Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Return of the Pumpkin - ver 3.0

The Pumpkin is back! Yes! I was so pleased to discover buried in the SIHH/Basel material, Glycine have remade the sought after SST. It's available in a few other colours, and of them, I like the blue, but perhaps the original is the best. Look right and you can just make out the black/grey vertical split between the left and right sides of the dial.
Now, there are two versions: a full blown true 24h version (no not the D24) and the 12h version (shown right). However, in all honesty the 24h may be the purist's choice, but having been programmed from birth to read a normal 12 hour dial in a nanosecond, why fight it? (More on this issue here.) There is also a subtle but important difference between the 12h and 24h versions. The 12h version can track three timezones, but the true 24h can only track two. Why? because the 12H has a separate red GMT hand (one rev per 24h) which the 24H lacks (probably to differentiate it from the D24). Hence, two reasons to get the 12h version - more readable AND with more function. So, the watch above right reads 10.10 either a.m. or p.m. (you will know which) by its mainhands not 20:10H and 10:10H by the GMT hand - rotate the 24h bezel and bingo, the third timezone is obtained. So, in reality you can track three different timezones perhaps arguably just as easily as the D24 but with a more traditional looking dial.
Despite a solid caseback, Glycine go the trouble to provide their ETA movement in Elaboré spec. You won't see the decoration, but the movement is regulated to a tighter tolerance than the Standard ETA movement. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Glycine, offering great value and an authenticity lacking in so many others' offerings. Definitely not cynical marketing and if a bit large, (it's 51.5 mm across the lugs which is just my limit...) this one might even fit me, especially as they have been careful to keep the thickness down and the lugs are curved back to follow one's wrist. Blue or traditional? Hmmmm, but definitely the 12h.