Swatch sistem 51 review
20:30:00When the two words Swiss watch is mentioned, the thought of a hefty tag will normally ensue in many minds. What if I told you that you don't need to burn a hole in your pocket to own a Swiss mechanical watch?
Swatch, a company known to bring fun and colors to the wrist have managed to bring affordable mechanical Swiss watches to the general public.
Introducing the Sistem 51. Before I even talk about the watch, Let me explain a little about why is it called Sistem 51. The number 51 refers to the number of parts used to bring the movement to life. If that number does not impress you, here is another one, it is made entirely out of plastic and this watch's movement is held together by a single screw. Oh, and this movement has 90 hours power reserve too.
Having the luxury to own one (as a student with little allowance), I tried it out for a couple of weeks and here is my thoughts on it.
As expected, the sistem 51 comes in many colours with different choices of casing and strap to choose from. You can either choose the cheaper plastic casings or the more pricey stainless steel case with leather strap or steel bracelets.
For this review, I was rocking a stainless steel case with a black leather strap. First impressions were not the best honestly speaking. In terms of quality of materials used, it pales in comparison to brands like Orient and Seiko considering the 200+sgd price tag.
Aesthetically speaking, it was pleasant looking with a great size that fit my wrist.
One thing I didn't really like was the lugs. The watch lugs didn't seem to fit the bracelet and the the way the leather straps were held to the watch wasn't superior to way Seiko did it. To me, i feel it was just distasteful for it to be done this day
Being used to a crown guard, I feel that the crown is protruding out of the case way more than it should and it is likely for collectors who use this as a daily beater to break the crown when it is impacted with something else.
After wearing it for about a week, I noticed that it lost about 2 minutes. To a watch enthusiast, that's totally unacceptable. However, I came to terms with the fact that to achieve 90 hours of power reserve on a cheap Swiss movement, the only way is to forsake a little accuracy. When the spring is full loaded, the watch is expected to go faster. When the spring is not as compressed, its natural that the watch will go slower. As a result, I wont depend on my swatch to tell me the precise time to the second but it will serve as a great watch if you want to know roughly what time is it.
The watch had a clear case back where you can see the movement in action but it's nothing too fancy as the movement wasn't designed to be beautiful. It was more like it was designed to be cheap and efficient.
After wearing it for about a week, I noticed that it lost about 2 minutes. To a watch enthusiast, that's totally unacceptable. However, I came to terms with the fact that to achieve 90 hours of power reserve on a cheap Swiss movement, the only way is to forsake a little accuracy. When the spring is full loaded, the watch is expected to go faster. When the spring is not as compressed, its natural that the watch will go slower. As a result, I wont depend on my swatch to tell me the precise time to the second but it will serve as a great watch if you want to know roughly what time is it.
Overall, I would say that this is a fun piece to collect. However, if you're looking for something dressy or something that would withstand the daily beating, this might not be the right one.
However, it is still a very fun and collectable watch which fits the swatch brand very well.
Hope you enjoyed this review and keep coming back for the more interesting articles coming up ahead!
Hope you enjoyed this review and keep coming back for the more interesting articles coming up ahead!
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