Reply With QuoteGreat review! (I like the review more than the watch. ;))
Best wishes,
Bob
Hi,
you know how it is. - You sometimes see a picture of a watch that leaves an everlasting impression. The Anonimo Militare 2004 was such a watch for me. The moment I laid my eyes on it a few years back I knew that I had to have it some day. Eventually, after more or two years of fighting it I finally surrendered and got one. And, I am glad I did as you shortly will find out. Before going to the watch itself a few words of the journey on acquiring it.
After long and exhausting search, including phoning ANONIMO S.p.A. in Firenze and suddenly findig myself speaking of watches and debating the virtues of espresso vrs. instant coffee with the president of the company, Mr. Federico Massacesi, I was contacted by a Swedish-Italian WIS who had seen my WTB on Timezone. The guys name is Antonio Lavecchia and he had one of the first series of hand wound Militares that was bought in Milan airport and he was willing to sell it to me. By that time I had already spotted five other 2004īs, most of them in US, but I trusted my gut instincts that this was the one I wanted.
Antonio was superb to deal with and after few emails and agreeing on the details the deal was quickly made. After a couple of days wait I got it and was overwhelmed by the overall quality and balance of the design. The day after I received it I took it along with the PRS-20 as my sole watches for a two week trip to the seashore of western Finland. Iīve now had it for about a month and have enough experience with it to give a somewhat unbiased report on it. Here goes:
Anonimo Militare 2004
specs from Anonimo website
When Anonimo launched in 1997, more or less after triller like events, raising like the proverbial Phoenix bird from the ashes of the headquarters of the Pre-Vendome Panerai in Florence it was to be this watch that would eventually grasp the wider attention of those in WISdom to this new, "Anonymus", company (their first model AFAIK was the Millemetri). The rest is, as the saying goes, history.
Speaking of which, there has been much said about the practices and offerings of the "Anonymus" company in comparison to the other, better known, company. I wont go there as I pretty much think that opinions are like buttholes - everyoneīs have one. Suffice it to say that I like the products of both enterprises but favor the spirit of the "Anonymus" to that of the other one. That out of the way lets proceed to the watch itself.
It is big but not too big for most wrists at 43mm x 14mmīsh. The crown protector -crown vanishing device in Anonimo-language - that is easily seen on the pic below makes the lug to lug lenght of the Militare a tad difficult to compare with other, "normal" watches. Suffice it to say that It looks more awkward than it actually is what comes to wearability. Winding the movement... well, more on that later. Strap widht is 22mm but you have to use Anonimos own straps unless you want to play a surgeon and cut them to fit the lower lug design.
gallery from Anonimo website
There was either a design or material flaw that resulted on many of the first Militare 2004īs crown to fell off after having the shaft broken due to not making sure the crown was fully in before locking the crown protector after time adjustments (the watch is intended to be wound with the crown protector in closed position). This happened to my watch also two years ago and it was sent to Firenze where the crown and shaft were replaced with a new, beefier design (the crown on my watch does not have the Anonimo logo on it). They also changed the design at some point so that the spring bar with drilled through holes on the upper lugs was replaced by a screw type attachement that has screws on both ends. An unnecessary and superficial "update" in my opinion.
And angled
I dont have pics of the movement but its the ETA Unitas 6497-1 with 17 jewels, adjusted in 4 positions, soigne. It works just like expected: good power reserve and good time keeping. No problemos what so ever. Itīs a true and tried, solid, design that IMO fits this watch extraordinarily well.
The case is standard AISI 316 Plus but dare I say it is very,very nicely finished with flowing lines and just the right balance of curvature and straight lines. And, according to this article about Anonimo they do it a bit differently than most (International Watch of May 2007):
"they believe that it is best to leave the metal?s molecules as they were intended. Thus, they do not stamp and heat the case blanks like conventional case-making processes dictate. Here, they have developed a process over the years with a machine that literally carves out the round case, ?scooping? the excess metal away, never hitting the metal and shaking up its molecules. After the ten-minute scooping process is completed, the blank is completely smooth, looking something like a miniature UFO, but not one that would slice into your fingers. (...) After being scooped to a fine saucer, the blank continues onto a CNC machine outfitted with thirty tools for refinement, at which time the lugs are formed as part of the whole piece and the case takes its definitive shape. (...) cases are generally matte and sandblasted. This casual look is not an easy one to achieve, but using traditional processes makes it possible. The cases are prepared with sandpaper, first a more aggressive one, then a finer one. Then the cases are high polished using silk wheels and a paste. The cases are then sandblasted with real sand and put through a final run with sandpaper. ?Every watch case is really a piece of art,?..."
