Additional information
| Weight | N/A |
|---|---|
| Model number: No selection | SN0144-GS |
| Movement: No selection | Miyota 9015 |
| Movement Description: No selection | Self-winding (Automatic) |
| Case diameter: No selection | 36 mm |
| Case Thickness: No selection | 10.1 mm |
| Case material: No selection | 316L Stainless Steel |
| Lug to Lug: No selection | 43.5 mm |
| Bezel: No selection | Stainless Steel |
| Dial window material type: No selection | Sapphire Crystal Glass, AR-Coating |
| Calendar type: No selection | Date |
| Waterproofness: No selection | 10 bar (100 m) |
| Luminous: No selection | BGW-X1 Blue Luminous |
| Dial color: No selection | Blue, Orange, Red |
| Band width: No selection | 19 mm |
| Band Material: No selection | Rubber, Stainless Steel |
| Band length: No selection | 190 mm, 205 mm |
| Weight: No selection | 128 g, 72 g |
Yassan –
5 stars is a bit too much, but 4 stars is surely not enough.
This is a review of the San Martin SN0144-GS (36 mm) with orange dial and (orange) rubber strap, after almost 2 weeks of ownership.
Let’s start with the dial.
Depending on the angles, both of view and of incoming light, the dark veins of the dial can almost disappear. This makes for a various watching experience which I appreciate.
The date at 6 o’clock allows for a perfect symmetry, also very appreciated. Unluckily the numbers are so small that, if it is not in full light, I can’t read the number without my reading glasses. On the other hand, the steel frame of the date is about of the same size of the hour marker at 12 o’clock (just a bit less high, and maybe a tiny bit wider), helping with the symmetry of the dial. And the date wheel background color matches the dial better than it looks in the website photos.
Differently from the photos on the website, there is no “truncated” 6 o’clock marker below the date frame; there is no 6 o’clock marker at all, to be precise, and I prefer it this way.
The only detail going against a perfect symmetry is the logo, which is way more prominent than the “Automatic/100m=300ft” writing counterpart. Either a smaller logo or a bolder writing would have been good.
A bolder writing would have also invited bigger markers and hands, which would have made the time more readable; in certain light conditions the reading is not instantaneous, though it never becomes really difficult. These sizes increase would have meant also more lume, which now is just fine. But this changes would have changed the whole vibe of the watch, making it more tool-ish (which I would have liked even more); now it is more on the elegant-sporty side. Anyway, if it won’t happen I will live happily with this dial as it is now.
The only nonsense thing I found is the red paint on the second hand tip. I believe it makes full sense on the blue dial, but on the orange dial it would have enjoyed it (and seen it) way better without paint, like it is with the red dial.
The crystal is fine. It sticks above the bezel just a tiny bit, and San Martin says it has an anti reflective coating. I believe the coating is only on the inside, if it would have been also on the outside it would have helped the readability which, as I noted already, is not the strongest point of the watch. But I prefer to have the toughest crystal surface possible, and an A/R coating is for sure more delicate than pure sapphire.
The case is great. The quality of the brushing is incredible for the price, and the polished surfaces are very sharp and shiny. And the fact that there are so few and small polished surfaces makes me confident this is a great “go anywhere, do anything” watch. I wouldn’t have minded a completely brushed (or even sandblasted) case, but this balance between elegance and usability is great.
I also enjoy very much the thinness, though I would have given up to 1/2 mm thinness for an exposition case back (but keeping the 100 m water resistance).
And the lightness is great too; even with a nylon strap it doesn’t become top-heavy. Since I like to wear it loose on the wrist this is an even more important point.
The few times I wear it tight, it hugs my 168 mm wrist very well.
The movement.
The Miyota 9015 surely gives a big contribution to the lovely thinness of the watch, and it is – I believe – one of the cheapest 4 Hz movements on the market.
This one is about 4 seconds slow per day, which is very good. It seems to make hardly any difference that I leave the watch upright for the night or that I lay it flat, and this also speaks well of the quality of the movement.
There are many rumours online about the Miyota movements being loud, but maybe it is more true for the 8xxx series. This watch is silent enough for me, though it might be different with a – by me anyway wished for – exposition case back.
The rubber strap.
First of all, in real life the colours of strap and dial are a better match than it appears from the photos on the website. The strap is not as shiny, and comes closer to the edge of the dial, though I could have preferred an ever slightly darker tone, but I’m not even sure about it.
My real grudge is about the pitch of the holes. On the inside the strap has a waffle pattern, which helps the breathability, and at the vertex of each “carved out pyramid” of the waffle there is a hole, which makes the breathability even better, which is great (indeed, the it breathes almost as well as the 3rd party nylon strap that I’m using now), and the holes of the midline are also the holes for the buckle. With this design and given the width of the strap, it turns out that the pitch of the holes is about 8,5 mm, and for me it is way too much. The 3rd party nylon strap has a pitch of less than 6 mm, and this makes it way more versatile.
Luckily there is a hole in the almost perfect position for me, but now it is full summer, and I don’t know how it will fit in full winter, with the change of wrist size…
As you can see from the photos, going along the strap you find alternatively one central hole and two side holes. It shouldn’t be difficult to reduce the pattern size so to have alternatively 3 holes where before there was one (and the central one still will be used for the buckle) and 2 holes like it is already. To my approximate calculations a pitch of 5,5 mm should be small enough to allow this design. This would give a similar or better breathability and way more versatility, without weakening the strap significantly.
Another improvement could be the adoption of fast change pins, though – for how it is built now – this could weaken the strap way more than adding holes as suggested before.
All in all I’m very satisfied of this watch, at least for now. There is still room for improvement, but most of the improvements I suggest here would rather make for a different kind of watch. The only 3 real improvements I see without changing the nature of the watch are:
– Leave the tip of the second hand without paint.
– Reduce the pitch of the rubber strap’s hole
– Exposition case back (if it is possible with max 0,5 mm increase in thickness).
Anyway, already now, at 300 € this is an amazing watch.
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