German dive watch manufacturer UTS has announced availability of their new deep divers watch simply called the 4,000M. Available in three-hand or GMT versions, this 45 x 17.5 mm stainless steel watch will be best paired with a large wrist. The 4,000M (13,123 ft) water resistance rating has been achieved by using a 6mm thick sapphire crystal which, for reference, is half as thick as the entirety of my Omega Seamaster. Making it to 4,000M is not a lazy man’s game, for those keeping score that is 100m further than the Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea and this new UTS matches the water resistance of the ludicrous 48mm Hublot King Power Diver.

The three-hand UTS 4,000M is powered by the ETA 2824-2 while the GMT version sources its skills from the ETA 2893-2. The large stainless steel bezel is actually bi-directional and uses ceramic ball bearings for smooth and accurate action. The crown at two o’clock activates a locking system to keep the bezel safely set in place. Pricing is set at €4500 ($6000 USD) for the three-hander while the GMT will list at €5000 (~ $6650 USD). While this pricing is rather expensive given the 4,000M’s use of ETA movements, it is noticeably cheaper than the $10, 650 list price for the Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea (116660) or the $19,900 Hublot is asking for the titanium King Power Diver.

With only 200 units of each model being made, the UTS 4,000M will be more limited than its Rolex and Hublot counterparts. While we don’t fully understand the appeal of a watch capable of withstanding 4000m worth of pressure, there is no arguing that a market exists for these large and over-engineered timepieces. We have our fingers tightly crossed that UTS will some day announce a slim 200m diver that features much of their excellent styling and case design, but in package intended for the more slim-wristed among us (myself included).

The watch industry, and the bulk of the design within its scope, is controlled by trends. We see adverts and celebrities sporting the latest in ceramic, vintage, over-sized, liquid-filled, tourbillon equipped, slim cased watches but that “next big thing” is often not so new. It is often then that when we see a new model we use other models or established trends to frame this newcomer and understand it in a more comfortable context. When I first saw the Schofield Signalman GMT PR I had to reach for a familiar concept, eventually thanks to its large crown, sparse dial design and polished finish, my brain settled on the Panerai form. The Panerai Luminor 321, for example, has a power reserve and a GMT hand, a sparse dial, high contrast design and plenty of polished metal on its case. It seemed reasonable to compare this British designed, German built, and Swiss powered timepiece with the well known and easily digestible Panerai, right? Upon receiving the review unit from Giles at Schofield and lifting the Signalman GMT PR from its case, I realized the inaccuracy of my assumption. The Signalman does not feel, or impress, like any Panerai I’ve ever experienced and I found myself wearing a watch which felt completely unfamiliar.

- 44 x 15 mm
- 52 mm lug to lug
- Polished stainless steel case
- Soprod 9335 movement
- GMT display
- Power reserve complication
- Date display
- 500m Water resistance
- Anti-magnetic casing
- Screw down crown
- Double domed sapphire crystal with internal AR
- German made

It’s not especially surprising that the Signalman feels so focused and fresh, it was not designed by a committee or by a brand that needed to observe any previous “brand DNA” in their styling. The Signalman is the product of one detail-driven man named Giles Ellis. Giles started designing the Signalman as a watch for himself and the Schofield brand came along with the realization that one cannot have a single watch manufactured. The realities of production scale mean there will be 300 Signalman GMT PR and a further 100 DLC (diamond like carbon) treated models which will carry a black scratch resistant coating on its case.

While speaking with Giles you get the distinct impression that the Signalman was made to his most exacting and detail driven demands, no element was spared his scrutiny. Not only was he capable of designing the watch and seeing the Signalman evolve through prototypes and design changes, Giles also handled creating the entire Schofield brand, the website and even all of the underlying photography.

Giles and his one-man-brand are based near the south coast of the UK in a small rural Sussex Village. Giles has drawn upon his surroundings in the design elements seen on the Signalman as much of the styling is based upon elements of lighthouses. The caseback is adorned with Smeaton’s tower, the hands are based on the shape of a beam of light and the complex shape of the case mimics the expanding base of a lighthouse.

