New Ares Mission Timer Rubber Strap

[dnslater]

I believe most of the “Swiss Made” stuff under $3k also use cases cut in China.

Most of them. Wasn't Matt trying to establish some machinists in the U.S. for production?

Makes me really appreciate companies like Sinn that fabricate their cases in house in Germany for $2k price points.... although realistically Swiss and German companies are probably using the same CNC machines that the Chinese use. The machines don't care which countries they reside in, as long as the quality control is in place.

[mellonb1]

Resco eta movement divers are all $2k and up with similar manufacturing and assembly. Matt's pricing seems to be inline with what I would think is his competition.

[Torrid]

Interesting that it says it’s “guaranteed for life”. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of any strap with that kind of guarantee. If that’s true $140 is a relative bargain.

I have leather straps that show wear, but all my rubber straps look good as new.

What’s the typical “life” of a rubber strap?

I think it depends on the material quite a bit. Most of those that do think rubber straps don’t last long are probably used to polyurethane, such as the older Seikos. I find that the new silicone style Seiko straps develop unsightly shine from rubbing on surfaces which give them an uneven appearance. The Bonetto Cinturinis do much better than both of these wear wise for around the same price. The only strap I’ve had that doesn’t seem to show wear marks at all is the ISOfrane. I know a bunch of people say it’s the exact same compound as Bonetto Cinturini, but based on the feel and how they wear over time I don’t see how that’s possible. Like any strap it could get cut, but for some reason it seems to show no wear except on the buckle and I wear it almost daily. It constantly sees rain, snow, and direct sunlight. It sees high heat and humidity and gets banged on metal surfaces regularly. The last Seiko NAFT strap I have looked worn after two months. It seems strong and comfortable, but it just doesn’t look very good up close. I’d show a picture of how my ISOfrane is holding up, but it would just look like a picture of a new strap.

I would say if this strap is as good as an ISOfrane then some people might prefer it, but ISOfrane also has a classic recognizable style to pretty much any dive watch enthusiast.

I don’t have experience with this type of manufature, but I assume the quality of the product is more complicated than just the rubber compound. Isofrane probably has a proprietary additive and/or curing trick that makes the strap a little different.

Yeah it’s likely the case if they do start with Bonetto base rubber. They don’t feel drastically different. At the same time that my black ISO still looks perfect, the orange one I used to have stained very easily.

[mellonb1]

I believe most of the “Swiss Made” stuff under $3k also use cases cut in China.

Most of them. Wasn't Matt trying to establish some machinists in the U.S. for production?

Makes me really appreciate companies like Sinn that fabricate their cases in house in Germany for $2k price points.... although realistically Swiss and German companies are probably using the same CNC machines that the Chinese use. The machines don't care which countries they reside in, as long as the quality control is in place.

I believe Matt was using someone located in Utah to cut cases on a CNC. Not sure if this was a limited run of cases.

[BBK357]

Resco eta movement divers are all $2k and up with similar manufacturing and assembly. Matt's pricing seems to be inline with what I would think is his competition.

I think the quartz are priced well and seem really solid for the price. But that much of a jump for the same watch with an auto movement insane.


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[logan2z]

Looks like the auto is about to be released as well and comes with one of these straps. $1850.

The auto ($1850) looks nice, but so does the quartz ($695).
And the movement upgrade is $1,155.00 United States dollars.
I know it’s gold plated, but for that price it should have a pu$$y on it.

I still haven’t tried one of the quartz. I need to at some point- especially the ranger green that was a limited release. Maybe if he makes that model a staple I’ll finally go for it.




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is it all 100% swiss made for $1850?

Is anything?

[Panerai7]

Looks like the auto is about to be released as well and comes with one of these straps. $1850.

The auto ($1850) looks nice, but so does the quartz ($695).
And the movement upgrade is $1,155.00 United States dollars.
I know it’s gold plated, but for that price it should have a pu$$y on it.

I still haven’t tried one of the quartz. I need to at some point- especially the ranger green that was a limited release. Maybe if he makes that model a staple I’ll finally go for it.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

is it all 100% swiss made for $1850?

Is anything?

We can hope