Firefox crashed on me the first time when this review was done, so here we go again...
Alright, so after having fallen in love with my IWC Big Pilot, I became increasingly enamored with Pilot watches in general. Cruising this and other forums, the Steinhart name comes up periodically, with varying opinions, from positive, negative, to indifferent. With interest piqued, I scurried quickly over to the Steinhart web page and was very surprised at how beautiful some of their watches are. Previously, I never really paid homage watches any mind, because I didn't see the point (just buy a rep or the gen, right?). However, to me, some of their watches, namely their Nav. B's seemed familiar yet with something different enough to warrant a different name. After all, IWC didn't invent the pilot watch, they just aided in its popularity.
After reading the great reviews of the Steinhart Nav. B's, I started looking at those first, but found myself more and more beguiled by the sterile unbranded dial of the Gold Edition, and also the thought of owning a numbered piece was alluring as well.
At roughly 100 Euros more than the standard Nav. B., it might seem like an easy decision for many to go with the cheaper model, but that dial kept calling me. So, I began an email correspondence with the owner of the company, Gunter. As others have stated, this guy is a gentleman and his passion for watches and him being so hands-on with his customers helped sell me on my decision to buy a Steinhart. He even divulged some secret future projects to me in words and pictures and while sworn to secrecy, I'll say there's some cool stuff coming.
Anyway, I placed my order on Tuesday evening in Los Angeles, and after hovering maniacally over the FedEx tracking page waiting for it to show up, I was shocked to see that it was due to arrive Thursday morning!! But, then it got caught in customs clearance hell, but after a phone call with Gunter, it was cleared up, and arrived at my door today. Woohoo!!
So, let's find out if this Limited Edition is worth the extra Euros...
Opening up the outer wrapping, we find this...
Flip that open, and we find one of the prettiest burlwood watch boxes you'll see for this money. Crack that jewel, and we see all the goodies inside, again, in my mind above what this price range is usually equated to...
The great thing about dealing with Gunter is that you have complete freedom in requesting any strap combination you want, with the buckle you want. You are not locked to the strap offered on the site. Good to know. For me, he mounted mine on the Black Buff Leather strap with deployment from his Premium line, and then gave me a beyond generous offer on my additional three straps, with his new 22mm deployment clasp, yet to be released.
Another great surprise, was when I asked Gunter for No.333/333, I realized that I was not the only one with that idea, and was told only No.329 was available. I figured close enough, but then, Gunter went ahead and got me a number which was much better...
Sweet!!
As for the straps...
From top to bottom, we have the Havana, the Barrique (my personal fave), and the Marone vintage.
As far as straps go, I believe these are again a pure bargain. At 50 euros, or less, you have beautiful leather, great grain, nice thickness, and overall great workmanship. The Marone is a calf leather, which is stiffer than the others, but the color and texture is spectacular. The Barrique has a color similar to the infamous Tootall "Pull-up Brown" strap, thought a little lighter. Speaking of which, it should be said that some of his straps appear to be darker tones on his site, than in real life. For example, the Barrique looked a brandy brown on the site, but is the color as I've noted. I knew this before I purchased it, after finding reviews of his straps on other forums, but it's something to keep in mind before purchasing. The Havana is also a great looking strap, and I think it matches the gold well. Also, these straps are longer than most, so the tail is nice and long (if you have skinny or average wrists like me), and I love the metal keeper. Great detail.
But what about the watch? Here we have it...
The build quality is excellent on this watch...nice polished bezel (different from the base Nav. B.) and brushed SS case, and that crown we all know. Recessed sub sec dial, and clean bold font fit nicely with the pretty gold hands, which do not look nearly as ostentatious as one might think. The piece number is also engraved in between the bottom lugs, which is a nice touch.
Flip it over and...
Not the best pic, but you get the idea...nothing ground breaking here, but still a very nice 6497 movement (18k) nonetheless. The gold plating adds a little bling to the package, and while there are blue screws instead of the blued screws used in their higher end models, I can live with it. It winds nice and smooth, keeps great time (thus far) and the noise is comparable to most 6497's. All in all, real pretty.
And no review is complete without a lume shot, so...
It's a really nice solid blue color, different than the green from the base Nav's. Glows strong, but not as long as I would like, but again, I can live with it. I like how all the indicators are lumed, as opposed to how the Big Pilot is lit more sparingly. Love lume.
So, the question...is this watch worth it's weight in Euros? After all, we all know that we could buy 2 or maybe three reps from D4M or other good dealers for this price. But for me, the decisions to buy watches has never been about "which" but rather "when". To clarify, I mean that for me, I know that regardless of this purchase, I will still end up buying 3, 6, or maybe 18 more reps soon, or maybe another Gen, but I wanted this particular watch right now. And when I decide the time is right for another kind of watch, I'll buy that one.
As far as quality for your money goes, I think I've made it clear that it is pretty darn good for the sheckles. I think some of the straps alone make the price seem more than reasonable. Throw in there real SWISS movement, great customer support, with a two year warranty, and I think it's a bargain. To me, if you like the look of their watches, buy it, you won't regret it.
In comparison to the other watches in Steinhart's stable, this one is the middle ground, and it's extra cost will only be warranted if this is the watch you prefer. I loved the dial and gold movement, so I went with this one. The extra straps alone for me are worth it. No regrets here.
To me, Steinhart represents a great effort by a man to put out the best possible watch for the money. Sure, I know people have differing opinions about them, and other homage brands, but that's what this hobby is about. Personal taste and opinion. Steinhart will suit you, or it won't. Simple as that. I can confidently say that this won't be my last Steinhart, especially when his 47mm Chrono Nav B comes out.
