The new New Style Speake Marin Spirit Seafire Replica Watch has, while I don’t want to call it crowded, a busy design yet the dial is still extremely legible during the day and also at night. The watch’s 42mm size as well as the white-on-black color choice makes it an extremely versatile watch that would look just as good with either a flight uniform or a suit. Mr. Speake-Marin put considerable effort into the company’s first chronograph. He wanted to keep the well-known look of Speake-Marin watches while not jeopardizing one’s ability to read the elapsed time on the chronograph. It is extremely rare to see roman numerals on a chronograph subdial because they can be hard to read and take up a considerable amount of space. However, this did not stop Mr. Speake-Marin and he was able to effectively integrate this feature into the design.
The Speake Marin Replica Watch is crafted out of polished titanium, which will keep the weight of the watch as low as possible. At the heart of the watch beats the Calibre C99001-D, which is clearly based off of the Valijoux 7750. The fact that the movement was not fully designed in-house should not detract from the watch as a whole because of the unique design despite using the world’s most popular chronograph layout. Even though the Spirit Seafire is a “pilot” watch it still offers a water resistance of 100m. In terms of price, that is where it hurts. The Spirit Seafire retails for 7,900 CHF (~9,000 USD). This will not be the last we hear of the new watch because with it’s 3D dial and slew of unique design features, it is sure to have a lasting impression.
Speake Marin has just announced for Baselworld 2014 their first chronograph. However they are not newcomers to the world of complicated watches. Their collections boast an impressive array of intricate timepieces with features that include jumping hours, perpetual calendars, tourbillons and minute repeaters. Peter Speake-Marin, the founder of the Speake Marin Replica, recently said: “I have always wanted a chronograph to bear the Speake-Marin name, it was just a matter of finding the right platform.” Well all his careful planning has finally paid off.