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PostPosted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 4:15 pm 
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Very fortunate to have 3 Chronographs in hand at the moment, so let's compare, contrast and score on a few categories. There can only be one winner per category.

Lume right off the bat, 3 very different philosophies on lume. takes into consideration intensity and longevity. personally, I'd rather have a medium lume that lasts all night than a torch lume that lasts a few hours.

Speedmaster - dial has painted batons with lume that runs the length of the batons and two dots on either side of the 12 for orientation. The hands also have lume down the length and match the dial lume pretty well. Very easy to tell the time at glance to due all twelve batons being lumed. Lume is constant and lasts through the night.
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IWC 3717 - minimalist lume with only the 12 (triangle), 3, 6, & 9 (hashes) being lumed. the hands are wide and lumed down the length. Hands are a shade brighter than the dial. Easily see the hands but with limited dial lume not as easy to tell the time at a glance in the middle of the night. Duration matches the speedmaster.
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Navitimer - lume dots on top of the applied markers except for 3 & 9 (sub dials) and two dots at the 12. Starts off strong but fades quicker than the other two.
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LUME SMACKDOWN: Omega 1, IWC 0 and Breitling, 0

Date Complication:

IWC - both day and date with the wheels black and white days and numbers. Nice beveled window that works well within the dial at 3 o'clock. Quick set is nice
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Navi - date only and opposite of the IWC with silver wheel and black numbers, but fits the design with the silver slide rule bezel and subdials. Date is at 4:30 and is also clean and well done. no traditional quick set on this model
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Speedmaster - no date, but does have a nice etched Omega symbol in the crystal
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DATE SMACKDOWN - IWC 1, Breitling 0 and Omega 0

Crown screw down? signed? grip?

Speedmaster - nice Omega symbol and push down, no need to worry about water in space. kind of hard to pull out (more on that later) but very nice grip and rotation for winding.
Navitimer - signed with the signature B and push down as the weakest point is the slide rule bezel so no need to have it screw down. grip is okay, not aggressive but easy to rotate.
IWC - screw down and signed. easy to thread on and off the case and super nice grip.
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CROWN SMACKDOWN - IWC 1, Spedmaster 0 and Breitling 0

Pushers and Protection

Breitling - the bezel hangs over just enough to give some protection to the crown and pushers. Pushers have a cap over the stem and sets on top of the silos. distance from the crown is tasteful and proportional. Just the slightest bit of play when depressing the pusher before it engages the timers. Note the Lume Dots on the applied batons in the shot as well
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Speedmaster - Integrated crown and pusher protection in the case. Nice, but makes it a little difficult for me to pull away from the case. Pushers are, like the Navi, close to the crown and use a cap on top of the stem. No play at all on the pushers, they are firm and start the timers immediately.
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IWC 3717 - no crown or pusher protection. Pushers have no cap and set inside the stems. Pushers are a little too far away from the crown, at least for me. the spacing is a bit exaggerated.
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PUSHER PROTECTION SMACKDOWN: Omega 1, IWC 0 and Breitling 0

Height this is a function of case to bezel to crystal ratio

IWC 3717 - thickest case and lack of bezel gives it a strong, albeit bottom heavy look.
Speedmaster - thinest case but makes up for with the domed crystal that gives it the same height as the others. Tallest crystal of the three
Navitimer - combination of the others, medium case, but thick(er) bezel add balance and harmony.
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HEIGHT SMACKDOWN Breitling 1, IWC 0 and Omega 0

Viewing Angle Distortion -

Speedmaster - love the Hesalite, but at an angle, not so much. Note the integrated crown and pusher guard in the picture as well
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Navitimer - weird domed crystal effect at the same angle - kind of like that Rush concert in 84
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IWC 3717 - clearly, pun intended, the winner at the same angle
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VAD SMACKDOWN IWC 1, Omega 0 and Breitling 0

Case Back pretty darn important for something not seen when wearing watch

Navitimer - nice Fahrenheit/Celsius converter surrounding the famous Breitling Wings. Model and Serial numbers also present.
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IWC 3717 - not a lot going on back here. practical. I guess.
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Speedmaster - needs no explanation. Flight Qualified by NASA For All Manned Space Missions and The First Watch Worn on the Moon surrounding the Hippocampus.
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CASE BACK SMACKDOWN - Speedmaster 1, Breitling 0 (close call) and IWC 0

