Not a Tudor, but not too bad?

2manywatches

Tyme Machine
Joined
Jul 23, 2019
Messages
2,749
So, I’ve always loved the Tudor Black Bay, specifically the red bezel edition. There’s just something elegant and sophisticated about it, while being utterly purposeful. But, beyond not wanting to plunk down three or four grand at the moment, I just can't shell out bigger bucks for a smaller watch.

I get it, the heritage, the little watches, etc., but just not my most favorite thing. To each their own, as always, but I’ve long kept an eye out for a similar colorway as that Tudor.

When I bought my Glycine Airman World Timer, a while back, I was extremely impressed.

Y25cslU.jpg


SiPH5cs.jpg


So, when I spied one of their Combat Sub models, with the red bezel, and even some light accents of rose gold-ness, it seemed very appealing. At a price below $400, it was even more appealing.

Now, granted, at 42mm, it’s barely a scratch bigger than Tudor’s 41mm, but, sometimes watches wear larger, and I’ve been happy with many of the 42mm watches that I own.

And, hey, to be honest, I DO have a 40mm Raymond Weil, as well as a 41mm Certina, both of which I do love, when the mood strikes – it’s just that larger cases are preferred, for me, so I tend not to buy smaller cased watches. So, yes, there's love for smaller watches as well – and not that there’s anything wrong with it, lol, to quote some Seinfeld humor.

Anyway, despite the littler than usually chosen case size, it was certainly worth a try and I loved the notion of the rose gold gilt accents.

Hopes were high, but a bit of a mixed bag, disappointingly, in the actual experience and, suffice to say, a hair in my soup seems to be a recurring theme, unfortunately.

Again, this is why I prefer spending less on watches, per watch, because disappointments for even just a thousand bucks, or more, are, for me, much more aggravating than being less than thrilled at a few hundred bucks, or even less. I can wind up being happy with a watch that didn’t cost much. Weird, but that’s me.

Anyway, so it arrived nicely boxed and, the 42mm size, especially with the 11mm height, just exudes sleekness. Sometimes couth is preferable to uncouth, haha. I don’t have huge wrists, and I don’t “need” huge cased watches from that standpoint. This wears just fine and has plenty of face, so it does not look tiny on the wrist. It is a pretty one, in my opinion....

4PWbCsn.jpg


gTdkii1.jpg


In the flesh, the rose gold touches looked even better, and this really gave off some great vibes as a terrific value for the price.

PQ9yVHo.jpg


JXw6gRp.jpg


200m WR, and a 60 click bezel…..that honestly felt a bit flimsy. The SW200 movement (as I later confirmed…I’ll get to that…) is running quite fast, although I’m doing the home regulation concept, keeping it crown down, and it seems to be coming closer to reasonable time keeping. Odd because my other SW200’s are quite accurate. May have to get it adjusted, if it doesn’t settle in to satisfaction.

SZhWw7H.jpg


bJxhyoG.jpg


Sapphire crystal of course, screw down crown and case back, and I love the handset, seconds hand, and dial layout. I think it is just C1 Super-LumiNova being used. It’s no Zelos, but it lights up alright, although the rapid fade is a little disappointing.

CtTygI7.jpg


3SKEA6Z.jpg


On the plus side, the rose gold adorned red bezel is killin’ it! That just makes the watch, for me.

IaCQNOP.jpg


The strap, however, I really disliked. Super stiff, thin, cheap feeling, and seems like it would take far too long to break in, and not even then would I have liked it.

ngPHmZV.jpg


OmS8Ny3.jpg


792G7Tv.jpg


But, already in my mind had been the 22mm rubber strap from Dryden I’d found, and I’d ordered one in advance, in consideration that the strap might be an issue.

Swapped it out, and swapped the buckle as well! (I should note that I've bought some other options, since, and will eventually post them up. Dryden has a great selection of quality, quick-release straps.)

