M1-Woodward 1805
My review pertains to the M1-Woodward 1805 panda dial chronograph. To state the obvious, this is a true panda design sporting an off-white dial paired with black snailed sub-dials. This is an important distinction due to the fact that these are becoming increasingly difficult to find, especially at this price point.
I had wanted to add a panda chrono to my collection for quite some time, but couldn’t find just the right combination of vintage esthetic, restraint, and craftsmanship that would entice me to pull the trigger. All of the watches that I looked at were either too cheap, too overdone, or too overpriced for my taste. Detroit Watch Company changed all of that.
With watches being such a subjective habit, I will attempt to quantify what I believe to be those attributes that elevate the 1805 above all else under about $8000 USD. Starting with the dial. The choice to not go with an external tach bezel was very important to me. I already have a watch with an external bezel, it’s called a dive watch. Also, putting the tach on the dial leads to a cleaner, more legible/accurate design. The dial itself is a thing of beauty, perfectly restrained with not one bit of fluff that is so obvious in other designs. One nice touch that kind of sets this apart is the decision to leave the sub-dial at 6 o’clock white. You kind of get the best of both worlds, a tricompax that looks like a bicompax. The last part about the dial that I especially appreciate is the decision to put a flat crystal on it, rather than a domed or box shaped one. That allows for easy viewing of the tach scale at the perimeter. The trend towards box shaped crystals is a bit unnecessary, and renders anything at the perimeter of the dial utterly useless.
Touching briefly on the hand set, I think this is one area that could be slightly improved. I really like the shape of the hands. They come to an extreme point at the tip which implies accuracy, which is exactly what you want in a stopwatch. Literally my only complaint about this watch is the thickness of the lume on the hands. The hands are almost all white lume which becomes a problem if you are far sighted as I am. I would like to see the lume slimmed down substantially, and the hands themselves treated with a black PVD coating to enhance the legibility of the hands against the white dial. Or, just eliminate the lume completely. I must mention the "needle" seconds hand with the “D” counterbalance. That is maybe the coolest feature on the dial and definitely adds another luxury touch to the watch.
The case is another area where DWC has put their own spin on things. They have chosen to integrate a fairly aggressive step in the bezel that is very effective at reducing the apparent size of the watch. This results in a 42mm watch that on the wrist looks more like 40mm. Lugs can be especially divisive, I absolutely love the lugs on this watch. They are so much nicer than the normal CNC milled jobs that you see on everything else. In person they almost look hand-finished. Definitely a bit of a luxury touch for a tool watch, but at the same time restrained. The 52mm lug-to-lug may be a bit much for some. I don’t seem to have much of a problem with that on my 6.75 inch wrist. Maybe if they ever do a reverse panda, they could trim 1mm off each lug to get it down to 50 mm lug-to-lug. But, that’s just nit-picking.
On the inside, the choice to go with the time-tested ETA 7753 movement is I think a good one. This thing is a tank, but certainly not an ugly movement. DWC has gone to the trouble to decorate it, and regulate it to be very accurate. My watch is running at about +2 sec/day. That puts it in some pretty esteemed territory. The pushers are a little “mechanical”, but honestly, who really cares? If they work, they work.
So, that is my experience with this watch. I’m not sure that it’s possible to find another chronograph at $2500 that has this mix of luxury design cues, craftsmanship, and quality. Add in the fact that everything is assembled, decorated, and adjusted in-house made it a real no-brainer for me. Just remember that this is my opinion, and your mileage may vary.
Richard