The Signalman is absolutely gorgeous and feels much like a fine piece of nautical equipment mixed with a modern watch design. It exudes class and feels very special, just wearing it will make you smile. The 44 mm stainless steel case is flanked by strong lugs that give the Signalman a distinct presence. The over sized, rock-solid crown fits beautifully into the flanked shape of the case and tucks slightly into the curve for additional protection.

The shape of the case must be fantastically difficult to manufacture and there is no dive bezel or additional parts to distract from its shape and bright polished finish. The double domed sapphire crystal has an anti-reflective treatment on the inside of the crystal and does a fair job of minimizing the bulk of reflections.

The dial has two levels, a higher outer range which displays the minute scale, markers, and chrome numerals for 0, 3, 6 and 9. The center of the dial is slightly recessed and cleanly integrates both a simple but practical power reserve indicator and a separate sub-dial for GMT hours. The dial is made from brass plates and is beautifully finished in grey/black with inlaid markers, minimal text and beautiful proportions.

The GMT function is locked with the hour hand so if you advance the main time measurement, the GMT hand advances accordingly (see video). To move this hand separately, you must depress a flush mounted button fitted neatly into the side of the four o’clock lug. The GMT, power reserve, and date features do not compromise the overall aesthetic of the Signalman. Where as some designs would seek to integrate traditional three hand timekeeping into a design with other complications, the Signalman has done the opposite. The GMT sub-dial does not eat into the seconds measure, instead its scale routes underneath minutes scale. While this may make the GMT slightly harder to read, it preserves the balance and simplicity of a standard three hand design. The date display on the Signalman is quite small and nearly impossible to read at an an angle. I suppose this could bother some owners, but I did not have any problem viewing the date directly and the smaller aperture has been used to preserve the balance of the dial. I certainly prefer reading the date at a direct angle than seeing the design spoiled by a larger display or an ugly cyclops magnifier.

While the design could be considered fairly simple, especially given the complexity seen in some modern watch designs, the Schofield Signalman has some lovely fine elements like the use of a stylized zero at twelve o’clock or the small loop in the tail of the GMT hand. The hands are one of the best shapes I’ve seen of late. The cropped hour hand and long minute hand are well proportioned, carry a fair amount of luminous paint and provide a strong contrast against the black dial.

The Signalman’s luminosity is good for hands and markers of this size. I found it to be fairly bright and last long enough to be used at the movies or on a night’s drive. To achieve a greater brightness, more space would have to be allotted for the luminous material, which would have a profound effect on the Signalman’s designs. The matching shape of the hands and markers becomes more pronounced under the soft glow of the lume.

The case is heavy and, having a wider base than its bezel, sits nicely on your wrist. The wide lugs and their downward shape hold the Signalman securely and the green nylon-style strap bestows a certain military feel to its presence. The pictured strap has a comfortable leather liner and came fitted with a low-profile signed steel tang buckle. Owners will have the option of a black shark skin strap once the Signalman starts shipping in June and July of this year.

The Signalman is being sold exclusively through Schofield’s website and there is pre-order pricing in effect until June 2012. The Signalman GMT PR, as seen in this review, has a pre-order price of £2958 including VAT (~$4680 USD at time of publishing). If you miss out on the pre-order, expect to see pricing climb to £3549 (~$5600 USD) for whatever remains of the 300 piece limited production. The DLC model (which looks stunning, see Schofield’s photo below) has a pre-order price of £3342 including VAT (~$5300 USD) and will eventually carry a retail price of £4010 (~$6350 USD).

So, not a cheap watch, but then again it’s not cheaply made nor does it feel cheap in person. Quite the opposite as the Signalman has the build quality, technology, and exclusivity to demand such a price point. The pre-order pricing lines up nicely to complete with a base model Panerai Luminor PAM00000 “Logo” which features a Panerai prepared ETA hand-wound movement which lacks the Signalman’s GMT, power reserve, date and even seconds hand. The Schofield, when compared with much of the competition, is excellent value and offers practical complications backed up by solid German construction and the exclusivity of a very limited production.

