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Key West

4K views 35 replies 18 participants last post by  pl39g 
#1 ·
005 Vanilla Pepsi and 072 Black Coke have landed.

Took a bunch of picture but this the best.

Will take more.
 

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#14 ·
I am sorry. I cannot edit my original post so updates will be harder to find.

I am going to focus on Blanca Pepsi an make Ébano Coke a safe queen for now.

This is my first white faced watch that I can remember. I am attracted to divers because they are so easy to read. Originally I had not planned on wearing the Blanca Pepsi for a while. I am very happy with my Kingston but I feel as one of the firs to get the watch I have an obligation and feel this is the watch people wish to know more about right now.

I have been wearing the Blanca Pepsi for almost 2 days.

When I first saw the Blanca Pepsi I was a little underwhelmed. I had three strong black/gilt dials right next to it and have been wearing a Kingston C3 as my daily watch for over 4 years.

First thing I did was remove the bracelet and set the time.

I put on a leather NATO or ZULU (I am not sure it is truly either but a hybrid.)

I put it on my wrist and since it was evening already the lume was dead jut coming out of the case.

Looking at the watch I did not like it. I could not find the hands or markers easily. The GMT hand was annoying.

I met some friends for some beers and was still a little underwhelmed.

The next day I put it on again. It was easier to find the hands and read the time. The face made sense and now it is much better. GMT hand looks good but I really do not need it.

Some bullet points from the concerns I had:

  • Bezel colors. - I wanted darker but I think Bill nailed the colors. The colors are good and if they were darker I think the Bezel would just look all black or all the same color in low light. Now you can make out a distinct difference. I am not sure another shade could work better. I give the bezel colors an A.

  • C3 Lume on the white face. - I wanted C3 but had some concerns from the pictures. In person a actual size the C3 is good. It actually has its own "gilt" moment when it is light enough to see the face and hands yet the lume is activated. I love that when I catch it. I give the C3 lume choice a solid A.

  • White Face. - From pictures it comes of gray or silver. I do not see that in the flesh. Actually the white face has a life about it hat makes it nice to look at. It changes with the angle, lighting and I believe even the colors around it. I give the face an A+. Very happy with it.

  • Crown. - I was concerned going from the big crown Kingston to a smaller crown would be something I would not like. Crown is smaller but goes with the watch an is easy to use. I am going to give it a C as I think it is what it is and not something that makes me like or dislike the watch.

  • Gilt. - The gilt seems to be as good as the Kingston. I can catch it in the right light exactly as I can catch it on the Kingston in certain lights and a flick of the wrist. I am no going to grade the gilt yet. Execution if A+ but I am still on the fence about it on a white dial. It is growing on me an it is easier for me to read the time at a quick glance.

  • Caseback. - Better than I expected but really not important to me. I give it a C+ because it does not make me want to wear or not wear the watch.

So I guess this is more of a dress watch. I am going to wear it and see how I like it and post some updates. Please feel free to ask any questions.

I will post a couple of more pictures below.
 
#16 ·
^^^^nice write up. It looks like in natural sun the hands could be a bit tricky to read. Must say the in the wild pics are decreasing my concerns of the Lume color, and the red/blue looks great. Very cool you also have the black/coke. Still thinking black/coke is the one for me.


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#17 ·
^^^^nice write up. It looks like in natural sun the hands could be a bit tricky to read. Must say the in the wild pics are decreasing my concerns of the Lume color, and the red/blue looks great. Very cool you also have the black/coke. Still thinking black/coke is the one for me.

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I don't think that the black red "Coke" will look a whole lot different form the "Pepsi", given that the blue is fairly dark.
I would say the hands are the most difficult to see in dark shadows, deep shade and late in the afternoon when the light is low, but it's not really dark enough to see the Lume "glow". Because the indices are C3 and retain the green after exposure to sunlight, there is enough contrast to see the indices. I'm not sure that would be the case with BGW9 that is very white.
Just as and aside, I was sitting in a meeting Friday, Saturday and today, and the guy next to me had on a Rolex Explorer II White dial. That watch has black outlined hands, black surrounds on the indices and black minute markers. His watch was much easier to read, but honestly, I wouldn't trade it for my White/Gilt. Easy to read, but plain vanilla, the White /Gilt KW is anything but, especially in sunlight when the dal/ hands just jump out at you!! Who wants to look at plain Vanilla all day anyway!!

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#18 ·
I agree with Arthur that it is difficult to see the hands in low light situations but I also find it ha to read in very bright sunlight. The whole watch face reflects light and is like a star on your wrist.

One of the reasons I am wearing it is to see what it is like day to day and report here the joys and disappointments of wearing a blanco Key West.

I will say that it has grown on me more each day.
 
#19 ·
I agree with Arthur that it is difficult to see the hands in low light situations but I also find it ha to read in very bright sunlight. The whole watch face reflects light and is like a star on your wrist.

One of the reasons I am wearing it is to see what it is like day to day and report here the joys and disappointments of wearing a blanco Key West.

I will say that it has grown on me more each day.
Thanks for your images.
I have to agree that the hands are hard to see.
I will have have to investigate having my white dialed hands painted black and somehow maybe even have the marker plots lined in black as well.

I really have to get mine first "in hand" before really entertaining that...

Thanks again for the images...

Randy
 
#24 ·
Great pics! I suspect that once any owner gets used to that dial, positioning it to contrast the shiny versus the dial won't be too hard.

"YEEsh, no" to anyone thinking of painting their gilt hands. Get a replacement set of black-outlined hands for a watchmaker to swap out. (Personally, I love the black-on-white 6542 and 1675 with black markings on the dial. Super crisp and readable combo. The Key West's gilt is a whole 'nother beast, rather unique and stylish.)

BTW, if you were White Tuna, I think you should get your password reset (everyone's was changed a week or two ago, site security kerfuffle) and continue with your old account. Just my 2¢.
 
#25 ·
I've been off of the MkII forum for a week, as my info was compromised. Boy, did I miss a lot: all these great Key West shots... Whew!
 
#26 ·
OK, I continue to wear this watch and I continue to appreciate it more.

So about the dial. The closest thing I can compare the dial to is a Pearl White car. It changes color, has depth, and is in and of itself very interesting to me.

We talked a little about the lume yesterday. This morning I was awakened by some nonsense going on elsewhere in my house. I picked up the watch and looked at it in the dark and I was able to read the time fairly easily. This was around 4:30 AM and I went to bed at midnight at the latest so that is some good time.
 

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#27 ·
OK, I continue to wear this watch and I continue to appreciate it more.

So about the dial. The closest thing I can compare the dial to is a Pearl White car. It changes color, has depth, and is in and of itself very interesting to me.

We talked a little about the lume yesterday. This morning I was awakened by some nonsense going on elsewhere in my house. I picked up the watch and looked at it in the dark and I was able to read the time fairly easily. This was around 4:30 AM and I went to bed at midnight at the latest so that is some good time.
Looks great in that pic!!
I was a bit wary given the earlier pics of this, in terms of legibility. But I'm glad I have picked this exact configuration.

Thanks for continuing to post pics and your experience of the watch so far!
 
#30 ·
Vintage look...

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