Sinn 356 ...A good buy??

[boxster9]

I've been following the threads on the watch forum for a few weeks now and have been impressed with some of the Sinn models. Most of the reports i've read have been positive.I was thinking of going for a 356 UTC as shown on this link :

http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=tree&th...

Does anyone here own one?

Apparently they come in an acrylic and sapphire crystal version, with the sapphire costing a few hundred more...what is the difference between these two? Is it worth the extra..

Thanks for any advice..

[ferrisbueller]

I like these a lot. £600 looks good value too, not that I know anything about watches. They do get a very good review though.

[Seb d]

Don't get a watch with acrylic crystal, it's awful and scratches up like buggery. Sapphire all the way!

[tertius]

Seb d said:

Don't get a watch with acrylic crystal, it's awful and scratches up like buggery. Sapphire all the way!

Completely disagree.

It does scratch but its extremely easy to polish scratches out. Whereas once you've scratched sapphire (which you can) you pretty much have to get a new crystal.

Also acrylic is much less likely to break than sapphire.

Some watches really suit an acrylic crystal, particularly vintage styles e.g. the Omega Speedmaster Pro (where only the acrylic is flight qualified by NASA due to the breakage question) and, in my view the 356, which has a classic flieger look to it.

I think there is a place for both - really depends on the watch.

[tobeee]

I've got one. It was a gift, and I believe it's the acrylic version (as that's the one I chose). It's a lovely watch, glows in the dark, looks classy to those who know watches and is invisible to those who don't. Get one!

[boxster9]

Thanks for all the useful comments....

Is there any visual difference between the acrylic 356 and the sapphire model?..which one would look better?

[cyberface]

I've got the 356 II which has the copper guilloché face, and is IMO beautiful. The leather strap is of very good quality, and I recommend you specify the deployant clasp, it works, it's good quality and makes putting the watch on much quicker as well as removing the possibility of losing the watch accidentally if the buckle breaks.

Mine has the acrylic crystal, and I cursed myself for not buying the sapphire crystal model when I caught it accidentally against a brick wall which carrying something into my house. A white-paint-streaked scratch on the front of the crystal made the watch look ruined. I contacted Neil at Chronomaster who said that the cases are different between the acrylic and sapphire crystal models, so I couldn't just buy a new sapphire crystal and have it fitted to my originally-acrylic case

However, as mentioned above, acrylic crystals are polishable. I took it to a local jeweller who, for a fiver and a few minutes with a polishing mop, returned the watch crystal to as-new condition.

This pic, taken last week or so for the 'wrist shots' thread, is *after* a large, paint-filled brick scratch was polished out of the acrylic...


Personally I'd go for the acrylic - the crystal is thickly domed, and gives the watch a 'rounded' profile - I gather that the sapphire crystal is flat with bevelled edge (like many Rolexes - the Explorer and Daytona I had both had flat crystals, the Sub I think has one, the new Sea Dweller doesn't though) which may make the watch look too thin for its 'pilot' associations. Difficult to try both on with Sinn - but given the similarity to the IWC Flieger, you could easily find a watch shop selling IWC to let you try the IWC (which has a flat sapphire crystal IIRC)...

[Onemind]

Also watch (Pun !!) how fast these sell when put on "T-Z"> Fast is one word to use !! Sinn are excellent

[boxster9]

anyone here have any profile pics of the acrylic vs the sapphire?

[Rgee]

Have you tried timezone.com or watchuseek.com? Both have dedicated Sinn forumns.

[cannedheat]

cyberface said:

However, as mentioned above, acrylic crystals are polishable. I took it to a local jeweller who, for a fiver and a few minutes with a polishing mop, returned the watch crystal to as-new condition.

Yikes, that's expensive... you can buy a tube of acrylic polish (Polywatch) for a couple of quid and with a cotton bud get any light scratch out within minutes yourself. My jeweller when I was in Nottingham used to do it for free.

http://watchpart.co.uk/polywatch-p-1750.html

I highly recommend Polywatch to anyone with an acrylic crystal watch face. I've done my Speedmaster so many times but each time the face looks as good as new.

[cyberface]

cannedheat said:

cyberface said:

However, as mentioned above, acrylic crystals are polishable. I took it to a local jeweller who, for a fiver and a few minutes with a polishing mop, returned the watch crystal to as-new condition.

Yikes, that's expensive... you can buy a tube of acrylic polish (Polywatch) for a couple of quid and with a cotton bud get any light scratch out within minutes yourself. My jeweller when I was in Nottingham used to do it for free.

http://watchpart.co.uk/polywatch-p-1750.html

I highly recommend Polywatch to anyone with an acrylic crystal watch face. I've done my Speedmaster so many times but each time the face looks as good as new.

Err it was a sodding gouge from the edge of a white painted brick, with white paint in the acrylic.

The difference between £2 for the Polywatch and an hour of my time (since it would be the first time I've done the job, and it was a *proper* gouge, not a light scratch like the 'patina' on my CWC) and the £5 it cost me, wellllll...... even if it really *did* take me 2 minutes the £5 jeweller job would be cheaper.

And I have the satisfaction of knowing that even serious scratches are fixable. Believe me, I was distraught when I damaged my Sinn, because not only is it my girlfriend's favourite watch, it was my favourite watch left in my collection after a financial malfunction removed the Daytona and Explorer from the watch case Now I know it's fixable and I can wear it more frequently.

Don't get me wrong - I appreciate the advice - at the time I read TZ etc. and they recommended acrylic polish, but I wasn't going to 'get it wrong' on my first effort on one of my favourite watches.

I know the 356 II isn't some limited edition special, nor is it that expensive, and the 7750 in it isn't that finely finished... but my GF loves it and I think it's a gorgeous piece. So I wasn't taking any chances. However I will use said polish next time I pick up a *light* scratch

[cannedheat]

Ahh gotcha...

I woke up one morning with some huge scratches on the face of my speedy that couldn't be polished out. Ended up claiming on my watch insurance. Had to have a new crystal... lucky there was no excess.