Pic: International Watch of May 2007
Dunno much about metallurgy but I do know that the end result of Anonimos case manufacturing process both feels and looks good :thumbleft:
Side shot of the case with the PRS-20
Cases from another angle
As expected the crystall is sapphire and has a great depth to it. I dunno how thick it actually is but my guess is around 3,5-4mm(?). Because of the design the dial looks "sunken" deeply in to the case compared to say the PRS-20. The crystal looks stunning and the pics really dont do it any justice at all. The closest that comes to my mind on how the crystal reflects and playes with light is IWC Aquatimer 3536. It is gorgeous.
Brother and sister
The depth rating of 12ATM aint anything special compared to some others watches on the market but it is well enough for most purposes that this watch is likely to face on the wrists of those lucky ones to own it. Besides there are others branches of "Militare" besides the marine commandos whom are most likely more happy with something like the "Professionale" and "Hi-Dive". I think this watch is just what guys like Arnie and Sly would have used in their box office hits of the 80īs if the watch had been available at the time of their shooting :D
Then there are the straps, no bracelets for this fella I am afraid.
There has been a lot of talk about the Anonimo straps and in particular their patented "Kodiak" process used to make em impervuous to seawater. Instead of trying to explain it myself I opt for the lazy mans approach and cite the aforementioned article again. So, what Anonimos Kodiak actually is it is
"a formula to make watch straps wearable in salt water. Usable with all kinds of leather - calf, ostrich, cow, you name it - the vegetable-resin mixture allows water to escape back out of the Italian leathers rather than seep in and remain there, as it would normally do. This superior resistance to water has come in very handy for Anonimo."
OK... Now, I dont get my straps wet intentionally as I am not a diver so I dunno how it works in real life but based on what Iīve read the process is succesfull at doing what it says it does. So, forgetting the whole Kodiak thing and just looking it as what it really is - a strap - I think it is OK. - Nicely finished and thick if nothing spectacular per se. The buckle too is OK. Both the strap and buckle work well and are as nicely finished as expected at this price league. What has to said though is how the design of the lower lugs with the crown protector affect the strap performance.
The cut out works well as there is plenty of leather left so that the strap is strongly attached to the watch. In that regard its not likely it would be torn off. However, there is a caveat with the lower lugs design, no matter how smart it is otherwise:
Because there is nothing on neither side of the strap ends the strap stays put because the center piece of the crown protector is situated on the cut off keeping the strap from falling off the pin on either side. However, once the strap gets worn and soft the strap ends tend to "crawl" over the pin bar on both sides, making it look rather untidy. There is also the risk of the strap falling completeley off if either of the strap ends gets nicked or pulled off the pin. I suspect it wont happen as there is sufficient lenght of pin on both sides but I can help not thinking that the design is compromized on this regard. - Either there should be actual "lugs" on both sides to prevent the strap ends to crawl off the pin bar or there should be short pieces of tubes glued inside of both strap endings to keep em steady when the strap gets worn and soft. A rubber strap wouldnt be a bad option on this regard. See the below pic for the beginning "crawl" of the strap end.
Under this lid lies a powerfull workhorse :wink:
Also, I cant help but thinking that the method used to keep the pin bar in place by the small screw that fits a hole in the bar pin is a flawed one. - First of all it is a pain in-you-know-what to position it right to get the tiny screw in after strap change; secondly I dont like the idea that there is just one tiny screw that is actually keepig the pin bar in place and having the watch staying on my wrist. If that screw opens... it can be a very expensive accident indeed :roll: Anonimo should have studied the loaded spring method used by IWC for somewhat similar purpose on their bracelets and end links (the pin retaining-screw is easily see on below pics). The IWC method is both reliable and userfriendly. Nuff said.
Ok... then a few words about the dial. One likes the daughter and one prefers the mother. So are things regarding taste. Below pictured are examples of the handwound version with Anonimos OX-PRO finished "PVD" case on the right and an auto movement version on the left. The Auto version lackīs the logo which IMHO balances the dial on the hw version. Also I find that the matte subdial on the hw suits better the style of the watch than that on the auto version. Then there is the magnified date window which IMHO kills the purity of the design on the auto. Itīs purely a matter of personal taste. Nothing more nor less. Just compare the pics below and draw your own conclusions.
