I received my MM20, purchased from a fellow forumer only six hours ago and I'm jotting down my personal impressions of the watch etc.
First of all the watch is just as good looking as all the photos from the forum have shown it to be. It looks great! The dial is super interesting with the two layer construction. The lume glows like blazes and I have nothing but good to say about that.
The most surprising thing to me is that although it's a BIG watch it wears like a much smaller watch on my small 6.5" wrist. I half expected to find it was too big for me and I'd be passing it along to a bigger brother. Not so. Although it definitely has presence on my small wrist it's comfortable and appears to be only large...not outsized. Even my son who is characteristicaly critical of my watch choices feels it "fits" me and he wants to know if dad will get one for him. (He's a much larger structure than me so I have no doubt that he'd take to it just fine should I break down and place an order for him.)
Ken Trading has been quoted as saying that the brushed finish etc. is done by hand and I believe them. Careful inspections shows small variations in the apparent "shape" of the lugs etc. which would be the natural result of hand (rather than machine) finishing. I don't take this as a negative. In fact, I feel it is endearing and perfectly alright with me if my watch is a little bit "imperfect" in it's uniformity. I think it's a mark of distinction in a way.
The straps are great in my view, especially the black horsehide strap which is wonderfully soft althuugh thick. It also happens to be the perfect size for my wrist.
The strap buckle is waaaay larger than I thought but not out of proportion with the rest of the watch and I like it very much. It's manly to say the least!
As for the sapphire crystal, it has a more distinct variation in ground shape than I expected. I know there have been many comments about the "dual grind" appearance but I hadn't expected that the shape would be such that there would be a sort of refraction shadow on the face of the watch when viewed under strong light. This effect doesn't bother me particularly but I've never seen it before on a watch so it's notable to me.
Now for the two things I think are negatives....at least at this point. The first is that this watch is singular in having the worst out-of-the-box rate of any watch I've purchased in the last 5 years. I had expected the Unitas 6497 to be at least nominal or average compared to my other watches. This guy is running about + 40 seconds a day right now. I know it's unfair to expect much from a new movement untill it's had a bit of exercise and the opportunity to smooth up some mating gear tooth surfaces with a bit of running so I'm not making final statements about the movement. I'm just surprised that it's not within 20 seconds or so per day error rather than the 40 I'm seeing now. Someone suggested that Ken Trading is likely to be regulating the movements on the MM20 before they are boxed up for sale. I hope NOT. If that were true I'd feel that I have an inferior specimen and that would not make me a happy camper.
The second negative is the "looseness of the crown protecter lever". It's sufficiently loose that there can be no pressure on the crown at all when the lever is in it's closed position. That makes the whole thing merely cosmetic to me and being an engineer I prefer function to be on a higher plane than appearance. That said, the whole crown protecter thing still does look neat. I just wish I could figure out some reasonable excuse for having a lever that doesn't apply force to SOMETHING.
The last surprise (although it should not have been a surprise since so many have commented before on it) is that the packaging is superb. The birds eye box is not just a box. It's more of a beautiful vault. Everything in the packaging is just.....well.........fantastic.
These are my initial impressions.
Do I like the watch?
I sure do!
Is it worth more than the Ken Trading Co. asking price?
It sure is.
I'm praying that the movement will smooth out, lose a bit of internal friction and gain a bit more balance wheel amplitude than it probably has now and make me a happy guy in the long run. For the short term I'll just wear the watch a LOT and reset it a LOT while I'm waiting.
OH...one last little surprise about the movement. I hadn't tought to research the issue before purchasing but the Unitas 6497 apparently does not hack. At least this one doesn't. I assume that's characteristic of the movement. If it's not I'd sure like a heads up on that. A non-hacking movement that was supposed to hack would definitely be the pits!
I haven't taken photos and I doubt if many are interested in seeing more of the watch since there are so many great ones shown by others on the forum.
I will delve a bit deeper into details of the watch and provide updates on my impressons as time goes on though.
Duane
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