Piaget Cushion Minute-Repeater Is a New Addition To Its Emperador Collection

Luxury watch maker – Piaget – is well-known from getting unique watch designs into the market and its latest announcement is the new Piaget Cushion Minute-Repeater which features an aesthetic ultra-thin design and belongs to the family of Piaget’s famous Emperador Collection.

The watch design involves a lot of technical inputs and complexities with the watch calibre 1290P measuring at just 4.8mm thick and the watch-case being just 9.4mm thick. An interesting fact about the calibre 1290P is that it is currently the slimmest in the world and provides the timepiece with several interesting functions like hour, minute and minute repeater. The watch also offers a power reserve of 40 hours.

It took nearly three years of intensive dedication and hard work to the experienced watchmakers of Piaget to finally bring this masterpiece to life.  It was a real challenge for the designers to pack the entire machinery with self-winding minute-repeater movements and steel gongs with some of the elements being just 0.12mm thick and the others being thick only to the dimension of a hair i.e. 0.7mm.

The Piaget Cushion Minute-Repeater is packed in a 48mm pink-gold case which features an open-worked design and plays a crucial role in the transmission of the gong vibrations. The front-dial is fitted with a Sapphire glass and gives a direct visibility and exposure to the elements of the Cushion-Minute Repeater.

The Piaget Cushion Minute-Repeater is priced at CHF 284,000.

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Lum-tec Abyss 400m | Hands on Watch Review

Lum-tec Abyss 400m

 

You ever not like a watch only to find yourself really digging it later on? Well, that is what happened to me with the Lum-tec Abyss 400m. It took a few years, as it was just not on my radar anymore, and it started with the 600m version. I go into detail about this in the video, so I will not drag on about it here, but it is something that rarely happens. Let me be clear, I never saw the 600m version in person, only in photos a few years ago. The size was one of the biggest turn offs for me and when Lum-tec came out with the 42mm 400m version about a year or so ago, I didn’t even really give it a second look. Why? I just didnt. Just one of those things. For some reason I landed on the Lum-tec website just a month or two ago and started looking at this one and reading the specs. I reached out to the company to get one in hand for review and I have to say my opinion really did a 180.

 

 

Lum-tec Abyss 400m-1 Specifications:

• 42mm Case
• 13mm Thick
• 22mm Lugs
• 51mm Lug to Lug
• 316L Stainless steel case
• Bead blasted titanium carbide PVD (titanium color)
• Sapphire crystal with double side clear anti-reflective coating
• Screw lock crown with double diamond sealing system
• High tech Viton® gasket
• MDV Technology old radium luminous with matte black CNC cutout dial
• Threaded solid 316L stainless steel caseback
• 400 meters/1312 ft. water resistance
• Brown leather strap with vintage stitch. 22/22 size
• Precision tuned 28,800 BPH Miyota 9015 Japan automatic movement with     hand winding and hack feature
• One year limited warranty
• Limited numbered series of 100
• Free lifetime timing adjustments

Price: $695 USD

https://www.lum-tec.com/400m-1.html

 

 

So, I know I am late in reviewing this watch, usually I review watches that were newly released. As I said, once I looked over this watch again recently, I really wanted to check it out in person, and I am glad I did. Right out of the gate, this watch is different. The case, the dial, the whole overall design can be polarizing, and you will probably love it or hate it. It is masculine, very brutish if you will, and there is nothing subtle about it. about it. The massive Arabic numerals stand out immediately, as does the large crown which sticks out ever so slightly from the case, and couple that with the large crown diameter and no one should ever have an issue with gripping it to wind or set the time.

