Today, we”re going to revisit a brand we first covered on these pages back in October – JEANRICHARD. While in that last post we covered their Aeroscope from a distance, today, we”ll be going through a hands-on review of their land-oriented model, the Terrascope.
When I first got this watch in for the review, I wasn”t quite sure how well I”d like the piece. With it”s 46mm (12.6mm thick) stainless case paired up with the stainless steel dial, I thought I was in for one boring chunk of metal strapped to my wrist. As I wore the piece, however, I was rather quite (pleasantly) surprised. The large case features alternating brushed and polished surfaces, as does the very comfortable bracelet. This means you get these little, unexpected flashes of light coming from the case. This meant, for me, you had the larger polished surfaces (signifying utility, in my book) being contrasted, and elevated, by the polished surfaces, softening the sportiness.
While I won”t go quite so far as to call it a dress watch, with the Terrascope on its stainless steel bracelet (with hidden deployant clasp), you”ve definitely got something that”s looking like it”s more suited to the city life, rather than heading off into the woods. Then again, if you swapped in their rubber strap, that would slip to the other end of the spectrum quite easily.
I also came to really like the varied surfaces in the case design. Starting at the outer edge, you”ve got a shape that”s reminiscent of the cushion style, with an edge that extends down to the lugs. Then you have a slight step up, continuing that shape. Finally, you take another step up, and you”re on the broad, circle, bezel. This is a large brushed surface, which helps to keep you from blinding yourself when you check the time, as well, as being a great way to hide fingerprints.
That circle also helps to draw the eye to it (since it”s rather large) which softens the impact that a 46mm watch online casino australia can have. I won”t say it wears much smaller than the size suggests, but having your eye drawn to that bezel definitely allows it to see a bit smaller. Then again, I didn”t have any issues with the size, even though the spec sheet suggests it as being on the upper end of what I generally like. If fit under the cuff rather nicely, and even though it”s 218g weight isn”t featherweight, I got used to it very quickly (perhaps a side benefit of reviewing so many steel divers here).
Inside that circle is the aforementioned dial. While our sample came in a silver coloration, there are quite a few different dial options available to you. Ultimately, I liked the color. While the dial itself is flat, the applied indices add some visual depth, as well as light reflection (from being polished). The handset is well-proportioned, with one of the wider hour hands that I”ve seen – there is definitely no mixing up of the hands that will occur here. The main hands are polished and lume-filled (which complements the pips of lume on the indices), while the seconds hand is black with a red tip (and also features lume).
The only piece of the dial that doesn”t conform to the overall color scheme that we saw in our sample is the date display, which has black numerals on a white background. Sure, a steel-color dial would have been cool to see, but likely hard to read. Given the variety of of dial colors in the lineup, white was probably the best choice for this date wheel, as black would have stood out too much, and any other color (grey, perhaps) might have just felt off.
If you look closely at the dial, you”ll also see that the Terrascope is rated for 100m of WR. Surprisingly, this comes without the benefit of a screw-down crown. As this review by Paul Hubbard points out, this indicates some rather precise machining and assembly. It also alleviates one of the bigger problem area watch makers see, which is problems with the threads on a screw-down crown. I agree with Paul – this makes sense for the casual watch wearer, definitely.
That bit of water protection (inclusive of the sapphire crystal) is there of course to protect the movement tucked away inside the case. The movement is the JR60 calibre, which has 21 jewels and is a high-beat movement (28,800 vph). Unlike sister brand Girard-Perregaux, the JR60 is not an in-house movement. It”s a supplied movement that they”re incorporating into their design. Not only does this help to further differentiate JEANRICHARD from GP, it”s a way to make the Terrascope more accessible, by means of reducing the price that an in-house movement would otherwise command.
By that movement choice, we”re able to see this Terrascope come in at a price of $3,500 on the steel bracelet, or $2,900 on the sportier rubber strap. All told, this really was a great piece to review, one that I was pleasantly surprised by after my initial impressions were re-evaluated. If you”re like me, it”ll take some time for the watch to grow on you, but it will do so, and quickly. While this isn”t my perfect watch, it”s getting there. Then again, if JR comes up with a model that shrinks things down a few millimeter and adds in a GMT complication, well, then it”s a different ballgame! For now, however, I”ll leave the Terrascope to stand as it is – an eminently capable three-hander that lives in a solid and well-designed package. jeanrichard.com
Necessary Data
>Brand: JEANRICHARD
>Model: Terrascope
>Price: $2,900 (rubber), $3,500 (bracelet)
>Would reviewer personally wear it: Yes, I would – this is a superbly styled three-hander that works well as an upscale sport watch
>Friend we”d recommend it to first: The guy who likes his large sport watches, but wants something that”s working into the luxury end of the spectrum.
>Best characteristic of watch: The “hidden” touches of polishing that catch the light
>Worst characteristic of watch: If you”re not used to steel divers, this watch will likely feel too large and too heavy
