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flipper 3T WIS 
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I'd appreciate some thoughts on this new watch from Lum Tec. It is called the M66, part of their Cobalt line.I am considering it for my next watch. I decided to look at the Lum Tec site to see if they had any new, smaller offerings. It measures a very doable 40mm. I'm done with large watches for a while. Looking for a daily wearer that I can actually keep on the whole day. I am wondering if anyone has ever had a watch made of Cobalt Chromium. Never heard of it. I'm also very wary of the price, coming in at 995.00, but can be had for a pre-order price of 845.00. Either way, it seems to me like a bit of a high price, especially considering the much debated Miyota movement. I'd appreciate any thoughts on this. Here are the rest of the specs from Lum Tec: 40mm width excluding crown. 22mm lug width. Scratch resistant Cobalt Chromium case. High polished finish. CNC cut and 3D MDV technology luminous dial. Sapphire crystal with double side clear anti-reflective coating. Screw lock crown with double diamond sealing system. Threaded stainless steel caseback with sapphire window. 300 meters/990 ft. water resistance. 2 straps included: Brown leather strap. 22/20 size. Custom molded anti-static rubber strap. 22/20 size. (new style) Extra springbars included for fitting other straps. Ultra precision tuned 28,800 BPH Miyota 9015 Japan automatic movement. One year limited warranty. Limited numbered series of 100. Free lifetime timing adjustments. Attachment: m66_1.jpg (Downloaded 68 times) |
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oagaspar Site Founder 
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not much contact with Lum Tec,but I could name a few other brands I would rather own for $1000.  |
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Skipdawg 3T WIS 
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Yea when you can still get a nice watch with a Swiss Eta 2824 movement for that price range I would do that. Those are suppose to be rather good watches but I would not pay that much for a Miyota 9015 myself. |
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bigrustypig 3T WIS 
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Agree with Oscar and John. I'd rather put my money on other choices. |
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Hammerfjord Moderator 
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Lum Tec is not cheap for what they sell...Why? Who knows. Maybe because they are "designed and tested in USA". But we all know where they are made: Jackie Chan knows as well. I don't hook on them but if you're hooked, just buy one. About the 9015: What is much debated ? |
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flipper 3T WIS
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Google miyota 9015 vs eta 2824. Thanks for the feedback everyone. Thinking I'll pass and look down the road for a used one. |
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Hammerfjord Moderator
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Roughly, people say that it works well but it's still too early to judge him as a strong concurrent to the 2824-2 from ETA. Exactly what I thought myself in fact. I never owned a watch housing a 9015 but I own since 1.5 year an Autozilla housing the 8203 Miyota and I'm all over satisfied with the performances. It's a watch I've been using from -15 to +30 celsius and bouncing around in daily adventures, hard parties, holidays, as well as for my offshore certification and huet training. It's not a box watch: I use it, I "bang" it.  Yes, the price for this Miyota/LumTec is high as said Skip but I would expect this movement to be a long runner. |
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flipper 3T WIS
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I had a 9015 in a Benarus Moray (2nd iteration) a while back. Ran flawlessly. But from what I've read and come to understand, the ETA movements carry a little more cache, no matter how many people say what a great movement Miyota makes. |
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Hammerfjord Moderator
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The 2824-2 is called "the tractor"... It has a long history: It's born from a long generation of movements which was proven to be long-lasters. The big secret about any long-lasting movement, is a movement who is simple and allover robustly built at large scale production, with "easy to repair/replace" parts. Parts which will always be around for the next decades and even easy to recreate for a skilled guy. I remember, 20 years ago I was speaking with a watchmaker in his shop near Paris and asked him if he had an automatic to sell: He had only quartz. He showed me his wrist and his Rolex datejust : He told me he regretted that automatic watches had mostly disappeared against the quartz. That he had his Rolex since 20 years and crossed the Sahara and all kind of shits with it and it was still going strong. I asked why and how? His answer was: " This movement is simply and strongly built: No fancy shit, only what it needs in the simplest and most functional way. It's parts are easy to repair or get replaced by any good watchmaker: Some parts can even be replicated by a skilled man if needed and so the watch will go on for a lifetime." That was the most down-to-earth answer I ever had on Rolex in my opinion. The thing is that other movements feature the same simple&robust construction: They may have different grades in quality but they will also last you a lifetime, if taken care of, over the years. You find them in many old brands and variations. There's no myth in movements: Just simple mechanical engineering who been proving it's strong value through time. The 2824-2 made it's reputation as well: A well proven one, even it has it's limits like any robust movements. The 9015 needs more time, if it can take up the challenges and it may win the hearts in the next decades: Only time will show. A skilled watchmaker could tell by experience if a movement would be weak or strong to last: Just by demounting it and observing, comparing parts with other reputable ones. But average people need time, stories and reputations: They need myths as well... |