ZlYFiqG.jpg


Eiueyrk.jpg


VMqZCw0.jpg


CpDsZvx.jpg


k47t7BI.jpg


Now, no applied indices here, but everything looked fairly decent, nonetheless.

aM4gExe.jpg


Or, did it? Did you see it?

Dm6SYu1.jpg


What…is….THAT?!

TICqSxU.jpg


Clearly, an errant bit of surface lint there, on the above pic, but, after the strap change, a closer look was telling me there were flecks of something UNDER the crystal, as I circled in red.

18tdZqB.jpg


5qqsthB.jpg


Observing the second hand pass UNDER it, well, it seems dirt was on the crystal back.

Good heavens!

Some may of course say that the Invicta lack-of-quality-control bug has struck Glycine, and, for me, that’s not even a bandwagon I’ve been on, so I don’t know. My only experience with Glycine was my Airman, which was flawless.

As for Invicta foul-ups, it was only recently that I met up with one like this – as I posted, I found a hair inside my Invicta, haha -- but I sure didn’t expect this in a Glycine. I mean, unless they have changed their assembly protocols? Maybe that’s why these are so affordable?

In any event, it meant either sending it back, or cracking it open on my own. I felt like an adventure….

I didn’t document the nightmare, lol, but this was my first time venturing into an auto, and it wasn’t quite as simple as I’d hoped. I will confirm here, that this watch is indeed running the SW200, not the ETA 2824. I think, really, most times they say "either/or" it's likely the SW200....

1hcfqqD.jpg


I will also confirm that it’s not easy to clean the inside of a watch crystal, haha – no matter what you use, some speck of something or some smear wants to be left behind, so, an exercise in patience, to be sure. Patience was tested further in trying to put the movement back in….

There’s an odd kind of brace inside the case, the puts tension to the movement, on each side, to keep it in place, and it was a heckuva NOT fun time getting the learning curve of how to reassemble that bit.

These two tiny, free floating plates extend into opposing slots in the sides of the watch case and each plate then gets a tiny screw to go into it. A very slight angle is required for how the plate fits into the case side slot, so that, when tensioning down the screw, it puts tension to the plate, against the movement, to hold it tight.

So, they have to be set in, and the screws have to loosely be set in, but not tightened, to keep the brace in place, yet allow for the edge of the little brace to fit into the slot, and only then can you tighten it down.

In fact, here, I’ve found a YT screen grab, that shows the little suckers. I’m sure there was some less than frustrating way to go about the task, but, it was my first run at it.

IMo8g7m.jpg


Finally, the use of two sewing needles, judicious amounts of foul language and many deep breaths later…I had it all lined up, I went to pick up the screwdriver, and….accidentally knocked my hand against the table I was using, tossing the tiny braces out of place, one of which fell into the dang movement….AAARRGGHHH!

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

Fished that out, lined up all the tiny bits again, and, this time, success!

Reassembled, and, a shiny clean crystal. And, geez, I love the red and gold....

6KSafJu.jpg


The final product of this watch, on the black rubber, is a win, I’m glad to say, although it was a struggle to get it all together. I had ZERO issues with my Airman, and, in fact, it surprised me, frankly the level of quality to it, for the price, so this different experience was not anticipated.

Now, I have another Combat Sub on the way, a 46mm, so I’ll see how that goes, but this purchase did require a bit of massaging to get it right, and I’m not sure what to make of that.

But I’ll happily wear this little treasure, and, now that we’ve been through a brief spell of hell together, haha, I’ll like it even more.

5nZIh1V.jpg


Thanks for reading!

Keep on watching!
 
dirt on the dial...sorry 2 inform u did not make the cheer leading squad...

a very nice PU... the same golden-eye I loved and gave away-

gr8 thread...tell it like it is 2 many...not like it aint...and yes I been hankering for that little rose from days of yore house of tooter
 
Nice job on the lint cleanup and congrats. The complex screw down case ring that holds the mov't can be a bear as you age when hands become unsteady.
 
ps - all three of my Combat subs had no issues two ran +4 +5 spd and one around - 4 spd. I prefer a fast running watch with hacking but turns out I kept the slow running one - planning to do an adjustment sometime in the future.
 
