OCEAN7 History 1 * LOCKED *

[XTrooper]

Looks like the lume and legibility are very well covered.

Now we need a look at the caseback to see if it bears a qualified sea critter! :-D

[stuffler,mike]

Right, and now I know where I saw these hands (no not the Dreadnought):


Jacques Etoile Plongeur

[stuffler,mike]

Maybe the JE Atlantis ?

[XTrooper]

They are basic Plongeur hands. A very popular choice for those customizing their divers. Bill Yao sells tons of them. They are also a favorite of mine. Great-looking and very practical.

[MadBrdr]

Take it as Yen, Dinar, Swiss Franc - it´s a joke buddy !

I got my hopes soooo high up O| :oops:

But let's hear some opinions; what would the fair price be for something like that?

[MitchSF]

Hi Guys,

I'm LaHugh's partner, and we've been working on this project for a long time. I'll answer some of your questions.

LaHugh and I both own PloProfs, and that's where the hand design comes from. I believe that every other watch out there with similar hands, was also inspired by the PloProf design. I'd be interested to learn about any watch with similar hands, that predates the PloProf.

As to the comment about a similarity to the Dreadnought, the same applies - it appears that its dial and hand design were also influenced by the PloProf.

The dial reflects our minimalist approach to watch design. If you compare our dial to the PloProf, you will notice that ours is a little simpler. Personally, I don't believe that you need to read your watch's water resistance, whenever you check the time. The back of the watch is a good place for specifications, and all the other stuff. You can see that the luminous material is inlaid in chrome inserts. I'm not sure if we will ultimately use the inlays.

The movement is a Swiss ETA 2824-2, and the spacer ring is metal, not plastic.

The case is completely bead blasted except for the outer part of the bezel, which is brushed. The bezel is a 120 click, unidirectional design. You can't see from the picture, but the edge of the bezel is a knurled finish, and the crown may also end up that way.

I don't think we'll have a fish on the back. Or a wave. We're trying to keep the price down. Keep in mind that this price includes a domed sapphire crystal. We hope to bring it to market at an intro price of $299, but we will definitely not be able to keep it at that price for very long. It is possible that the price will be higher, so no promises.

We're very happy with the design so far, but we're not happy with the crown and crown guard. If we can't use an 'off the shelf' crown, the cost will increase, so we have to try to balance everything.

We're debating whether we should use a crown guard at all. Comments on this are appreciated. The new Sinn U1 doesn't use one, and it looks good. How effective the crown guard is in our application, is an open question.

The design is not yet set in stone. It's close to sample production, but not to the point that we can't make changes. Please feel free to comment, even to criticize the design. As I mentioned, we're most interested in comments regarding the crown and crown guard.

We'll be in touch with design revisions, and we will post them here.

Mitch

[XTrooper]

I got my hopes soooo high up O| :oops:

But let's hear some opinions; what would the fair price be for something like that?

Well, what is a "fair price" is a very subjective thing, so I don't think this is something we should really speculate on. I would like to hear back from Ocean7 on this though.

Just to give you an idea, however, a quality watch with a Swiss ETA 2824-2 automatic movement, large 45mm diameter stainless steel case, and sapphire crystal might sell from as low as a few hundred or so to several thousands depending on the brand.

[MitchSF]

One more thing - it will probably come on a NATO like, nylon strap.

Mitch

[XTrooper]

Mitch,

I think the overall design is very sound for a serious dive watch. Minimalist, great legibility (the most important factor), and a good size. One thing I'd like to see is an orange-tipped sweep second hand to match the color of the minute hand.

Regarding the crown guard, you could either do without it altogether or, if possible, design an unobtrusive one like found on the Muhle Glashutte SAR Rescue Timer. I owned this watch at one time and this was one part of its design that I really admired.

[XTrooper]

One more thing - it will probably come on a NATO like, nylon strap.

Mitch

Fine with me. It will keep the price down and I almost always end up personalizing my watches with my own strap or bracelet selections anyway. :-D