Two Fridays Later... 2 weeks on the wrist.. An owners review of the SevenFriday P2/2 Works... which uhm... works ;)

well this is my honeymoon period with the watch of course so it's still rose tinted lenses and mind mode is switched to 'of course I made the right decision'... I have to address any and all cognitive dissonances for my own purchases right? that is if there are any :) [check out this LINK if u be asking what that is.. actually check out that link regardless as it highlights good info for watch buyers/lovers] for my post on the first range of sevenfridays click LINK

a cool way to try out a SevenFriday for yourself, just click the following and maybe fold some paper to give it its 13mm case height ;) P1/1   P2/1  P3/1
some great lifestyle shots of the watch here as well LINK

a looker for sure... the dial of the watch referenced as the "interface" by SevenFriday and the case of the watch is called the "box"

Ø Interface (Dial)
o Black with gold decoration and writing
o Highlights of golden color on applied index and hour hand
o Open balance wheel movement Miyota 82S7
o Customized with specific disk for 24H and small second functions
o Special minute hand designed to be part of the mechanical movement Ø Box (Case) 
o Stainless steel bezel in black PVD with yellow gold PVD decoration
o Stainless Steel case in sandblasted yellow gold PVD finishing
o Animation ring also in stainless steel with special mat black roughed PVD finishing  

but to be objective, I can point out some niggles from a 2 weeks ownership perspective so first up...

THE NIGGLES:

- the case is fairly big so for guys who will wear it with long sleeve shirts, it might be difficult to have it underneath the cuff if that is how you normally wear your watches

- the 24 hour running wheel is not aligned with too much precision. so although the time is say 1210 noon, my 24 hour wheel is pointing to sometime before 12 on the wheel {really a minor thing as I don't peer closely at it much as I know if its 12 noon or 12 midnight} on the flip side, one might say if u want to have it there, then have it be more precise

- the stock strap is comfortable but not too exciting and doesn't elevate the watch impo but it's a taste thing

- the wood box and materials should ideally not have the word Zurich Switzerland on it as well as the watch is more Japan(movement) and China(assembly and other parts) and a little Swiss(design, co. incorporated there). the earlier dials originally had Zurich on it as well until the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry asked that it be removed. i believe that it is better not to be ambiguous about these things. present stuff as they really are and not something it isn't
- the exposed balance bit does show that the movement is pretty raw but u won't be able to really tell unless u were using loupes or macro lenses/function on your camera... I warn u to avert your eyes to the pic below if u r sensitive to unfinished movements ;)
- mineral vs sapphire crystal...

everything above is a tradeoff I suppose eg. this particular exposed bit could be finished better but at what additional cost to the company and to the end customer and does it make a significant difference? not much really...

& THE PRAISES

- it's not a boring watch nor a copy of a copy of a copy - interesting case shape and a very well designed face. it's not another round watch or watch that some co.s churn out with loads of derivative dial designs and touches etc. some companies just do hommages or ripoff other companies successful designs with no thought of coming out with anything innovative and charge these kinda prices for their copies whereas here you have something fresh and cool here.

- still good bang for buck - Below S$2k for these timepieces that rock a lot better than many at that level and even above it. it's positioning is better than a lot of other sub-S$3k offerings(for eg fashion watches) and it's machine look lends it an independent flair/air to it. [when I say independent I don't mean companies that are not part of the major watch groups yuh... I mean the urwerks, mb&fs of this world]

onto some pics then... first up the crate it comes in and some of the stuff in it... it's not the usual watch box so the advice to carry with caution should be heeded as you might knock stuff u don't intend to as it's pretty long and big-ish and has woody sharp edges 

and there's a watch and warranty card in there of course :)

stock strap on it. as mentioned its comfy and nice but all black and plain-ish so I switched it out shortly after getting it. the top bit of bezel which has the gold line all round it is something the company is calling the animation ring and per the caseback it's made of AISI 316L which in English is Stainless Steel

some details... back of the watch with info on case size, strap size, water resistance and power reserve

crown and side of case... clean lines and chic... some of the other models have rubber(the nice bright white one) and the Riviera limited edition comes with wood on the side

buckle details... the case front and this has a tron thing going for it no? maybe that's why I likes it

strap changed to a pam bronzo strap which was 26mm so there was a little gap but not visible on account of where the lugs are...

size comparison with a 47mm panerai... as u can see the pam will wear much bigger as the lugs extend out a lot and it has its distinctive crown guard

the sevenfriday strap actually starts out closer where a 40mm watch strap/bracelet would begin... as shown next to another thing of beauty ;)

some shots of the watch in the wild and wristshots follow...

planning a course for an under sea voyage...

taking a spin in a german

 chilling by the waters :)

it then went for it's next strap change! I bought a super cheapo strap from China to experiment. so 28mm fake gator strap with white stitch that I painted a beige-y yellow color :) this is the result

and I must say that I find this to be the best style of strap for the watch. so may be ordering a proper custom gator strap with gold-ish stitch soon... or the opposite gold gator with black stitch... hmm

industrial work wear for this desk jockey ;)

and that's it. hope you enjoyed the review. oh and as the last couple of posts have been Omega or SevenFriday related, I promise the next won't be :) have a good weekend. Cheers, Raphael