In both versions the dial is super legible on most conditions thanks to the outstanding lume (sorry, no pic). On this regard the title of "Militare" is justified as the watch excells on easy readability. I personally love the 12, 03, 06, 09 arrange of the dial, you mileage may vary of course. The second hand is quite stealthy under the 12 marker and doesnt distract at reading the time on a glance. Yet it is there choose you to read for seconds or know whether your watch still has power on it :D
One thing more. The winding. It is... horrible because of the crown protector :evil: - Of all the watches Iīve had (thatīll be many...) this is the one I must use faul language the most with when handling it. Because its a hand wound there is no way to escape the patented, crown protector or "crown vanishing device" as Anonimo so elegantly puts it. I am more dexter with my hands than most and yet find it just pure torture. If you tend to drink or have big hands do yourself and your family a big favour and choose the auto. Youīll save yourself from a lot of anguish and frustration as winding this thing is, well, just... horrible. And thats exactly one of the reasons why I so much like this watch! :shock::wink: - More on that later...
Ok. Time to tell how I find it as a daily wearer: for me this watch is a match made in heaven - it has just about everything I like on a watch. The quality is astonishing. The case is very, very, well finished as well as the dial. The watch oozees stealthy quality not much different from IWCīs. Yes. - There is a lot of crap written about Anonimo on certain X watch sites and based on my experiences with watches Iīd say those talks are just that - crap. It is what it is and it aint a X but something on its own right and dare I say, even better than most of those from the X company.
I have always liked the looks of it but now that Iīve had it I cant stop wondering how controversial it actually is: - It is big and chunky yet feels relatively light and comfortable on the wrist. It is quite macho yet there is (to me) something refined, dare I say, almost feminine and alluring to it. It is simple on its appearance yet full of details once looked more closely. The leather strap oozees quality yet is plain and basic. The crown thing is a pain yet does its job and... feels so good. And so on. There is, BTW, a great review of the Militare Chrono on WUS by Nickolas Hacko, a watchmaker and watch dealer located in Sydney, you might want to take a look at. His review is somewhat on the lines with my findings also.
Might of not believed it but it looks good on tan too! (Dino Zei mustard)
Time to wrap it up
I think Anonimo got it just right with "Opera Meccana". Indeed - like the opera you either love it or loath it but one thing is for sure. Itīs got soul. More so actually than perhaps any other watch Iīve had. If all Anonimos share this same feeling... I think Iīve found my spiritual "home" what comes to watches. And the search has been long.
Oh, right, almost forgot - that thing about loving the crown vanishing device that drives me mad... well... Itīs one of those things. The Italians... Theyīve got style. Theyīve got design. And oh boy are they controversial. Just like The Ferrari. - Itīs so low but oh so wide. Itīs so beautifull but oh so powerfull. Its so rare but oh so famous. Itīs so fast but oh so timeless. As two such controversial makes I think Anonimo and Ferrari have a lot in common. And actually, in a way, they do: there is a special limited edition Militare made for Novitec Rosso. In their own words:
"NOVITEC ROSSO and ANONIMO joins the common aim to create exceptional products for exceptional characters. NOVITEC ROSSO is well known due to the conversion of the fabulous and very fast Italian cars making them even more exciting and exceptional. The mechanical watches of Anonimo are as exceptional and exclusive as a NOVITEC ROSSO Ferrari."
Yeah, pretty nice wheels that Novitec Ferrari. - But, its still disappointing. I guess that the guys driving Novitec Ferrariīs are spoiled brats: they chose the auto version of the Militare! I guess they have automatic gearboxes too instead of the good olīclutch and stick! So, yeah, I may not have a old school Ferrari but my handwound Anonimo Militare 2004 more than compensates for the lack of it as they both have soul worth sacrificing some convenience for :twisted:
Ringraziamenti Anonimo; grezzo ma tuttavia raffinato! - Thanks Anonimo; raw yet refined!
And so we have ended the review. In the beginning I said I found myself speaking watches and debating the virtues of espresso vrs. instant coffee with the president of Anonimo, Mr. Federico Massacesi on my quest for finding the watch. And, so it seems, like making good espresso, so does the handwound Militare ask for some dedication and commitment from itīs owner. I think Mr. Massacesi got it right on both accounts though: the handwound Militare is a bad watch to the bone, one of the few ones I consider belonging to the creme de la creme of contemporary tool watches with individual design. Besides, who would like to be known as the instant coffee guy?
Photos without the PRS-20 on them are courtesy of Mr. Antonio Lavecchia
Thanks for reading fellas :occasion5:
Great review! (I like the review more than the watch. ;))
Best wishes,
Bob
Jussi
Really super job :D i can only applaud you.
