Two new arrivals

[tertius]

Following a recent clear out these two arrived recently. Both used (but boxed, vg to mint condition), both German and oddly almost exactly the same price (within £15).

Sinn 856, dual time zone, movement ETA 2893, case is apparently argon filled, and it is amazingly accurate - over 7 days it was within 1 second of my (time server synchronised) laptop:





And Stowa Marine Original, as you can see all it does is tell the time ... handwound, beautifully decorated Unitas 6498 movement:

[pastrana72]

[/quote]

Stunning watch, how much? and where from if you do not mind me asking.

[tertius]

pastrana72 said:

tertius said:

Stunning watch, how much? and where from if you do not mind me asking.

I paid circa £400 for a private sale.

You can get them new direct from Stowa - www.stowa.de

[anonymous-user]

Great watches tertius. Why did you get the Sinn from Germany rather than chronomaster?

How do you find the tegimented finish on the Sinn?

Edited by stovey on Wednesday 31st October 12:07

[sb-1]

I love those 2 watches tertius.I think the Stowa is my favourite.On my list of must buys(which gets longer by the day!)

I think I am totally obsessed by watches(at least thats what my wife says)

Steve

[hab1966]

The Stowa is a nice looking watch.

[tertius]

stovey said:

Great watches tertius. Why did you get the Sinn from Germany rather than chronomaster?

How do you find the tegimented finish on the Sinn?

Edited by stovey on Wednesday 31st October 12:07

I didn't buy either in Germany, by "both German" I was simply referring to the fact that both Stowa and Sinn are German makers. They were both used (but boxed, etc.), bought in private sales.

The tegimented finish is actually very nice, slightly matt, and appears extremely tough. I thoroughly recommend the 856 (and the Stowa come to that). I actually sought out the Sinn as a "tool" watch, something that would be rugged and happy to be worn gardening, riding the bike, travelling (hence the second time zone), whatever.

I take it your edit was when you realised I don't (sadly) have a Speedmaster, so no comparison pics ...

[anonymous-user]

tertius said:

stovey said:

Great watches tertius. Why did you get the Sinn from Germany rather than chronomaster?

How do you find the tegimented finish on the Sinn?

Edited by stovey on Wednesday 31st October 12:07

I didn't buy either in Germany, by "both German" I was simply referring to the fact that both Stowa and Sinn are German makers. They were both used (but boxed, etc.), bought in private sales.

The tegimented finish is actually very nice, slightly matt, and appears extremely tough. I thoroughly recommend the 856 (and the Stowa come to that). I actually sought out the Sinn as a "tool" watch, something that would be rugged and happy to be worn gardening, riding the bike, travelling (hence the second time zone), whatever.

I take it your edit was when you realised I don't (sadly) have a Speedmaster, so no comparison pics ...

Yes, I thought you had a speedy pro for some reason and just wanted to compare the finish. I really fancy a Sinn but wasn't sure about the tegimented steel.

Nice watches again though.

[tertius]

stovey said:

Yes, I thought you had a speedy pro for some reason and just wanted to compare the finish. I really fancy a Sinn but wasn't sure about the tegimented steel.

Nice watches again though.

Well I do recommend the Sinn. I suggest you keep a close eye on the watch forums like TZ-UK (where I got mine) - they do come up from time to time. In fact i think there is a 656 for sale there now, but no box iirc.

[tobeee]

The Sinn's a beauty Dan. I'll keep an eye on the forums for when you're ready to sell! Sea-Gull still going strong!

[zhead77]

You do get hold of some beautiful watches Tertius. The Stowa's my fave but i've been looking at Sinn's myself recently and really like a number of their models.

[tertius]

zhead77 said:

You do get hold of some beautiful watches Tertius. The Stowa's my fave but i've been looking at Sinn's myself recently and really like a number of their models.

Thanks very much. Of course I do also manage to buy some real horoors but I keep those to myself

Oh, and for anyone interested there is (another) 656 with box and papers for sale on TZ-UK.com right now (no link to the seller).

[ism123]

Excellent choices!

I really like the Stowa, but after following your example and recently buying an O&W from Chronomaster (nice guy) I really must say that having no date and having to wind it up take some getting used to!

[F1sh]

That Sinn is really starting to grow on me.

Danny

[tertius]

ism123 said:

Excellent choices!

I really like the Stowa, but after following your example and recently buying an O&W from Chronomaster (nice guy) I really must say that having no date and having to wind it up take some getting used to!

I actually really like hand wound watches - I think it really adds something.

And whilst I understand what you mean about a date, look at it this way, with no date it is very easy to reset when you want to start wearing a watch and you have more than one to choose from ...

Edited by tertius on Thursday 8th November 07:33

[V-spec]

Tertius

Congratulations on the new arrivals and thanks for sharing them

I really like the Stowa. Since your original post I've been trying to find out more about them, and so far I like what I've found. The Marine Original also looks like a great choice, I love the huge glass back and that it is hand wound.

