Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
- DenverBuff
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Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
. . . which is basically an SKX 007 case with SELs, ceramic bezels, sapphire crystal and drilled lugs.
Interesting.
https://youtu.be/qsCpvbw9L4U
Interesting.
https://youtu.be/qsCpvbw9L4U
Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
nice, and price seems right... I wish him luck
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- jswing
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
Looks great, I'd buy one.
Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
Nice starting point for a mod.
"It's such a fine line between stupid, and clever."
David St. Hubbins
David St. Hubbins
Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
Is that cool?! Or what Vic?! ..Wow, hadn't heard about this. Thank you !
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.
Love the name, and how this is evidently just the beginning for his
watches ! ..THX again !!!
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.
Love the name, and how this is evidently just the beginning for his
watches ! ..THX again !!!
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
Marc is a great guy. I hope it’s a huge success for him.
Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
I don't understand what makes this very direct copy compelling...
Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
My guess is that it’s because the SKX is discontinued.matt.wu wrote:I don't understand what makes this very direct copy compelling...
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.
Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
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.
Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
To me, it’s only compelling if you are going to mod it. It already has most of the usual mods done already.matt.wu wrote:I don't understand what makes this very direct copy compelling...
"It's such a fine line between stupid, and clever."
David St. Hubbins
David St. Hubbins
- DenverBuff
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
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.
- Henryj
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
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.
If you put a large switch in some cave somewhere, with a sign on it saying 'End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH', the paint wouldn't even have time to dry.
Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
sorry, too bill hader for me, couldn't make it past 20 seconds
Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
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.
- 59yukon01
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
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" . . .
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
Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk
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
Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk
- DenverBuff
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
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.
Hell, that guy at Deep Blue has been selling SKX knock offs (the "NATO Diver"!) for years.
Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
I have a lot of nice Seiko OEM dials and hands. Maybe I’ll pick one up and build something fun.
"It's such a fine line between stupid, and clever."
David St. Hubbins
David St. Hubbins
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
A pepsi 12hr bezel would be nice.
Omega / Tudor / Rolex / Sinn / Doxa / Seiko
Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
Isn’t Gunther’s last name “Steinhart”?DenverBuff wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2019 2:01 pmI 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.
- DenverBuff
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
Yes. "Steinhart" is German for "whomeverthefuck".Ryeguy wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2019 4:32 pmIsn’t Gunther’s last name “Steinhart”?DenverBuff wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2019 2:01 pmI 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.
I think.
- toxicavenger
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling "The Islander" . . .
DenverBuff wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2019 10:09 pmYes. "Steinhart" is German for "whomeverthefuck".Ryeguy wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2019 4:32 pmIsn’t Gunther’s last name “Steinhart”?DenverBuff wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2019 2:01 pmI 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.
I think.
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- TimelessLuxWatches
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling
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.hoppyjr wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2019 12:59 pmThe 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.
- Henryj
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Re: Marc from Island Watches Now Selling
Both Dagaz and MK II started as Seiko mod shops. Two data points that seem to cancel each other out.TimelessLuxWatches wrote: ↑Wed Sep 25, 2019 9:14 amI 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.hoppyjr wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2019 12:59 pmThe 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.
If you put a large switch in some cave somewhere, with a sign on it saying 'End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH', the paint wouldn't even have time to dry.
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