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flipper 3T WIS
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Well said. Love that story. Thanks for the lesson. |
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stew77 Admin 
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I've never owned anything from Lum Tec, but given the specs I agree with the comments already made...definitely seems pricey given the Miyota 9015 engine. First watch I've seen that is using "Cobalt Chromium" for the case material (seems to be used extensively in the medical industry for hip replacements and prosthetics)...I should do a comparison to ss, Ti, and Bronze to see where this material lands for hardness, strength, and resistance to corrosion. I definitely enjoy evaluating the pros/cons of materials so maybe I will take some time to look more into this Cobalt Chromium material that I'm currently unfamiliar with. That being said, I have a couple timepieces that use the Miyota 9015 calibre and the experience so far is ALL POSITIVE! (but all have been at a lower price point)...steller timekeeping really with no issues so far (but I agree, the calibre is so new that time will be the true test of it's reliability and robustness over the long haul). You certainly have a ton of choices in that price range to look at and consider. In conclusion, price point is definitely high considering the 9015 calibre...(looks like you may have already decided to continue your search, so all the best with your journey to find the perfect piece!) |
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Hammerfjord Moderator
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The cobalt-chromium seems to sell up to 50 or a hundred times higher in price than stainless steel: Depending of the quantity demanded and fluctuation's market. I just saw roughly on the net, correct me if I'm wrong. So the price increase might be justified, specially that harder and more expensive tools would be necessary to cut and finish it in watch cases... |
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Hammerfjord Moderator
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flipper wrote:Well said. Love that story. Thanks for the lesson. You're welcome. It always been my opinion that one will find movements which will rival each-others in strength and durability even them prices are very different. For the reliability: It's all about tests, time witnessing and strong mechanical facts. For the price: It's all about marketing, exclusivity, branding and perception on the market who gets influenced by the last facts(Of course the reliability gets involved). But I believe that some cheap reliable movements will serve you through time as well as expensive reliable ones. It's not all about the name and the price: It's all about mechanical features. Brands like Lemania, Peseux, Valjoux, Fontainemelon, Schild, Unitas etc been helping to write the history of mass produced work-horses. They was made affordable by the large production in industrial scales at a certain time and somehow with them price sinking down, people started to see less exclusivity and less value in them. They was as well, never marketed intensively through branding the way we know it now. Non the less, they might surpass or equal many other expensive movements when facing the wheel of time passing by: Because they often allied the whole right recipe to produce a long lasting movement. More interesting details on the story I "condensed" : http://www.breitlingsource.com/articles_roff_historymovement.shtml |
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bigrustypig 3T WIS
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From what I read somewhere, a new caliber or new movement needs at LEAST 10 years before it can prove itself. Hard to think how a system piece containing so many small moving parts, researched by engineers, designed by entire departments and produced with so much attention to detail has to have a 10 year record. But I guess that's how the true and pure industry works. Strangely, this is also what they say about a new ballistic size, i.e. 41mm AE or .40 Caliber. |
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Hammerfjord Moderator
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bigrustypig wrote:From what I read somewhere, a new caliber or new movement needs at LEAST 10 years before it can prove itself. Hard to think how a system piece containing so many small moving parts, researched by engineers, designed by entire departments and produced with so much attention to detail has to have a 10 year record. But I guess that's how the true and pure industry works. Strangely, this is also what they say about a new ballistic size, i.e. 41mm AE or .40 Caliber. Nasa saved them self 10 years of waiting when they did the flight qualification's tests in 1965 on different brands chronometers before choosing the Speedmaster from Omega... Of course it has to imply that parts exposed to tearing due to repetitive actions, would be strong/thick enough to withstand a decade without the need to be changed or weak enough to impeach any digging. This is why the "Delryn(kind of plastic) brake was introduced in 74 to prevent the wear of the central second pinions, since the original metal part was digging into them... I'm just quoting infos about the movement 861 from Speedmaster I've been reading since I'm not a watchmaker myself. |
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