Reply With QuoteIt would be even better if it was half the price. $400? :shock:
http://www.mkiiwatches.com./sale.html
With a non-date dial choice, this could be a decent looking watch. Though it would be better if manual, of course.
It would be even better if it was half the price. $400? :shock:
Bargain - isn't that about tuppence in real money :wink:
seriously it doesn'r look so bad - but what is the mysterious swiss movement......................................
Isn't that the same price as the Speedbird II with similar specs? I believe it is. I prefer the Speedbird II myself even though it isn't quite as large as this one... but Bill does produce top-notch work and is super to deal with. I guess you can't go wrong with either.Originally Posted by Si
Mk II QUAD10
Dimensions
? Case Width: 40 mm not including crown
? Case Thickness: 12.95 mm
? Case length: 52.50 mm end to end
? Lug width: 20.0 mm
Weight: N/A
Movement: ETA 2824-2 (Elaboree grade ? Second highest next to the Chronometer grade.)
Water resistance: 10 ATMs (100 meters)
Case Finish: Satin
Other: Double gasket screw-down crown, metal movement holder. Each watch is individually numbered.
It also has a nice thick domed sapphire crystal. $400 dollars sounds about right to me. It is a custom watch after all.
Oh by the way, Mr. Yao has just acquired a blasting booth. He will soon be offering bead blasting.
considering you get to choose your choice of dial, hands, straps.
docd said:
according to Yao's site, it's an ETA 2824-2 (Elaboree - second to Chronometer grade).but what is the mysterious swiss movement......................................
I think SB-I & SB-II are ETA 2836s
There's a couple of new dial choices coming for the Quad10, too.
http://www.mwrforum.net/cgi-bin/mwr.pl?read=117476
I don't think it is overpriced for what you are getting, if you read the specs. closely.
Cheers,
Martin ("Crusader")
It is comparable in spec to the PRS 53 auto surely, which at £140 is $260. I'd imagine it costs about the same to make. OK it has a sapphire crystal so maybe that accounts for a bit of it.
It is quite a good looking watch, I agree.
Si
I think sizewise it is actually bigger than the PRS-53 at 38mm, and I think, if I have followed the discussion closely, that it uses a specially made case, not an adapted stock case. Screw-down crown. The sapphire is domed inside and out, too. (Don't know whether that is really necessary, IMHO a flat mineral is the least reflective crystal option :wink: ).
Cheers,
Martin ("Crusader")
'Tis a nice case shape I must admit.
Compared to SBII I see only different movement and (maybe) a little higher grade one. Also steel insert for movement.
If the movement in SB is also 2nd highest grade ETA2836 then I think it is better value.
JP
I don't think it is bad value when you consider the range of custom options available within the basic price. Not such good value as Eddy gives on his watches of course, but then what is? That's a very tough standard of comparison!Compared to SBII I see only different movement and (maybe) a little higher grade one. Also steel insert for movement.
If the movement in SB is also 2nd highest grade ETA2836 then I think it is better value.
JP
JP, I rarely find reason to disagree with you, but the two watches being similarly priced (GBP 195 to USD 410), I fail to see how the SB will be "better value", at least in a significant way. GBP 195 is about USD 365.Compared to SBII I see only different movement and (maybe) a little higher grade one. Also steel insert for movement.
If the movement in SB is also 2nd highest grade ETA2836 then I think it is better value.
JP
For the extra USD 50 you do get some extra features, and that makes the watches quite comparable, IMHO. Style is a completely different matter, of course.
Cheers,
Martin ("Crusader")
Exist any pic with a comparison of Speedbird II and Quad 10?
The size of the SB II is much better than the Quad, but the dial without any brandmarks and the Type 48 hands are fine features! The SB II with this two features would be very nice!
Yao dials and hands fit the Speedbird II.
The conversion has been done repeatedly, both with the SBII case and the similar (and because of the acrylic crystal superior, IMHO) PRS-53 case.
