| Watch Specs |
|
 |
Why this watch?
In the past few years of watch-insanity that I have gone through I have learned that I really have two favorite complications in a mechanical watch. I have (and have had) many watches with one or the other of these, but I have not had a mechanical watch that does both. The first of these two is a chronograph, which makes sense for a time obsessed individual who likes to know how long it takes to walk to the mailbox and back, for example. I just enjoy timing this, that and the other, it’s just fun for me. The second one is a dual time zone. This is naturally useful for travel (which I do on business a few times a year) and if you have relatives, friends or loved ones in another part of the country or world. Or you just want to know whether or not Reto might be up. So, this watch, which combines both of these fun features is a natural choice for me.
I had looked at this one in the past (early 2006) but did not have the funds available for new and did not find any used ones at that time. With my recent sell-off where I raised $1550 from watch sales, I did have the funds available, but oddly enough was not specifically looking for this watch. I had been looking at Doxas, Breitling SOs, Omega Seamasters, and a few others, but none of them really was grabbing me. None said – BUY ME! even when I had the chance. So I knew there was something that I was subconsciously waiting for, I just did not know what it was until it was presented to me.
I had been browsing all the sales fora multiple times a day (ok, an hour) and one fine Thursday afternoon (October 12, to be exact) I saw a post for a Sinn 356 UTC. Naturally, my heart-rate jumped and the adrenaline began flowing as I scanned the post to verify that I had not mis-read it or missed a “SOLD” reply to the post. I had not and there was none. I was so excited that I missed completely that the seller had indicated it to be in “98% condition”. I popped off an email to the seller – Walt at Lonestar Watches – and asked if it was still available and for clarification on the condition. Just my luck Mandy and I were heading out for a bike ride to her sister’s house and I would not be at home to check my email. Luckily I have a BlackBerry via work and took it with me so I could keep on top of things. 
When we got to her sister’s I did get an email from Walt that it was still available, and he challenged me to find a used 356 UTC in better condition. I was sold. I popped on Christy’s computer while she and Mandy chatted and Paypaled the funds to Walt right there. Two days later on Saturday I had the watch!
Packaging and Presentation
The watch came with all of the materials that Sinn ships out with the watch. There first is an outer presentation box that is 5″x5″x3.75″, the top slides off this box to reveal the paperwork (instructions and warranty card) sitting on top of a padded inner box. The instructional booklet is in German, however it also contains a 3″ CD with English instructions. The inner box measures 4.75″x4.75″x3.33″ and is hinged in the back to open. Inside is the watch in the center of the case and room for the 20mm Sinn leather strap. Overall a pleasant yet simple and functional presentation.
Top: Outer and Inner Boxes
Bottom: Inner Box open; papers
First Impressions
My first though of the watch was one of mild disappointment. And that was only because I could not put the watch on as Mandy and I were in the middle of some fall cleaning out in the garage (gotcha, didn’t I?). Just from the first looks at the watch, sitting there with it’s unsized bracelet in the box, I knew that I was going to enjoy this one. After all, it holds those favorite two complications, right? Right. The watch really has an understated look, I feel, and is almost elegant in its design and function.
Functions
Some might call this a “tool watch” given that it has more potential than just telling the time. The function that stands out on this watch, of course, is the yellow UTC hand, which allows for the reading of a second time zone. Unlike many dual time watches this hour hand rotates around the dial in the traditional 12 hours, not 24. So there is some knowledge of whether the additional time zone is ahead or behind of your home time needed to effectively read the watch. That being said, however, I really doubt that too many people would have much trouble with reading the watch in that fashion. I actually prefer the additional time zone to be done in the fashion of the 356 UTC, I find it far easier for me to read. The way totally awesome cool thing about the 356 UTC is that the UTC hour hand can actually be synced up with the main hour hand and effectively hidden from view, making it a one time zone watch (unless you are tracking a time zone 12 hours distant from your own, in which case do you really need another hand for that? It’s an even 12 hours).
The other function, of course, is the chronograph, for which the watch relies upon the tried and true workhorse Valjoux 7750 movement. Not much to say here that hasn’t been said before: central seconds hand for the chronograph, minute counter at 12, hour counter at 6 and constant seconds at 9. Standard 7750 layout.
UTC Hand out and in use on the left, and hidden on the right.
Crystal, Case and Crown
The case is stainless steel with a “sand blasted” finish according to the WatchBuys site. It’s no polished affair; no shiny bling here. The lugs are drilled to make the bracelet and strap removal a snap. Most sites say that the watch is 14mm thick from case back to the top of the crystal, but my measurement comes in a full 1mm more at 15mm. A nice and thick watch (by way of reference the Black Monster is 13.5mm thick, the Zodiac ZO8000 15.5mm and the Omega Speedmaster 14mm). The caseback on this watch is rather plain, actually. It does have the cursive Sinn logo as well as the serial number and some specifications in German.
The crown on the watch is nice and big, it sticks out far enough that it is easy to get a hold of and turn. The crown screws in with a full three turns.
The crystal is this version of the watch’s weak point: it’s acrylic which to me equals a scratch magnet. There is a version of the watch that comes with a sapphire crystal, and my hope is to be able to add a sapphire to this one some day (soon?). Although, I should be able to work out those scratches that I have already put in the crystal since I got it (from trying to clean the dang thing off), I just need a couple lessons (and some bravery) to do so.