Great looking Glycine and your strap swap is a sure upgrade.
Terrible you had to go through all the assembly process to get a clean crystal. I have an Airman too that is also flawless.
Congrats on a great looking watch!
 
Congrats - it's a shame about the crystal lint. You're braver than I am about disassembling it and pulling the movement out to deal with it. Don't quite have all the tools - or the proper, ultra-clean workspace for it.
 
Perhaps a demagnetization? Anyway thanks for sharing.
Yes, this one was picking up minutes per day. Probably the worst time keeper of any auto, at first.

But, as I say, storing it crown down has worked in the past for any auto leaning fast, or the reverse position for one running slow. And, it slowed this one to within gaining about ten seconds over the course of a day, which is a dramatic swing.

I have to go back and check it again. LOL, too many watches to focus on babysitting just one, but I do need to monitor this one.

My Oris, also SW200 of course, is insanely accurate and it is said Oris does no additional regulation, although that was just something I read, so, who knows. But, it's easily my most accurate watch, better than my COSC ones. I also have a Sea-Gull that is super precise.

I will see how the 46mm model does, that just arrived, and hopefully no ant farm under the sapphire on that one, LOL.
 
Congrats - it's a shame about the crystal lint. You're braver than I am about disassembling it and pulling the movement out to deal with it. Don't quite have all the tools - or the proper, ultra-clean workspace for it.
Yes, it was one of those moments when, all the way into it, I was wondering why on earth I thought I could do it, haha. Saw those brace pieces, and once unscrewing them, as they came apart I was like, "Oh, shoot, that's not going to back together easily."

And, yup, it would have helped a lot to have a case holder -- and to know what I was doing, ahahaha! It was a bit exciting though. I felt like a watch guy, for a minute anyway, all crackin' it open like some kind of expert, or some kind of idiot, in my case.

Again though, as I mentioned, it's why I have liked affordables, because I just feel less concern with something I can easily replace, although it was a surprise, since I don't consider it to be an economy brand.

Funny, my first "real" Swiss watch, my Certina DS Action Diver, back when they had the ETA 2824, it was the first time I'd spent so much on a watch (about $650, from an AD in Germany, although they are so much cheaper now, and easy to buy) and I was devastated when I knocked it into a door frame and gouged the bezel, like a week after I'd first worn it.

I'd put my cheap Invictas through hell, and not a mark, but this one, geez, a horrid scar. I guess I thought paying more should make it less destructible, LOL. Fortunately, a local high end watch place that works almost exclusively on Swatch Group brands was able to order a new bezel, and replace it, for about forty bucks. But, anyway, it was like, oh, no, not my "expensive" watch, haha.

The first scratch on my far pricier Breitling was equally devastating, and I guess that's why I have a kind of mental spending limit on how much I'd want to stress over damaging a watch that is not so easily replaced, despite the fact that scratches are part of ownership. Like not wanting a supercar that lives under a tarp, I'd not want a watch I was "worried" to wear, if that makes sense.

But that's relative, and it reminds me of a guy who wears his twenty five grand Rolex as a strict "tool" watch -- all banged up and scratched up, but, like he said, it just needs to tell the time, and it does that flawlessly, so perception, as always, is subjective and, in his view, part of buying a "tough" watch was the abuse it could take. Of course, his hundred grand and above pieces were kept in a very expensive safe, and only worn for special occasions, so, even at his comfort level of spending, he wouldn't put a half million dollar watch in harm's way deliberately.

Rambling here, sorry, but, I guess I'm just saying that part of the confidence was thinking the worst that could happen is I'd have to replace it, which would be unfortunate, but not impossible or problematic. So, I'm maybe more stupid than brave, haha!

It was a huge sigh of relief that it was a success though. And, the outcome was looking shaky, for quite a while, lol.
 
Back
Top Bottom