Cheers,
Martin ("Crusader")
There are a few things I don't like about the Quad 10 :
Bezel (too big, wide, deep, clunky)
Crystal profile (so it's domed sapphire, so what, it's lost inside that bezel anyway)
Lug profile from side-on (and drilling the lugs does NOT redeem them)
Size (just too damn big)
Case (too much of it, it's all case and no face - a 32mm dial in a 40mm case!)
Apart from that it's a fine piece!
Jim (JMHO, BTW) :wink:
Does the Yao dial (with date) and the hands fit in the SBII or PRS-53 case? Isn't it too small?
The 32mm Yao dial fits the PRS-53 and, I think, the Speedbird II as well.
Jim :)
I was wondering about the dial/case size difference. A 32mm dial in a 40mm case isn't bad for a robust watch. But, it isn't the dial size that matters here. It is the viewable area. Of those 32mm only 29mm are viewable. That's an astonishingly large 3mm of the dial hidden/unused. Usually, it is more like .5mm of the dial that isn't visible.
For example, on my AS1802, a reasonably robust watch, the case is 37mm, and the dial has to be between 30 and 30.5 I print it at 28.5 giving myself less than .75mm at any edge (which, actually, given the "spread" in printing, and the extra thick crystal, really is more like < .5mm). So, I have about 28.5mm of printing on a 37mm watch. On the Quad, you probably only have 27.5 - 28mm of print on a 40mm watch. Those are nearly dive watch proportions.
Here is a 40mm case, it takes a 34-34.5mm dial. It has about as little bezel as one could have. The viewable area is just under 34mm. :) (I don't have a dial for it, or, even, a dial blank, so I stuck some card in there.)
Best wishes,
Bob
Precisely. This, and the overall size of the watch, seems fundamentally at odds with the "aviator" theme to which, I am assuming, this watch aspires.
Jim
Hi,
I've certainly toyed with the idea of buying one of these in the past, but at 400USD plus HMCE's nice little earner and who knows what courier taxes; forget it! I could treat my self to at least half a dozen Seiko 5's for that money or even one nice Seiko Sportura type watch. :)
'tis a handsome watch:
Thanks for the answers.
Well, I can get the dial and the hands by Bill. But I don't know how to get an PRS-53 or SBII case and the movement (I'm from Germany). To deinstall an PRS-53 or SBII seemd to be an sacrileg.
Very nice Pic! Could You tell me what strap You use?
The easy answer is to buy two and keep one as is :
Jim :wink:
couldn't decide between the 53 and the 48 so I bought both. Fantastic bitsof kit, rspecially the 48. Will shortly be getting my Blackwater MMT #007 so can hardly wait for the postman
[quote=Jim:]The easy answer is to buy two and keep one as is :
Jim :wink:[/quote:3qb7xl5y]
Hello,
yes :D
But the movement of the Speedbird II have the date at the 6 not at 3 :( The Quad - dial would not fit?!
The easy answer is to buy two and keep one as is :
Jim :wink:[/quote]
Hi Jim - glad you got your 48 together - looks the business. A quick question re. the strap on your PRS53. I've been looking for a sympathetic open-ended strap without much luck. This seems ideal. Where did you get it?
I also wouldn't mind a UK source for open ended leather ... if you don't wish to post please PM me.
john
Costume jewellery. Ouch!!!
Sweeney and John,
The PRS-53 is wearing a parallel 18mm pigskin from here http://www.coolwatchstraps.com/CWS_Page ... Straps.htm (go to the "open end" link). Shipping to the UK was $10 extra. It was a bit pricey, but there is not a great deal of choice in the UK.
Looks like this :
I also found this from a UK site at http://www.watch-batteries.com/Straps4.htm (bottom of page).
I wasn't really expecting too much but it turned out to have a very nice marble effect grain, rather than "croc" as described, like this :
I think it looks good on the "Mk XV", gives it a certain IWC feel. They do at least one other open-ended as well if you have a good look.
