- Joined
- Jul 15, 2014
- Messages
- 27,702
OK well as you ALL know I'm a sucker for skull....insert joke here. Since the new Invicta skull "Affliction Edition" isn't floating my boat I picked this one up...LMAO. So Piotr is a guy in La Porte, IN making super small batch bronze pieces by hand. He has a small presence on ebay and some of the other forums. I have been following him for about a year and have never had the funds to grab something I liked when he had one for sale. He really doesn't make that many. Is this the only like it?? Yes and no. He may have done this design before but since he hand makes everything the tooling marks are different each time. Super fest shipping and although "handmade" ups the price a tad I truly thing the quality he has put into this one really garners the price paid. I won't say since it's tacky but they are affordable bur not cheap. I'd like to have an ETA or Miyota on this one but the trusty Seiko 35 is a solid engine. I think the star of the show is the dial and case design. So let's start there....
The case.....marine bronze I believe. As you can see at 47mm sans crown it is very wearable for those that like something in that realm. It's heavier than it looks cuz #bronzejoint. The lines and design are truly on point. As you can see there are tool marks on it which I think fits the overall theme of the piece. Some may like a smooth piece without the irregularities but I think that in this case it adds to some charm....tomatoe/tomato. For me I like the rugged look. I am excited to see how it looks as it patinas. Down here in the dirty dirty it should transform fairly quick. I'm not interested in a forced patina. Ok so back on track....the case is the smallest I have (47mm per Piotr) but with the crown and crown guard it plays like a 50mm. Great design and case design. It really fits like a dream and even though it has some heft it sits really nice on my 8" bony, flat wrist. I think if you have a really big rounded wrist it would also be perfect. He really has a perfect case size and layout. Oh yea...I got some lume paint to put in the etched "T" logo on the crown. I am guessing I will put a thin layer of white model paint under to reflect the light up and out. After the white paint drys I'll rough it up a bit and put in the lume paint. If anyone has any advice on this PLEASE SHARE as it is the first lume effort I've done. Also....to patina or not tp patina...that is my question to you guys....
The strap looks handmade and has his Thunder logo. Nice and thick leather with a smooth, polished finish. Great "textured" look to the color but a bright and smooth finish to the strap. Exquisite stitching that look like a burnt orangeish/copper/cinnamon hue. Thick thread. Amazingly done. HE HAS MY SIGNATURE BUCKLE!!! He has my fave buckle in brozne. Having said that I am going to throw a MAS X Flottiglia on it I have coming from Thailand. I'm guessing a few weeks time travel. Super comfy strap.
The dial.....I don't think he makes them as I have seen some just like this before but don't remember where....Mike, you are up. Crisp and clean dial quality that is truly VERY well done. Great lume and that and the hands....THE HANDS!!!! Someone tell me why the hands are unique!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The thing is super deep dish a la Wing. I think it's a mineral crystal but it has a slight dome and is much better finished than many of the other "high end" plexi/mineral pieces I have. Great lume too. Came in a perfect little case.
Overall I say if you like a military style piece in bronze Piotr is your guy. It is not an elegant, slick and finished production piece. I'm quite pleased. It really "is me." What say the WIT masses??????????????
36AF369A-D85F-4BAB-8D07-9C70C45FC481 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
0B78FAD8-E6BC-4E01-AB20-BBF1723B9A23 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
75D75DEF-F2B4-472C-8A8A-70C12608D0F8 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
21A26C85-44A2-4A2F-966A-B5D5D2F1CBC8 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
E9A9C316-0A89-4F6B-A818-A64A12442D9E by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
1090920D-2D96-455D-BAEC-A6903414F0EE by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
03833B39-0AB9-4EF3-8DA4-D79AFB4A8597 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
EB79D4A2-689A-4AE3-AC24-8F9270020F3F by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
7726A12A-31C3-4DEF-A0DD-AEE2AF1E9CD2 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
376B5E12-2239-4B43-B29E-DCB05E2532F2 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
B10D3E19-F46A-4BEB-8154-79EB1648A21E by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
2A43B63C-89FC-49CC-B421-5E6795D58B3B by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
3BCDC3EF-1AB2-4A5B-9F49-73C6A15635DA by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
16B9E8CA-134D-4E9F-A611-48C42DC4E257 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
6D0798BA-8E63-40B5-A901-D38B0B7DE1C7 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
FC6D4893-8FFB-4CE1-AA2F-003CBE2EE4C7 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
846A39F5-22C7-43A5-AF13-CBFB7A4E4313 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
The case.....marine bronze I believe. As you can see at 47mm sans crown it is very wearable for those that like something in that realm. It's heavier than it looks cuz #bronzejoint. The lines and design are truly on point. As you can see there are tool marks on it which I think fits the overall theme of the piece. Some may like a smooth piece without the irregularities but I think that in this case it adds to some charm....tomatoe/tomato. For me I like the rugged look. I am excited to see how it looks as it patinas. Down here in the dirty dirty it should transform fairly quick. I'm not interested in a forced patina. Ok so back on track....the case is the smallest I have (47mm per Piotr) but with the crown and crown guard it plays like a 50mm. Great design and case design. It really fits like a dream and even though it has some heft it sits really nice on my 8" bony, flat wrist. I think if you have a really big rounded wrist it would also be perfect. He really has a perfect case size and layout. Oh yea...I got some lume paint to put in the etched "T" logo on the crown. I am guessing I will put a thin layer of white model paint under to reflect the light up and out. After the white paint drys I'll rough it up a bit and put in the lume paint. If anyone has any advice on this PLEASE SHARE as it is the first lume effort I've done. Also....to patina or not tp patina...that is my question to you guys....
The strap looks handmade and has his Thunder logo. Nice and thick leather with a smooth, polished finish. Great "textured" look to the color but a bright and smooth finish to the strap. Exquisite stitching that look like a burnt orangeish/copper/cinnamon hue. Thick thread. Amazingly done. HE HAS MY SIGNATURE BUCKLE!!! He has my fave buckle in brozne. Having said that I am going to throw a MAS X Flottiglia on it I have coming from Thailand. I'm guessing a few weeks time travel. Super comfy strap.
The dial.....I don't think he makes them as I have seen some just like this before but don't remember where....Mike, you are up. Crisp and clean dial quality that is truly VERY well done. Great lume and that and the hands....THE HANDS!!!! Someone tell me why the hands are unique!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The thing is super deep dish a la Wing. I think it's a mineral crystal but it has a slight dome and is much better finished than many of the other "high end" plexi/mineral pieces I have. Great lume too. Came in a perfect little case.
Overall I say if you like a military style piece in bronze Piotr is your guy. It is not an elegant, slick and finished production piece. I'm quite pleased. It really "is me." What say the WIT masses??????????????