my Seamaster bracelet, but surprisingly this one is just as comfortable. Its solid, wide, no play in the links and the clasp is a good solid one with release mechanism, as well as a fold over security clasp. The links are easy enough changed, using split pins to hold together. It’s even easy enough to do this yourself with the right tools and a little practice. The only downside to this bracelet is a minor design flaw. The clasp does have micro adjusters built in, but because of the shaped end link on the bracelet, it won’t move into any other adjuster than the first one. Whoops there guys!!
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f320/colinmet/SteelWristshot.jpg
Changing between the straps is relatively easy. Screws hold the strap on to the watch and are easily removed. Again, they are bespoke, meaning you won’t be able to buy more at the local jewellers or online strap shop. So it’s a good thing that Quadtec supply you with an extra 4 of them. I can see you needing them as well! Initially the strap change is a little awkward, as finding the holes to fit them in is difficult enough when you can’t see them thanks to the strap, but with practice it gets easier.
Now here’s a nice note on customer service. I couldn’t figure out the bracelet adjustment and didn’t want to damage it in any way. So off to customer service went the usual ‘help!’ email. I got a response inside 24 hours or so, which isn’t bad, but it’s not at the top of the game either. The long and the short of it seems to be you will not be strung out to dry if you have a problem.
And finally, on to the ‘extra features’ of which there are only 2 (Imagine this in a sarcastic voice) As well as telling the time, the Quadtec sports an illuminated dial and an alarm. The one comment that seems to ring in my head when I have shown it to people is ‘Is that it!’
The alarm is cutesy, but only one ringtone, and a reasonably quiet one at that. I certainly would not wake me in the dead of night. Nor could I hear it in the presshall, or any other noisy environment. Perhaps this could be said of a number of watches.
As for the illumination, I found it to be a little on the dull side. Certainly after pulling a couple of nightshifts, I found myself missing my Superluminova. But I could read it, and it probably helps towards the reasonable 5 year battery life.
I also found myself trying to be the salesman over the period of the week. I showed this watch to everyone and anyone who passed me. Most thought it was cool. Nearly everyone got the Elapsed Forward idea quickly enough. Its funny watching the look of enlightenment on peoples faces when it jumps past the half hour! Some like the complete package, with the extra straps, screws, nice folder etc, but the majority couldn’t really have cared.
But, the resounding sound in my ears will always be ‘How Much???’ when I told them the asking price. ‘ That much and that’s all it does?’ Maybe we are tight over here in Northern Ireland, but the general consensus seems to be that $500 for a watch that tells the time in an unusual way seems a bit steep. Especially comparing it to other ‘digital’ watches.
For me, to justify the asking price, I would make a few minor changes.
1. Up the water resistance rating! Other manufacturers can do this, to at least 100M. That would make it more viable to take anywhere anytime. I can think of too many places in my life I could soak this thing and it’s too nice to drown somewhere.
2. Upgrade the mineral glass to sapphire crystal. Maybe that a bit too extreme for some, but it’s a big watch, with a big face! Like I said, it’s hard to hide it under a sleeve and it tends to attract other things. Let’s give it all the help it can get!
Other than that, the big question I suppose is…..will I buy this watch? Now that’s a hard one! At the price with the current spec I think it would be hard to justify, but damn I have become attached to this. Good thing for my Doxa it’s off on the next leg of the tour tomorrow.
I will miss it!
Many thanks for reading the review. If you want to download it, I have attached it in PDF form for you to read later. Thanks again to Ernie for the opportunity of playing with this baby!
So the Quadtec tour kicks off in Belfast.
Welcome to the Emerald Isle!!
Initial impressions.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f320/colinmet/Mainbox.jpg
The first thing that entered my mind when I opened the box on this one was, ‘I shouldn’t have made jokes about that 12,000ft diver the other week!’ I mean this is no shrinking violet here. Standing a noble 13mm up from the wrist, it is certainly not discrete! 40mm wide by 46mm tall, it sits right up there with the big boy divers watches such as the Planet Ocean by Omega, even some of the Panerais! But it doesn’t half catch the eye!
It’s not a lightweight either, weighing in at 83grams, with the leather strap option, or 180 Grams with the steel bracelet. Heavier than my Doxa and a Seamaster or any other good divers watch. A nice solid feel to it any way you wear it!
