STOWA or Sinn?

[RodentRacing]

Good afternoon chronophiles.

Thanks to this forum I'm about to become a bit worse off. I've been lurking her for a short while. I used to be a contented bare wrister. Now, mainly due to the Wrist Check thread, I find myself planning a wallet bashing collection.

The question is how would you kick it off? Budget is about a monkey. I've narrowed it down (I think!) to two makes: STOWA and Sinn. There's something about German watches that does it for me.

First contender is the Sinn 556. I like its minimalism, lack of numerals, price at £395, dimensions at 38.5mm (I've got spindley wrists). Not too sure about the glossy face.


Next up is the 556's big brother the 656. When I first saw this one I wasn't that keen but its definately grown on me. Its similar to the 556 but the dial is a matt finish and the placement of the date indicator is a nice touch. I can't decide if the numerals are too big or not. Its also £150 more at £545.


Now onto the STOWAs. First up is the Airman. Its slightly larger than the Sinns at 40mm. It is bloody lovely though. The blued hands are fantastic, the numerals are just right and I like the lack of logo. It also seems quite a versatile watch. Not too dressy but not at all shabby if you see what I mean. Only thing holding me back is the serial version of the limited edition coming out later in the year. The Unitas 6497 movement in that looks lovely. It is a lot more money though at 990 Euros. The standard Airman is 590 Euros.


Finally we have the STOWA Marine. This is the first STOWA I saw and the only one on the shortlist with a white face. This is the dressiest of the four and probably less versatile as a result. I love the separate second dial at 6 o'clock. The blue hands are great. With brown strap this watch is It could be a bit big for me though at 41mm. Its also 790 Euros so a little over budget.

So over to you. Any advice or info is gratefully received.

Edit to sort out pics.

Edited by RodentRacing on Tuesday 17th June 17:18

[x200sxy]

I have my 556 on today. What glossy face? Fabulous watch.

[RodentRacing]

I've heard the face is glossy rather than matt. I assume from your reply that I'm wrong?

[nightfever]

It's a shame there aren't many Stowas around to try on because the Marine is lovely. I've got skinny wrists too and have pretty much decided on a 556 although I might buy a Junkers as a stopgap.

[tertius]

Tough choice you have there.

However, there are some big differences between the Sinns and the Stowas which might help in your decision making: Sinns are both autos and both have a date. The Stowa MO is handwound with no date. Pretty sure the Airman you are referring to is actually an auto (ETA 2824) - only the limited edition has the Unitas movement, and is in any case sold out.

I have both a Sinn (856) and a Stowa (Marine Original). For me the Sinn ,which has the tegimented case (I don't think the 556 or 656 have this) is a really tough knockabout watch with good water resistance. The Stowa is a much classier "dress" watch. In short they fill quite different roles and are going to be hard to choose between.

[Zeek]

Voted Sinn 656. I like them all though, that's a touch choice.

I love the simplicity of the 556, but the numerals on the 656 and the date location swing it for me.

I was ready to grab an 856 recently, and the only thing that puts me off is that I've got used to wearing something a bit bigger (Panerai and soon to be adding the Planet Ocean 42). It is hard to tell how 'small' the Sinn might feel compared to these, without being able to go somewhere and try one out.

My final thought though, is that I don't think you can make an incorrect choice out of those options

[CmdrBond]

Voted for the 556 as I want one of those as well

[pastrana72]

I have the 556, it is stunning and admired by all, plus a real good value watch.

Here a few shots of mine.

[RodentRacing]

tertius said:

Tough choice you have there.

Tell me about it Last week I nearly ordered the 556, at the weekend I swayed toward the 656, now I'm thinking Airman. I have at least ruled out the Marine. Like you say it is more of a "dress" watch. This one has to be for day to day use. The MO will follow at a later date when funds allow though.

For my budget I am looking at the automatic Airman. I'd dearly love one of the limiteds but like you say they're all gone The first batch of 300 units of the Airman Original with the Unitas movement has also been booked up and they're not even due till the end of the year. The price is also a bit out of reach at the moment.

[RodentRacing]

pastrana72 said:

I have the 556, it is stunning and admired by all, plus a real good value watch.

Here a few shots of mine.

