What's with the f[censored smiley]king Dreadnought?
Discussion
Blame benny.c for this topic, I'm just a pawn in his game.
Anyway, the Dreadnought.
I kinda like the look of it... In a £40 way. It looks cheap, and if the owners are being honest, they'll admit it.
It was generally bought from a sycophantic dribbling over everything the creator touches. Blinded by the 2 grand price they convinced themselves it was something special, something with heritage. Is it f
k.
And the size?? Clearly the owners are from the Eddie Jordan school of taste. Bigger is better baby, if it doesn't snap your left wrist it just ain't big enough. 265 grammes. The creator toyed with the idea of making it in 18k gold which would have made it 900 grammes. Almost a kilo. Ridiculous.
So, have you got one? You're away from TZ, you can tell the truth - you feel a bit of a berk when you wear it outside, don't you? And have you ever worn it diving? I suspect not.
Anyway, the Dreadnought.
I kinda like the look of it... In a £40 way. It looks cheap, and if the owners are being honest, they'll admit it.
It was generally bought from a sycophantic dribbling over everything the creator touches. Blinded by the 2 grand price they convinced themselves it was something special, something with heritage. Is it f
k.And the size?? Clearly the owners are from the Eddie Jordan school of taste. Bigger is better baby, if it doesn't snap your left wrist it just ain't big enough. 265 grammes. The creator toyed with the idea of making it in 18k gold which would have made it 900 grammes. Almost a kilo. Ridiculous.
So, have you got one? You're away from TZ, you can tell the truth - you feel a bit of a berk when you wear it outside, don't you? And have you ever worn it diving? I suspect not.
I think it was about £450 when it was new, which seems ok to me. I don't know what movement it has in it, but that kind of money for a 'proper' watch seems ok.
However, I've seen them for sale for getting on for £2k now. Obviously the secondary market is supply/demand driven but surely for £2k there are a number of other things you'd buy first? Perhaps the buyers already have everything else, or I'm missing how cheap £450 was?
However, I've seen them for sale for getting on for £2k now. Obviously the secondary market is supply/demand driven but surely for £2k there are a number of other things you'd buy first? Perhaps the buyers already have everything else, or I'm missing how cheap £450 was?
Papa_Hotel said:
Blame benny.c for this topic, I'm just a pawn in his game.
OK, here's my opinion for what it's worth, and I'll make some comparisons with the Sinn U1 since the are "broadly" similar. Of course you may consider the U1 to look like a cheap watch too with it's lego hands
I don't think the DN looks cheap, and in the hand it looks and feels very much like a quality product. The case is on a par with the U1 as is the bracelet to an extent, although the Sinn has a nicer clasp and lovely hex screws for adjustment.
I'm not a massive fan of most Timefactors watches and there are very few I'd buy. I didn't buy the DN because of the branding, designer or heritage. I bought it for the good old fashioned reason that I liked the look of it and figured I could sell it on easy enough if I didn't like it. The DN appeals to me as I like the clean, uncluttered face which I look for on a divers watch. I tend to buy watches 40mm plus so the size isn't an issue for me personally. 44mm isn't that big (same as the Sinn) and the weight is on a par with the U1. Both are chunky watches, which I like, but we're not talking U-Boat size here either. The comfy bracelets on both watches actually make them very easy to wear.
I don't feel like a berk wearing it (or my U1) but you may think I look like one
I wont see another one though amongst the sea of Omega, Rolex and Breitling. It's probably the reason that I own a Mustang and not an M3 or 996. It's not necessarily the right thing to do but there you go. The price is dictated by the market so it costs what it costs and what someone is prepared to pay. The original price is irrelevant in the same way that an expensive classic car costs much more than the sum of it's parts. Is a DN worth the going rate? Only to the limited market that is interested. Will I use it for diving - no, never. Diving doesn't appeal to me but I like divers style watches. The Sinn U1 will probably never get wet either. I had a Speedmaster and never calculated the speed of a car on the tachymeter. I am about to take delivery of a watch which has a scale on the bezel for calculating the optimal flight level for a 747 depending on the gross weight of the aircraft at time of takeoff. Maybe that one will come in useful sometime
Anyhoo, there you go, that's my opinion. No defending Eddie, Timefactors or the price, I just like the watch and it's a keeper
CommanderJameson said:
ETA 2824-2.
ETA 2824-2T chronometer rated. I know the "top" is supposed to be a better movement but only from what I have read. I really need to learn more about movements Edited by benny.c on Thursday 20th August 13:13
Not full comedy price but heading that way
I'm confident I could shift it for what I paid with no bother, but I didn't buy it to make a profit. It's a keeper for me though so I guess resale value is kind of irrelevant. Comparing it to the U1 actually does it no favours in the value stakes as you can pick a used U1 up for £800. The flip side is that anyone could buy a U1 today but you may have to wait ages for a DN. That is if you actually wanted one
I'm confident I could shift it for what I paid with no bother, but I didn't buy it to make a profit. It's a keeper for me though so I guess resale value is kind of irrelevant. Comparing it to the U1 actually does it no favours in the value stakes as you can pick a used U1 up for £800. The flip side is that anyone could buy a U1 today but you may have to wait ages for a DN. That is if you actually wanted one
Edited by benny.c on Thursday 20th August 14:03
I also own a DN - not bought new, but fortunately not at the £2k price point a few have sold for recently.
I can't fault it. The build quality is at Fricker's top end standard (equal to the Sinn U series watches in every way). The movement is a 2824 COSC grade movement (not one of the standard 2824's) and keeps excellent time. The looks - well, that's subjective. I'm not normally a fan of plongeur handed modern watches, but the styling on the DN is very nice.
Why is it worth £2k? Well that's just a question of supply and demand. Eddie made 200 of them, and won't make any more, so if you want one you have to pay a higher price than the original list.
It's also not a very big watch. It might be a heavy watch on the bracelet, but it's no bigger than a Seiko Marinemaster 300, and smaller than a 44mm Panerai
I can't fault it. The build quality is at Fricker's top end standard (equal to the Sinn U series watches in every way). The movement is a 2824 COSC grade movement (not one of the standard 2824's) and keeps excellent time. The looks - well, that's subjective. I'm not normally a fan of plongeur handed modern watches, but the styling on the DN is very nice.
Why is it worth £2k? Well that's just a question of supply and demand. Eddie made 200 of them, and won't make any more, so if you want one you have to pay a higher price than the original list.
It's also not a very big watch. It might be a heavy watch on the bracelet, but it's no bigger than a Seiko Marinemaster 300, and smaller than a 44mm Panerai
Papa_Hotel said:
Good post benny, you defended strongly without throwing your toys out the pram. My point wasn't meant to attack the Dreadnought, more of how it's a symbol of what's wrong with another forum.
I know mate, your post was well worded to get a rise from someone a little more belligerent than me 
TBH I haven't really flashed it about the net since I bought it, but I have been meaning to do a mini review - so this will do
TBH I don't really like the DN much and I have handled a couple. However it was Eddies design and has been copied many times over by others. I think this really is behind why the original 200 are now worth so much. All of Eddies watches are fairly limited production and mostly they have reasonable secondhand values, its really only the DN that has gone crazy.
It's a big heavy dive watch that's very well made, whether you like the design or not is really down to the individual but I like it. It was very good value at its original £450 purchase price and now they are worth £1800 to £2000 because that's what people are willing to pay for them, clearly because there are more potential owners than dreadnoughts. I was lucky enough to briefly try one this week and IMO they are a fabulous watch, so whilst in reality it would be too big for me to wear much I would still like to own one, though not at the 2k price they are now at.
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