Affordable Independents

[Abdullasaif]

Ophion watches released an affordable Kari, but theres no substitute to a Kari

[sgwatchguy]

Cool thread.

I have an incoming Kurono chrono. Will post pics soon.

[christianj]

Originally Posted by sgwatchguy

Cool thread.

I have an incoming Kurono chrono. Will post pics soon.

Me too! Just saw a post on IG from someone that got theirs so they’ve evidently started to ship.

[jefe1999]

Originally Posted by mongrelnomoad

I have a soft spot for Raketa.

Boy, I've had more fun looking at Raketas on ebay in the last couple of weeks than I've had with any other brand in the hobby for months.

I just received via post a Soyuz Paketa a few days ago, and it's a total snick. The dial features what looks like an ICBM poised to launch against NYC at a moments notice. For $65 delivered, it's too cool as it has a fully jeweled movement made completely in-house. I just ordered a new Kopernicus to go with it, for $110.

I have plenty of watches worth hundreds of times the price of these Paketas. They're just plenty of fun for the buck.

[WatchEater666]

Bump bump!

[dchang81]

the new laine's look awesome.

[WatchEater666]

Originally Posted by dchang81

the new laine's look awesome.

They do! I emailed them to see if they can do a little bit of customization :D

[WatchEater666]

Bump

[shkure]

Czapek mate. Not affordable per se, but a future classic for sure. Think of FPJ 15 years ago.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[WatchEater666]

Originally Posted by shkure

Czapek mate. Not affordable per se, but a future classic for sure. Think of FPJ 15 years ago.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think they are gorgeous, but the movements are not as original as FPJ and neither is the design language.

[shkure]

Originally Posted by WatchEater666

I think they are gorgeous, but the movements are not as original as FPJ and neither is the design language.

They are certainly different in design language. However, the SXH5 movement in the Antarctique is on par with any FPJ movement both in terms of architecture and finishing and id argue is better that the movement in Chronomotre Bleu which is its direct competitor.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Pw92676]

I am looking for a custom dial and spoke with the folks at Garrick and Wessex. Both UK based and both had very nice offerings. I think I will steer towards and alternate route but I am thoroughly impressed with both of their respective brands: great customer service, good people, nice watches at accessible price points.

[watchucallit]

I really like DOrnbluth ... very underrated in my opinion

[beshannon]

Starting to look at Dornbluth again.

I need to take my collection in a new direction given what is available to buy

[kunlun]

Originally Posted by shkure

They are certainly different in design language. However, the SXH5 movement in the Antarctique is on par with any FPJ movement both in terms of architecture and finishing and id argue is better that the movement in Chronomotre Bleu which is its direct competitor.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I like Czapek, but they are not comparable to FPJ. Czapek is very refreshingly honest about what they are, which is a horizontal manufacture. FPJ's movements were designed by one brilliant man and made by his company, a small independent that is also a vertical manufacture.

[uscmatt99]

Originally Posted by kunlun

I like Czapek, but they are not comparable to FPJ. Czapek is very refreshingly honest about what they are, which is a horizontal manufacture. FPJ's movements were designed by one brilliant man and made by his company, a small independent that is also a vertical manufacture.

Definitely room for both in a collection, two very different manufacturing ideologies and stylings and both go to show how independents are putting out all the best stuff these days by taking chances, rather than resting on their laurels.

With FPJ and calibre 1304 he had a stylistic vision for the dial on the CS, then built a manual wind movement to compliment it. Power reserve at 3:00, small seconds at 7:30, hidden gear train when viewed through the caseback.

With Czapek and calibre SHX5, they've created a workhorse auto movement which is stylistically inspired by the pocketwatch movements the brand was initially known for back in the day. But they did it with a microrotor and exposed as much of the gear train as possible with modern finishing. In this way, you get the visual impact of a manual movement, and the convenience of an auto movement.

I personally appreciate both approaches to watchmaking. Whether Czapek is the next big thing or not, who knows? But they seem to have the ingredients in place, and are carefully building a following with excellent customer service.

[shkure]

Originally Posted by kunlun

I like Czapek, but they are not comparable to FPJ. Czapek is very refreshingly honest about what they are, which is a horizontal manufacture. FPJ's movements were designed by one brilliant man and made by his company, a small independent that is also a vertical manufacture.

Yes largely agree with you. FPJ is a legend and his movements are iconic at this point. However, you don’t need a superstar watchmaker to produce a movement thats just as good. I personally think the Czapek SXH5 movement in the Antarctique is the best in its category.

And by the looks of it, the SXH6 in the upcoming Rattrapante Only Watch seems to be taking it to a whole another level.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[En_nissen]

Originally Posted by beshannon

Starting to look at Dornbluth again.

I need to take my collection in a new direction given what is available to buy

Wonderful watches, although patience is needed because of the increased popularity.

I'll be getting mine soon, after 9 months of waiting, and I believe the wait is even longer now. About a year was the last I heard.

But I have no doubt the wait will have been worth it.

[soho]

I love my Autodromo. They just rolled out a new red model that’s very nice.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[WatchEater666]

I ended up ordering a Benzinger. REALLY happy with the process so far!

[WatchEater666]

Just bumping this, what else is out there? :)

[woodsworth]

dmh watches if you're looking for something industrialish

[ats120]

Originally Posted by vman

Sartory Billard - I have an incoming bespoke. Hand finished cases, awesome dials, movements from a reputable third party (not ETA or ETA clones).

How was the ordering process with them? Are they only bespoke?

[dchang81]

Originally Posted by ats120

How was the ordering process with them? Are they only bespoke?

haven't ordered one but considering. very fast communication via email or whatsapp. 50% down and 50% at beginning of making the watch. he sent me mock-ups of what i was asking for like right after messaging him or the next morning . i dunno if there are any stock watches available.

[En_nissen]

Originally Posted by ats120

How was the ordering process with them? Are they only bespoke?

As someone who's ordered an SB05 I can only speak highly of the ordering process.
Armand is a pleasure to deal with, and he can make renders of your ideas very quickly, and can accommodate even creative ideas, if he can figure out some way to implement it.

He made about 9 renders for me before I finally decided on a design. And that was after I'd convinced him to attempt to do guilloche on titanium, and then blue the titanium after the guilloche was done, something which he after some months of experimentation managed to do.

He only makes watches after the order, but they don't have to be bespoke. If you found some version of his watches you like you can just order it like that.

I have a feeling he does like to gently nudge his customers into making their own designs though, at least to some extent.

[floydanderson]

Have a Staudt guilloche chrono on order. Pics look really nice. Should be with me in a month.