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f320/colinmet/WristShot.jpg
So anyway, on it got strapped. Like the typical bloke, I plunged straight in, without reading the instruction manual, and tried my best to work the whole thing out. Trust me, just read the manual, it will save you half an hour of frustration.
Like most digital watches it’s fairly simple to get to grips with, setting time date and the alarm function is straightforward. So what makes this different from any other digital watch (Except for the size etc etc.).
A perfect lead in to the whole Elapsed Forward, Elapsed Segmented, Elapsed Unified modes. Even after I agreed to try out the watch for Watchuseek, I still couldn’t get my head round these concepts. I don’t know if the website has changed recently, or maybe I just understand the whole thing now, but it is really simple.
Let’s work backwards for a minute……..
Elapsed Unified is the mode we all know and love with a digital watch. Hour on the left, minutes on the right and away we go. Couldn’t be easier!
Elapsed Segmented has the hour displayed in the middle of the watch, with the minutes display at progressive quadrants round the outside of the face. 0-15 mins at the top right, 16-30 to the bottom right and so on. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it eventually makes some sense.
And so finally the ‘revolutionary’ Elapsed Forward mode. Now this I thought would take a real head twist, being totally an analogue watch guy. In this mode everything starts off as previously mentioned. The hour is displayed in the middle of the screen as before. For the first half of the hour, the minutes count down as usual, EG 25 minutes past 9 o’clock. The big difference comes with the latter half of the hour. At 30 minutes and 30 seconds past the hour, the display changes to show the time in the format ’minutes to the hour’ While all this is going on, the minutes display is moving round the quadrants as in the Elapsed Segmented time.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f320/colinmet/ElapsedForward.jpg
At first I thought this would be really awkward. I use time a lot, especially at work, and I don’t have the time ‘pardon the pun’ to keep doing mental calculations for reports etc reading from a digital display. That’s part of the reason I moved to analogue watches in the first place. But think about it, we normally read time in the form of ‘past the hour’ and ‘to the hour’ when looking at an analogue display. This idea is not only revolutionary, it’s SIMPLE and to be honest, natural!
I have never found a digital display so easy to read. I promised myself I would change the mode each day to try out each one, but I don’t think the 2 other modes have got more than 20 minutes between them in the past week. I actually put one of my analogue dress watches on this Sunday to go out, and found it more awkward to read than the Quadtec. Don’t get me wrong, I will not be trading in my analogue watch club membership just yet, but I sincerely believe that the Quadtec is so easy to read and understand. I think a lot of analogur die hard guys could get very used to this watch.
As for the rest of the watch, let’s look at the wider picture. It sits very well on the wrist; the nice flat rectangular surface gives a very comfortable wearing watch. But as I said before, it’s not exactly subtle! It sits so high, you can’t wear a good shirt with it. It simply won’t slide under the cuff! That puts it into the category of a casual, or a fashionable lifestyle watch. Casual, absolutely and a very modern style it is! Cool……yes! Trendy……yes! Even possibly a touch of the retro, harking back to the sixties. It has gathered more than its fair share of glances, and comments, from friends, work colleagues and even one or 2 strangers.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f320/colinmet/Littleone.jpg
As for the lifestyle bit, I suppose that depends on your lifestyle. Rated to 50 Meters, it’s not going to the pool or even the shower with you. In fact, I was too concerned to even wear it doing the dishes, but maybe that’s partly due to past experiences with digital watches. Saying that, I haven’t been gentle with it this week either. This model comes in 2 finishes, satin and polished. Ernie sent me the Satin finish and it would be interesting to see if someone else has reviewed the polished version. Mine has taken some bangs, a couple of knocks and the general wear and tear of life, yet there are no marks I can see, even on the stainless steel bracelet. The clasp, where most watches take some damage has remained spotless. This is no mean feat, seeing as:
A…. it’s a big watch and seems to attract other things.
B…. It doesn’t get protected like other watches when they slip under your sleeve.
I think it would wear the test of time quite well.
Right on to the bracelets etc.
The Quadtec comes with a nice selection of alternative straps and bracelets. However, that’s a good thing, because the distinctive design of the strap fitting in relation to the watch means that it is unlikely you’ll ever find a third party strap to fit it!
