Credor Celebrates 50 Years Ode Seiko Excelence With The Gold And Blue Eichi II; Louis Erard's New Collaboration Is Unbelievable; Paulin Adds GMT To Neo; New From Cincy Watch Co. And Bucherer

In this issue:

• Credor Celebrates 50 Years Of Seiko Haute Horology With The Gold And Blue Eichi II

• Louis Erard Makes A Huge Step In Their Collaborative Regulator Watches With A Very Different Shape

• Paulin Adds A GMT To Their Already Fantastic Looking Neo Collection

• Cincinnati Watch Company Releases True Desk Diver In A New Old Stock Vintage Case And Modern Movement

• Carl F. Bucherer Manero Tourbillon Double Peripheral Gives You All The Gems In All The Colors

Today’s reading time: 9 minutes and 51 seconds

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1/

Credor Celebrates 50 Years Of Seiko Haute Horology With The Gold And Blue Eichi II

I’ve been thinking all morning and I can’t think of a company - not just a watch brand, but any company - that puts out products in as broad a price range as Seiko does. If you know one, let me know. But do keep in mind that if you find a good deal you will be able to snag a Seiko 5 for $50-70. Set your sights a bit higher and you can get a great diver from Seiko in the four figure range. One step further will get you a watch from Grand Seiko, their top-tier brand. But then, there’s Credor. Their haute horology brand is not as well known as Grand Seiko, but they sure make some amazing watches. And at the very top of that lineup is a spring driver minute repeater that will run you in excess of $400,000, 8,000x the price of a Seiko 5. To put this into perspective, the cheapest Mercedes you can buy in the U.S. is the A-Class sedan at $39,350. If they had the same price spread ratio as Seiko, that would make put their most expensive car at almost $315 million. Now, Seiko is celebrating 50 years of Credor, with a special edition Eichi II rendered in gold, with a blue porcelain dial, reference GBLT996.

Credor made their name in the 2000s with highly complex pieces, but hit a bit of a stride with the time-only Eichi in 2008. It was an extremely expensive watch, but one that justified its price with high levels of craftsmanship. The Eichi was followed up by the Eichi II in 2014, the base for this anniversary watch. It comes in a super simple case made out of 18k yellow gold and measuring 39mm wide, 10mm thick and with a 45mm lug-to-lug. Of course, it’s completely polished and with no unnecessary decorations, only a simple gold bezel on top that surrounds a sapphire crystal on top and bottom.

The simple look is carried over to the dial, but it’s far from simple. The porcelain glaze on the dial is applied by hand, as are the hour markers, the Credor logo and letters, which are painted on before firing. After firing, you are left with a deep blue porcelain dial, which Credor calls “ruri” or lapis lazuli. Then, artists apply gold to the hand painted elements keeping with the tradition of Ruri-Kinsai, a Japanese traditional craft in which gold is overglazed on ruri-coloured material.

Inside is the Spring Drive calibre 7R14, which can be seen through the caseback. And when you see it, you’ll notice that it looks exactly like the Grand Seiko Spring Drive 9R02, which can be found in watches like the Grand Seiko SBGZ003, which are up there in price with the Eichi II. The main difference between the two movements is the power reserve as the 7R14 has a single barrel and a 60-hour power reserve, while the 9R02 has stacked barrels for a power reserve of 84 hours.

Where the 7R14 really shines (not to say that the 9R02 lacks in this regard, it’s just as good), is the decoration. Nothing flashy, but done completely by hand and it shows. That’s how they get a rounded surface instead of flat on the anglage and mirrored polish on the ruby holes. The barrel has the shape of the bellflower that is the symbol of the city of Shiojiri and all the edges are again hand-bevelled. The watch comes on a crocodile strap with a gold three-fold clasp.

The Credor Eichi II 50th Anniversary Limited Edition GBLT996 is limited to only 30 pieces (a weird number for the 50th anniversary, but OK) and will go on sale in June. Price is set at €48,000. See more on the Credor website.

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Louis Erard Makes A Huge Step In Their Collaborative Regulator Watches With A Very Different Shape

I’m willing to argue that there is no other brand today that understands how limited edition collaborations are truly supposed to work than Louis Erard. Most limited collections out there are, naturally, cognisant of the cost associated with major interventions in case and dial design, so they usually slap on a new coat of paint and call it a limited edition collaboration. Louis Erard, on the other hand, is not afraid to make huge changes to their dials, as shown by the recent collaboration with atelier oï. But now they teamed up with famous watchmaker and jeweler Cédric Johner and introduced major changes to the case of the watch, which couldn’t have been cheap. And yet, a duo of the Le Régulateur Louis Erard X Cédric Johner is still an affordable entry into the world of unique watches.

