I've been a happy owner of a LW Biformeter Elemental "Founders
Watch" since last october 2006 so I thought I'd post some
thoughts here on this relatively new forum devoted to Linde Werdelin
Watches.
I'm a bit short on time at the moment so
please forgive me if I dont go into all the nitty gritty details (and
also probably forgetting a thing or two along the way).
And I
know I'm being very positive about this product in this post but rest
assured, I have no "ties" with either ATG or Linde
Werdelin.
A few thoughts and
impressions of the LW Biformeter
Elemental
First
impressions
I bought this
watch unseen IRL from a good WIS-friend in the UK. I had seen a few
pics of it on the internet and was impressed by it's
looks, that plus my friends positive comments on the watch
made me "take the plunge".
That was a decision I have never
regretted.
I'm trying to be fairly objective when
writing this but when I have rarely (if ever) been so impressed and
overwhelmed when encountering a new watch for the first time.
I can understand that this watch with it's rather
own design is not to everybodys liking, but for me it was an
instant home-run and love at first sight.
And that
loves still remains strong after ~6 months of ownership (and believe
me, there are plenty of watches that has failed that test with me ;-)
).
It is one of those watches I believe many love or
hate straight away. This seems to be the case with my friends anyway
(WIS or
non-WIS).
Packaging
Outer box,
Inner
box,
In summary:
I've
never been a big fan of fancy packaging, I'd rather see the money being
spent on the watch rather than exotic wood boxes etc.
LW's
packaging struck me as simple (not in any bad way!) and to the point.
I got the feeling that they had put a lot of thought into
their product design, this was something that was perhaps even more
apparent when I later on received the Land Instrument and it's sensors
(more on that
later).
Case/bezel
As can hopefully
be seen in th epics the case is multi-facetted and has a mix of brushed
and polished surfaces.
This is probably the reason for it
being instantly nicknamed "The Millenium Falcon" after posting some
pics on a watch forum.
Case dimensions are 40mm at bezel and
46mm at the bottom of case, length 49mm and height
11mm.
The crown sits deeply protected in the case
when screwed in, I suspect many dive watch fans would think it is a bit
small but find it has a good size since the watch is
relatively thin (for a diver).
The bezel is lumed at 12 and
every 5 minutes. The caseback is black and made of anodized aluminium,
looks really good IMO and of course makes for a lighter
watch.
Dial/hands,
The dial sits
nicely rather deep beneath the AR-coated sapphire crystal.
I
find it easy to read and it has a white (well more grey
actually) on black datewheel and a red-tipped seconds
hand.
What surprised me a lot was how good the lume is on this
watch. To be honest it ranks up there with Seikos best
IMO.
The lumed indices are surrounded by polished metal
borders which matches the polished areas of the
case.
Movement,
No
pics of the engine I'm afraid but it is an ETA 2892-2
elaborĕe.
My Biformeter has been by far the most accurate
watch I've ever owned. It has been a long time since I measured it
correctly but when I did it gained something like two seconds in two
weeks when worn at least every other
day.
Outstanding!
Rubber
strap/Bracelet,
I hope the
pictures has conveyed the message.
I'm very impressed with
both the rubber strap and the bracelet from LW. They are well designed
(perhaps for the deployant on the rubber being a bit of a "pincher" if
you are not careful) and very comfortable.
The bracelet lacks
micro adjusting possibilities which is always a bit disturbing (at
least for me) but it really has not been a problem since I have found a
very good fit anyway.
It is easy to switch by
unscrewing the bolts in the case (the ones on the strap/bracelet are
only "for show") with this tool,
The case looks
like this when "undone",
I find this
solution for bracelet swapping very simple and hassle free, there is
little risk of scratching the case just by undoing the two bolts in the
case.
New strap alternatives (leather,
textile etc) are scheduled for this summer if I remember
correctly.
The Land
Instrument and
Sensors,
I'll leave it to
yourself to read up on the comprehensive data on the LW website about
the Land Instrument and sensors.
I've hardly used it myself
I'm afraid (no ski trips this winter :-( ), and it does not really make
for an ideal choice for a day at the office,
LOL!
Anyway, here are a few pics of the
goodies.
Various
pics,
Last but not
least, I want to mention the after sales service and customer care that
I have experienced from Linde Werdelin.
As a customer (of
whatever) I'm quite used to be treated with little attention and
varying degrees of service after I have bought a product. This has not
been the case with LW.
They have always been very
fast in their communication whenever I have contacted them with various
questions.
Perhaps this is a luxury that comes with the
brand/product not being widely known/sold yet?
I dont know
but I dont think so. I get the feeling that they have a genuine passion
for watches and an idea they strive to bring to reality and improve
continously.
An example of this is small things like
this,
Unfortunately
there was no ski trip to Switzerland for me this winter but I
appreciate the thought none the less.
So on a final
note, I think this is a great watch/concept that deserves to be
discovered by a wider market.
Best of luck to both
Alistair/ATG and Linde Werdelin in doing
this!
/Stefan
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