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HEW WD: Watch Duels - Manual Wind - Secnds, No Date - Round 1

HEW WD: Watch Duels - Manual Wind - Secnds, No Date - Round 1

2K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  tony20009 
#1 ·
Overview:
So as most folks love a good battle, so I'm creating a series of running battles. In them, I'll put up pics of two watches. Your task is to choose by vote the one who should move on to the next round. In the next round I'll put up the winner of the first round and a new watch and you vote again. You'll have two days to vote and discover the candidates, and I'll put up a new "battle" on the third day. (If I'm late by more than a day, it's because I got banned and someone else will have to carry the torch. :) )

There will be multiple contest categories, but given my time constraints I'll only have two going at one time.

  • Manual Wind Watches: - Seconds, No Date
  • Manual Wind Watches: - No Seconds, No Date
  • Automatic Watches: - Seconds, date
  • Automatic Watches: - No Seconds, date
  • Non-Circular/Hex/Octagonal Shapes - Rectangular/Tonneau
  • Novelty Watches - These are watches that have something about their aesthetic design that makes that thing the point for buying them. Mostly it'll be art, but it's possible that a watch will appear here that has no comparable competitor in the preceding groups.

If someone else wants to manage one of the other categories above, I have no issue with that, but if you take on a category, you own it. It'll be yours to administer. If you feel there are other relevant/interesting categories that aren't listed above, you are also free to create them/it too. (It's not like I could stop you from doing so, I'm just saying I won't be offended if you do. LOL) Just so you have the background pertaining to the approach, please refer to the following posts prior to creating please refer to these posts:

If you have specific watches you want to see face off against the winner of the first round, suggest them. I just ask that you do so in the appropriate thread because I could well miss it otherwise.

Your Vote:
  • I will not post pics of every dial or case color in which a watch comes. I will try to post comparable pics to the extent I can easily find them, both for the watch of a given brand relative to a review as well as for the two competing watches, prioritizing where possible comparability of pics for the competitors. You'll have to decide for yourself if the color of the case, dial, etc matters to you in choosing a watch. For some folks it'll matter, for some it won't. I can say that I'll vote based on the watch's substance and only use things like color and case alternatives as a last resort, but that's just me.
  • I hope this doesn't turn into " the most expensive guy wins." Part of why this game is here is because I've seen a bit more objectivity here in HEW than I seen in general in Public.

So here we go...and remember, you are voting for a specific watch, the one pictured, not a brand and not some other watch either company makes. Were this a brand level game, it'd be easy: Patek wins. LOL.

Manual Wind Watches: - Seconds, No Date:
  • H. Moser & Cie - Mayu Small Seconds (small seconds) vs. Arnold & Son - HMS1 (small seconds) (since this watch won it's last contest)

Arnold and Son HMS1


H. Moser & Cie Mayu


Arnold & Son





H. Moser & Cie


 
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#2 ·
H. Moser wins this...my vote is based off of the exquisite finishing.


I have suggested that Tony put up MSRP for the watches as it could affect the vote...think of overpricing playing a factor vs. 'bang for the buck'...any thoughts on this?
 
#3 ·
A&S for me. Mostly because of that beautiful blue dial. That thing is "the bomb!" Visually, the A&S design is just far more well thought out. Take the harmony between the hour indices and the hands. They are complimentary, which is appropriate for a traditional watch. The detail on the guilloched dial blows the HMC away for it does handle light just as the HMC does (see the light and dark areas on the HMC dial), but it adds another dimension by virtue of its texture. Even the small seconds hand's end echos the shape of the hour markers. There's overall unity of design in this watch. I also like that the movement comes color coordinated with the dial if one buys black or grey dials.

HMC's brown version almost did it for me for it's super rich looking. HMC's movement is certainly nicer and better IMO from a usability perspective, having the clearer adjustment indicator. The numeral, along with the comparatively bland hour markers were just too "grade B" in terms of the level of thought for the overall design that they showed. I might have felt differently were the hands stick-style or the markers made with the same three dimensionality as the hands. In the end, however, it was the inclusion of the 12 that killed the HMC for me. Although the inconsistency of design between the hands and markers didn't please me, that Arial-esque font of the 12 pushed me farther than I'd care to go. IMO, at the very least, HMC could have chosen a font that was better matched to the traditional character of the hands.

Whereas the HMS1 is a traditionally styled watch all over -- dial, case, crown, etc. -- the Magyu seems to be trying to be traditional -- hands, case and crown -- and contemporary -- markers and the 12. The HMC watch just isn't a good compromise, much less, as a simple watch, it doesn't need to be a compromise, so why try?

All the best.

I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God's business.
- Michael J. Fox
 
#6 ·
H. Moser & Cie gets my vote. Beautiful dials.
 
#7 · (Edited)
No question there. And petty as it seems, I absolutely love the script in which their name is written. It's awesome! It may well be my favorite brand name to see printed on a dial.

All the best.
 
#11 ·
Arnold & Son.

Reasons:

  1. I don't like the 12 marker on the Moser
  2. I prefer the subtle difference in sub dial placement on the Arnold (not covering the six marker completely)
  3. The guilloche dial (blue face version) on the Arnold is to die for.
+100 on that blue dial!! That bad boy blows many a watch out of the water, IMO. That A&S offer it combined with rose gold, recognizing that blue and peach/orange are perfect color compliments is just outstanding. One'll notice they are so committed to that guilloched dial with the rose gold that it's offered with no other metal, even though they do offer the guilloche treatment in black.

Side note:
For me, not only is the A&S in blue the far prettier watch, as a company, more so than most of their direct competitors, I think A&S understand both the mechanical and visual arts and I think they manifest that understanding far more effectively than most other companies do. VC being the exception I can quickly think of, along with G&B of whom I only recently learned. (Yes, I know this is a watch contest and not a brand contest.)

All the best.

I hope you will simply do what you can do in the best way you know. If you do so, you will witness miracles come to pass.
- Gordon B. Hinckley
 
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