RC1000M: NEW high end german made diver

[Triton]

Although you may have never heard of the brand "Rheinmeister Colonia" before it has been around for a few years already. It was established and is run by Cologne, Germany born master watchemaker Dirk Maier, among who's clients have been such prestigious brands like Mercedes Benz and Bvlgari.


This is Dirk's first dive watch under his own brand and it is an absolute stunner, no matter from where you look at it. This is not just due to the 70's inspired design, but even more due to the extremely high quality. Pretty much every part of this watch was designed from scratch, nothing off the shelf, except perhaps the ETA 2892-A2 that drives it. The 43.5 mm case, dial, crown and the straps (a thick mesh bracelet from Staib is optional) where produced in Germany while the hands where made in Switzerland. Also made in Switzerland is the bezel construction, which features a never before seen technique. It was deeply etched using acid, then filled with a special black resin and finally polished to a highly glossy finish.


If you're over asian made micro brand divers, like I am, then this is the dive watch for you. It is extremely elegant, just as thick as it needs to be and due to the 24 mm lug width it's also quite versatile. The hex screws also make it very easy to change straps as often as you like. Even they are made in Switzerland by a premier manufacturer who produces only screws for the high end brands. The love for detail and quality in this diver just completely blows me away. This is one, that my son may inherit one day!


Okay, I know, pics or didn't happen …


Comes in a Pelicase with additional rubber strap and strap change tool. All the necesarry infos are on a credit card sized USB stick.

























Okay, so how about some different, third party straps. First up a rubber strap from Panatime:










On my home-made canvas velcro …







And my favorite so far, italian leather from Ennebi:










The RC1000M is limited to 150 pieces, retails for 2'800 Euro and can be ordered directly from Dirk Meier, details on his website (german only).
You may think now, that the price is pretty high for an ETA-driven dive watch, but believe a guy with 60 plus watches in his collection, including some high end stuff, it is not!

[arpoc]

I like it. Wasn't there a previous iteration with a textured bezel? Would be great if they had a three-link bracelet for it as well. Looks well finished.
2800 euro is a bit more than I can afford though...

[marked]

Loved it until you busted out with the 2800Euro... for that amount of cash, I would be looking at the bigger brands... Omega, IWC, etc....

[DEMO111]

Triton, thanks for the notification of the new German diver, very clean looking, straight forward design. Also the construction and finishing look like very high quality. But in that price range ($3767.00) I personally would favor about a dozen other watches before I made the purchase here. Plus at that price the mesh isn't even included, it is optional.

That bezel manufacturing technique is not new, I have seen the same technique of a deep acid etch then filled with black resin done on other watches. One example is the Asian manufacture micro brand Orsa. They use it on their Sea Angler bezels.




I do wish Dirk the best of luck with the sales of his Rheinmeister Colonia watches, they look nice.

[EHV]

I *Love* this one. I am absolutely smitten. If I had the cash, I would not hesitate but I still think that the price is a bit too high. Perhaps if it weren't a limited edition and it included the bracelet, it would be priced more in line with what we are thinking.

[supawabb]

Very very nice watch indeed, if it was offered at less than 1/2 it's asking price. There is nothing there that jumps out and scream originality, especially at $3767.00

[20DYNAMITE07]

Wear it in good health!

[Eric L.]

Looks nice but the price is somewhat high for a brand with little history and a watch that looks solid but otherwise offers no other catch or gimmick to make it stand out. Still, nice to look at though and a somewhat minimalist design.

[Duffy0401]

I have to agree cool watch but too expensive. It kind of reminds me of another watch I liked from JS Watches (.JS Watch co. Reykjavik - Sif N.A.R.T. - The Official Watch of the Icelandic Coast Guard) It was great until I got slapped back into reality when I found out the price.

[amuro]

In this OceanicTime article listed 1150€

OceanicTime: Search results for Rheinmeister

[RTea]

Awesome looking watch but like many others, that logo on the dial ruins it for me. Looks like Bernhardts text.

