Welcome back to our weekly roundup of interesting watch articles from around the web, as well as what proved to be the most popular from our own pages with you, our readers. From the wide, wide, wide world of watches, we have a hands-on review of the Damasko DA38, a deep (and I mean deep) dive into the lume on the A. Lange & Söhne Grande Lange 1 Moonphase Lumen , and a discussion on watch quality standards. From our own pages, we have…
As I mentioned, our first article today is a review of the Damasko DA38. Damasko is a brand that I have not personally seen any of their products, and it seems that coming by reviews of their products is well, not the most likely proposition. The Damasko DA38 seems like a solid intro to the brand, going with a bit of a peanut butter cup of a design – IE, you got your pilot watch (the dial) in my sport watch (the case and bracelet). While I was not thrilled to see the numerals were not lumed, the topic of what the ice hardening does to the stainless steel (hint: it’s extremely scratch- and dent-resistant) is a nice thing to learn about. You can check out the full review from Watch Roundup right here.
As long as we are talking about materials, how about a material that lights up the night? That’s right, everyone’s favorite topic, luminant. In this case, we have Joshua Munchow giving us yet another excellent technical dive on the topic, specifically as how it relates to the A. Lange & Söhne Grande Lange 1 Moonphase Lumen (which was an impressive watch even before the knowledge dump). Of the more curious facts I learned, I was surprised to discover that our lawns are actually more reflective than the surface of the moon. Professor Munchow also gives us a lesson on light (specifically ultaviolet wavelengths), and well as explaining how Lange built the watch to let all the glowy bits get charged up. If you have not read one of his articles, you really owe it to yourself to check this out over at Quill & Pad.
Obviously, brands like A. Lange & Söhne manufacture their watches to a very high level of fit and finish (aka, quality). What happens when it comes time to quantify, or put a stamp of approval, on the quality being built in to the piece? That is where standards enter the picture. Over at IW Magazine they have a great piece that takes you through the various quality standards. It starts off with COSC (which most of you are familiar with), moves on to Superlative Chronometer (generally seen on Rolex dials), then the Master Chronometer (which Omega shoots for). After that, we have the Grand Seiko Standard (which may be a shock to you if you’re only familiar with the sub-$500 Seikos), Qualité Fleurier which adds some “soft skills” to the certification. After that, we have two more to cover – the Poinçon de Genève (aka the Geneva Seal), and the Patek Philippe Seal. While there are a lot of details you might not be concerned about with your own watch, having an overview of these various standards is a helpful bit of education, especially as you formulate your ideas of what might be that grail watch that you save up for.
Now, what of our own pages? First up, our post on the very black-and-red Peren Son of the Dragon proved to be the most popular. Either you all are really into the vampire/Dracula hook, like the A-Team color scheme, or, you know, just like yourself a dark chronograph. It is a very affordable option (under $250) and brings a ton of functionaliaty to the party (chrono, date, and moon phase).
Next up, our post on the E.C.Andersson Bohuslän drew your eyes, and that really is no surprise. Starting off as a dive watch in a cushion case, the case shape was massaged a bit, and the dial design took things firmly into a dressier direction. Aside from being an uncommon design, it’s also out of the norm for Kickstarter projects that we’ve featured in the past. That’s because this watch, being Swiss-made and powered by a Swiss movement, has earlybird pricing starting at $1,200. We’re watching the project to see how the public votes with their wallets on this one.
Speaking of unique case shapes, another popular article this week was on the moVas Officer Blue. While this case is not quite as wild as what we saw on their Bronze Officer, it is still a pretty interesting design. I really rather like this shade of blue, and it offsets quite nicely against the polished steel. Oh, and this variant is definitely more affordable than the bronze one that preceded it, so that is definitely good news for fans of the brand.
Did you know that John Biggs’ book, Marie Antionette’s Watch, is free to read with Kindle Unlimited, or you can buy a paperback from Amazon. Oh, and even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can always read via their free apps or their cloud read (check those out here
). You can even check out a snippet of the book from out 4th most popular post of the week.
Want to be more than just a visitor to our little corner of the internet? How about pledging some support for us over on Patreon. There are some compelling funding levels (including site redesigns and removing ads, and getting a copy of the Marie Antoinette book), but really, we just want to ensure we keep this lean ship running and the lights on. John has a deadline on his decision, which is the end of the month. You can check out John’s latest post right here. This is a fun thing we get to do on the side, and we want to keep bringing you the content that you have come to rely on from us, and work to make it even better.
Today is the last day of the month, so that means you need to get your entry in our giveaway today (if you haven’t already). This month, you have a chance to win the G. Gerlach Kosmonaut that Patrick recently reviewed. Head over to the contest page and follow the instructions for the two-part entry process.
We also want to put the call out for wrist shots of our reader’s favorite (or at least favorite of the moment) watches. Put together an email of your wrist shot and tell us a little about the watch and why you love it. If you happened to be introduced to it through our site (or won it through a give-away), even better. Just make sure the image is a JPEG and at least 800 pixels wide.
With that, I will wrap up this edition of Watching the Web. As always, if there’s something you think we should be covering, feel free to drop us a line. If you bring something up that we end up writing about, we’ll be sure to tip our hats (electronically, if not literally) in your general direction
