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DEFAKTO EINS review...
First, a bit of background...
Single hand timekeeping must have begun with a sundial, then church steeple clocks had them up until the late 1600s. I am sure that to folks back then, looking at a watch with addition of a minute and second hand was as strange to them as looking at a single-hander today.
My own gradual evolution and experience in collecting/wearing watches has included Japanese quartz, quartz chronograph, eco-drive, automatics, German SAR, bauhaus, sport, fleiger, marine, Swiss quartz and automatic divers, and an automatic chronograph diver. Many have been bought and sold, and few have remained as keepers.
Prelume Dial/Hand
Having been collecting/wearing a variety of watches, I've always stopped to look at the variety of single hand watches available. The Meistersinger single hand and the Schauer Phantom Einzeiger Limited are the other two manufacturers of single hand watches that I've been fortunate to wear for a time. Karl Falk, Botta, and Abacus are a few of the others available. I am sure there are others as well. The Schaumburg GNOMIK is perhaps my favorite of that non-luming group, but it'll have to wait a long time now that the DEFAKTO is in full-use mode. Also, since I am not 19 anymore I am not sure how ledgible that fine dial would be...
The DEFAKTO EINS jumped out at me for a variety of reasons. When I first saw it, I said to myself..."It's time to make room for this one", so I went ahead and ordered it only a few days after I saw Mike has posted it as available.
The dial and hand is designed by Raphael Ickler. The watch is made by the Watchfactory Ickler where the Limes, Archimede, DEFAKTO, and (perhaps others) watches and cases are manufactured. I wear also the Archimede 42mm Pilot - an excellent watch value for all the right reasons - large dial, easy to read numerals from any distance, a solid 2824-2 movement (my guess slightly elaborated), a good comapny from which to purchase...very communicative, highly interested in customer satisfaction, quick shipment, and excellent service. The DEFAKTO presentation box is similar to the Archimede presentation box, but serves its purpose quite well.
Why on earth would anyone want a single-handed watch, especially the DEFAKTO, when there are so many other good single-handed watches available, and there are "regular digital and analogue watches with minute and second hands, and how does one read the time anyway?"
1. The Dial - Large hour markers (relumed by LUM-TEC), and 15 minute markers are easy to see from across the room. My eyes are not 19 years old anymore and close-up images of single-handed watches (and any watch for that matter) gives me a false sense that I'll be able to glean the same detail that an image taken close-up with a macro lens will provide. Simplicity and legibility are key elements, as is lots of lume - DEFAKTO now fits the bill.
2. The hand - Love that skeleton hand! The Omega Bonds have that same style, but it is not all that easy to tell where they are pointing when the light is not just right anyway. But with the DEFAKTO, where the hand is pointing is obvious, then it's a matter of easily interpolating the time. It becomes quite intuitive once you've done it more than one time. I have COSC movements I've regulated myself that gain 2 seconds/week and quartz movements that are off only by a second per month. Whensomeone asks me what time it is, I still say, "It's about quarter 'til, or a few minutes after..." All that precision in the COSC watches wasted on approximation. Well, that precision matters to me, but with the DEFAKTO, by design, the time is really approximated, although you will get good at more accurately telling what time it is within a few minutes after you get used to it.
3. 2824-2 movement - a workhorse in most German and Swiss automatics. In this DEFAKTO, Thomas Ickler has it regulated that in three major positions, it's only +1 (no positional variance) on the timing machine I use to regulate movements. What that tells me is that while precision is important and the watch measures general time, I know that when I say, "It's only a few minutes past the half hour mark", it really is!, and it won't be that much ahead after a couple of weeks of regular wear.
4. The case - It's size is the same as the 42mm Archimede Pilot, one of my favorite all-time, best value pilot watches on the market. That 42mm case really suites the minimalist dial design. The beadblasted case is not prone to scratches of any sort like a finely brushed or polished case might be and it provides that subtle and inobtrusive matte finish, which highlights the dial all the better.
5. Wrist presence - just like with the sleek 42mm case, the DEFAKTO (where less is more) is even more dial and it is so easy to read. The case/dial combination paves the way for the dial to stand out while on the wrist. It comes with a plain black strap, but I changed it out to a stitched strap, mainly because it was already broken in, but that I also thought white stitching would bring out the dial even more.
The only drawback for this DEFAKTO EINS for me was the lack of heavy luminescense...I am a huge lume fan and the watches that use only C1 Superluminova just do not cut it for me. Yes, the white pigment does provide a better contrast against the black dial, but C1 does not lume brightly for long. I sent the dial and hand to LUM-TEC to have the hour markers and hand redone with a special mix of C3, G2, and white. Now the markers stand out a bit, still contrast against the black dial, and lume better and longer than any watch in my collection, including the MG SAR, Stowa Prodiver, and Omega Seamaster. In a few months, I'll have enough practice with reluming and will be able to relume some of my other timepieces where the lume has worn or where C1 was usedsparingly. This is in addition to doing precise regulation and case refinishing on brushed and polished cases. What a hobby!
While this style of watch is not for everyone, it sure struck a chord in me. I very much enjoy wearing this watch for a varitey of reasons. Approximating the time is standard with this watch, but it does it accurately.
Frequently, when someone asks me the time when I am wearing a very well-regulated COSC grade movment with a second hand, I am providing the approximate time anyway. So...what's the difference?? It's great to have such an affordable, great value, fun addition to the watch rotation.
People see this watch and want to know if their eyes are playing tricks on them. "That watch looks great, but what is wrong with it?" With a brief explanation of it, they become in tune with its intuitive design. It's a bit more than a conversation piece. It is DEFAKTO minimalism, and (now) torch-like lume in a well-made Ickler case, with a well-timed workhorse movement that's proven to be a great addition to my ever-shrinking and more focused collection of timepieces.
If you have questions or you want more images, I am happy to accommodate.
Thanks for looking in,
Glen
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