Blessed by St. Martin

Martin of Tours is the patron saint of France and by dividing his cloak he also became patron saint of beggars, which is quite fitting for me since I feel his blessing every time I remind myself that I was born in France and that while I didn't have to beggar myself for an Explorer I did get mine for a pittance.

It's not really an Explorer but it does the job of a legible 3 hander that can take a beating just fine. It's actually the only watch that I own with a scratched sapphire crystal, which resulted from an unfortunate encounter with a concrete wall.

Nevertheless, it's still perfectly usable and as can be seen in the macro shots, the print quality of dial is very good and the hand's polish is perfectly suitable.

The bracelet is the familiar San Martin fair, it's thick. it's heavy, and it's well made. This shot also show why the SN021-G isn't really an explorer since the profile of the crystal is very different and the bezel...well it looks OK for an Explorer styled watch as long as you don't mind its proportions. The overall finish and polish is also OK but not spectacular. San Martin has upped their game since, but the SN021-G is an older model and the attention to details is lacking in some areas.

I was looking for a simple no thrill 3 hands watch, and I was also curious about the brand which is why I bought it during one of the seasonal sales on AliExpress, who are also sharing with San Martin the patronage of the beggars and destitute. It really was a cheap and no fuss purchase, which is basically what can be used for describing the SN021-G too.

I guess that I could buy a new one for the price of replacing the scratched sapphire, but the truth is that I don't mind the scratches at all, and while the newer versions did fix some of the proportion's oddities, they are also fitted with a different dial and I happen to prefer a painted dial on Explorer styled watches.

All things considered, the SN021-G was really a blessing - even if I'm not exactly a Catholic and I no longer live in France. Therefore I'm not sure if I really earned this blessing fairly. I do worship my cat though, which should put St. Francis and St. Gertrude in my corner if St. Martin decide to make an issue out of it.