I too read grail as grand.
The Zimbe is interesting, the purple bezel is definitely unique

quote:

Originally posted by petr:
Hamilton khaki automatic

I bought one Stickman modded with a sterile black field dial earlier this year. Really like that watch.

Nice Seiko, Stickman! I'm with you on the bezel. Purple has it's places, but not on that watch lol. That dial is stellar. I look forward to seeing what it looks like with a black or blue bezel.

Thanks guys! I’ve been looking for a Zimbe #4 a decent price for YEARS! I’ve even been looking for just the OEM dial but they are basically impossible to find. This makes me fairly worried that Seiko might not support this model so I better not mess up this dial.

I haven’t even seen the fake/clone Seiko fools attempt to make this dial which is reassuring. There is an extremely poor copy out there but absolutely no one could ever mistake it for the real deal.

P220 Smudge, I’m so glad you’re getting enjoying that watch. I went back and forth many times on whether to sell it. It makes me very happy to know it found a good home!

I have been VERY preoccupied with my new to me Integra GSR and chasing down a check engine light which I thankfully just fixed. What a fun car!!!! Very soon the great watch collection purge will begin and there will be a fricking boatload of micro brands as well as Orient and Seiko mods I built that will hit the market to offset some recent additions and some interesting watches I plan to acquire next year.

If you fancy Orient and Seiko stay tuned. It’s gonna get interesting….

Ummm


Checkout that crystal. If it was a bit bigger I would own one

https://longislandwatch.com/sp...-dial-sp-5062-liw22/

Been looking at it all day, I think with the way the crystal goes all the way to the edge it should be big enough for my liking

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:...I told myself I wouldn’t mod it with a proper bezel insert but the purple has not grown on me.

I don't blame you. I don't know who came up with that color combination, but it looks hideous. Dark blue or a blue/red split would look good, in my opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
Been looking at it all day, I think with the way the crystal goes all the way to the edge it should be big enough for my liking

42mm with a domed sapphire crystal is a great size, and that Spinnaker looks awesome. I say go for it, but then again, I also just went for a dual crown compressor style with orange features, so I'm kinda biased.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
Been looking at it all day, I think with the way the crystal goes all the way to the edge it should be big enough for my liking

42mm with a domed sapphire crystal is a great size, and that Spinnaker looks awesome. I say go for it, but then again, I also just went for a dual crown compressor style with orange features, so I'm kinda biased.

I did go for it



My Orient came in yesterday, it's not my favorite but I do like it. It's big and unique looking. The dial is a little reddish-orange, the ad pictures I looked at had some like this and some that were a brighter orange







The wife is giving me the stink eye a bit, she's wondering why I don't put these on my Christmas list, I think I'll ask for a bright yellow watch from her


Stickman, been looking at your cool Seiko, do they make a half black, half white bezel for it?

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
rkentm, If you do decide to sell it please shoot me an email. I might be interested. Thanks !

Post up a pic of your blue Phantom. I got a blue one too and I love it!

You guys telling me to start a YouTube channel discussing watches might convince me to do it. I have over 2k views total today and a few comments on two wrist roll videos I filmed today for the hell of it!

Interesting….

Pic of one of the watches that’s getting lots of attention on the YouTube.

Damn you guys with your Steinhart Phantoms. Never even heard of Steinhart before. I've been looking for a blacked out watch of some sorts lately for something different. Now I have one of these on the way from Gnomon.

quote:

Originally posted by steelcityfishanddive:
Damn you guys with your Steinhart Phantoms. Never even heard of Steinhart before. I've been looking for a blacked out watch of some sorts lately for something different. Now I have one of these on the way from Gnomon.

This is a very dangerous thread, my friend!
Very dangerous! There are many warnings along the path too! This place is not for the weak willed or feint of hart.

You probably have a nice watch now, it's functional. That Steinhart caught your eye, and there you go, tossing out a couple hundred on a beautiful watch. That's how it starts! You'll be looking at higher end Citizens, Seikos... Then you say "WTF, it's a Tudor! How can I not get one."
Then it's a Rolex...
Then an Omega... Another Rolex...
That fix just ain't cutting it anymore, so you're flirting with this sexy little thing called an "A.Lange & Sohne"
Then we find you in a cold sweat playing with LeCoultre.
When we find you in a dirty 3-some with IWC and Piguet... You're too far down the rabbit hole.