Cédric Johner is a famed person in the watch world, starting his career as a jeweler at the age of 15 in 1982, and turned to watchmaking later in life. Now he’s working out of his workshop, and he is best known for his untraditional designs that take on very organic shapes mixed with geometric precision, whatches created with what he calls intuitive watchmaking. Interesting stuff, check it out on his website.

Johner made his first watch in 1997 and it featured a hexagonal dial opening, so it’s quite clear that this Louis Erard collaboration is an homage to this style. Look at the watch long enough and you’ll really start to admire how they pulled the effect off without requiring a completely new case. In fact, you’ll see that ti comes in the same round case made out of steel that the other Le Régulateur models come in. It measures 39mm wide, 12.82mm thick and is completely polished. But the cool thing is that on top is a bezel that gives the watch the hexagonal dial opening. This effect made even more prominent with a domed hexagonal sapphire crystal.

There are two dial options, either mauve (a pale purple) or blue, with the color achieved through a PVD coating. The dial has a very dramatic sunray pattern emanating from the center which almost looks like guilloché. Being a regulator watch, it shows the minutes through a large centrally mounted hand, with two hexagonal anthracite sub-dials for the hours and seconds at 12 and 6 o’clock. Those sub-dials also have a circular satin-brushed finish.

Inside is the relatively humble Sellita SW266-1, a regulator movement based on the SW200 series which is pretty robust and easily servicable. The good thing is this is an élaboré grade of the movement. It beats at 28,800vph and has a 38 hour power reserve. Johner decorated the rotor with 230 tiny hand-applied beads to emulate his signature beaded finishings. The mauve dial gets a grey grained calfskin strap, while the blue gets a black dial.

The Louis Erard Le Régulateur Louis Erard X Cédric Johner is limited to 178 pieces in each color and retails for CHF 4,000. See more on the Louis Erard website.

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Paulin Adds A GMT To Their Already Fantastic Looking Neo Collection

Not completely unsurprisingly, Scotland has profiled itself as one of the leading forces in microbrand watches. And this can be attributed to two brand primarily - without putting any of the others down - anOrdain and Paulin. And, ironically, their histories are deeply intertwined, with Imogen Ayers being a founding member of the anOrdain team, and Paulin’s Creative Director. It was obvious that these two brands had their distinct styles and could do more together than apart, so anOrdain purchase Paulin last year. Nothing has changed for the two brands, which is exemplified with the new Paulin Neo GMT, a continuation of their very popular Neo line with a useful complication.

Paulin is best known for their simple watches. The Neo is a supremely retro styled watch, with a round case and sharp lugs protruding out. Made out of steel with a brushed and polished finish, it measures 38mm wide, 11.6mm thick and with a 48mm lug-to-lug. On top is a hesalite box style crystal and you get a choice of either a metal or glass caseback. Water resistance is 50 meters.

The dials are just as beautiful as the dials on other Paulin watches. They are manufactured in the UK using aluminium, which is anodised and dyed, imbuing the metal with an incredible depth of colour and a distinctive, almost holographic finish. It comes in three colors - silver with blue numerals, moss green with yellow numerals and purple with silver nuerals. The numerals have custom typography with prominent hour markers and a smaller 24 hour scale on the outskirts of the dial. The watches have regular three baton-shaped hands, and a thin GMT hand with a circle on top.

Inside is the well known and robust Seiko NH34A, which Paulin says has been modified to remove the ghost date position. It beats at 21,600 bph and has a 41 hour power reserve. It’s not a particularly accurate movement at +40 / -20 seconds per day, but it does the job. The watches can be had on a whole range of straps, including suede, leather, cordovan or even a steel mesh bracelet.

The new Paulin Neo GMT is available for order now and priced at £600. See more on the Paulin website.

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Cincinnati Watch Company Releases True Desk Diver In A New Old Stock Vintage Case And Modern Movement

The term desk diver has been used for decades to poke fun of people who buy very capable diving watches, only to never even take them to the beach, let alone diving. It’s a silly joke that’s not meant to insult anybody, just have a little fun. But, as it turns out, Cincinnati Watch Company took this term to heart and decided to create an actual desk diver - a diver-looking watch housed in an actual vintage case that has zero water resistance. It’s weird and funky, but I love it!

