Incoming… what do you have? (Vol. 3)
Discussion
TheJimi said:
You giving up on cars, Harry?
Only insofar as I have five, which is too many, and two are not ULEZ compliant and doubtless will be completely regulated out of London soon enough. I think one sports car and one EV is the plan henceforth. Means I have to get rid of a CLS63, a W124 E320 droptop this year. The Saab stays as it is my Mum's, really, she has had it from almost new, and I want my kids to have it one day.
Rather than roll those funds into a truly expensive car, which will rarely get used, I think I shall use it on watches.
Or hell, maybe an Ariel Nomad.
Nice problems to have, and I am lucky, so I am not going to whinge too much.
Edited by Harry Flashman on Monday 3rd May 12:39
TheJimi said:
You giving up on cars, Harry?
Only insofar as I have five, which is too many, and two are not ULEZ compliant and doubtless will be completely regulated out of London soon enough. I think one sports car and one EV is the plan henceforth. Watches get used more!
Edited by Harry Flashman on Monday 3rd May 13:28
vixen1700 said:
Wow! That's a real bummer. Had a £70 fee on my meteor faced Signum from Japan last month which pissed me off a bit, but £205 would really bum me out. Brexit eh? 
What Stowa did you go for?
What Stowa did you go for?
Edited by vixen1700 on Monday 3rd May 10:59
Mezzanine said:
The most expensive one they do 
Not quite! They do £1800+ ones too lolI'm waiting to post my own pics lol as the stock images aren't the greatest having seen the 40mm in youtube videos which show it in much better light!
But essentially it is this, the Flieger Vintage Bronze 36 with the hand wind movement, no date option - Note that the caseback is also bronze unlike the 40mm version where hand wind comes by default with stainless steel caseback: https://www.stowa.de/en/pilot+bronze+vintage+36.ht...
Edit*
I just did some maths and it seems the customs/fees aren't too out of whack as initially imagined. As mentioned the VAT is included in this.
Now the website price from Stowa is €1310 Euros inc VAT which is £1,136. As I paid €1124 at checkout, the VAT was taken off due to the mention above my post here only to be added back on by FedEx.
So instead of paying £1136 ex VAT, I have paid a total of £1181 inc VAT and import duty when factoring in the £205 invoice from fedEx.so all in all the customs fees alone amount to a mere £45.
Edited by robbiekhan on Monday 3rd May 14:00
Harry Flashman said:
TheJimi said:
You giving up on cars, Harry?
Only insofar as I have five, which is too many, and two are not ULEZ compliant and doubtless will be completely regulated out of London soon enough. I think one sports car and one EV is the plan henceforth. Means I have to get rid of a CLS63, a W124 E320 droptop this year. The Saab stays as it is my Mum's, really, she has had it from almost new, and I want my kids to have it one day.
Rather than roll those funds into a truly expensive car, which will rarely get used, I think I shall use it on watches.
Or hell, maybe an Ariel Nomad.
Nice problems to have, and I am lucky, so I am not going to whinge too much.
Edited by Harry Flashman on Monday 3rd May 12:39
The kids will love you taking them out for a blast in it
21st Century Man said:
You would've paid the vat before Brexit too, it would've been included in the 1st place rather than taken off to be added back on. The only difference is the UK now gets the revenue rather than the selling country. I find this mindset baffling.
The Moose said:
Intrigued by these (and the Hermes H08). Cartier is a great brand and their watches have been iconic for. Long time, also my mother has had a Cartier Tank for 30 years so means something.They are 100m WR but I wonder would they stand up a bit of abuse?
Makes a very nice change to the typical divers. Looks great
Ed T said:
The Moose said:
Intrigued by these (and the Hermes H08). Cartier is a great brand and their watches have been iconic for. Long time, also my mother has had a Cartier Tank for 30 years so means something.They are 100m WR but I wonder would they stand up a bit of abuse?
Makes a very nice change to the typical divers. Looks great
Quite tempted - it was a remarkably pretty thing I thought.
Harry Flashman said:
TheJimi said:
You giving up on cars, Harry?
Only insofar as I have five, which is too many, and two are not ULEZ compliant and doubtless will be completely regulated out of London soon enough. I think one sports car and one EV is the plan henceforth. Watches get used more!
Edited by Harry Flashman on Monday 3rd May 13:28
My issue is where to keep them, maintaining them is also a pain but some are used so little that I get away with things like brake pads and discs for quite long periods.
In the winter when most cars are SORN it’s nice to have the watches and they are easy to store, in the summer I don’t wear my watches in London with T shirts etc, I just can’t be bothered with the EXTRA level of alertness required
What year is your CLS? I have an 08 S63 which is ULEZ compliant
Ed T said:
The Moose said:
Intrigued by these (and the Hermes H08). Cartier is a great brand and their watches have been iconic for. Long time, also my mother has had a Cartier Tank for 30 years so means something.They are 100m WR but I wonder would they stand up a bit of abuse?
