Question about the German Aristo brand

[worlok]

Does anyone know if they are legitimately German Made or merely German cased? If anyone knows for sure or at least from a trusted source I'd appreciate knowing.

TIA! ;-)

[Gert]

My Aristo Ersatzflieger (not the real name :wink:) says Made in Germany on the back. The company is headed by Herr Hansjörg Vollmer who also has a production of aftermarket bracelets. He took over the brand in 1998 from the Epple family, who are descendants of the founder. Most of their watches have ETA movements, but they also dug out some NOS AS and other veteran movements. I believe it is a fully Germany-based company.

More info in German on http://www.aristo-vollmer.de/aristo.htm and http://aristo-online.de/



(Made in Germany is not really clear on the picture )



Cheers,
Gert

[worlok]

I ask because this one is kind of interesting. It uses a now defunct Rhonda microrotor auto movt. (AR 2538 Harley)



I'm just never sure if a watch is German or "Germasian".... :(

[Timelord]

Tom, are you aware that Eddie sells a Zeno with this or a very similar movement and it is much cheaper than the Aristo (see three quarters of the way down the page):

http://www.timefactors.com/zeno401.htm

I've got one and it's a nice watch if you can tolerate the aeroplane logo. My only observation of it is that the thin movement is wasted in a generic case (presumably designed for the thicker ETA 2824) that is too thick for the movement, as is evident from the pic of the back of the watch:

[worlok]

Interesting. I never noticed that. It's a bit smaller though at 37mm.

I'm probably not in the market for either. I just found it a bit more than just casually interesting, if that makes any sense. ;-)

[Mike K]

I wonder if "Made in Germany" has the same problems as "Swiss Made" does with the 51% clause.

[worlok]

I wonder if "Made in Germany" has the same problems as "Swiss Made" does with the 51% clause.

From what I hear "Made in Germany" as any type of a guarantee is worthless. I heard that from a German WIS on Watchuseek. Forget who he was though....

[Crusader]

Aristo is not usually numbered among the Germasian brands ... not in the same league as Stowa, e.g., but a decent enough German make for sure.

[MichaF]

I wonder if "Made in Germany" has the same problems as "Swiss Made" does with the 51% clause.

Nope - unfortunately German made doesn't mean much. Most Germasians have German made on them, but the only thing German about them is a German sounding name and (when you're lucky) a German office :(

[rfrazier]

One would have thought that the EU would be on to this like nobody's business, being keen on regulating all things commercial.

Best wishes,
Bob

[Gert]

One would have thought that the EU would be on to this like nobody's business, being keen on regulating all things commercial.

Best wishes,
Bob

Nah, they seem to focus on grotesquely subsidized agricultural products that are inefficiently produced in rural regions where the locals refuse to accept that anything will ever change and will back up that belief with mountains of manure on the Champs-Elysées at the drop of a hat :roll:

Cheers,
Gert

[abraxas]

.
There was a time when Eddie was going to meet up with Mr Aristo (or whatever his name is/was) ... what happened?

It looks like Mr Vollmer has taken total control of Aristo
http://www.europastar.com/europastar/he ... 1001432385

john

[Matt V.]

Had an Aristo once but wasn't too impressed with their quality control.

Lume was printed unevenly on markers and hands and can you spot the piece of debris in the movement (right above the axel of the micro rotor...). Well, they didn't... :(

Cheers

Matt

[xpatUSA]

. . . and can you spot the piece of debris in the movement (right above the axel of the micro rotor...). Well, they didn't... :(
Matt

Wow!! Their inspector must have worked very hard to not see that huge chunk of metal!

[Sam Spade]

My Aristo Ersatzflieger (not the real name :wink:) says Made in Germany on the back. The company is headed by Herr Hansjörg Vollmer who also has a production of aftermarket bracelets. He took over the brand in 1998 from the Epple family, who are descendants of the founder. Most of their watches have ETA movements, but they also dug out some NOS AS and other veteran movements. I believe it is a fully Germany-based company.

More info in German on http://www.aristo-vollmer.de/aristo.htm and http://aristo-online.de/


(Made in Germany is not really clear on the picture )


Cheers,
Gert

Hello,

is this the new limited "Beobachter" 5 atm 5H37S with safir? What do You think about the quality?

[Gert]

Hi Sam, and welcome.

Yes. it's an Aristo 5H37S with a sapphire crystal. This limited edition series of 500 has been around for at least three years, since I got mine in 2003.

Let me start by saying that of all the watches I have owned, this is one of the least expensive, yet it draws the most interest from normal (non-WIS) people, men and women alike.

The technical quality is perfectly good. The case and unthreaded crown have worked as advertised. The finish is evenly applied beadblasting with laser engraving on the press-fit back.



Out of the box, the basic ETA 2824 movement gained a little less than 30 seconds per week and in simple experiments, I detected no significant positional variation. The sapphire crystal has resisted scratches.

I got the bracelet with it as well. An unusual design, all in satin Ti. The clasp has steps of fine-adjustment but feels quite flimsy.



The case is made from Titanium and feels very, very light on the wrist. The material and weight may not be everyone's cup of tea. In general, satinized Ti watch cases can impart a plastic-like semblance upon close inspection :lol:

The dial is matte black with all printing in pretty light coat of Superluminova. A close-up look at the dial printing will tell you this is an affordable watch :wink:. But it's perfectly legible. The hands have a more substantial SL application.

The watch is small (Ø 37 mm) and not very high (< 10 mm). I have a wrist circumference of 19.5 cm, but I like smaller watches that can slip under a shirt cuff.

All in all, it's good, but not exceptional, value for money, IMO.

There are now many B-uhr inspired watches. This Aristo is in the cheapest 250 Euro segement, where one might also consider the much larger steel Archimede. Moving up in the 500 Euro segment, you'll find attractive models from Stowa, Laco and others.

Happy hunting,
Gert

[Sam Spade]

Thanks! The Aristo seems to be good!

[Mothman]

I have an 'Aristo Jaeger 90', quality control seems fine and timekeeping is as you would expect from a stock 2824-2.



Richard

[Mothman]

I have an Aristo Jaeger 90, quality control seems fine and timekeeping is as you would expect from a stock 2824-2.



Richard

[Mothman]

I have an Aristo Jaeger 90, quality control seems fine and timekeeping is as you would expect from a stock 2824-2.



Richard

[Gert]

I have an Aristo Jaeger 90, quality control seems fine and timekeeping is as you would expect from a stock 2824-2.



Richard

Welcome, Richard. That's the one with the luminous dial, right? How about a lume shot ? :P 8)

Cheers,
Gert

[Gert]

...we still seem to have a few post duplication bugs :lol:

Gert

[Mothman]

Apologies for the duplicated posts, but I kept getting an error message when I pressed the 'Submit' button, though the post had obviously been submitted correctly. (Mod's please delete duplications as appropriate).

Gert, I can confirm the 'Aristo' has a full superluminova dial with blacked hands and markers, sapphire crystal & display back. I'll try a lume shot (never tried before) and will post the result if it turns out OK.

Richard

p.s Thanks for the welcome

[abraxas]

.
Thanks Gert, that was an honest right up.

john

[Qatar-wol]

.
Thanks Gert, that was an honest right up.

john

You mean... er... nothing. Just don't let Tinker see your post.