Once upon a time there was a watch company called Montega which made expensive watches but went bankrupt, blaming the footballer Ronaldo for their fate.
Some ten years later I have the opportunity to purchase 80 of the movements from this watch which were never cased up. The movement is ETA2892 base calibre with a Dubois Depraz chronograph module and it has been COSC certified; the COSC certificates bear the name "Montega". All the movements would be cleaned and lubricated before use.The watch was designed by Marc Chatila, fromer CEO of Montega.
A deal Ronaldo made with Montega Watches, worth around £2.7 Million over three years from 1999 to 2001, resulted in the creation of the R9, a line of watches costing between £2,000 and £20,000 each, taking Ronaldo's initial and his shirt number. There were 199 in platinum, 1,999 in gold and 19,999 in steel.
Sadly, Ronaldo suffered a serious knee injury shortly after signing the contract, and his fame plummeted. He only returned to football in 2002, after the end of the contract.
As a result, Montega Geneve was left with thousands of the watches unsold and refused to pay Ronaldo any more than the 2 Million GBP it had already invested. Lawyers for the company insisted that there had been an injury clause to break the contract. They also alleged that Ronaldo knew he had knee problems before signing.
After a lengthy court battle, Montega Geneve declared bankruptcy, and while the court eventually found in Ronaldo's favour, he did not receive any of the money, or damages.
This is one option for the movements.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
A very interesting read and a watch I would be very interested in purchasing if produced. If this were to prompt a waiting list, please put me down.
Would prefer less resemblance to the Daytona and more originality. Would much prefer the dial more in the style of a pre daytona Rolex chrono if it is to be a homage design.
Be a shame to lose the date function and not to created a more unique model given the movement that will be used.
Last edited by mylofitz; 29th August 2012 at 21:05.
This "one option for the movements" is a very good option!
Interesting, I'd be interested in owning such a watch if you want an expression of interest. The history alone would make it a conversation piece.
It does have more than a passing resemblance to the Daytona (no bad thing) and a huge improvement on the Montega.
What's with that bracelet that looks like a bandolier of 13A fuses? No wonder they went bankrupt.
z
Last edited by zelig; 29th August 2012 at 18:00.
Very interesting prospect and nice 'Paul Newman Daytona' style dial configuration - I would prefer the inclusion of the date too personally.
I like that.
no wonder Montega did not sold. Their watch looks awful.
Liking the one option. Hope it would come with a bracelet (looking better than the hideous montega offering)
Nice.......... but I'd consider doing away with the units per hour wording on the bezel.
It makes the bezel look crowded, and its unnecessary as you may be measuring in units per minute :-).
A quality PN daytona homage with a COSC movement, what's not to like?!
The Montega watch is super-ugly in my personal opinion. I like the idea of a new Timefactors chrono but I would prefer to see something with as clean a dial and bezel as possible, something more like a Speedbird chrono, or diver style.
I like the look of that - wonder what the price range would be?
The design is based on the Cartier Pasha which was very much in vogue at the time.Originally Posted by occamsrazor
john
Every watch a story.
Eddie has already done a Speedbird chrono (the Speedbird 1903) which meets your needs - clean dial and bezel.
Cheers
Foggy
I bought one and it was fine but its only right for Eddie to do something different this time. I believe he has hit a home run again, a PN Daytona homage is to me about the coolest thing this side of refrigerated under crackers. Only change I would make is in the bezel and entirely MHO but I really don't like the polished steel bezels at all on Daytonas, much prefer the classic inlaid style as seen here:
http://rolexblog.blogspot.co.uk/2010...ul-newman.html
Otherwise perfect as is.
I'm curious to see what the other option(s) might be.
Love it. I'd buy one.
Looks great :-)
Would it be possible to get only 80 cases made for it?
If so, I can imagine they'd sell out pretty quickly.
A Daytona homage? a PN dial please? & luckily I live fairly close to Peterborough! . . . . because that's where the end of the queue already is
Regards M.
the Daytona look would appeal
Traditionally (over the last 10 years) the two reasons for using the DD chrono module were:
1. To offer the old-fashioned 3-6-9 tri-compax configuration. These days a number of makers offer this with in-house so the only reason to be buying a DD chrono would be cost.
2. To offer the much sought after bi-compax configuration … and this is the point I want to make. If the ‘12 hour totaliser’ could be eliminated and a bi-compax configuration to be considered ... I think a bi-compax would sell twice as fast as a tri-compax.
The Sewills rendition above reminds me of the Gallet Flight Officer which is not a bad thing (it also uses a DD module) and don't ask about the price.
http://www.galletwatch.com/gallet_mu...h_details.html
john
Every watch a story.
Definately like to be on the waiting list for this one. Although it would be nice to see it branded as a Smiths.
That looks really good. I know it's based on the PN Daytona but I would love to see the date used at the 12 o'clock position.
Along these lines would be great -
RX6241SSDAYPN-01.jpg
Date at 12 where coronet sits. No red 'daytona' text above the 12,3,6,9 dial. Perhaps use name of Smiths, chronograph under the date but chronograph in red.
Sewills, Sheffield, then swiss made at the bottom just doesn't work for me.
Last edited by mylofitz; 30th August 2012 at 10:28.
i like the idea of a watch based on the original Daytona as to my mind its a much nicer watch than the current model which has put on too much weight and looks a little bit like mutton dressed up as lamb [IMHO of course].
Some very small debating points:
- like the idea of Sheffield on the dial but it does seem to clash with Swiss Made for example. If you were going to call the model the Sheffield (why not the original was named after a place) then that would seem to me to be more logical.