Makes a very nice change to the typical divers. Looks great
I opted for the Hermes H08 as it was easier to read for my poor old eyes and it was just something completely different.
Stowa arrived today.
The leather strap is very nice, thick and soft but a little too thick for my liking not that I'd be wearing it anyway as prefer rubber, so swapped over the bronze buckle to the Hirsch pure natural rubber I had set aside for this.
Initial thoughts after the first day... Certainly a finely made piece of kit. The bronze finish has been done by hand and whatever treatment they give it they say won't further oxidise in normal use but may react a little bit depending on what liquid it comes into contact with. A little annoying the strap buckle did not undergo the same treatment so will have to let that age over time, nothing major.
The movement (Selita SW215-1 Top grade) winding action is nice and well damped although the clicking ratchet sound as you wind is not as loud as the one in the Hamilton (Hamilton H-50). It is a very nice looking movement though as the photos will show and Stowa have removed the ghost position when you opt for no-date which is nice, was fully expecting a ghost position like on the Laco (Miyota 8315) since no mention of its removal online anywhere, unless this is a recent thing.
Even though the lume is old radium for the day colour, it hasn't affected the luminosity of the C3 in darkness, seems to be as bright as the bare C3 on the Laco which seems to last a fair while.
The size and weight is almost perfect for me. Nice having a thinner case.
Interesting observation on the domed sapphire, the way reflections move around on the surface is different to any other domed sapphire I have had or seen on a watch. It's hard to describe but it's very smooth and lacks any sort of distortion/magnification - Looks cool.
Accuracy is supposed to be 0 to +10s a day but will keep an eye on. I've heard watches getting magnetised in shipping as they go through various scanning machines and things as they depart and arrive through countries. I have a demagnetiser anyway though if it does appear to be running fast.
Many photos warning... Kinda funny that my photos below are the only photos online of this model with the hand wind movement and bronze caseback together
I love the heat blued hands the way they shimmer in the light:
On the wrist (6.7")
More photos...
Size comparison vs the Laco 39m and Hamilton 36mm:
Lume comparison:
The leather strap is very nice, thick and soft but a little too thick for my liking not that I'd be wearing it anyway as prefer rubber, so swapped over the bronze buckle to the Hirsch pure natural rubber I had set aside for this.
Initial thoughts after the first day... Certainly a finely made piece of kit. The bronze finish has been done by hand and whatever treatment they give it they say won't further oxidise in normal use but may react a little bit depending on what liquid it comes into contact with. A little annoying the strap buckle did not undergo the same treatment so will have to let that age over time, nothing major.
The movement (Selita SW215-1 Top grade) winding action is nice and well damped although the clicking ratchet sound as you wind is not as loud as the one in the Hamilton (Hamilton H-50). It is a very nice looking movement though as the photos will show and Stowa have removed the ghost position when you opt for no-date which is nice, was fully expecting a ghost position like on the Laco (Miyota 8315) since no mention of its removal online anywhere, unless this is a recent thing.
Even though the lume is old radium for the day colour, it hasn't affected the luminosity of the C3 in darkness, seems to be as bright as the bare C3 on the Laco which seems to last a fair while.
The size and weight is almost perfect for me. Nice having a thinner case.
Interesting observation on the domed sapphire, the way reflections move around on the surface is different to any other domed sapphire I have had or seen on a watch. It's hard to describe but it's very smooth and lacks any sort of distortion/magnification - Looks cool.
Accuracy is supposed to be 0 to +10s a day but will keep an eye on. I've heard watches getting magnetised in shipping as they go through various scanning machines and things as they depart and arrive through countries. I have a demagnetiser anyway though if it does appear to be running fast.
Many photos warning... Kinda funny that my photos below are the only photos online of this model with the hand wind movement and bronze caseback together
I love the heat blued hands the way they shimmer in the light:
On the wrist (6.7")
More photos...
Size comparison vs the Laco 39m and Hamilton 36mm:
Lume comparison:
Dare I say it but this and the Hamilton are my personal favourite watch purchases of all time now and two that will forever remain in my possession 
Will likely sell the Laco as was gonna keep it thinking I'd miss the Type-B dial but this Stowa is so well proportioned I'm happy as can be. Might still keep it though because it's pretty cool, and is a Laco...
Will likely sell the Laco as was gonna keep it thinking I'd miss the Type-B dial but this Stowa is so well proportioned I'm happy as can be. Might still keep it though because it's pretty cool, and is a Laco...
Edited by robbiekhan on Wednesday 5th May 10:52
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