RESCO Landing - My first impressons after jumping off the fence

[Jeep99dad]

Wednesday, I received two Resco Patriots, one Brushed SS black dial blue writing and a DLC Sterile dial. As of last night, I only own the brushed version. I had gotten one out of a trade + cash knowing I could quickly flip it if I did not like it and bought the other used. I knew would only keep one and was not sure which I’d prefer. After 24 hours, I elected to keep the brushed SS non sterile dial, I am just not made for black watches I guess! J You may have read my posts in other threads about the Resco where I was on the fence only because of its $1400 price tag. I don’t mind spending that $ on a watch (if I have it in my watch fund only J ) but its specs seemed really out of synch with its price.. the mvt first, yeah yeah Iknow it’s different… but still at that price… one would expect better, the very low WR, and the good looking but nothing exceptional dial(no applied indices for example).. all in all, not bad specs but just not up to the price IMO. Anyways I decided to take a chance after reading its praises, rave reviews…
After wearing two Patriots and inspecting them the past few days, I wanted to share my first impressions. They only represent my personal opinions and don’t read more into it than just that. Those who know me know I am pretty honest and courteous.
The case is cool looking, not great but looks good. The SS finish is good, nothing great and in par with watches costing 1/3 and ½ its price. Some may find it small, the lugs don’t do much to make it wear bigger, but for me it is ok in size. I have a 7” wrist for reference. The lugs look a little odd to me but I love the hex screw bar, they make changing straps a breeze.
The bezel looks good and is kept simple which I like. No ash marks all over and some will fins the 12hr bezel useful to track a second time zone I suppose. It turns with firm clicks and authority but is not tight, I like it a lot.
The dial just looks very good but could be better with smaller font, especially for the word PATRIOT. That blue is not my favorite but it suits the watch in my opinion… again would be better with smaller font I think, much better. The big contrasting indices are well done, and make the watch very legible in my opinion. Their blue lume really looks cool but is not super bright, nothing major, doesn’t bother me that much. I love the hands, they fit this dial and the watch real well IMO.
The movement, a Russian modified (no day/date) SLAVA 2427 twin barrell low beat mvt, may be durable, I am sure it is, but so are others so I still don’t quite understand why this one was chosen and especially at this price point. I mean come on… the movement does not even hack! I find that very annoying J The crown is wide in diameter but narrow and not the easiest to grab when screwed in. It wobbles just a tad but no biggy but most of all it is just rough to screw in, which is just unforgiveable at this price. I know it is not just my watch, my other one (DLC) was the same and others have experiences that same roughness. Just the way it is and I guess some will say it is part of its charm. To me at 1400$ I expect more.
Comparing it to older Benarus Sea Devil and Boschett Cave Dweller at 450-550$, I feel these watches case finish was at least as good as the Resco Patriot’s, they had better WR and a proven Myota mvt which were very accurate for me and reliable and non hacking too. And now one can get a real nice Moray II and Remora for 500-600 with the new hackable Myota mvt!
At 1400$, I can get a Zixen Nitrox II and have enough for another nice watch.. The Zixen is much better finished IMHO, has a better dial, comes on a bracelet, has a ETA 2824 mvt….. At $1400 I got a gently used Anonimo, Omega SMP, Doxa 5000.. heck at 950$ I got a vastly superior Korsbek Oceaneer with the ETA 2892 mvt, killer hand/dial combo, great crown operations…. Also a Fortis B42…. So even for the price of a used Resco 900-1000$, one can get an amazing watch superior to it in many areas…
Overall I would say that the Patriot is just a real cool looking watch and wears really comfortable, but to me is just way overpriced for what it is and its looks can’t quite make up for it, even if I buy it used well under the $1400 price tag new. I love wearing it but the jury is still out on whether it’ll stay in the collection or I’ll sell it to use the $ for something of higher quality and specs.
I hope I did not offend or piss off anyone but I want to provide honest feedback, some facts and my opinion…. Reviews can’t always be all positive. I do find the watch very attractive, mostly due to its dial and hand combo I think.
Thanks for reading,
Brice

Sorry for the cell phone pics.