I've been looking for a new addition for a while. I tried an IWC Portuguese Chrono Auomatic, which is a bit more than I wanted to spend but looks great in the brochure and on the internet. However, on my wrist it looked huge and really put me off. I'm wondering if the Stowa will be the same, as they are the same size (41mm diameter), although the Stowa has a thinner case (10.8 vs 12.3 for the IWC).

I emailed Stowa to see if they have any retailers where I live (Belgium) so I could try one, and got a very nice reply (with a great hi-res macro pic of a Marine Original - good marketing!) however basically they only sell via their website.

Nice person at Stowa said:

Dear xxxxxxxx

thanks for your mail and your interest in our watches.

To ensure that we can consistently offer you the best price, we sell our watches through our online shop.

By doing so, we keep our distribution, retail and wholesale costs down—and that allows us to pass along the savings on to you.

It's a rare occurrence when someone is not pleased with their STOWA purchase.

However, if you are not happy with your purchase, you have 14 days to return your unworn watch.
Once we have inspected the watch, we will reimburse you.

please let me know in case you need any furhter information

we remain with kindest regards

Viveca Hafner

I was wondering what you think about the overall size of the Stowa you have, if the case thickness makes a difference, and if you have any other pictures to put it in context? I'm tempted just to go for it (700 Euro....compared to the IWC...) and use the 14 day guarantee, but I really don't want the hassle of posting a watch back if I find it too big

[tertius]

V-spec said:

Tertius

Congratulations on the new arrivals and thanks for sharing them

I really like the Stowa. Since your original post I've been trying to find out more about them, and so far I like what I've found. The Marine Original also looks like a great choice, I love the huge glass back and that it is hand wound.

I've been looking for a new addition for a while. I tried an IWC Portuguese Chrono Auomatic, which is a bit more than I wanted to spend but looks great in the brochure and on the internet. However, on my wrist it looked huge and really put me off. I'm wondering if the Stowa will be the same, as they are the same size (41mm diameter), although the Stowa has a thinner case (10.8 vs 12.3 for the IWC).

I emailed Stowa to see if they have any retailers where I live (Belgium) so I could try one, and got a very nice reply (with a great hi-res macro pic of a Marine Original - good marketing!) however basically they only sell via their website.

Nice person at Stowa said:

Dear xxxxxxxx

thanks for your mail and your interest in our watches.

To ensure that we can consistently offer you the best price, we sell our watches through our online shop.

By doing so, we keep our distribution, retail and wholesale costs down—and that allows us to pass along the savings on to you.

It's a rare occurrence when someone is not pleased with their STOWA purchase.

However, if you are not happy with your purchase, you have 14 days to return your unworn watch.
Once we have inspected the watch, we will reimburse you.

please let me know in case you need any furhter information

we remain with kindest regards

Viveca Hafner

I was wondering what you think about the overall size of the Stowa you have, if the case thickness makes a difference, and if you have any other pictures to put it in context? I'm tempted just to go for it (700 Euro....compared to the IWC...) and use the 14 day guarantee, but I really don't want the hassle of posting a watch back if I find it too big

Interesting - I too have long been tempted by a Portuguese Chrono. However, like you I think they are too big especially in terms of thickness.

The Stowa is a big watch there is no doubt about it but it doesn't wear big if that makes sense. I do have a couple more pictures here but none with any other watches. Happy to take a couple more pics if that would help - let me know what you'd like me to photograph it with and I'll try to do that.

It isn't really equivalent to the Portuguese of course - its cheaper, handwound, not a chrono and doesn't have the cachet of the IWC name, though Stowa is a pretty good name in their own right.

I'm really pleased with the Stowa - I think its an amazing watch for the money, and I doubt you'll be disappointed with it. I will say it took me a day or two to get used to it, at first I was very unsure, but not now.

[V-spec]

Thanks Tertius

I'm going to go for it

I just need to decide if I want a deployment buckle or a normal strap. I'm going to ask them for a photo of each as I can't see them on the website. They also have a "matt finish" option which I'm curious to see, although I don't think I want it.

Hopefully I'll get it before Christmas

[tertius]

V-spec said:

Thanks Tertius

I'm going to go for it

I just need to decide if I want a deployment buckle or a normal strap. I'm going to ask them for a photo of each as I can't see them on the website. They also have a "matt finish" option which I'm curious to see, although I don't think I want it.

Hopefully I'll get it before Christmas

I wouldn't have the matte finish if I were you - I have the polished version and its very stylish (of course I am happily advising you without having seen the matte ...)

Re. buckle or deployment - deployment every time (though I have the buckle I will be ordering the deployment shortly.

And in case it helps here is a pic with the 856 (not sure the rather startling blue strap will stay for very long ...):

[tomtom]

Sat next to a chap in a meeting today who was wearing that Sinn. It looked great . So much so that I might buy one...