This marque has that certain "something" and i think you either go all the way with it or its rejection time.I quite like the brand :shock:
Martin
I FEEL LIKE I'M DIAGONALLY PARKED IN A PARALLEL UNIVERSE
Nice Jussi!
Thanks for some interesting reading on this hangover sunday!
Best,
Gustav
Really enjoyed reading that - Thanks Jussi!
Great review!
I really like the design of those, if I had bigger wrists I'd definitely go out of my way to acquire one, but that lug-to-lug length is just too big.
Dave E
Skating away on the thin ice of a new day
a very well done review accompanied by great pics. really enjoyed reading it.
thanks for posting it. 8)
Thanks for your kind words guys. I am glad you liked it. Dave - the lug to lug end aint so bad as youd think it is. As said it is difficult to judge by not actually trying it out. My take is that it should be ok for a 7inch wrist (mine is 7,5 or a bit less). If Martin still has the auto FS it is a steal IMHO.Originally Posted by Dave E
My wrist is only about 6.75", although it is wide rather than deep (if you get what I mean). The Stwoa Seatime on bracelet is pretty much exactly as big as I can get away with!Thanks for your kind words guys. I am glad you liked it. Dave - the lug to lug end aint so bad as youd think it is. As said it is difficult to judge by not actually trying it out. My take is that it should be ok for a 7inch wrist (mine is 7,5 or a bit less). If Martin still has the auto FS it is a steal IMHO.
Dave E
Skating away on the thin ice of a new day
.Jussi
Really super job :D i can only applaud you.
This marque has that certain "something" and i think you either go all the way with it or its rejection time.I quite like the brand :shock:
Martin
Mart...
.
You really need to stop it, or I will spend BIG, which will cause domestic
duress...
.
All the best...
.
Jim...
______
Jim.
.
Wonderful review and thanks for putting it together. Since I started reading it
I?ve been wearing my Zeno Navigator upside-down :shock: ... to see how it would
feel to have the secs at 12. :D
Strangely enough, my Zeno also has the same sub-secs as the auto Anonimo
(with the shiny circles which play with the light) and have often wondered about
the bother of putting them there. I think dial-makers have their invented quirks
and like to stick to them.
I totally believe you about the quality. I know what I see, some have axes to
grind ... and through their voices we shall hear them.
One of these is one of my lists, looks the mutts, love the plunger looking thing, but
since you brought the Militare to my attention ...
I am a big lover of the Unitas and I can see that Anonimo have utilised it in a novel
way. I am not keen with crowns on top and I hate bullheads but crown at 6 works,
especially with all the fiddly parts, and allowing for clean sides. It?s a winner,
great design. And there is no excuse about the strap attachment at 6 situation.
If I were you I would write to Anonimo and demand they come up with a solution
and send it to you free of charge ... you never know ... better than fearing it
might come apart under duress.
I always (since childhood) liked all Italian design and it is not at all surprising
that all of a sudden they have sprung up a healthy watch industry. Anonimo
are excellent watches but overall a bit too ?Italian? for me as I prefer ?German?
and ?British? restrain.
http://www.knirim.de/a1201mod.htm
Crown at 6 are probably the first ?pilots/aviators? watches to be called such and
no matter what that article says many of these watches were found hanging
on the necks of aviators and zeppelin operators.
Re winding. If you open the "crown vanishing device" ... can?t you go ?down
on the crown? from above and turn it with ?the nails? instead of trying to roll it
with the fleshy part of the fingers? (I generally do that with hard to turn crowns.)
Pity you didn?t give us a picture of the back. :( :wink:
john
Costume jewellery. Ouch!!!
Jussi
Outstanding review.! I love the pros and the cons you have found with the watch. :D
I do agree with John and think you should submit this review (in part or whole) to them and see what feedback you get from them.!
Thanks again
deano
Thanks John, I appreciate it. Thanks for pointing out the missing pic of the back - I had accidentally used one pic twice (forgotten to ad the pic I took of the back. Itīs fixed now).
I will forward the review to Anonimo and see what they come up with. Regardig the winding. Well, opening the hatch for winding wont do good as its too crowded for getting the fingers in. Iīve tried that. You can of course use finger nails but to be honest itīs not actually so bad Iīve propably have potrayed it to be. Winding it after the Italian however... Lets just say that it could be better. And, as I stated its a small price to pay for the good looks of the hand wound Unitas. Ah, time for some coffee I guess. This time itīll be espresso instead of the instant junk I usually drink :D
Very entertaining (and interesting!) review Jussi. Kudos!
:)
Oliver
Jussi! That was definitely one of the best Reviews Iīve every read!!