[Sean779]

Good review. Pulling no punches, but not discourteous neither .

I like the watch, and agree with you it's over-priced.

[Jeep99dad]

Thank you for reading buddy! Glad you did not find my post over the top or impolite. Just wanted to share my honest opinions and comparisons.

[toxicavenger]

honesty is hard to come by these days. so thanks for the honest brice!

good job and enjoy the watches.

[jlow28]

Good post and I like an honest review...well done. I think sometimes we like to feel like we got our monies worth out of a watch purchase. I'm sure the Navy Seal thing and close ties to Kobold has something to do with their price justification.

[heb]

Hello,

I too enjoyed your report and it is news I can definitely use. I think the beauty of this watch is the great dial and the effect of wearing something different. It's a purchase of the heart, not necessarily of the mind; same as spending $5000 on a watch case made on a milling machine in Italy containing a standard issue Sellita 2000 movement. Please let us know its average daily rate.

heb

[Beau8]

Good objective review. Suffice to say, the waiting list for Swiss made movements is driving up demand so alternative sources have to be found.

[Jeep99dad]

@Toxicavenger: thank you, honesty is important to me but sometimes people don't like it. I truly did mean any offense to anyone. So thank you for the kind comments on my review.

@jlow28: thank you! Yes we do want to get some value and yes I'm sure the Kobold influence and navy seal thing as you say have helped with the sale of the watch at a high price. I understand it's selling real well and I'm very happy for the owner of Resco watches. It's good to see someone have the Cojones to start a new small business following their passion and be successful at it.

@Heb: I have to agree with you, it's a purchase of the heart on this one, it's dial and hand combo is quite catchy and it's looks is different, very toolish yet fun! As for your 5000$ wath example, I'm with you... I too would find it overpriced and wait to grab it at less than 50% on the forums if I had to have it:) as for his daily rate, my Resco is not doing too well at -11sec/day!! thanks for reading!!

@Beau8: thank you! I can understand your point on the waiting list and finding alternative sources! I am quite glad to see watches with mvts other than the popular reliable 2824! But using a modified slava shouldn't result and doesn't help justify the 1400$ price tag!! I don't so much mind the mvt itself though I'd have chosen something else, but it's the price that I just don't get. Plus removing the hacking feature seems a bit odd to me to be honest!! Man do I hate that this thing won't hack!! :) I hate that on my Spork and Cuda too:) I also worry about parts availability and finding a local watchmaker to work in it, perhaps these concerns are not founded though?
Thanks again for reading. Brice

[2BATTRANGER]

Great review Brice! I've read your posts over the last few months about the Resco. My thoughts have mirrored yours exactly! I DO like the looks of the Resco, it's a true "tool" looking watch but I personally just couldn't get past the PRICE for one!!! They way I look at it is.....The Resco is basically a Lum-Tec watch. (1st run series) Wait, let me explain.......Here's MY thoughts, Chris W. of LT helped Smitty in the design process of the Resco (I read this in a thread from Resco) and Chris also helped design the dials and lumed them for Resco. The Resco uses the SAME movement as the 1st run Lum-Tec watches (Slava) and the quality is fair. This, IMO, makes the two very similar. Now remember when the LT watches came out they were priced at about $400 if I'm not mistaken??? I think the Resco would be an awesome deal if it were priced more closely with the Lum-Tec models! (first run) I would really like to try one of these someday but not until I can find one for around $500 to $600 dollars.(which will probably never happen) That price seems closer to what they should be selling for new!!

This is all just MY PERSONAL OPINION also so I hope I don't offend anyone either!

Spot on Brice!

[Nolans]

Brice, that's a decent, honest review and I think you mentioned most of my concerns about the Resco. My main niggle is the price, that said, we may be discussing threads like "Do you remember when you could buy a new Resco for $1,400?"

BTW, If you ever think about selling it, let me know, purchasing your U1 was a great experience, I'd be very happy to do business with you again :)