I also think it's way overpriced and is using the words Swiss and German to justify it. It is a splendid work of art though but even at half of the current price, I would still think it's expensive.

Asian case makers have come a long way, look at the fit and finish on a lot of the micros. If you handed a watch maker say a Tempest Viking and compared it to this one, it would be tough or nearly impossible to tell which was made where (my opinion of course and based on pictures since I've seen neither in the flesh).

[Zarith]

The dial hurt my eyes. Mixing art-deco and neo gothic typographies is as tasteless as it can get. Otherwise the case and bezel are nice...

Like the others I don't understand the high price. What makes it stand above say a Stowa SeaTime, a Longines Hydroconquest or an Omega Seamaster, also made in Europe?

[kawasakizx7]

looks impressive and the dial and numerals look clean and sharp.might wait and see what used ones come up at.

[soberdave09]

very cooooooooool diver,but way to much cheeze

[stuffler,mike]

Rheinmeister 1000m

Rheinmeister watches ?

Rheinmeister>>>

Rheinmeister Chrono Val 7750

Rallye-set by watchplan (Rheinmeister)

[Stellite]

nice looking watch. I would definitely pick one up if I was looking for something right now, but I just bought two more diver's for me and one for the wife so I have to cut it for a bit.

[CrazySeikoFan]

I have to agree cool watch but too expensive. It kind of reminds me of another watch I liked from JS Watches (.JS Watch co. Reykjavik - Sif N.A.R.T. - The Official Watch of the Icelandic Coast Guard) It was great until I got slapped back into reality when I found out the price.

You know, I felt the same way about the Sif NART for a while. I think the watch is really a perfect, classic design and the blue/red/white nato is too cool. The price is quite high, but to me, JS Watches are doing things really old school. Totally Icelandic (whatever that means), very small production, and a family run business that produces very, very high quality work. The specs on that watch are pretty impressive, and it's a legit SAR watch in a world of ranger-SWAT-CIA-SEAL-inspired watches. Personally I feel that the references to those organizations are pretty much BS for me, whereas the JS kit is actually issued.
Didn't want to jack the thread, and not trying to fanboy out on ya, but I feel the sif N.A.R.T. is a different beast.
Agreed that this piece is too much cake.
Best
Aaron

[Duffy0401]

You know, I felt the same way about the Sif NART for a while. I think the watch is really a perfect, classic design and the blue/red/white nato is too cool. The price is quite high, but to me, JS Watches are doing things really old school. Totally Icelandic (whatever that means), very small production, and a family run business that produces very, very high quality work. The specs on that watch are pretty impressive, and it's a legit SAR watch in a world of ranger-SWAT-CIA-SEAL-inspired watches. Personally I feel that the references to those organizations are pretty much BS for me, whereas the JS kit is actually issued.
Didn't want to jack the thread, and not trying to fanboy out on ya, but I feel the sif N.A.R.T. is a different beast.
Agreed that this piece is too much cake.
Best
Aaron

No trust me I'm a fan and find that watch about perfect in everyway. I was more talking about the reality of the price. I just wasn't expecting a price tag like that. I was like I must have that...then I found out no way in heck can I afford it.

[craniotes]

With any luck, pieces like this and the forthcoming Ægir CD-2 will shift the discussion back towards watchmaking and quality as opposed to value and bang-for-buck, which seems to be the rule around here these days. Sure, we all like a bargain, but there's something to be said for companies that go out of their way to source the absolute best possible in terms of materials and manufacturing, cost be damned.

Anyway, this one looks like a winner to my eyes.

Regards,
Adam

[Stensbjerg]

Very very nice watch indeed, if it was offered at less than 1/2 it's asking price. There is nothing there that jumps out and scream originality, especially at $3767.00

+1 to that and to me we are not talking high-end here in any way