Ultimately, there is little to be displeased with concerning the Schofield Signalman GMT PR. During my stint with the Signalman it kept accurate time and its additional features were easy to use and it’s a very fun watch to wear. Quality and technology aside, the Signalman is absolutely gorgeous and it made me smile whenever I checked the time. Even as I write this I am unsure of how to categorize the Signalman, in a world of Sub clones and re-hashed designs, the Signalman stands as one of the more refreshing and pleasing new watches we have seen in a long time.

We would like to thanks Giles and Schofield Watches for loaning us a Signalman GMT PR for review.

Finnish watch manufacturer Suunto has announced a new GPS ready multi-sport watch they call the Ambit. The Ambit will feature all of the tools we have come to expect from Suunto such as a compass, barometric altimeter, barometer, thermometer, weather tracking, and heart rate monitoring (relies on an optional heart rate belt), an alarm and dual time zones. In addition to this bevy of features, the main new skill set of the Ambit is its SiRFIV chip driven GPS ability. Suunto calls the Ambit “The GPS for Explorers” and, providing it delivers a usable and reliable experience, we can’t think of any reason we wouldn’t want one on-wrist for our next adventure.

The Ambit can manage waypoint navigation and can also render your location in conjunction with multiple coordinate systems. The Ambit can also blend data from its accelerometer and GPS connection to render highly accurate speed and pace measurement data. All of the data collected by the Ambit can be synced with Movescount.com where users can plan and share their next sporting achievement or training goal and even customize certain settings for their watch (via a USB cable).

Available in a black or silver case which is 100m water resistant and fitted with a mineral crystal, Suunot does not list the size of the Ambit but it will be large (see wrist shot). Power comes from a rechargeable lithium ion battery and the Ambit screen has an adjustable back light and can be reversed (either white text on a black background or black text on a white background). Additionally impressive is the 50 hour battery life with GPS enabled, allowing for two straight days of GPS use before requiring a recharge.

GPS seems like an excellent functionality for planning routes, bookmarking locations or sharing your coordinates with others. Imagine the practical use for a back-country skier given access to speed, altitude, and coordinates if they needed to be rescued. The Ambit is not the only GPS watch on the market but it boasts a full feature set, an attractive design and excellent battery life. The competition is growing in the GPS watch segment but much of the early development came from handheld and dashboard GPS manufactures like Garmin, so we are happy to see continued innovation from a well known sport watch brand like Suunto. The Ambit is slated for retail release in March and pricing should be in the neighborhood of $500.

Generally speaking, when I hear the term “bauhaus” used in conversation the speaker is employing the term to describe their newest Ikea purchase or as a synonym for minimalist and sleek design. Bauhaus is actually a German school of design which was founded in the 20’s and has seen its values and aesthetics woven into modern architecture, furniture, art, fonts and even clocks and watches. Bauhaus is Germany’s interpretation of the international style and promotes unity between the artist and the craftsman in an attempt to improve the aesthetic qualities of manufactured goods. Being comprised of many artists and designers and having a huge effect on typography, graphic art, and architecture, Bauhaus can be hard to define along any one passion or effect.

The Swiss designer Max Bill was trained in the Bauhaus tradition during the late 20′s in Dessau, Germany. Max Bill would go on to lead a long and creative life with many different design outlets including architecture, typography, graphics, sculpture, and timepieces. In the early fifties, Bill founded the Ulm School of Design in Germany and expanded on his Bauhaus roots while teaching in design theory.

The 1950s also saw Max Bill and his students working to design clocks for the German manufacturer Junghans. Unsurprisingly, these clocks are functional, clean and exceedingly legible, very Bauhaus. Bill’s design saw use in Junghans wrist watches by the early 60′s is still employed today in both a line of  clocks and a range of watches including both three handers and chronographs. Sharing similar design roots as the Nomos brand, it’s easy to see fundamental similarities in their design including sparse and functional dial details, thin hands and highly legible typeface.