 

 

One thing I have found hard to do is categorize the Lum-tec Abyss 400m. With a model name such as Abyss, which is basically bottomless pit, it gives you the impression it is an outdoor watch, a go anywhere, do anything timepiece. With its 400 meters of water resistance it can definitely go in the water and I would imagine whether on a trail, climbing a mountain or something as mundane as mowing the lawn, this should serve you well. Man, did that sound like an advertisement or what? Yeah, it did, but it just the impression I get from the Abyss. It has that rugged feel about it, and the construction gives me the feeling it could stand up to whatever you throw at it. Don’t get me wrong, it is not a G-Shock or anything, but it is a solid watch with a screw down crown, sapphire crystal, and screw bars that hold the strap in place. Plus, it looks better on the wrist than any G-Shock I have ever seen.

 

 

I will always prefer a no date in a watch such as this, I think the date is lost a little in the dial, but with the large numbers I almost don’t notice it and at least it is not in the same place as its 600m big brother. I love the lollipop second hand and that the dial text is kept to a minimum. I am the first to admit that I rarely like busy dials. Never one to be ordinary, Lum-tec not only used skeleton hands, but if you look closer,  the hands themselves are carved out, allowing the lume paint to be set inside a channel as opposed to just laying on top. In some of the outside shots the Lum-tec Abyss 400m hands and numbers look like they have a yellowish hue, but as you can see in the rest of the photos they really are more of a light mint green, which creates a nice contrast against the black dial. If you have not noticed yes, yes that is a sandwich dial as well, something Lum-tec does on quite a few of their watches.

 

 

Of course the lume of the Lum-tec Abyss 400m is spectacualr. You can see this thing from across the room in the middle of the night. One thing of note though, because of how the lume is inset into the hands, they do not glow as crazy bright as the markers and numbers. The more surface area lume is applied to, especially in large amounts, the more it will glow, so the hands will never glow as bright as the massive numbers.

 

 

A staple of the microbrand or independent brands has been the Miyota 9015 automatic movement for the past few years. This movement has been covered over and over, here and elsewhere and has proven to be a good, accurate movement. Sometimes, it is known to have a loud or noisy rotor, but in the Lum-tec Abyss 400m, I have not noticed it, which is probably due to case design and a good solid case back.

 

 

The one thing I am really not fond of on this model would be the leather strap. The style is just not for me, and I wish Lum-tec included one of their molded rubber straps or a regular leather strap. It does not list anything on the website about the strap being waterproof either, so I would personally just put it on a better looking strap.

 

 

One major point I waited till the end to discuss is durability, which goes along with the go anywhere style of this watch. Please realize Lum-tec does not mention on their website that they bead blasted titanium carbide PVD coating is scratch resistant or a hard coating, but I have found it to act as such. I have banged this chunk of metal around, have knocked it into doors, and when it came to photography, some of the surfaces are not very kind to watches. The Abyss came away without a scratch. I was impressed. I usually can put a scratch on a watch within the first day.  Like anything, give it enough abuse and you will damage it, but if you are someone that hates scratches or marks on your watches and you are not diving off of cliffs everyday, you can probably keep it pretty scratch free, at least for a good while.

 

 

In the end, I did really fall in love with the look of the Abyss. It is different, it has a rugged appeal, and the quality is what I have come to expect from Lum-tec. As always, it is assembled and test in the USA from their small shop in Ohio and it gets free lifetime timing adjustments. It is watch I never thought I would review, let alone like and in the end, I was converted over to the dark side. Or, with a name like Lum-tec, I guess it would be the bright side. Whatever it is, it gets an thumbs up from me, which is pretty high praise, if I say so myself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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E.C. Andersson North Sea II | Hands on Watch Review

E.C. Andersson North Sea II

 

 

The E.C. Andersson North Sea II is of course the second version of this model, the first was funded through Kickstarter.  It is a watch that can be used for all occasions, out on the sea, in the board room, the dining room and with your t-shirt and jeans for a casual day in the town. As the website states-“The Scandinavian way of design is clean, sophisticated, functional and durable. Northerners simply enjoy products that will last, both in quality and style.” Obviously, E.C Andersson is situated in Scandinavia and has set forth to apply their way of life into the design of his watch. I have never been to Scandinavia, but have read enough about it to believe the philosophy of the brand and I would say overall, he has achieved it. Unfortunately, I feel the North Sea II has some quarks that I will discuss below.

