Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

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DenverBuff
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Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by DenverBuff » Tue Sep 24, 2019 9:44 am

. . . which is basically an SKX 007 case with SELs, ceramic bezels, sapphire crystal and drilled lugs.

Interesting.

https://youtu.be/qsCpvbw9L4U

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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by gr8sw » Tue Sep 24, 2019 9:57 am

nice, and price seems right... I wish him luck :thumbsup:
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by jswing » Tue Sep 24, 2019 10:20 am

Looks great, I'd buy one.

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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by CGSshorty » Tue Sep 24, 2019 10:20 am

Nice starting point for a mod.
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by AtomicTom » Tue Sep 24, 2019 10:42 am

Is that cool?! Or what Vic?! ..Wow, hadn't heard about this. Thank you ! :thumbsup:
What's nice is you can see he has evidently been putting a lot of thought
into this, and that the Islander pays tribute to such a timeless watch.

Looks nice, and easy to read, and has a little edge to it's personality. 8-)
Love the name, and how this is evidently just the beginning for his
watches ! ..THX again !!!

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1954Selmer
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by 1954Selmer » Tue Sep 24, 2019 10:47 am

It's a cool mod.
.

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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by Bradystraps » Tue Sep 24, 2019 11:51 am

Marc is a great guy. I hope it’s a huge success for him.
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by matt.wu » Tue Sep 24, 2019 12:01 pm

I don't understand what makes this very direct copy compelling...
:htfu:

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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by hoppyjr » Tue Sep 24, 2019 12:16 pm

matt.wu wrote:I don't understand what makes this very direct copy compelling...
My guess is that it’s because the SKX is discontinued.

It appears he’s using Crystal Times cases and doing the kind of mod that many would do themselves. It seems a reasonable alternative to the Seiko branded stuff in the same price range.


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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by Torrid » Tue Sep 24, 2019 12:16 pm

I really thought it was going to be more expensive than that. Not sure how I feel about it though. It is what Seiko should have done but if they did it would have a 6R15 and cost $1k.

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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by CGSshorty » Tue Sep 24, 2019 12:16 pm

matt.wu wrote:I don't understand what makes this very direct copy compelling...
To me, it’s only compelling if you are going to mod it. It already has most of the usual mods done already.
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by DenverBuff » Tue Sep 24, 2019 12:19 pm

matt.wu wrote:
Tue Sep 24, 2019 12:01 pm
I don't understand what makes this very direct copy compelling...
I view it at as a non-so-subtle jab at Seiko in the wake of the "new" Seiko 007 replacement with 100m WR and a push in crown : "If you're not gonna make the watch that Seiko buyers have been clamoring for for years, then I will".

He's gonna sell a bazillion of these things.

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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by Henryj » Tue Sep 24, 2019 12:28 pm

matt.wu wrote:
Tue Sep 24, 2019 12:01 pm
I don't understand what makes this very direct copy compelling...
A lot of people, myself included, like the SKX a lot. I’ve always thought of it as a classic design, even the Seiko hands. A very comfortable watch, with a great case execution. But there were those few shortcomings, the 7S26 shake n bake movement, undrilled lugs, the tinny bracelet. I’ve even been thinking about what it would cost me to build one up from scratch, correcting its weaknesses. Now, I know, $299.

With the “real” SKX going away in favor of the 100 meter Seiko 5 iteration, this would really fill a niche for new SKX fans.
“Punishable by fine” = Legal for a price.”

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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by jtbenson » Tue Sep 24, 2019 12:32 pm

sorry, too bill hader for me, couldn't make it past 20 seconds
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by hoppyjr » Tue Sep 24, 2019 12:59 pm

The fact that these cases, bezels, crystals, crowns, and movements are all available from Crystal Times does seem to make his “own watch brand” a bit easier to do. Maybe he’s making his own stuff, but I doubt it. Design your own dial, assemble, sell, enjoy profit. Seems pretty straightforward.

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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by 59yukon01 » Tue Sep 24, 2019 1:08 pm

For $299 I'd still rather have a NAFT. I wish him well, but I just don't like what I perceive as a copy with perks.

