Reviewing The Replica U-Boat U-51 Chimera Watch
This handsome Replica U-Boat Flightdeck watch, which I have been lucky enough to wear of late, is a model of clarity and has the most profoundly clean appearance.It was whilst holding the U-Boat U-51 Chimera (6495) that I was reminded of an episode when I am young. I have reached a stage in life where, along with several of my friends, I have experienced a mid-life crisis. This was exampled with behaviour which was "text-book stuff" for those men who have reached "that certain age".Age stealthily creeps up on your blind side. There is a realisation that you are no longer the immature youth with naive dreams. Days of being patronised by one's elders have ceased. I have become part of the establishment which I rebelled against in my former years. I now find myself reading the investment section of the Sunday newspapers. There is a realisation that this is as good as it gets and my children are soon to fly the nest. I remember sitting on a couch, reliving my childhood experiences to a medical professional and openly disclosing my inner thoughts a few years ago. There is something cathartic about unburdening yourself of the detritus of negative experiences which unduly way heavy upon your psyche. They never did anything wrong. It reminds me of the fragrant girls who were praised by "Miss", at my junior school. Their spellings were perfect. Their writing was neat and tidy, unlike my illegible scrawl. I remember their gingham dresses and shiny shoes. Their appearance was spotless and pristine.Conversely, like many junior school boys, my shoes were always scuffed from kicking a football around the school playing field. My knee-length shorts were creased and grubby. But, most of all there was my indelibly blackened calves and ankles which I still vividly recall. They were no stranger to nestling on muddy plains.
There is a rationale to my extended pre-amble. Cleanliness is considered desirable. The absence of extraneous matter prevents distraction from the important and sometimes critical. In terms of horology, cleanliness aids interpretation of time. An absence of the superfluous enhances legibility and ease of understanding. It is for these reasons that I have much respect for this masculine timepiece presented in stainless steel. I recall my mother being frustrated that, despite her best efforts to dress me in lovely clothes, I always ended up appearing dishevelled and mucky. In a moment of rage she vowed to enhance my appearance and achieve a new found brilliance I had never known since birth. She dampened a cloth, with a portion of spit, and applied scouring powder to my knees with unbridled vigour. As my knees resembled halogen lightbulbs, illuminating the path ahead of me, she migrated to my plaque coated teeth, removing any shred of enamel. It was after this episode I experienced a sense of foreboding, worried that my brilliant-like appearance may act as a beacon for low flying planes above.It was whilst holding the Replica U-Boat Limited Edition that I was reminded of an episode in my youth. This fake handsome watch, which I have been lucky enough to wear of late, is a model of clarity and has the most profoundly clean appearance.
It doesn't seem all too long ago that U-Boat was just a fledgling brand, offering a uniquely styled yet simple case with a basic quartz movement in it. Like many young upstarts, they had a concept-an Italian wartime submariner's Replica U-Boat Complicated watch-but they didn't have, for want of a better word, confidence. Well now that concept has come of age and U-Boat has the confidence in it to do something special. The proof? The U-51 Chimera. A Replica U-Boat Chimera watch has always been a divider of opinions. Big, diverse and attention grabbing, it laughs in subtlety's face, but things are taking a different turn. Like Panerai before it, U-Boat are moving away from the historically accurate, yet generally impractical dinner plate-sized cases and are dipping into the realms of comfort and sensibility instead. Granted, at 46mm the Chimera is no shrinking violet, but its dimensions are much more appeasing to a wearer of traditional sized timepieces.Naming a U-Boat Classico fake watch brand after a war machine from the most infamous global power the world has ever seen is always going to be a touchy subject, but there's more to it than just shock value. Much like Panerai, the original watch (penned by U-Boat founder Italo Fontana's grandfather, Ilvo) was developed for the Italian Navy, but where Panerai's watch engaged in active service, Ilvo's didn't; the Italians had already surrendered before the watch saw any action. This left it to Italo to see his grandfather's idea through to reality.
But its not just the dimensions that have changed, oh no-it's much more than that. Where prior replica Replica U-Boat Simple watches had an undeniable simplicity in their construction, the U-51 is complex, intricate and dare I say it, elegant. Polished lips meet brushed edges, curves blend into angles; the detailing is far beyond the usual U-Boat measure, and it's impressive to say the least. There are no sharp, unfinished edges here, and not a simplistic, CNC-milled shape to be seen. Then there is the introduction of little original touches like the exposed case bolts-all exquisitely polished-the asymmetrical sandwich dial, the pill-shaped chronograph reset pusher-there are even exotic materials available like bronze, and soon, forged carbon fibre. It's the kind of attention to detail that lends trust to a watchmaker, an investment of effort that goes beyond simply casing up a movement and shipping it out. It's the evidence a potential customer needs to feel assured that the fake watch that's caught their attention has been crafted with confidence.
