Getting inside the J12 Full Ceramic
So a while back I got one of the cheap, enamel painted J12s to see how the GF liked it, at the price for a quartz itseemed like it made sense to get a feel for it before purchasing the full ceramic, especially since I don’t think I will find a gen to check out anywhere locally…
She liked it a lot and so I have sprung for a full ceramic one. Being as how she will be abusing it at work a lot I decided the prudent thing to do was go for the mid grade model, not stainless coated in ceramic, but also not necessarily the super expensive one either.
For just over $200 including a box set this seemed like a good value and being quartz at least I could be assured it would keep good time.
Note the box is not shown in much detail as it arrived damaged in a lot of places.
So out of the box impressions are the watch is very nice indeed! Despite lacking the last firing step to bring it to the highest level of ceramic shine I can’t say I have any problem with the appearance of this piece at all. The white seems to be decently even over the entirety and with the exception of a tiny brown spot on the case it seems pretty blemish free.
The watch is surprisingly heavy for a quartz, obviously due to the weight of ceramic, and I think this is emphasized even more by the white color which makes it look almost like a light plastic. On the wrist it has a great feel (yes I did try it on
) and you can tell it’s a ceramic at first touch. This is the mid grade one so the final firing/polishing step has not been applied to this one (apparently accounts for the price difference) as you can see it's still plenty shiny and for the price I am very satisfied.
The bracelet has a fair bit of play in it, looser than most SS bracelets. It doesn’t make it feel bad or anything and still looks just fine on the wrist.
The diamonds are laid neatly in good rows and are held in at all four corners so it appears they should be pretty secure. Sadly the diamonds are inlaid deeply enough that no light is getting behind them so the fire is pretty minimal… again not sure how the gen fairs in this area but I am not sure I can think of a way to have mounted them to allow more light around them and maintain a secure hold for something that will take a beating like a watch…
That said under some reasonably bright lights (store lighting lets say) the diamonds do shine and sparkle enough to catch the eye. I would assume someone who knows their jewelry would spot it as a cz in no time, but to the average Joe I am sure they will pass as normal mid to low grade diamonds (I doubt anyone will be checking for flaws in watch diamonds).
The dial is also done quite well with the numbers being solid and deep (these are actually 3D, not just drawn on the dial and look to be about 1mm tall). The contrast of the deep, rich black of the numbers against all the white/ss is very eye pleasing in a professional and reserved way. What dial printing there is is quite decent with no obvious issues in quality.
And the date font faces outwards to match the numbers on this model which I believe is correct.
The contrast between the diamonds mounted on the SS bezel to the white ceramic and well defined dial really sets off the watch nicely. It’s got a great balance of understated beauty and bling… it doesn’t stick out like an iced grill but it catches the eye and on closer inspection doesn’t fail to impress!
The clasp has the proper spring clasp and functions smoothly. It's got a nice strong spring without being difficult to open, although if you aren’t careful it might pinch the wrist a bit… The caseback has a nice arc to it and is very comfortable;I believe the engravings are appropriate and correct.
Sizing the bracelet is quite straight forward. It uses a pin system which is a bit odd looking at first but is very easy to work with. You can see a small hole in the side of the “pinâ€