Starting with the case, it’s an actual new old stock vintage case. According to Cincinnati Watch Co., they couldn’t find much details about the case, other than it’s marked "Aetos SA - Swiss Made” on the inside and that Ateos SA was a Swiss case supplier. Beyond that, they don’t know what it was used for. It’s an incredible shape, a square circle or a rounded square, whichever you prefer, and comes in at 40.1mm wide, 10.9mm thick and has a 43mm lug-to-lug. There are prominent crown guards on the side and no lugs as the strap cuts into the case slightly. On top is a new acrylic crystal and a bi-directional tension fit bezel. I dig the fact there’s no water resistance but is “guaranteed to be a Superlative Desk Diver - Unofficially Certified!”.

The dial is also new, developed by Cincinnati Watch Co. They point out that since they had no idea what the case has been paired with in the past, they had fun imagining what it could have been. The settled for a black sandwich dial with a sunburst finish. The markers are sorrounded in orange and deeply filled with X1 Superluminova. The hands are incredibly funky 70s style orange pieces.

Inside is the very familiar Sellita SW210, a manual version of the SW200 family, in its élaboré grade. It beats at 4Hz and has a 38 hour power reserve. Interestingly, this is one of the cheapest watches I have ever seen with a Sellita SW200 series. The watch comes on a 20mm black silicone strap with waffle pattern and quick release spring bars.

Cincinnati Watch Co. recovered these cases from a defunct watch parts supplier who had a gross of new old stock watch parts, so there is a chance that they have patina or scratches. They say that they chose the best cases and wound up with 75 of them. That’s all they’ll make. Preorders open today and the watch will ship in May. Price is pretty amazing for a novelty watch - €375. See more on the Cincinnati Watch Co. website.

 5/

Carl F. Bucherer Manero Tourbillon Double Peripheral Gives You All The Gems In All The Colors

I’ve always been a bit stumped by Carl F. Bucherer watches. It took me a long, long time to accept that a retailer can actually make nice watches, and the thing that convinced me the most are their vintage chronographs. Those were amazing. But Carl F. Bucherer also makes watches other manufacturers just don’t. Such as the three Manero Tourbillon Double Peripheral you see above, set with an unbelievable amount of precious stones. The market for this watch is small, but, boy, have Carl F. Bucherer done good to address it.

The watch uses the Manero Tourbillon Double Peripheral, which is made out of 18k rose gold, measuring 43.1mm wide and 11.57mm thick. On top and bottom are sapphire crystals and sorrounding the one on top is a bezel that’s set with 40 baguette-cut precious stones. These are either 5.1-carat sapphires, 4.7-carat tsavorites or 3.5-carat amethysts, depending on the model, all natural and perfectly matched. Funnily enough, you get some water resistance, but only 30 meters.

Things get even wilder on the dial, which is laser-cut guilloché available in blue, green, and purple, with a pyramid pattern. The hands are dauphine shaped and rose gold plated and the hour markers are 11 baguette diamonds. At 12 o’clock is an opening for the tourbillon.

The tourbillon is part of the CFB T3000 movement designed and assembled by Bucherer. It’s not an in-house movement, as they say themselves, but rather a manufature one made for them. It beats at 21,600 vph with a power reserve of 65 hours. The watches come on a color matched textile strap.

The price of the Carl F. Bucherer Manero Tourbillon Double Peripheral is extreme as the look - €135,000. See more on the Carl F. Bucherer website.

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⚙️Watch Worthy

A look at an off beat, less known watch you might actually like

The Airain Type 21 Re-Edition is a vintage military watch built like a modern tank

The countdown bezel is an attractive and distinguishing feature of the Airain Type 21 case. It moves relatively securely even though it is bidirectional, and allows you to track or countdown anything you want using markers on the bezel. The matching steel-on-steel look of the bezel is visually appealing. Airain decided to use an “old radium” color for the luminant on the hands and hour markers. I am a fan of this color, as I find white to be too harsh.

Read the whole review on A Blog To Watch

⏲️Wait a minute

A bunch of links that might or might not have something to do with watches. One thing’s for sure - they’re interesting

• This is a wild story, but one that teaches you so much about the modern world. Not only have the Taliban completely embraced social media, but they’ve become extremely proficient in its use. It’s all part of their strategy to normalise their brutal rule over Afghanistan.

• Listeners are tuning out. Sponsorship revenue has dipped. A diversity push has generated internal turmoil. Can America’s public radio network turn things around? The New York Times goes inside the crisis at NPR

• What possessed a family man from Ohio to smuggle a Bible into North Korea? This is Jeffrey Fowle’s holiday at the Dictator’s guesthouse.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

From time to time, a movie I haven’t seen in years pops up in my head and I get the urge to watch it. Last night, it was Boogie Nights. A few things stick in my mind from that movie - that opening scene, Julianne Moore and Ricky Jay. What a guy that was. Check out this documentary on the life and work of this legendary sleight-of-hand artist with appearances by David Mamet and Steve Martin.