Hope this helps, and thanks for your comments Sweeney, it was you who inspired me to have a go at the Yao conversion myself.
Cheers,
Jim :)
Gunscrossed,
You have PM. It seems to be stuck in my outbox, so perhaps your inbox is full.
Cheers,
Jim
I myself am partial to a watch with a minimum bezel to dial diameter ratio, it is not a first priority for me. But with all this talk about dial vs. bezel size was stuck in my head when I happened to look at the RJ Jackson website someone linked to and saw all the WWW watches together.
(Sorry, but I've left the photo big so as you can detail in the edges - what is bezel and what reflection.) (Photo borrowed without permission for edjucational use only)
There are plenty of these watches that have a fairly large bezel to dial ratio. Look at the JLC in the near the center, the CYMA, and the Longines. Things often complained about on hommage watches, but if the original watch had a large bezel and small dial, shouldn't the hommage also have these same faults?
Anyway, there is obviously nothing historically wrong with an hommage watch having a big bezel vs. dial ratio as several of the foremodels also had big bezels. So, other than for esthetic reasons, there should be no more talk about accuracy of the bezel vs. dials
I don't think I said anything about accuracy of reproduction of some long past watch. I wasn't even thinking of the quad as a hommage to anything in particular. But to the extent the bezel/dial proportion is a disadvantage on the Quad, it is on the JLC you picture as well.
Best wishes,
Bob
and all the WWWs pictured are about 34 or 35mm, the Quad is 40mm, which makes it more disproportionate.
Jim
I asked Bill Yao about it when the Quad 10 came out. He said that he chose the larger diameter on purpose, so that parts of the watch couldn't be used for upgrading vintage Mark 11s, and to cater to present tastes.
Guys, it is a Mark 11 homage, not a replica. :wink: The bezel/dial ratio of the Quad 10 is an excellent rednition of the original, by the way. The original wide bezel of the Mark 11 was effected by the screw-down acrylic crystal.
Source for open ended tan pigskin straps (very period): http://www.stores.ebay.com/id=13165 (shipping to Europe is less than US$ 3).
Cheers,
Martin ("Crusader")
That seems a perfectly reasonable justification for having a bezel that is, other things being equal, disproportionately large.
Best wishes,
Bob
But possibly not on a watch that large.....That seems a perfectly reasonable justification for having a bezel that is, other things being equal, disproportionately large.
Best wishes,
Bob
Jim :wink:
in same way of the size of the quad 10 you could found the orfina with an antimagnetic shield
This is the watch that brought me back to mechanicals. 39mm,
and as you can see it has a fairly wide bezel and the ever so
slightly domed crystal means it also has high sides. In comparison
to the classic military styles and sizes, it now appears too-big, but
at the time it felt fine. They can be had for around £50.
john
Costume jewellery. Ouch!!!
I have a Dugena version of that Citizen John.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Thanks Sam!Very nice Pic! Could You tell me what strap You use?
here's a link to the strap:
http://lonestarwatches.com/GenesisII.htm
Does it say, 'Assembled in China' at the back?
The main watch was brushed, but the back was polished and looked like it came from a
different watch. For ages I was trying to justify the advantages of having a polished back
but eventually I couldn't get over the china reference.
john
Costume jewellery. Ouch!!!
Mine says "Swiss Made" all over it so I suppose it could have been made in China. :lol:
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Dear God! What were you thinking! :lol:Sweeney and John,
I think it looks good on the "Mk XV", gives it a certain IWC feel. They do at least one other open-ended as well if you have a good look.
Hope this helps, and thanks for your comments Sweeney, it was you who inspired me to have a go at the Yao conversion myself.
Cheers,
Jim :)
Seriously, mine still works even after doing the work myself!
It was pretty straightforward really and I took the view that it would cost about the same to get a professional to rectify my mistakes as it would to get the work done properly in the first place.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say.
Thanks for the strap info, Jim. It really gives it that MK XI feel IMHO.
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