Clash of the leather pants

One of my favorite movement models is the ETA (Valjoux) 7751. One of the most versatile movements in this price range that has been proven for a long time and offers excellent value for money and, in my opinion, the best alternative for those who like to have a watch with a full calendar, but also an „affordable“ alternative to a perpetual calendar.

This work offers:

• Big date

• Month

• Day

• Date

• Additional 24H display

• Moon phase

And…

• chronograph function

It’s like a mechanical clone to my favorite watch, the Casio AE-1200 😉. It is based on the workhorse ETA Valjoux 7750, which is still used today by many premium brands up to 10K. But we don't want to go that far today. I'm interested which watch manufacturer can get the best out of this movement.

In order to make a direct comparison, I chose 2 Swiss and 2 German watch brands with their respective ETA 7751 models.

🇨🇭Swiss:

• Baume Mercier Classima Automatic Chronograph M0A10484

• Longines Masters Collection L2.673.4.92.0

🇩🇪German:

• Union Glashütte Belisar Chronograph Moonphase

• Limes Pharo Chronograph full calendar

Let's start the battle

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Baume Mercier Classima automatic chronograph M0A10484

The case size of 42mm is a bit big but still exceptable . The power reserve is not that important to me personally and with this model it is ok with 48 hours, but it is a little disappointing because compared to all the others it is by far the most expensive at 4800 euros and all the others have significantly higher power reserves. It seems that this model will no longer be continued at B&M. At least I couldn't find it on their website anymore. But at numerous dealers their are still plenty on stock.

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Longines Masters Collection L2.673.4.92.0

With 40mm case diameter, it is wearable for more wrists. The power reserve of 66 hours is also respectable considering the complications. However, two shortcomings of this model are the only 3ATM water resistance and thus the lowest of all models that have proven that it can be better. And also the unpopular lug width of 21mm. Although that wouldn't be a KO criterion for me, because in this price segment I assume that both the metal bracelets and the leather bracelets are of sufficiently good quality, as I know from Lognies and most would not be interested to put here Ali- Exchange Express wristbands. But still, it's kind of reassuring to know that you'd have the freedom. A big plus here is the silicon spiral used. The price is 3650 euros and thus far below of Baume & Mercier.

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Union Glashuette Belisar Chronograph Moonphase

Although this model also has a slightly larger diameter of 42mm than B&M and, like Lognies, belongs to the Swatch Group, you can tell that more thought has been put into standing out from the competition. The water resistance is 10 ATM, the highest value of all models and can therefore even be used for swimming without any problems. This increases the uses and situations in which you can wear them without hesitation. At 65 hours, it has a similar power reserve to Longines and also uses a silicon hairspring, which makes the watch less sensitive to magnetism and better accuracy.

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Limes Pharo Chronograph Full Calendar

A player that less will probably know so far. I will write more about this manufacturer from the watch town of Pforzheim in antoher column, which should definitely be considered, and I will be brief here. Limes (pronounced "Lee-Mess") is owned by the Pforzheim Ickler family, who have been making watch parts for generations. This is something to keep in mind when you take a closer look at the watch. Apart from the movement, everything is made in-house in their own manufactory. The case, the thermally blued hands, the bracelet. Especially on the case, the effort was made to make it more complex and detailed, especially on the sides. The dial in particular is very elaborately and detailed decorated with sun guilloche, sunburst and Clous de Paris. It is a comfortable size at 40mm, has a lug width of 20mm and is water resistant to 5 ATM. Unfortunately, there is no information about the power reserve. However, the price is impressive. At 2,950 euros, it is around 700 euros below Longines and Union Glashütte and even almost 2,000 euros below the Baume & Mercier model.

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Ranking:

My first place:

Limes Pharo Chronograph full calendar

While the technical specifications are okay, it clearly stands out with its build quality and attention to detail. Compared to the competition, numerous additional work processes were used for refinement and upgrading, which is also evident from the watch. Although it is the cheapest model, it looks significantly more valuable and expensive than its competitors. Even if the Limes brand and its parent company Ickler are not well known, you can notices their roots in the traditional watchmaking trade of the Pforzheim watch industry (see my article on Pforzheim). As beautiful as all other watches are, this watch shows the craftsmanship and attention to detail. Coupled with the price, the complications and the ETA (Valjoux) 7751, this is one of the best watches you can get for the price in my opinion.

My Second choise would be the Union Glashütte. Although I like the variaty and details oft he Longines Dials more, but the amazing specifications fort he same price like the Longines makes ist simply more interesting to me.

Third would be in my opinion the Longines. Even great looking and different dial style to chose, but hard to compete to the Union Glashütte.

Baume & Mercier lost unfortunately. It's a good watch and I like the brand. Especially their Riviera Line. But in this competition it actually never had a chance to all three other competitors due to it’s quite high price. That might be the reason why it is discontinued by B&M.