A little Saturday early afternoon surprise & incoming! Something....bronze

[-JP]

Got a little surprise earlier. Just in time for the weekend. Magrette Vantage in bronze with a very nice soft black leather strap and bronze buckle.

Packaging:

#108 of 500! Thanks Dion for making a super easy and fast transaction, even from 9,000 miles away! Nicely done for a watch under 1K. Leather zipper inner box and carrying travel case...



First impressions....

Didn't realize bronze is not that light LOL...but it oozes quality. I choose a bronze this time around as a beater because its a living alloy and activities such as diving, dings & scratches will only compliment it in time IMO, unlike my Grand Seikos ,Rolex models or any of my other high polished pieces that I try not to scratch, I feel I will embrace the aging that the bronze case will get over time.











In direct sunlight, the bronze looks stunning!




Lume is fantastic. A few minutes in the yard stepping out into the garage, I got this result...




The thick sapphire gives a magnifying effect of lume on the sides, really enhances the glow! Has a slight dome curve which also magnifies on certain angles. Tapping the crystal you can feel the thickness.....








Being out on the hot n humid weekend, it already is starting to change appearance!



Like that its 500M Water Resist and has a display back with a nice black DLC coating.....



Exposing the watch to direct sunlight gives it a rose gold impression....



Coming from wearing a Pam111G for some years, the 44MM is quite familiar and comfortable for anyone use to watches like that...not ridiculous huge but definitely not small. 44mm is actually my maximum for my comfort level. This is not a dressy watch, its a tool/sport & casual watch so I find the size quite acceptable.









The sandwich dial is nicely detailed and there is definitely a lot of watch to enjoy for the money. This is surely a keeper as my only bronze watch and going to enjoy taking shallow dives with it and see how the patina naturally turns out over time...and of course aftermarket straps sure to come! Going to wait to see how the patina settles for a while first before a strap change. The strap it comes with is of very high quality and very comfortable, not in any rush to change it out yet.
Few more pics and I'm off to relax in the yard with the family. Hope you guys enjoy and happy weekend!

[Chase]

Congrats looks great!
Dion makes some really nice stuff, I just wish it was in the 42mm range instead cause I'd very much like to have one.

[FuzzyB]

You made a great choice! I was impressed with both of the Magrettes I've owned. The sandwich dial is a nice new look on those watches.

[shameless]

very nice images JP - i suppose there are two schools of thought about 'to polish or not to polish ' - i'm sure neither would be wrong -simply a matter of personal taste high polish or patina - nice either way buddy

[-JP]

Yeah, I'm going on a few dives still this summer so it will be interesting wearing this and seeing how it patinas in the salt water.

Hey you go Chase, a little size perspective with something familiar to you. I find the Explorer 2 to be about the same weight. The Magrette with a strap easier to wear in the heat. Its not too far off in size but 2mm certainly is a big difference to many. As I said, as a former Pam wearer its exactly how I expected it to feel and fit and its purely casual watch with my flat wrist I think I pull it off fairly easy. . Just like a 44mm Panerai.

[-JP]

Thanks shameless...I am tempted to polish it as I been going a little cape cod cloth happy as of late LOL but I will try n resist at least until the end of the summer after ocean and beach time.

[shameless]

just one small question JP - do you have any thoughts on the crown not being in a matching metal to the case - my eye is drawn to that contrast for some reason ?
btw -just literally watching a programme on the terracotta warriors - all the metal parts to the crossbows -the trigger mechanisms , the very precise arrow heads etc were all made of bronze -i wonder if yours might last over two thousand years this is patina !!

[-JP]

I thought it would bother me but it doesn't. Not quite sure why they decided to go this way but the crown screws in pretty deep and at the 4 position its kind of out of site on the wrist. A few after market straps I been eyeing up have SS buckles so I think it will even off the look.

[CFR]

That was fast, JP.

I like these cases, but I'm not sure how I would handle the expected patina. Anyway, I'm sure it's a fine watch. Congratulations!

Edit: And very nice pics. Thanks for sharing.

[-JP]

Thanks most of my watches have barely any scratches as I am careful and really hate scratches but as I browsed bronze watches and seen them scuffed up with marks, dings and patina I thought they looked really cool beaten up opposed to shiny & brushed stainless steel