r/Aethelsohnwatch

Missed out on this one before it went out of stock. This is my favorite watch in the Aethelsohn collection. Please bring her back! 🙏

Has anyone else considered the new Aethelsohn Mariner produced in low numbers for AliX? The rose gold model was limited to 9 pieces. I think only four people have pulled the trigger on that one. Not my cup of tea. But the other colorways could be my Oolong, Earl Gray or Jasmine. 😁

Tangent: I'm a big fan of Phorcydes, so I was excited when they announced their PH-6. But their new Seamaster homage did not appeal to me. Though there are several other options (WD, Octopus, etc), the Seamaster was never seriously on my radar.

Enter onto AliX, Aethelsohn which has quickly gained an excellent reputation, including from my family. I will say that one of our three PT5000s from them has failed within 3 months. But after consulting with Aethelsohn last night, I am positive there will be a positive outcome. With an approved repair, they will send an RMA call tag out for free shipping for repair. Even with a 4 to 6 weeks turnaround time, this is acceptable.

With this information in hand, I seriously considered their Mariner option last night in Polar Blue. I put it up head-to-head against the Phorcydes PH-6. My impression is the Aethelsohn has a prettier dial. Though it does not have lume blocks, Aethelsohn's luminosity is tremendous on our three GS clones. I can only imagine how great it will be in a dive watch.

My uncertainty: The Mariner is 39mm with an 18mm lug width. It will be an interesting departure from the 42/20mm of the original or PH6. But as I now maintain a weight under 200lbs, smaller watches are appealing to me more. Though my wrist is a flat 7.75 inches, my 37mm BB54 doesn't look lost on it; so, i imagine the Mariner will look just fine. The bracelet includes their OTF clasp.

There is about a $55 discount due to the back to school sale, which made it compelling. When I ordered the Polar Ice, the inventory was 18. So it should be 17 now. I think these may have been limited to 20 to 25 pieces each, except for the red one, which was limited to 9 according to their website. AliX will not let me order a second one or even put one in my cart to even see the current inventory totals, but you can see them.

I am curious to know if anybody else has seen or considered this lineup?

Not officially launched yet, but close enough that we can finally start sharing it.

This upcoming model features a vertically patterned guilloché dial that comes alive under changing light. Inside is an automatic mechanical movement, keeping things traditional beneath a more contemporary dial design. We haven't settled on a name yet, so for now it's simply the Forge Guilloché project.

Curious which color everyone is gravitating toward: Aqua, Emerald, or Violet? 👀

The Shard Bleu (because German 😉) is an impressive watch for the money. The case is substantial, yet svelte at 12.2mm, including its domed sapphire crystal. The brushing is excellent, as expected. There have been at least 2 other reviews of this exact watch recently, so you guys may have already heard a lot about it. I'm not going much into the measurements that you've already heard, only the things that might make a difference.

Why I got the Blue Shard instead of any of the other available colors...

I think the dials in every color are fantastic, but I find the chapter ring to be overly bright, even borderline garish, on many Shards. The red, aqua, and turquoise dials all end with overly bright chapter rings. I don't understand fading a brilliant dial into a dramatic fumé, only to shackle it with a cuff of bright color. Dramatic fumé effect nullified...

I was faced with either going with the black one, which is not my preferred color, or landing on one with a subdued chapter ring. This is where the Blue Shard entered upstage right. Though the chapter ring is still the color of the dial, its cornflower blue hue is the most subdued of the color options, ranging toward a distinguished lavender gray. It really doesn't matter that I think the dial is stunning. I just hope that I have presented it well enough that you agree.

Note: Today I was able to take photos out in intense daylight to show off its AR coating. I will add one or two inline.

Since I am first and foremost a photographer, I will let the pictures do most of the talking. I did a "video" to include all 60 photos that I culled for posting.

Basically every photo in my video is ~50Mpx. If there is one you would like to see full size, let me know the video timestamp. There are 60 pictures, and each one runs for 2 seconds.