Cheers Pastrana Seeing your pics on the Wrist Check thread is what got me into this credit card abusing mess

[markomah]

If you've ruled out the Marine Original, then it's the 656 that gets my vote.

They're all lovely watches though - I'd be proud to own any (or indeed all!) of them.

M

[CmdrBond]

[quote=pastrana72]I have the 556, it is stunning and admired by all, plus a real good value watch.

Here a few shots of mine.




[quote]

That is some serious lume on that photo - the missus would say that would keep her awake, although she wouldn't have to grab my wrist at 4am on a dark morning to see what time it is.

The pics on the Wrist Check is what also got me interested in Sinn watches, and have my eye on both the 556 and the U2, but funds won't stretch that far at the moment.

[pastrana72]

CmdrBond said:

pastrana72 said:

I have the 556, it is stunning and admired by all, plus a real good value watch.

Here a few shots of mine.




[quote]

That is some serious lume on that photo - the missus would say that would keep her awake, although she wouldn't have to grab my wrist at 4am on a dark morning to see what time it is.

The pics on the Wrist Check is what also got me interested in Sinn watches, and have my eye on both the 556 and the U2, but funds won't stretch that far at the moment.

The lume does not stay this bright all night, for this picture it was charged with an LED maglite first, the lume is good, but not as good as a seiko, of a Traser/Luminox

[minimods]

Seeing pastrana72's Sinn 556 also got me into Sinn's big time and I thought I wanted a 556. There is no denying its a beautiful watch but for me it was too simple and dressy, not that that is a bad thing I just have similar watches. I bought an 856 UTC in the end which is slightly bigger, very similar to the 656 but with the UTC dial and ice hardened finish which makes it a very tough watch.

I think its close between the 556 and 656, I think the display back and beautifully finished movement would swing it to the 556. Saying that you can't go wrong with any of the choices.

Edit: Here is my 856

Edited by minimods on Wednesday 18th June 11:29

[andy tims]

From the models you selected it would be the Sinn 656, but supply issues aside I'd have a Damasko DA36 in that price bracket / style.

[RodentRacing]

That Damasko is a bit nice Andy. Damn you! Think I can rule it out for now for being too fussy with the logo, day and date. Also I'm not sure about the yellow second hand. They sound like good excuses to me anyway The yellow is growing on me though...

The 856 is stunning minimods. Practical too with the dual timezone thingy. In a peverted kind of way I'm glad I can't afford it. Makes the choice easier

At the moment I'm still thinking the Airman. I just can't decide which Sinn I prefer, think i'll hold off on that front until I've seen at least one model in the flesh.

[Family Guy]

It was a hard decision just on the vote so don't envy RodentRacing in having to choose for real.

Voted the 556 as i think it would make a great every day wearer and i like the lack of numbers on the face (unusual for me). However had it been for a smart/weekend watch it would have been the STOWA Marine as that is

Tough choice, good luck

FG

[CmdrBond]

RodentRacing said:

The 856 is stunning minimods. Practical too with the dual timezone thingy. In a peverted kind of way I'm glad I can't afford it. Makes the choice easier

RodentRacing - cat amongst piegons time - check this out on TZ-UK.com - Sinn 856 just been posted on the sales section - £475 plus £5 postage. It is used, but you find that watch fans look after their pieces so shouldn't have any problems. Link here - http://tz-uk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=488...

[RodentRacing]

Thanks for that CmdrBond. It is nice and a good price but I'm not sold on the black case. It would be a nice addition to a collection but doesn't work as a starter watch for me. I also want to get something new unless something really special came up. It's dawning on me that quite I'm a picky bd

[CmdrBond]

RodentRacing said:

Thanks for that CmdrBond. It is nice and a good price but I'm not sold on the black case. It would be a nice addition to a collection but doesn't work as a starter watch for me. I also want to get something new unless something really special came up. It's dawning on me that quite I'm a picky bd

And quite right too. I started a little implusivley and got caught out with a couple of watches which were hard to shift, but now saving my pennies for either a Sinn U2 or Glycine Airman 18 and might borrow your idea and do a poll to see what my fellow PH's think. Let us know what you eventually get and how you are getting on.

Regards

Chris