Steinhart Watches - What's your Opinion of them?

[importr]

I once had a Nav-B Chrono-II which was a very solid & well made watch. I got it because it looked like a mix of IWC 3717 and 5002, with gen quality and an ETA movt.

The standard AR was crap to be honest, nowhere near as good as the sales pics. I modded it with Taka AR and it looked amazing.

However, the 44mm case lugs sat too high on my wrist and wasn't very comfortable, the butterfly deployant wasn't comfy either, as it was digging in.

I had to use an IWC tang buckle to continue to use the Pilot style strap.

So, in a nutshell, I would've kept it if it hadn't been so clunky to wear.

[cougar1]

I don't think that steinhart is a step up from invicta. Actually was very impressed with some invicta's I've seen.

Fossil wasnt a nock, freakin swatch makes a ton of cool brands. Info based on this article on cw forums. I'd get the jump hr if I had the cash

http://www.christoph....php?f=1&t=8496

Wanna see a real innovative uk brand? Learned about these guys over vaca http://www.bremont.com/

Pho, Steinhart are most definitely a step up from invicta, if you are comparing the most expensive invicta to the cheapest steinhart then you might have a small point but we are trying to compare apples with apples here. CW are a world away from invicta.

Bremont: yes, well aware of the them, have been for quite a while.....you must have missed the prices, as sgtguk said we are in a totally different price bracket when you throw Bremont into the mix! Might aswell be go up a few quid more and throw Hublot in to the mix as well, ...doesn't work that way!... A few other web brands in a Steinhart ish price range would be CW, Precista, Archimede, Aristo, Junghans, Benarus, Orsa, Promethus, Debaufre, Boschett, Magrette, Bernhardt etc

Stowa are exceptional for the price.

On the christopher ward point. One guy who is a chief exec at the parent holding company of fossil was consulted on the design of one CW watch...'the jump hour' ...that suddenly doesn't mean the whole CW operation is now owned by fossil. As you said not that it would matter, but lets be clear here, the 'CW aren't made by the people who do fossil'

[fotoman]

Pho, Steinhart are most definitely a step up from invicta, if you are comparing the most expensive invicta to the cheapest steinhart then you might have a small point but we are trying to compare apples with apples here. CW are a world away from invicta.

Bremont: yes, well aware of the them, have been for quite a while.....you must have missed the prices, as sgtguk said we are in a totally different price bracket when you throw Bremont into the mix! Might aswell be go up a few quid more and throw Hublot in to the mix as well, ...doesn't work that way!... A few other web brands in a Steinhart ish price range would be CW, Precista, Archimede, Aristo, Junghans, Benarus, Orsa, Promethus, Debaufre, Boschett, Magrette, Bernhardt etc

Stowa are exceptional for the price.

On the christopher ward point. One guy who is a chief exec at the parent holding company of fossil was consulted on the design of one CW watch...'the jump hour' ...that suddenly doesn't mean the whole CW operation is now owned by fossil. As you said not that it would matter, but lets be clear here, the 'CW aren't made by the people who do fossil'

Ok, I need to be less brief and more specific.

First, note on the following, this is just my observation research and opinion, I'm not an expert on these subjects.

Note 2 these discussions are some of the best info as it gets hashed out

Ok. What I was trying to say

1. From what I read, the Christopher ward watches are produced by the same (swiss?) subcontractor that also produces fossile, and a dozen other brands. I'm not saying they are owned by fossil. We have to get real, most watch brands are either subbed out for production or use a mass market parts base eta for ex.... Only a handful of brands (read expensive) have their own corporately owned and vertically integrated brand, design, manufacture corporation. It just doesn't make business sense to make a start up OR what has happened in the last 20 yrs, purchase rights to an existing but dead brand (panerai for ex) and turn it into a luxury brand. Or like swatch group buy several brands, produce essentially the same watch across brands at different prices. Like, cars used to be. For every ford model there was a Chrysler or whatever same car, same chassis different suspension, engine and in cabin decor.

As Christopher ward sells many sub 1k watches there is way they own their own operation. Most likely it's a corporate entity that does design, licensing of retail outlets, and marketing. They would then sub out actual manufacturing and probably logistics and order fulfillment.

That's all I was saying. Note those comments were on the c ward forum. I have to believe if they were inaccurate they would not be permitted to stand. It's a tacit or passive approval. If I were Rolex and some idiot said, rolex's are made by Chinese slaves, I'd kill the thread or correct and close it. IMHO

Bremont - price wise in the breitling range, 5-15k on average. The reason I interjected them into the discussion was because ward is a UK co and I said if you want to see a real uk brand - bremont I have no intel on them other than their specs are so crazy specialized they are not likely simply farmed out to your average shop. Maybe some models are.

Steinhart - I was thinking of a different but similarly named brand that was in the range of invicta.

[frankt]

Overhyped junk IMNSFHO!!!

[cougar1]

Overhyped junk IMNSFHO!!!

Please tell us what you think frankt

Pho I hear what you are saying about almost all brands being part of 'bigger' holding companies or corporations these days, it's no big deal, and I certainly don't want to go on about CW, I have no affiliation with them or loyalty to them in any way. It's just that the thread above you linked to is just a generic thread on the CW forum, from an average poster with a question mark on the end of the statement about their link to fossil. In fact the mods over there and cw themselves on another thread debunked that 'theory' as they certainly do seem to have some problem with being 'linked' to fossil.

http://www.christoph...fossil&start=15

Quote from CW.."Just for the record... SH is not owned by Fossil...we have nothing to do with Fossil...never have....probably never will... SH and Fossil parted company a long time ago before we got involved with SH"

This document will show that SH reformed as a Limited Company in March 2007. CWL made the move to Swiss production in August of 2008.