I am sure I left 100 things out about the watch, because it's been reviewed so often already. I hope you enjoy the photos, Cheers!

Useful info...

Head2Head against San Martin...

I evaluated how the Shard compares to the San Martin SN0130B with a similar bracelet on the wrist. The case finishing on both is excellent, though only the SM has wide chamfering on the level of a real GS. Also comparing the Shard to the Cronos GS Silver Birch v2 case, Cronos also provides more chamfering than the Aethelsohn. Having said this, there are no complaints about the finishing of the Aethelsohn. I am merely noting it's not as deeply beveled as the GS case it emulates.

Continuing my wrist-to-wrist observations, the two bracelets share many similarities--and a few differences. Both are OTF, and other than the badging, the clasps are almost identical (Aethelsohn's is .2mm wider.). The bracelets offer similar reticulation and male endlinks. They are not identically built, but they are close enough to compare them head to head. Surprisingly, the Aethelsohn's bracelet has .3mm thicker links than the SM's. The SM, as a result, wears lighter. Both bands hug the wrist, the SM more like a custom amulet. Effort has been made to chamfer the underside of the SM bracelet to great success. There has been much less effort (some might say none) made on Aethelsohn's part in this regard. Still, the Aethelsohn bracelet is extremely well made and comfortable. I have worn it overnight multiple times, and have had no marks on my wrist in the morning. I would give the SM an 9/10 and the Aethelsohn a 8/10. I took a photo of them SxS that I will post inline.

Based on my anecdotal evaluation, I would say that the Aethelsohn delivers 90% of the quality of San Martin for much less than 90% of the price.

Natural stone dial watch aethelsohn terra Nova

Came across the brand recently, had a wonderful experience buying this beautiful piece. The experience and story down on the link below.

Specs

Movement: VH31

Case Material: 316L Stainless Steel

Glass: Sapphire Crystal with Inner AR Coating

Dial: Rhodochrosite

Luminous: Super-LumiNova® BGW9

Crown: Screw down

Case Back: Screw Down

Bracelet: 316L Stainless Steel

Clasp: 5 hole micro adjustment milled clasp

Water Resistant: 100m/10ATM

Thickness: 11.55mm

Opening: 31.5mm

Case diameter: 38.5mm

Lug to lug: 45.0mm

Band width: 20.0 X 18.0 mm

1 week review

Right off the bat the specs you see is delivered and they didn't cut corners on that, usually when a brand claims to provide these claims they cut corners but I didn't feel that in this case.

PROS

They deliver what the claim in specs.

The polishing and texture is on point.

The symbol is really beautiful and simple, can be seen also on the crown and clasp.

Strap is really comfortable to wear and adjustment comes in screw setting which is really nice to see in this price point.

Bonus they also provide really nice tool with the watch so you don't have to go to a shop to adjust the chain.

Lugs have holes on the sides to help in strap change. Also got a bonus strap as there was a summer offer while I ordered, which was really premium oil wax leather I think.

The dial is the cherry on top, it's natural stone and never seen on this price point, every watch is unique on it's on.

The time I ordered I got free shipping inclusive of tax and customs plus a premium leather strap and on the top of that 8$ off for first purchase. So I paid around 120$ [₹ 11600], delivery in 15 days.

Excellent customer service, I have shared that experience on previous post.

CONS

To be honest I don't have any cons on the watch, although I wish they would make watches for a smaller wrist around 36mm.

Overall the hand feel is excellent, the watch case has a weight to it and feels solid, rose gold indices really goes with the pink stone dial. The stone dials might seem dull inside but once the sunlight hits it shines and brings out the beauty of the stone dial.

Pink might not be the go to for many people and they do have many other natural and textured dials with both automatic and quartz options. Every model is worth the money and it was one of my best watch experience soo far. The feeling is not an exaggeration I have over 70 watches in my collection and this definitely has a special place in it.

If you guys have any doubts feel free to dm or comment