Martin Howard
This is a handsome watch: gold-plated with a very distinct, Inuit-looking design on its front cover, this watch is sure to get people's attention. Easy to read, easy to set & easy to wind - for a wind-up timepiece, it doesn't get much better than this. And on the plus side, it looks & feels like it's a well-built watch, something to last.Does it keep accurate time? Here I have to hedge my bets - its not a quartz watch, it's mechanical & I do check it daily against an older Citizen watch with a Japanese quartz movement (I do this with all my watches) it keeps time within a minute or two & this deviation, I feel, is due to whether I get the opportunity to wind it in the morning or later in the afternoon: all my wind-ups keep better time, IF wound twice daily: 10-12x in the a.m. & p.m. And this piece is no different in that regard. I do have a couple of pocket watches, mechanical, which have to be re-set every day due to what I consider timing that is just too far off to be ignored. And for reference only, I own several pocket watches, both mechanical & quartz, from several companies: Charles Hubert (C/H); Kronen Schoen (K/S); ManChDa; Regent Hills; Shuhang; Dakota & Molijna (sp?) etc. And while no one brand has performed abysmally, all my C/H have been great: they seem to have more substance than the less costly pieces even though upon careful examination of the 17 jewel mechanisms, there appears to be little difference. If the cost is over the $150 mark, then I see a different configuration in the gears, stem & hairspring. Below, that, I note the mechanisms of some pieces have fancy fretwork, engravings or use blue screws - all of which I deem to mean a higher standard of workmanship & why I continue to buy watches under the $50 mark: I have found some real gems in quality in this group.One of my $40 timepieces, a Shuhang, has beautiful blued hands, a moon/sun phase, a 24 hour plus a seperate second hand dial: truly remarkable in a 1/2 hunter with the standard 17 jewel Chinese mechanism. Several of my C/H have the same workings; but, with a higher quality in the cases, hinges, & often with more heft in the hand which always feels nice - thin & tinny just doesn't bode well for longevity.And, while I can heartily recommend this lovely pocket watch, I also I keep checking the latest offerings, looking for a beauty that I some either missed or is a new design