Subdials - elevation changes, markers, hands

IWC 3717 - 6, 9 and 12 orientation makes for nice inclusion of day/date. Hands are white with black trim (seconds counter in red) and in a propeller shape, which is a nice touch. very legible and are sunken into the main dial.
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Speedmaster - 3, 6 and 9 set up. while stick hands on black background makes it very easy to read. Dials are sunk into the main dial and have a transition area, kind of like a slant before it flattens out. the subdials have very cool concentric rings, this radial design is hard to see at first but a nice touch for those that pay attention
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Navitimer - also a 3, 6 & 9 set up but these are contrasting silver dials to the black main dial s
silver hands. Like the Omega, the dails are sunk into the main dial and have a ramp effect before reaching the bottom of the dial. These also have a little sunburst effect to them, nothing distracting, but a subtle shift in appearance in the right light and at the right angle. Again, a nice touch for those who notice such things
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SUBDIAL SMACKDOWN Breitling 1, Omega 0 and IWC 0 - close call as each one has standout qualities

we know what it looks like when glance at it - what about from the perspective of the person in front of you you? no points scored for this one

IWC - strong, confident statement with the bold contrast that says alpha dog, leader like Schwarzkopf or Eisenhower
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Navitimer - says I am comfortable in my own skin, I am classic, I am a renaissance man like DaVinci or Hogan
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Speedmaster - I'm an astronaut
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thanks for looking

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Last edited by rockmastermike on Sun Aug 07, 2011 3:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 4:43 pm 
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Great job! And three great looking chronos. Out of the three I think the IWC looks more like an aviator watch. In fact, the IWC and my Fortis B52 look very similar although the IWC is in a different league. The Navitimer is clasic as well the Speedmaster. The IWC definitely wins for me as far as function.

R/


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PostPosted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 4:43 pm 
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Cool post, I enjoyed reading that. I absolutely love that IWC, as soon as I find a good deal on a preowned I'm buying one. I almost landing one last year, it's a great piece.

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PostPosted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 5:01 pm 
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rebel_1 wrote:
Great job! And three great looking chronos. Out of the three I think the IWC looks more like an aviator watch. In fact, the IWC and my Fortis B52 look very similar although the IWC is in a different league. The Navitimer is clasic as well the Speedmaster. The IWC definitely wins for me as far as function.
R/

Thanks, each one has its own personality but enjoy them all equally.

mfserge wrote:
Cool post, I enjoyed reading that. I absolutely love that IWC, as soon as I find a good deal on a preowned I'm buying one. I almost landing one last year, it's a great piece.

My wife's 40th birthday is coming up so you might be hearing from me in a little while :wink:


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PostPosted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 5:49 pm 
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rockmastermike wrote:
mfserge wrote:
Cool post, I enjoyed reading that. I absolutely love that IWC, as soon as I find a good deal on a preowned I'm buying one. I almost landing one last year, it's a great piece.

My wife's 40th birthday is coming up so you might be hearing from me in a little while :wink:


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PostPosted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 5:50 pm 
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Interesting that you picked/owned these three for comparison. I have a Speedmaster and been looking for another 'pilot' type for my next purchase. Just so happens I've been trying to decide between the IWC 3717, Navitimer, and others (Bremont Solo ?).

Great post with great pics to show feature differences.

Thanks! :bow:

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PostPosted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 6:21 pm 
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As a purpose-specific watch, the IWC looks nice. Easiest to read, no-nonsense. But I think the others are far more versatile and happen to be the iconic models of their brand. ( The IWC may be as well, I'm not so sure, but there are a lot of other brands using that style) My pocketbook chose the Navi, though I someday would still like to have a true Speedy. Just so many other ones I want first.

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PostPosted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 7:20 pm 
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Nice post!

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PostPosted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 12:46 am 
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outstanding review of 3 iconic watches !
:bow:
renaissanceFred


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PostPosted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 3:58 am 
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Thanks everyone - Each one brings something different to the table both good and not so good. Like my ex wives.


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PostPosted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 7:16 am 
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rockmastermike wrote:
Thanks everyone - Each one brings something different to the table both good and not so good. Like my ex wives.



Thanks for the comparison. I've owned the Navi and flirted with the idea of buying the Speedie but the lack of a date complication is a negative for me.

If you had to choose only one, which one would it be?

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PostPosted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 7:31 am 
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Awesome, thanks. Have or have had all all 3 of those.

You left out one area though - noise produced by movement. Nothing quite as noisy as an IWC with a 7750 movement in it.

Seriously, excellent spread.

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PostPosted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 7:56 am 
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Thank you very nice read!

Presently, been thinking a lot about IWC 3717, I really like it plus it would round out my other pilot IWC's quite nicely! :lol:

Thanks Again!

Cheers,

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PostPosted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 9:40 am 
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Where have you been?? :lol: Seriously excellent post! By all means please do write more such reviews! :bow:

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PostPosted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 9:52 am 
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RXPete wrote:
rockmastermike wrote:
Thanks everyone - Each one brings something different to the table both good and not so good. Like my ex wives.



Thanks for the comparison. I've owned the Navi and flirted with the idea of buying the Speedie but the lack of a date complication is a negative for me.

If you had to choose only one, which one would it be?



Peter,

Most modern Speedies have date windows.

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