Alright, so after having fallen in love with my IWC Big Pilot, I became increasingly enamored with Pilot watches in general. Cruising this and other forums, the Steinhart name comes up periodically, with varying opinions, from positive, negative, to indifferent. With interest piqued, I scurried quickly over to the Steinhart web page and was very surprised at how beautiful some of their watches are. Previously, I never really paid homage watches any mind, because I didn't see the point (just buy a rep or the gen, right?). However, to me, some of their watches, namely their Nav. B's seemed familiar yet with something different enough to warrant a different name. After all, IWC didn't invent the pilot watch, they just aided in its popularity.
After reading the great reviews of the Steinhart Nav. B's, I started looking at those first, but found myself more and more beguiled by the sterile unbranded dial of the Gold Edition, and also the thought of owning a numbered piece was alluring as well.
At roughly 100 Euros more than the standard Nav. B., it might seem like an easy decision for many to go with the cheaper model, but that dial kept calling me. So, I began an email correspondence with the owner of the company, Gunter. As others have stated, this guy is a gentleman and his passion for watches and him being so hands-on with his customers helped sell me on my decision to buy a Steinhart. He even divulged some secret future projects to me in words and pictures and while sworn to secrecy, I'll say there's some cool stuff coming.
Anyway, I placed my order on Tuesday evening in Los Angeles, and after hovering maniacally over the FedEx tracking page waiting for it to show up, I was shocked to see that it was due to arrive Thursday morning!! But, then it got caught in customs clearance hell, but after a phone call with Gunter, it was cleared up, and arrived at my door today. Woohoo!!
So, let's find out if this Limited Edition is worth the extra Euros...
Opening up the outer wrapping, we find this...
Flip that open, and we find one of the prettiest burlwood watch boxes you'll see for this money. Crack that jewel, and we see all the goodies inside, again, in my mind above what this price range is usually equated to...
The great thing about dealing with Gunter is that you have complete freedom in requesting any strap combination you want, with the buckle you want. You are not locked to the strap offered on the site. Good to know. For me, he mounted mine on the Black Buff Leather strap with deployment from his Premium line, and then gave me a beyond generous offer on my additional three straps, with his new 22mm deployment clasp, yet to be released.
Another great surprise, was when I asked Gunter for No.333/333, I realized that I was not the only one with that idea, and was told only No.329 was available. I figured close enough, but then, Gunter went ahead and got me a number which was much better...
Sweet!!
As for the straps...
From top to bottom, we have the Havana, the Barrique (my personal fave), and the Marone vintage.
As far as straps go, I believe these are again a pure bargain. At 50 euros, or less, you have beautiful leather, great grain, nice thickness, and overall great workmanship. The Marone is a calf leather, which is stiffer than the others, but the color and texture is spectacular. The Barrique has a color similar to the infamous Tootall "Pull-up Brown" strap, thought a little lighter. Speaking of which, it should be said that some of his straps appear to be darker tones on his site, than in real life. For example, the Barrique looked a brandy brown on the site, but is the color as I've noted. I knew this before I purchased it, after finding reviews of his straps on other forums, but it's something to keep in mind before purchasing. The Havana is also a great looking strap, and I think it matches the gold well. Also, these straps are longer than most, so the tail is nice and long (if you have skinny or average wrists like me), and I love the metal keeper. Great detail.
But what about the watch? Here we have it...
The build quality is excellent on this watch...nice polished bezel (different from the base Nav. B.) and brushed SS case, and that crown we all know. Recessed sub sec dial, and clean bold font fit nicely with the pretty gold hands, which do not look nearly as ostentatious as one might think. The piece number is also engraved in between the bottom lugs, which is a nice touch.
Flip it over and...
Not the best pic, but you get the idea...nothing ground breaking here, but still a very nice 6497 movement (18k) nonetheless. The gold plating adds a little bling to the package, and while there are blue screws instead of the blued screws used in their higher end models, I can live with it. It winds nice and smooth, keeps great time (thus far) and the noise is comparable to most 6497's. All in all, real pretty.
And no review is complete without a lume shot, so...
It's a really nice solid blue color, different than the green from the base Nav's. Glows strong, but not as long as I would like, but again, I can live with it. I like how all the indicators are lumed, as opposed to how the Big Pilot is lit more sparingly. Love lume.
So, the question...is this watch worth it's weight in Euros? After all, we all know that we could buy 2 or maybe three reps from D4M or other good dealers for this price. But for me, the decisions to buy watches has never been about "which" but rather "when". To clarify, I mean that for me, I know that regardless of this purchase, I will still end up buying 3, 6, or maybe 18 more reps soon, or maybe another Gen, but I wanted this particular watch right now. And when I decide the time is right for another kind of watch, I'll buy that one.
As far as quality for your money goes, I think I've made it clear that it is pretty darn good for the sheckles. I think some of the straps alone make the price seem more than reasonable. Throw in there real SWISS movement, great customer support, with a two year warranty, and I think it's a bargain. To me, if you like the look of their watches, buy it, you won't regret it.
In comparison to the other watches in Steinhart's stable, this one is the middle ground, and it's extra cost will only be warranted if this is the watch you prefer. I loved the dial and gold movement, so I went with this one. The extra straps alone for me are worth it. No regrets here.
To me, Steinhart represents a great effort by a man to put out the best possible watch for the money. Sure, I know people have differing opinions about them, and other homage brands, but that's what this hobby is about. Personal taste and opinion. Steinhart will suit you, or it won't. Simple as that. I can confidently say that this won't be my last Steinhart, especially when his 47mm Chrono Nav B comes out.