Thanks very much!
If I only had bigger wrists :-(
I'm not as think as you drunk I am.
Oliver, Mike, Deano - thaks for your encouragement guys. Writing this review really took time but I think it was worth it. The watch is awesome.
And Mike... it really wears much, much, smaller than one could first think it would based on pictures. Having seen watches you have I am pretty confident it would suit you just ok.
Cheers,
Naah.... really too big for me :-)
I'm not as think as you drunk I am.
I just wanted to check if it was a see-thru back ... without wanting to ask. One of the complains I have often see about some Unitas powered watches (especially the ones with glass backs) is that they are too light ? so as you said the weight of the watch was perfect I wanted to see the back.
This is a huge issue with the Unitas as generally they are decorated and upgraded, and people want to see them ... with the eventual loss in weight.
You didn?t answer my question in the other thread ... Was this Militare really the first model offered by Anonimo after the split from Panerai?
The reason I am asking ... Do you consider the Militare a pilots or a divers? It might be based on the Eigentum der Fliegertruppen I proposed above or perhaps not ... or it might be based on the Panerai with the crown turned around.
john
Costume jewellery. Ouch!!!
Great review! Thanks! :thumbup:
The weight with the Kodiak strap is 127g sharp. It isīnt exactly light but in respect to the case size it wears surprisingly light. The thick, respectively wide, strap balances it perfectly. For a well known reference Iīd say it wears somewhat like a Seiko 6309-704x with a leather strap.I just wanted to check if it was a see-thru back ... without wanting to ask. One of the complains I have often see about some Unitas powered watches (especially the ones with glass backs) is that they are too light ? so as you said the weight of the watch was perfect I wanted to see the back.
I dont know if the Miliatre is actually THE first model of Anonimo but I do know it is the first one that aacquired big attention in the community. AFAIK it is however one of the first models if not the first. A post in Anonimo forum on WUS would surely bring an definite answer to that. Iīve asked Anonimo to reply on will so lets see if they say anything. Maybe so, maybe not.
Personally I dont see the Militare as neither a Pilot nor a Diver. IMHO itīs more like a stereoid fed descendant of the watches used by the WWW soldiers with a slight flair of the ashes of the nest from which the new brand rose after the story of the Pre-Vendome P-brand got finished off.
In other words, I see the Militare more as a hybrid than a pure "this" or "that", yet with recognizable influences to both clans you named choose you to seek for them. For me the Militare is something like the Blade Runner for the motion picture industry. - Something new, something old and clearly a mark of a new era. Call it neoclassic if you will.
I hope I answered you questions John :D
You don't happen to have the weight of the auto handy?
john
Costume jewellery. Ouch!!!
.
WT_2003_06: ANONIMO: HOROLOGICAL FLORENCE
http://www.watchtime.com/archive/wt_200 ... 06_114.pdf
WT_2006_04:TEST ANONIMO MILITARE CRONO
http://www.watchtime.com/archive/wt_200 ... 04_098.pdf
Both in .pdf
john
Costume jewellery. Ouch!!!
No, sorry. I just weighted it myself. Maybe Martin has a scale?You don't happen to have the weight of the auto handy?
john
Goddam man :!: :shock:
You are a star! :D
Thanks!
Great review
thanks
great review and good pics. well done!
(still... not my kind of watches)
Fantastic review - I read after checking out a cream dial Militare on ebay (starting @Ģ699), however, I managed to find a brand new black dial ersion on Chrono24 for Ģ1100 new with a 2 year guarantee!
I've had this watch one week and love it. It is one of the last 300 so you would think that everything would be okay with the crown locking device (considering I have the MK11) but no, it failed. Now on its way to Anonimo in Halifax. They're a great distributer (very friendly), but not sure if they will honour the 2 year guarantee. Fingers crossed they will, as this type of repair could be expensive.
How did you get on in Halifax, is your watch repaired? My nearest AD is in Nottingham but Halifax isn't much further away.
Fantastic Review Mate....... Have always fancied the Militare Ox-Pro (best looking IMHO), am still kicking myself for missing a deal couple of months ago......
Oh dear.
Itīs been 15 years since I wrote this review in 2007. And a lot has happened since. Both good, and which makes you grow.
Regarding watches, there have been many since. And yes, I was stupid and sold the Militare 10 odd years ago
But, I guess at my age we realize that fixing past mistakes is good for the soul. And so, last fall I got another Militare 2004.
And it just feels so good to look and wear. Winding it though...
Strap is "Petrol" with light blue stitching by Rich @ Toshi Straps.
Posting Permissions