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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by stonehead887 » Tue Sep 24, 2019 1:40 pm

I think as a mod they are cool, it's a bit of a stretch to call it a watch brand when, as has noted, it's all off the shelf parts. As a full upgrade modern SKX it works and I like the 12 hour bezel best.
I think a no date version would have given a clean dial and something could have been done with the bezel edge, I never liked the Seiko standard version. With these 2 tweaks it could have been more credible as an own watch brand.
But good luck anyways

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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by DenverBuff » Tue Sep 24, 2019 2:01 pm

I guess if this business model is good enough for Bill Yao, Eyal Lalo and Gunther Whathisname at Steinhart, it's good enough for Marc at Island.

Hell, that guy at Deep Blue has been selling SKX knock offs (the "NATO Diver"!) for years.

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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by CGSshorty » Tue Sep 24, 2019 4:26 pm

I have a lot of nice Seiko OEM dials and hands. Maybe I’ll pick one up and build something fun.
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by Joeprez » Tue Sep 24, 2019 4:31 pm

A pepsi 12hr bezel would be nice.
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by Ryeguy » Tue Sep 24, 2019 4:32 pm

DenverBuff wrote:
Tue Sep 24, 2019 2:01 pm
I guess if this business model is good enough for Bill Yao, Eyal Lalo and Gunther Whathisname at Steinhart, it's good enough for Marc at Island.

Hell, that guy at Deep Blue has been selling SKX knock offs (the "NATO Diver"!) for years.
Isn’t Gunther’s last name “Steinhart”?

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DenverBuff
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by DenverBuff » Tue Sep 24, 2019 10:09 pm

Ryeguy wrote:
Tue Sep 24, 2019 4:32 pm
DenverBuff wrote:
Tue Sep 24, 2019 2:01 pm
I guess if this business model is good enough for Bill Yao, Eyal Lalo and Gunther Whathisname at Steinhart, it's good enough for Marc at Island.

Hell, that guy at Deep Blue has been selling SKX knock offs (the "NATO Diver"!) for years.
Isn’t Gunther’s last name “Steinhart”?
Yes. "Steinhart" is German for "whomeverthefuck".

I think.

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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .

Post by toxicavenger » Wed Sep 25, 2019 7:01 am

DenverBuff wrote:
Tue Sep 24, 2019 10:09 pm
Ryeguy wrote:
Tue Sep 24, 2019 4:32 pm
DenverBuff wrote:
Tue Sep 24, 2019 2:01 pm
I guess if this business model is good enough for Bill Yao, Eyal Lalo and Gunther Whathisname at Steinhart, it's good enough for Marc at Island.

Hell, that guy at Deep Blue has been selling SKX knock offs (the "NATO Diver"!) for years.
Isn’t Gunther’s last name “Steinhart”?
Yes. "Steinhart" is German for "whomeverthefuck".

I think.
:roll: :roll: :roll:

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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling

Post by TimelessLuxWatches » Wed Sep 25, 2019 9:14 am

hoppyjr wrote:
Tue Sep 24, 2019 12:59 pm
The fact that these cases, bezels, crystals, crowns, and movements are all available from Crystal Times does seem to make his “own watch brand” a bit easier to do. Maybe he’s making his own stuff, but I doubt it. Design your own dial, assemble, sell, enjoy profit. Seems pretty straightforward.
I suspect it's part of the process, both as a test and a learning opportunity, on the way to producing more of a unique model down the road. It's a good way to test the water before you make big mistakes or overcommit to a certain business model. If this makes LIW a lot of money then we'll probably see more daring designs and more proprietary parts down the road.

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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling

Post by Henryj » Wed Sep 25, 2019 9:41 am

TimelessLuxWatches wrote:
Wed Sep 25, 2019 9:14 am
hoppyjr wrote:
Tue Sep 24, 2019 12:59 pm
The fact that these cases, bezels, crystals, crowns, and movements are all available from Crystal Times does seem to make his “own watch brand” a bit easier to do. Maybe he’s making his own stuff, but I doubt it. Design your own dial, assemble, sell, enjoy profit. Seems pretty straightforward.
I suspect it's part of the process, both as a test and a learning opportunity, on the way to producing more of a unique model down the road. It's a good way to test the water before you make big mistakes or overcommit to a certain business model. If this makes LIW a lot of money then we'll probably see more daring designs and more proprietary parts down the road.
Both Dagaz and MK II started as Seiko mod shops. Two data points that seem to cancel each other out.
“Punishable by fine” = Legal for a price.”

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