The options start with the factory fitted black leather strap. And what a strap! I don’t know if this is made from hand reared calf, kept in darkness and fed moisturiser to keep their skin soft and free from UV damage, (And with apologies to the animal rights lobby I don’t care either), as this one is so soft and comfortable I would gladly wear it all the time. Big thumbs up for this one!!!!
Next the alternative strap, in soft orange rubber. Now, this one is comfortable too, but a little sticky after a while. I can’t see this one as an all day option to be honest. It sort of reminded me of a hot summer’s day. Then I thought the last strap I would want to wear on a hot summer’s day would be this rubber strap. Nice, high quality, but not for me!
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f320/colinmet/SteelBracelet.jpg
The last option is the stainless steel bracelet. I like my bracelets, I love my Seamaster bracelet, but surprisingly this one is just as comfortable. Its solid, wide, no play in the links and the clasp is a good solid one with release mechanism, as well as a fold over security clasp. The links are easy enough changed, using split pins to hold together. It’s even easy enough to do this yourself with the right tools and a little practice. The only downside to this bracelet is a minor design flaw. The clasp does have micro adjusters built in, but because of the shaped end link on the bracelet, it won’t move into any other adjuster than the first one. Whoops there guys!!
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f320/colinmet/SteelWristshot.jpg
Changing between the straps is relatively easy. Screws hold the strap on to the watch and are easily removed. Again, they are bespoke, meaning you won’t be able to buy more at the local jewellers or online strap shop. So it’s a good thing that Quadtec supply you with an extra 4 of them. I can see you needing them as well! Initially the strap change is a little awkward, as finding the holes to fit them in is difficult enough when you can’t see them thanks to the strap, but with practice it gets easier.
Now here’s a nice note on customer service. I couldn’t figure out the bracelet adjustment and didn’t want to damage it in any way. So off to customer service went the usual ‘help!’ email. I got a response inside 24 hours or so, which isn’t bad, but it’s not at the top of the game either. The long and the short of it seems to be you will not be strung out to dry if you have a problem.
And finally, on to the ‘extra features’ of which there are only 2 (Imagine this in a sarcastic voice) As well as telling the time, the Quadtec sports an illuminated dial and an alarm. The one comment that seems to ring in my head when I have shown it to people is ‘Is that it!’
The alarm is cutesy, but only one ringtone, and a reasonably quiet one at that. I certainly would not wake me in the dead of night. Nor could I hear it in the presshall, or any other noisy environment. Perhaps this could be said of a number of watches.
As for the illumination, I found it to be a little on the dull side. Certainly after pulling a couple of nightshifts, I found myself missing my Superluminova. But I could read it, and it probably helps towards the reasonable 5 year battery life.
I also found myself trying to be the salesman over the period of the week. I showed this watch to everyone and anyone who passed me. Most thought it was cool. Nearly everyone got the Elapsed Forward idea quickly enough. Its funny watching the look of enlightenment on peoples faces when it jumps past the half hour! Some like the complete package, with the extra straps, screws, nice folder etc, but the majority couldn’t really have cared.
But, the resounding sound in my ears will always be ‘How Much???’ when I told them the asking price. ‘ That much and that’s all it does?’ Maybe we are tight over here in Northern Ireland, but the general consensus seems to be that $500 for a watch that tells the time in an unusual way seems a bit steep. Especially comparing it to other ‘digital’ watches.
For me, to justify the asking price, I would make a few minor changes.
1. Up the water resistance rating! Other manufacturers can do this, to at least 100M. That would make it more viable to take anywhere anytime. I can think of too many places in my life I could soak this thing and it’s too nice to drown somewhere.
2. Upgrade the mineral glass to sapphire crystal. Maybe that a bit too extreme for some, but it’s a big watch, with a big face! Like I said, it’s hard to hide it under a sleeve and it tends to attract other things. Let’s give it all the help it can get!
Other than that, the big question I suppose is…..will I buy this watch? Now that’s a hard one! At the price with the current spec I think it would be hard to justify, but damn I have become attached to this. Good thing for my Doxa it’s off on the next leg of the tour tomorrow.
I will miss it!
Many thanks for reading the review. If you want to download it, I have attached it in PDF form for you to read later. Thanks again to Ernie for the opportunity of playing with this baby!