The model that best exemplifies the style and simplicity of the Max Bill design is the 027/3500.00 (above right). This 38mm white-dialed watch features a minimal stainless steel case with short lugs and an extremely thin bezel. The crystal is acrylic plexiglass and the watch is powered by the automatic Junghans J800.1 (ETA 2824-2). Junghans line of modern Max Bill watches are fairly authentic reinterpretations of the 60’s era models, there is even a 34 mm option (above left). Our preference would be in the 38mm model with the date feature (027/4700.00, seen right) which can be found online for as little as $870 USD. We like the white dial version as it should suit many different strap colors and should make for a very flexible daily wearer providing you don’t wear a wetsuit or a tux to work. The acrylic crystal will likely attract a lot of scratches but can be re-polished and should instill a vintage feel to the Max Bill auto, even when brand new.

The Max Bill designs should find a great home on your wrist if you’re a fan of Bauhaus design but find the Nomos models, and their lovely in-house movements, a bit too pricy. With models starting just under $650 USD the enduring Max Bill aesthetic is available to nearly any buyer. While we understand the use of any acrylic crystal from a design and authenticity perspective, we don’t know how well they will hold up to the average daily grind.

Archimede Watches is a small German brand which has been producing mechanical sport watches since 2003. Archmiede is part of the German company Ickler which also  produces Limes Watches, Autran & Viala, and Defacto. In 1924, Karl Ickler founded this case manufacturing business in Pforzheim (Germany) and, after being relaunched by his sons in 1947, Ickler has been manufacturing cases ever since. This interesting company is still controlled by the Ickler family, now three generations older, with one Thomas Ickler currently managing operations.

Being a house brand for a case manufacturer is a good recipe for quality and individuality as it means Archimede watches are not fitted with catalog cases but rather custom designed options that can be made without relying on external manufacturers. Archimede has a loyal following in the watch enthusiast community thanks to many strong designs, competitive pricing, and a wide range of options.

Archimede offers a product range which encompasses six distinct lines. Call us unoriginal, but our favorites are the Pilot and the SportTaucher (diver) models. The Pilot is a WWII aviators style watch that helped launched the Archimedes brand. Available in 36, 39, 42 and 45 mm the Pilot line has a model for every wrist and includes a titanium cased version and a 42mm chronograph powered by an ETA 7750 movement.

Our preference would be with the 39 or 42mm models which are only 9.9 mm thick and powered by the ETA 2824 automatic movements. The Pilot range starts at $535 and buyers can choose from a selection of straps, a bracelet (add $170), and even a left handed model. The Pilot (42mm) is the only Archimede I have seen in person and I was very impressed by the fit and finish of the case and overall package given its price point.

The SportTaucher is Archimedes’ dive watch and is especially appealing thanks to is simple but detailed styling and near perfect proportions. With its German case measuring just 41.5 x 12 mm the SportTaucher is almost the same size as the now discontinued Omega Seamaster Pro (non-coaxial).

The SportTaucher is fitted with an AR coated sapphire crystal, a unidirectional dive bezel, and boasts 300m water resistance. This attractive and understated diver is available in a range of dial colors and can be had for $850 on a leather strap or $1020 USD on a stainless steel bracelet. There is also an option for the SportTaucher M, which features a stainless steel bezel (seen above, pricing starts at $895).

It would be hard for us to chose between the black or white dialed models which boast some subtle coloring and excellent contrast between the dial and the sword-style hands. With pricing just slightly above the average Chinese-sourced indie options, this ETA-2824 powered German diver looks to be one of the more refined offerings around $1000. Frequent readers will note our love for thin watches, especially divers, and there is a good chance that the appeal of the SportTaucher will be too hard to resist. Let us know in the comments if you would like to see a Pilot or SportTaucher get the full review treatment.