Seek help now! I hear there's a Horologist Anonymous meeting once a week in Fountain Valley, Calif in the basement of Mimi's. There's another in North Carolina as well, the guy there looks like a "Rap Star", I think his name is "Stick" or something like that.
They're not enablers at all!

quote:

North Carolina as well, the guy there looks like a "Rap Star", I think his name is "Stick" or something like that.

quote:

Originally posted by CPD SIG:
a dirty 3-some with IWC and Piguet ... [snip] Horologist Anonymous

Somehow that sounds... um... well... yeah, dirty.

quote:

Originally posted by CPD SIG:
I think his name is "Stick" or something like that.
They're not enablers at all!

Noooooo. Not a bit!

quote:

Originally posted by CPD SIG:

quote:

Originally posted by steelcityfishanddive:
Damn you guys with your Steinhart Phantoms. Never even heard of Steinhart before. I've been looking for a blacked out watch of some sorts lately for something different. Now I have one of these on the way from Gnomon.

This is a very dangerous thread, my friend!
Very dangerous! There are many warnings along the path too! This place is not for the weak willed or feint of hart.

You probably have a nice watch now, it's functional. That Steinhart caught your eye, and there you go, tossing out a couple hundred on a beautiful watch. That's how it starts! You'll be looking at higher end Citizens, Seikos... Then you say "WTF, it's a Tudor! How can I not get one."
Then it's a Rolex...
Then an Omega... Another Rolex...
That fix just ain't cutting it anymore, so you're flirting with this sexy little thing called an "A.Lange & Sohne"
Then we find you in a cold sweat playing with LeCoultre.
When we find you in a dirty 3-some with IWC and Piguet... You're too far down the rabbit hole.

Seek help now! I hear there's a Horologist Anonymous meeting once a week in Fountain Valley, Calif in the basement of Mimi's. There's another in North Carolina as well, the guy there looks like a "Rap Star", I think his name is "Stick" or something like that.
They're not enablers at all!

Oh, I'm aware that this forum leads to a direct loss of funds in your bank account. Guns, knives, watches, coffee makers, garbage disposals. Ha.

I'm not new to the watch rabbit hole. I started with a couple Ball watches then Oris. Currently have my blue Omega Planet Ocean and a black Glashutte Original SeaQ Panorama. Love the looks of both of them for different reasons. I also have my Luminox ANU 4221 from David that's my field and boat watch.

I've been keeping my eye out for some blacked out watches for a different look. I really like the Omega Seamaster black black but it's 7K used. I keep circling back to the Breitling Avenger Blackbird. I was also eyeing up the Longines Hydroconquest all black ceramic model but they strap on that with the deployment clasp doesn't accommodate a 8.25" wrist. I was just unaware of Steinhart. This watch has a great look to it with the matte black and blue accent. I don't really care about the GMT function but I do not have one so what the hell. I got a new customer coupon code from Gnomon for 5% off so I took the gamble. I was worried about the 42mm measurement but Gnomon informed me that it's only the bezel width and doesn't include the stem so it should be about 44mm total and look good on my big wrist.

Obligatory pics

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:

Stickman, been looking at your cool Seiko, do they make a half black, half white bezel for it?

I found a black and white bezel insert for the SKX but have not found one for the Sumo. It seems like options are a bit more limited with the sumo as far as mods go.

I found a blue and a black OEM Seiko bezel insert for the Seiko solar sumo but I am not 100% sure it will fit in the automatic bezel.

There is a website that makes ceramic bezel inserts for the Sumo. They are fully lumed but are done up in the style of the SKX.

It really changes the look of the Sumo. I’m hoping I can find a black or blue factory insert but at $45 at least it’s nice to know there are other options.

BTW, that’s a super cool looking Orient! The dial reminds me a bit of one of the earlier generations of the Phoibos Apollo.







steelcityfishanddive, congrats on the Steinie Phantom. These new titanium versions are amazing, they are sooooooo light! I kinda wish Steinhart had retained the Tudor style snowflake hands they had on the first generation (stainless steel case) Phantom as they are a little easier to see but the hands they chose are not that hard to see.