Anyway I do not care who makes cw watches, just trying to clarify a statement. As far as I was aware it was part eastern european/part chinese operation then shipped to Jura to private assembly unit and assembled just the adequate amount to get 'swiss made' on the dial!

Anyway where were we; this thread is about Steinhart, again, nothing wrong with them, we all love reps, sometimes we take for granted the fact that we can get sapphire crystal and decent ar and resonable finishing for less than 200 dollars, it's a great deal....Most sub 200 dollar gens don't have these features so sometimes we have to be patient and accept that in the gen market you have to pay that little bit extra for some of the features we have become accustomed to getting on reps. It would also be nice to see some of these boutique companies be a little bit original in their designs and not just clone everything the see from mid range manufacturers. I guess it's not always possible unless you have a design team on hand being fed quite a bit of money.

Bremont are interesting...no doubt, some really unique stuff. Will they be able to compete with the competition though, they are up against some big brands in that price range, in that market they really have to let the design and build quality of their offerings speak for themselves, it will be interesting to see what the next 10 years holds for the likes of Bremont.

[fotoman]

Good points all. My opinion in life is everything is a scam until you prove to me it's not. I only think that because, under the hood, my domain, you learn that, pretty much everything is a scam.

[Adeodatus]

Good points all. My opinion in life is everything is a scam until you prove to me it's not. I only think that because, under the hood, my domain, you learn that, pretty much everything is a scam.

there is nothing like positive thinking, right Pho? Brightens your day and warms your heart with acceptance and compassion. LOL

[sgtguk]

LoL

Pho, I only wish I could agree with you mate, I try to think as positive as I can about everyone......that is until it involves money!

Human beings are a greedy lot and will do pretty much anything to get one over on you, so my philosophy 'Be positive, Karma is a wonderful thing' .....and if all else fails kick their Ass!

Seriously though thanks again for the advice guys, as an update I haven't ordered anything yet! Pho you got me thinking it is a dear piece so I'm looking at Seadweller reps again and hoping to pin down one with a decent Rehaut to try my first bit of modding to make a vintage look SD.

Cheers

Steve

[fotoman]

LoL

Pho, I only wish I could agree with you mate, I try to think as positive as I can about everyone......that is until it involves money!

Human beings are a greedy lot and will do pretty much anything to get one over on you, so my philosophy 'Be positive, Karma is a wonderful thing' .....and if all else fails kick their Ass!

Seriously though thanks again for the advice guys, as an update I haven't ordered anything yet! Pho you got me thinking it is a dear piece so I'm looking at Seadweller reps again and hoping to pin down one with a decent Rehaut to try my first bit of modding to make a vintage look SD.

Cheers

Steve

2 thoughts, 1, experimenting is fun, but expensive. If you mean you personally go for it, if you mean you, pay for it, I recommend getting your feet wet before diving into the deep end. You may learn something about your tastes first.

2. I want to be positive, but seriously, I know to much. If I didn't have a kid, I'd take off to the vast wasteland in Australia and drink beer.

The worst are charities. Most are just there to pay the salaries of the employees.

I don't give $$ to [censored]. I did however recently cook a meal for a homeless dude. To be honest I couldn't figure out if it was a man or woman. But he was sleeping near the building with my office.

[acanuck]

Funny, everything that I've read about Steinhart is that they are indeed made or at least assembled in Switzerland. The one thing that I think you can't argue in comparison to reps is that they have swiss movements and the diver models are waterproof out of the box - no mods needed.

Edited February 10, 2012 by acanuck

[FxrAndy]

Steinhert were 100% assembled in Switzerland at least until a couple of years ago as I know the CEO of the company that assembled them but they switched assembly to some where else recently.

[importr]

The best thing about Steinhart is that they are Swiss-ish (in other words, QC'd, tested and reliable), and are AFFORDABLE.

All these 'nice to have' features would bump up the cost, edging towards Bremont territory - which is why Bremont don't figure on my wish list, when I can get a more prestigious gen for the same price.

If it weren't for good reps, I'd probably have a few more Steinharts in my collection.

[sgtguk]

@Pho, I'm with you on the charity $$ mate, my uncle works for one raising funds (funnily enough!) and the overheads are markedly high for a small business!

@fxrandy & importr, thanks for the input guys

[cougar1]

Funny, everything that I've read about Steinhart is that they are indeed made or at least assembled in Switzerland. The one thing that I think you can't argue in comparison to reps is that they have swiss movements and the diver models are waterproof out of the box - no mods needed.

The best thing about Steinhart is that they are Swiss-ish (in other words, QC'd, tested and reliable), and are AFFORDABLE.

If it weren't for good reps, I'd probably have a few more Steinharts in my collection.

So true on both opinions above, and also good lume out of the box, and you can be sure the crown/tube is unlikely to strip within two days.

Steinhart seem to hold value very well on the 2nd hand market, so they are well sought after. Don't get me wrong...reps are great but bloody hell, you'd need patience with them. There are so many good offerings with these boutique brands you are getting quite a lot for the money put into them and not just paying for a brand name.

All these 'nice to have' features would bump up the cost, edging towards Bremont territory - which is why Bremont don't figure on my wish list, when I can get a more prestigious gen for the same price.

The main features everyone wants can be got for much cheaper, Bremont seem to be trying the kind of Kobold approach of forgetting about history and branding and just build a complete tank of a watch and just lump it in there and line it up with Omega/Rolex/IWC and mass market that they build it as good if not better than the big brands. Wether this works remains to be seen....it has worked for some though, Panerai, Hublot. (Even though Panerai tagged on the very tenuous link to a prestigious past into the marketing for added effect). I would put my money towards something else aswell, but some people like to take a chance and test them out as an alternative.

[cougar1]

Btw, sgtguk, let us know what you get if you pick up one

[sgtguk]

Will do