Watching Me, Watching You (Wittnauer Laureate)

Member Name: mattygroves10

Product:	Wittnauer Laureate
Date:	09/10/09 (112 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Elegant yet robust looking, a good size for my tiny wrists, keeps good time

Disadvantages: Difficult to adjust, tiny day window, needed repairs to the crown

Common sense would tell you that a watch is a device for telling time. It's a bonus if they look decent, but ultimately, what you want is one that will keep good time, that fits, that you can read easily and operate without any problems. It therefore does boggle my mind that one can pay hundreds, even thousands of pounds for a simple timekeeping device. Furthermore, it baffles me that the most expensive watches are not the most accurate. You see, quartz watches are typically the most accurate, however, the most expensive watches are 17 jewel.

I have for years been happy wearing cheaper quartz watches, usually made by Seiko. These typically retail for around £100. However, a couple of years ago, I had a yearning to own a more expensive, slightly prestige watch. I cannot afford the likes of Rolex, and couldn't justify buying one myself...so I bullied...sorry, that should read 'cajoled' my husband into buying me one, and he chose the Wittnauer Laureate 12M02 ladies' watch.

You've never heard of Wittnauer? I'm not surprised, though the company has been around since 1872. The reason you may never have heard of it is that although the watch is indeed manufactured in Switzerland, so can legitimately claim to be a Swiss watch, the company was formed to service the supposedly more demanding (and cheaper - the watches were and still are cheaper than the more well known Swiss brands) American market. Its offices (they are now part of the Bulova group) are in New York, and have been for most of its trading history (you can read the full history of the company here http://www.bulovaspecialmarkets.com/about/wittnaue r_history.aspx).

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What's the Look, Mr Wolf?
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The watch I am wearing looks exactly as the photograph above does. It is two tone - gold (coloured) and stainless steel with a white face, gold coloured hands (hour, minute and second hand), and gold coloured dots instead of numbers. There are Roman numerals around the outside for twelve, three, six and nine - the dial does not rotate. There is also a day indicator (which I always forget to change on months with fewer than 31 days - as there is no month indicator, the watch doesn't 'know' which months contain fewer days) which is very small, and truthfully, I can't read in low light without reading glasses. The strap is robust, however, the clasp does sometimes come a bit undone on its own when I'm wearing a jacket (thus rubbing against it). The 'crystal' - the 'glass' bit that covers the watch is apparently made of sapphire, which is very hard. This makes it scratch resistant. The watch is also water resistant (according to Wittnauer's own information) to 30 metres (100 ft). I have splashed the watch, but I've not gone diving in it, so I shall trust them on that one.

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What's the Feel, Mr Wolf?
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The watch is pleasantly heavy. It is not uncomfortable, but feels reassuringly weighty (as a Swiss watch should). The face is relatively small (this is a ladies' watch), though not miniscule. This works for me on two levels - I have exceedingly small wrists, so a big, bulky watch would look overwhelming, yet as I am over 40, my eyesight isn't what it was. It is therefore not so small (the day indicator aside) that I need to squint to see it. Fortunately, the jeweller was able to remove sufficient links so that the watch would fit (and there was another that could have been taken out if necessary) - again, with my tiny wrists, this isn't an insignificant issue.

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What's the Time, Mr Wolf?
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I have had this watch for nearly two years, and the crystal has not scratched; nor has the stainless steel scratched or discoloured. It does look quite new and untarnished. The watch keeps good time; I've never had to adjust the time except for British Summer/Greenwich Mean Time or when I've changed time zones. This is good, as changing the time and date are both fiddly. I have had to have the 'crown' (the little knob at the three o'clock point with which you adjust the time) fixed - it came all the way out into my hand. The crown is quite tight, and because there is a day window, you need to pull it out by just the right amount to adjust either just the time or just the date. The other thing worth noting is that you need to be careful the first time you set the watch that you have set midnight properly, otherwise, the date will change after noon instead of after midnight. If you are interested, full instructions (in four different languages) are available here http://www.bulova.com/dynamic_repository/instructi ons/551W.pdf.

The watch does have a battery. I have not yet needed to change the battery. I do have a slight concern, as a quick online search tells me that I may have difficulty finding one to fit a Wittnauer in the UK. Time will tell...(I just asked a very nice lady online at Blue Nile, she reckons I can get a replacement battery directly from the manufacturer).

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What's the Dope, Mr Wolf?
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Despite my difficulties with adjusting the time and date on the watch, and the fact I've had to have it repaired once. I do like it. I like the look and the feel. The two tone-ness of it means I can wear it with gold or silver, and I wear it both when I'm 'dressy' and every day. It is easy to read (apart from the really dinky date window) and easy to put on. The watch has never actually fallen off, as even on those fairly rare occasions when the clasp comes undone, the bracelet is a full bracelet (so the strap is always a loop), and so it's never fallen off.

WARNING - IRRELEVANT ASIDE - This matters. Many, many years ago, I was at a baseball (go Mets) game with my husband, father and brother. We were sitting on the first balcony at Shea Stadium (RIP) in the first row. Something good happened, so we started clapping...and my watch fell off into the seats below. I exclaimed 'my watch fell off!' As if on cue, all three men replied 'what did you do THAT for.' In exasperation, I snapped 'to see if gravity still worked.' For crying out loud!

Looking on Bulova's own website (remember, Bulova now own Wittnauer), the watch retails in the US for $525 (yes, dollars). I don't know how much my husband paid for it as it was a gift. Given the niggles I've had with the watch, this is probably a bit pricy. Having said that, from what I can tell, expensive watches often are more niggly than are cheaper Japanese watches. Oh, the price you pay for a name, a country of manufacture, and luxury.

You can buy Wittnauer watches in the UK, though they are harder to find, and you may have to resort to an online retailer, who will probably be importing the watch from the US (talk about watch miles).

If I had the money, I probably would go for a 'proper,' established Swiss watchmaker. Even though these watches are made in Switzerland, they are manufactured for an American market, and they are designed to be slightly more cost effective than the more established names. Having said that, they now make even this model of watch with diamonds around the outside. For me, that would be a wee bit too ostentatious. If I wanted a very expensive diamond watch, I would get one that looked more like jewellery. But that's me. I am absurdly attached to my watch, and rarely wear my alternative timepieces these days. I guess I've been bitten by the Swiss bug.

Therefore...kind of recommended.

Summary: A Swiss watch from an American company - looks and feels good, but has niggles