Over the last days here (well, a week plus) we’ve been looking at a handful of models from the brands held by the Zeon group. Today, we’ll have a look at the third Ingersoll model they sent over for review, the Richmond.
The specific model we were provided is the IN-1800WH, and it’s easy to see that this watch is intended for a more formal setting (can’t see blued hands being much use on a sport watch, now can you?) – and in that setting it works nicely. Of course, I’m a sucker for dress watches it seems, and by adding an opening on the dial so you can see the balance wheel going – well, that’s just icing on the cake.
For a dress watch, it measures in at a surprising 42mm (though it seems like it wears more compactly). The movement you see working away through the opening is Ingersoll’s 735 calibre, which featres 35 jewels, and drives the day, date, and month complications (along with telling time, of course).
The case is made from stainless steel, and it features (what I’m calling) a sandwhich cookie design. You’ve got coin edge bezels on the top and bottom, and then in between you’ve got a slightly recessed layer (where an Ingersoll logo resides). It’s a bit of an odd effect, especially on a dress piece – but it does differentiate it from the crowd.
As we also saw with the Bison model, this dial presents as a chronograph (as do the pushers), but it truly isn’t. The subdial on the left reflects the day of the week, and the one on the right tells us the month. Given that we already have the large date display up top (that nicely balances the balance wheel), I think these could be removed in a future iteration.
It would provide for a cleaner look to the dial, and allow for the pushers to be cleared out, leaving us with the nicely oversized crown for setting the date and time (and to wind the movement). Then again, perhaps that just me. Let me know in the comments below if the month/year subdials are something you’d like on a watch like this.
The dial issue aside, I did take a shine to this piece. It’s a well thought out watch, and it feels more compact than the dimensions would suggest. I also liked how the lugs are handled on this – visually they’re interesting, and they do seem more like an extension out of the case, rather than an afterthought.
And of course, any time you can see a mechanical movement at work (without having to flip the watch over), that’s another big plus in my book. Frankly, that’s part of the appeal of a mechanical – hearing (and at times, seeing) that tiny little machine doing it’s work on your wrist. Here, it’s nicely placed in the midst of a visually interesting texture.
While the model currently retails for $410, you can find it for under $300 over on everyone’s favorite river. And, should you want something to co-ordinate with your brown and navy suit, you could opt for the brown variant, the IN1800CR. Either which way, it’s a nice watch that shakes up the design a bit (and seems like a good deal at those Amazon prices).
Great texture on the dial
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