- the dial looks a little empty above the Sewills brand name [where the crown goes on the original]. Maybe you should think about a brand logo.
- for me I would prefer a Smiths rather than a Sewills watch - particularly as it refers to a recreation which seems more fitting with other watches in the Smiths line.
- as my eyes deteriorate panda dials become more difficult to read especially with thinner steel hands. As I suspect your market demographic will contain a lot of ageing miopic blokes like myself, so maybe careful consideration to hand/subdial colours might be a good idea.
- I'm not too enamoured with putting the 45min totaliser in the 9 o'clock position -the inner ergonomist in me [who craves consistency because he wears too many different chronographs] would prefer to see the running seconds here in common with the majority of chronographs to reduce confusion and to make the dial easier to take in at a glance.
The other watch that a lot of people like but you don't see many (if any) homages to is the original vintage Bregeut type XXI. Maybe a design along these lines might also be worth consideration.
Just some thoughts. But it's a nice idea and I look forward to seeing more as the design grows.
I really like the look... hmm.... might be in for one. But I'm quite curious what other options you're talking about Eddie :)
Eddie, if you decide on a Sewells PN homage then YES PLEASE, however a few suggestions.
Can we have an optional bakerlite/black bezel insert as well as the steel bezel. Also can to make the tele scale go to 400 rather than just 200. Its these little differences which would set it apart from say an Alpha.
if such a watch was available (with a nice NON-DATE) COSC movement then you can put my name down for one please.
Many thanks Andy
Last edited by Andyg; 30th August 2012 at 10:34.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
so..... what happens after 45 minutes?
can you time other events other than a football match?
and yes, a date would be nice to breakaway from the usual rolex look and go more into a el primero sort of thing.
although the date weel be nice to have it same colour as the dial, least for me.
the case is nice, looks like everything screwdown, perhaps 10atm wr? or more?
what about the size?
a gentlemany 40mm would be my preferred choiche.
I also see lume, that's good!
I also like units per hour with small numbers on the scale (below 60uph), which is much more functional, for example to check pulsations and other stuff that doesn't go at 700 MPH...
what else, well a bracelet would be nice, and I presume an oyster type will go too rolexie, something like the sb3 I could live with, especially if it tapers down, it makes the bracelet more elegant and wearable.
uh...
maybe something to make the 12 o'clock lume more distinctive, for like whe you are in total darkness and stuff. like a double dot, i find that extremely useful and is the reason why I am selling my Titoni.
yeah, something like that.
looking good man!
please let's not have too much of a rollie replica
Well spoken Bubi, I have to agree in all aspects :)
Plus one as interested and potentially on a waiting list, depending on the price of course!
And another vote for SMITHS rather than Sewills. Maybe I'm biased by owning an Everest, but SMITHS does seem to have something more British about it, globally.
+1
Smiths.
And a 42mm case.
I'll have one.
ish
Looks good to me,ill have one,not with a bracelet like that though!
An "oyster" style imo.
Think as stated either a PN homage or preferably along the lines of the Tudor big blocks, a date for me as well please.
I know people are asking for a date but the correct position for the date is slightly off centre of the 4:30 position and it doesn't look right to my eyes. This is presumably why the Montega had such a large date window, completely filling the space between the 4 & 5 indices.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
As an Everest owner, I would also vote for Smiths. I can see that they would look next to each other on the watch shelf. Definitely interested.
I like these kind of posts from Eddie.
One of the main reasons to visit this sub forum
I've been waiting for a TF chrono for a long time. This looks like it might be it.
Go for it Eddie, just the way you envisioned it, and never mind all the nitpicking on here.
+1
john
Every watch a story.
Perhaps I never told you that a major multinational has offer me an enormous amount of money for the Smiths trademark? I was seriously tempted but rejected their offer although if they come back with an improved offer, I may not be able to hold out.
Make no mistake, they would be able to take Smiths to a level that I can't afford to do.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
well good luck with that eddie! get every penny you can, looking at the original design i'm 100% behind that, it's superb, i would add the 60 mins on the register tho..
I bet you could if it was Omega though. ;-)
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
+1 for the black bezel with the red line markings on the dial.
Depending on price of course, but I'd definitely be up for one.
As in quality of watches or quantity of watches?
Interesting story.
I'm assuming you've already decided to buy the movements. Rather than make an homage to the Daytona (is an homage to the FAP?), how about a riff on one of your other watches? You already have a number of chronos, so how about taking a design from, e.g. the 17C, and progressing that? Or perhaps a well-loved non-chrono case, like the 50B, or even the CWC Diver, and adding a chrono?
Last edited by Broussard; 31st August 2012 at 07:38.
That may well be a shame for the tradition and heritage associated with Smiths but fantastic news for you Eddie. Remember, gift horses rarely come past twice!
Get what you can and invest in some fantastic new pieces for us (he says very selfishly). Or better still (he says selflessly), retire and put your feet up.
David
In all sincerity Eddie, you could take the Smiths brand where you want to but you'd have to give it your undivided attention. I, for one, would love to see where you could take just one brand with all the design ethos you've shown in the Dreadnought ,the Speedbird GMT and the recent Sewills.
Yep, me too. Or by the same token sell Smiths and give that attention to Precista.
Surely Smiths could/should be the jewel in the crown?
I would have thought that would be Sewills? Always been an impressive name to me because of the marine chronometer heritage.
I think I'd better qualify my earlier statement. When I said "enormous amount of money", it's only enormous relative to what it owes me and certainly not enough to retire on. The company in question has plans to develop it as a mid to upper market brand and play heavily on the "Britishness".
I'd love to see Smiths in a prominent market position again but it's unlikely that I could do this.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
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