 

 

E.C Andersson North Sea II Specifications:

• 40mm Stainless Steel Case
• 22mm Lug Width
• 12mm Thick
• 48mm Lug to Lug
• Sapphire Crystal
• 100 Meters WR
• Seiko NH05 Automatic Movement

Price: $586 USD (Converted)

https://www.ecandersson.com/product/north-sea-ref-ns02fd/

 

 

The design of the E.C. Andersson North Sea II is familiar, Panerai of course comes to mind.  It has that pillow style case with thin angled lugs and and an old door knob style crown, at least that is what it reminds me of. They have kept the look somewhat industrial with just a touch of polish on the bezel, crown and lugs. Being that it is only 100 meters water resistant I was pleasantly surprised to see it utilized a screw down crown, which is very smooth and I like the way it screws down into the case. At 40mm with its square shape, it is a good size for me and for many who are not wanting to do the over-sized wrist brick these days. Even though it may look a little wonky at first, I give the overall case design an A.

 

 

While I love the look of the E.C. Andersson North Sea II, there are some serious things to discuss. A few weeks ago, E.C. Andersson posted on a few different sites promoting this newer version of the North Sea, and stating the upgrades they have done to the case and movement. Larger crown, a double dome AR coated sapphire crystal and they claim they did significant work on the Seiko NH05 movement. Apparently they found some issues with this movement, most notably the second hand would stutter and they decided to investigate. They pulled the movement apart, and all said and done they added a metal movement holder, stronger dial clamps and regulated it to great accuracy.

 

 

That all sounds great doesn’t it? Well, the other thing they did was remove the second hand. Now, I am not a genius, some will say far from it, but if you were to regulate it, add dial clamps and movement holder and still have to remove the second hand, something is clearly wrong with the movement, or at least the set of movements that you bought and you need to figure out something so you do not take a loss. When you have a watch that you claim is a sporty, all-occasion type of watch and it does not have a second hand, it is, well-it’s odd. Instead of continuing to harp on it, I will let you, the reader, or more importantly the consumer, decide if a second hand is important to you or just does not matter.

 

 

I have seen some express their dislike for the open date wheel in the center of the dial on the E.C. Andersson North Sea. Weirdly, that is something I actually like. Usually I hate open date wheels of any kind, but considering this actually adds to the dial aesthetic, I kind of dig it. I really like the entire dial and applied markers are always a plus. The markers themselves seem to have a good amount of lume application, but the same can not be said with the hands. Refer to the photo below:

 

 

As I pointed out in the video the case brushing of the E.C. Andersson North Sea II seems a little rough and uneven to me. I always have to point this out, but it is possible that it is only this sample and I can not say this brushing or the lume are the same on all watches, it could just the be example I have in hand. Unfortunately that is all I have to go on, so I will let you decide for yourself.

 

 

The rubber strap is a stock strap, or off the shelf that has been branded for E.C. Andersson and while it is a good size strap, it is one that has to be cut to be sized-something I detest, and has a super strong vanilla scent. I would have preferred a regular rubber minus the scent and a standard buckle. I had personally worn the North Sea II on a canvas strap of my own.

 

 

If I look at the E.C. Andersson on paper, it would seem like it has a lot to offer. In the flesh, the subtraction of the second hand, the super reflective crystal, uneven brushing and the rubber strap leaves me feeling there is more work to be done to make this a home run. As I have stated multiple times, I like the overall look and size and think with a few tweaks it could really be a watch that enthusiasts would want. If they decide to do a third version, maybe a different movement would be the way to go and the other issues I mentioned are easily corrected. E.C Andersson is a young brand so there is always room for improvement and I hope they take this review as constructive, as that is how it is intended.

Thank you and please leave your comments below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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