The main complaint/gripe people have with the Phantom is that it’s too stealthy. They think the hands are too subdued. What people don’t realize is that the hands and indices on the Phantom do reflect light so they are not hard to read at all. The GMT hand is not stealthy at all so it’s really a non issue people get fixated on for no good reason at all in my opinion.

The lume could be brighter but honestly the best thing to do with a DLC stealthy watch would be to use tritium tubes but sadly very few watch manufacturers have figured this out. Ball makes a few stealthy divers that are pretty close to being perfect. They are a super cool company.



You guys should see how I look now. I don’t look like that rapper anymore. My daughters were cutting their hair and ruining their haircuts so I let them give me a haircut to get it out of their system. It turned out about how you would expect when you hand an electric razor to a 3 and 6 year old. I ended up having to buzz it all down without a guard. The beard went away too. I think it makes me look a little less old.

That Phantom looks nice & I could see both sides of the hands being too stealthy. In a photo they blend a bit, but you can see how they'd probably work in reality.

On the first Gen Phantom the dial is larger because of the lack of a chapter ring with 5 minute intervals. The lack of a cyclops, date windows change and the different hands really does change the look. The first Gen also had a flat crystal compared to the domed 2nd Gen.

First Gen






Second Gen

Definitely like the 2G better. Not a fan of a cyclops, and like the hands on the 2G.
Swap the 1G GMT [smaller, slightly?] onto the 2G & move the day window to 3:00 & it'd be perfect.

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:

quote:

Originally posted by CPD SIG:
a dirty 3-some with IWC and Piguet ... [snip] Horologist Anonymous

Somehow that sounds... um... well... yeah, dirty.
D

Dirty, yes.
But FUUUNNNNNNN!

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:

Stick-
I’m looking at a Steinhart to replace a recent tragic loss. (I’ll post about that later).

I’m really digging the Titanium, and that blue is my style!

Question- it looks like there’s a lot of “extra” blue in this pict. Is that just the light reflecting off the crystal? Or is the chapter ring blue on that generation?

CPD SIG, You have a good eye my friend. So there are two things going on in that pic that help the watch achieve that neat blue effect.

The 2nd Gen Steinie Phantom has a crystal sort of like the iconic Seiko SKX in that they both have a beveled edge to the crystal. Unlike the SKX the Phantom also has a dome sapphire and double anti reflective coatings applied to the interior of the crystal. They chose blue AR coating I believe although their website doesn’t specify. Even when I’m indoors I detect a blue AR reflection on this watch.

AR coatings come primarily in blue, green and red as well as clear. I now wonder if Steinhart put a red/orange Ar coating on the red/orange variant and a green coating on the green Phantom? Hmmmm I’ll have to look into that.

What all that means is that it’s going to have a slight blue hue to the crystal. If you are under a gorgeous blue sky it is going to intensify the effect. The beveled edge on the crystal also helps to give the watch an appearance of having a blue chapter ring when the lighting source is angled just right.

Steinhart really put some thought into the 2nd Gen Phantom. The more you look at it and the small details the more you start to appreciate the effort by Steinhart.

I have a few Steinhart watches. The Titanium Phantom is not only my favorite Steinhart but has been up there with my Doxa Sub and CW C60 Sapphire as my most worn watch this summer. It’s ridiculously light.

The finish is also pretty dang tough. I was riding e-bikes with my brother through the sprawling neighborhoods of Great Bridge in Chesapeake Virginia a few weeks ago (my old stomping grounds) Being the reckless idiot that I am I managed to take a turn too sharp and punt myself off my bike. I basically did an awkward summersault on asphalt while wearing the Phantom Blue. The bracelet hit the asphalt and to my shock it came away almost unscathed! There is a very slight scratch that you have to be looking for to notice. That kind of hit WRECKED the bracelet on my Mido when I had a similar crash a few years ago. I’m glad I had a downhill MTB full face helmet on because I did hit my head pretty hard on the road. I got lucky, skin grows back, DLC not so much.

Even after my graceful dismount the Steinhart is keeping +/- 2 seconds a day and depending on how I set it down at night I can keep it in near perfect sync to atomic time.

Steinhart used only ETA 2893-2 Elaboré Premium movements for this small run of watches and in my experience with a blue 42mm and a blue 39mm they keep fantastic time.