Top: Crown detail both screwed in and out.
Bottom: The drilled lugs and caseback.
Dial, Bezel, Hands, Lume
The black dial contains the standard 7750 layout with the running seconds on the 9 o’clock subdial, the chronograph minute and hour counters at 12 and 6 respectively. Rather than having the day next to the date (as can be found on the standard 356 model) the UTC displays those three letters in that spot in yellow, matching the UTC hour hand. IIRC the day was sacrificed to make way for the additional mechanics needed to operate the UTC hand. The maker and model (Sinn, Flieger) are found above and below the date aperture. The dial contains minute hash marks and no tachymeter or telemeter scale. Arabic numerals adorn the dial at 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 and 11, the other spots taken either by a sub-dial or date. While not as cockpit instrument like as the 656, the watch still has the look associated with a “pilot” chronograph, hence the flieger name on the dial.
The bezel is an easy topic on this watch as there really is not one to speak of. The watch does not have any sort of rotating or marked bezel, which I tend to believe lends to the watch appearing bigger than it’s modest 38.5mm.
The hands are an appropriate style for a Flieger style watch, I feel, and look great. The thin point on the minute hand reaches to touch the minute markers (which I know is a point of contention for people with some other watches). The two hour hands are identical in size and appearance, except the UTC hand is hollowed out to allow for better dial visibility when the hand is in use. Having both hour hands filled would take up a fair amount of real-estate on the dial and could obstruct the visibility of the chronograph functions. The UTC hand being hollow alleviates this problem.
The hour and minute hands on the watch contain the most of the lume on the watch. The top of the seconds counter also has lume to match the hands, which is interesting as none of the subdial hands have any lume on them. In addition, the arabics are lumed as well, however not to the extent of the hour and minute hands. The rectangle markers at each hour are not lumed, nor is the UTC hand. The hour and minute hands lume color really is close to that of the Black Monster. However, I have not tested the lasting power of the lume yet, but I am going to assume that it would be legible through a typical night. Once I am able to do such testing I will update this portion of the review. You can see in the photos below the contrast between the lume on the hands and that on the hour markers. It is noticeable different, so I would have to suspect that the hours would fade much sooner than the hands. The hands do pick up lume quite easily. For the below comparison photo with the Black Monster I charged both watches under the same light source from the same distance. I charged the Sinn for four minutes and the Monster for three.
Dial shot of the 356UTC next to a solo lume view and a comparision with the Seiko Black Monster.
Movement and Performance
The movement, as mentioned, is the workhorse chronograph movement Valjoux 7750. The chronograph functions as one would imagine it should. The chronograph seconds start immediately with a push of the 2 o’clock button while the 4 o’clock provides the resetting function. The minute counter rolls over as the seconds hand crests the top of the dial. The one flaw with the chronograph on this particular watch (not necessarily the model) is that the hour counter hand at 6 does not reset perfectly, it is actually about 1mm off towards 1. A minor flaw, that should be able to be corrected by any of the skilled watchmakers that we all know. I noticed this in the photos before I bought the watch and opted to not let it deter me from purchasing this piece.
I have not done a full running stats to include variations in different positions (crown up, flat, upside down under a full moon, etc). I can tell you the watch is running +5 seconds fast a day. Not my most accurate watch, but I’ll take five seconds and not complain about it one bit.
Showing how the hour counter is just off.
Bracelet/Strap
This watch actually came with both a Sinn bracelet and strap. I am presently wearing the watch on the bracelet. The finish has been done to match the case of the watch (which makes sense) all the way down to the clasp. It has solid end links and the links are held in with screws, not pins. The clasp is signed with the cursive-style manufacture name (Sinn, of course). There are three points of adjustment on the clasp to allow for some flexibility in the bracelet size. What I found interesting is the bracelet also has a divers extension; interesting because I would certainly not consider this a diving watch.
The strap is a black, padded leather strap with white stitching. The buckle is also finished to match the watch and it too is signed with the cursive Sinn. The strap is 5.5mm thick, 20mm wide at the lugs and tapers to 18mm at the buckle. The strap length is 88mm x 115mm. There are enough adjustment holes (7) that I was able to get it to fit my 6.75″ wrist.
Top: Some bracelet detail, including the divers extension and clasp.
Bottom: The included Sinn strap.
Pros and Cons
Pros: Reliable, tough movement; dual time zone with option to hide the 2nd time; combines two popular complications in one watch, classic looks and styling
Cons: Acrylic crystal prone to scratches and scrapes; on this particular watch the hour counter does not reset perfectly; size may be an issue for some big watch lovers
Conclusion
Overall this is one stellar package. It is a great looking watch with a lot of style and function. The dual time zone is great for travelers and very easy to read at a glance without having to worry about translating 24 hour time (if your brain operates that way as mine does). The addition of the 12 hour chronograph makes it even more useful a timepiece. The size may be an issue for some (not me, obviously), but with the watch being mostly dial it has an illusion of being slightly bigger than it really is. The only two things that I hope to eventually change on the watch are the crystal – to sapphire – and have the hour counter corrected so it resets properly. At the price I paid I truly feel like I got a steal of a deal, but even at a price over the PMWF limit it would still be worth purchasing.
The best of both worlds: UTC and Chronograph meet in an affordable, attractive presentation.