Escapement Magazine – Tutima Tempostopp watch review by Angus Davies
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As a parent of two children I have always tried to stress the importance of looking at potential suitors not based on their looks, but rather their inner beauty. Nevertheless, I concede that I failed to heed my own advice.
The first thing which attracted me to my wife of 25 years was her dark brown eyes and beguiling smile. It was with growing familiarity that I learnt of her fascinating personality, virtuous character and great sense of humour.
Likewise, I immediately succumbed to the charms of the Tutima Tempostopp upon seeing it for the first time. Indeed, it was the pulchritudinous appearance of the dial which ensnared my heart initially. However, mindful of my aforementioned parental advice, I tempered my impetuous love for this handsome timepiece and vowed to learn more about its inner qualities.
The dial
The two snailed subdials confer texture and balance to this beautiful dial. A 30-minute chronograph register is positioned at 3 o’clock and a small seconds display is located at 9 o’clock. A blued hand features on the chronograph register, while the small seconds display employs a golden hand to proclaim the running seconds. On the face of it, the two subdials appear virtually identical, save for the subtle variation in hand colour. The symmetry afforded with the two subdials is most becoming and delivers a harmonious aesthetic.
The golden hour and minute hands feature arrow-like tips and efficiently interface with the hour markers. The Arabic numerals feature serifs which bestow the dial with a classical appearance. The elongated minute hand spans the chemin de fer and communicates eloquently with the subtle markings presented.
A snailed area occupies the central area of the dial. It sits lower than the smooth hour track, sumptuously exploiting depths with comely aplomb. This snailed central area beautifully interfaces with the two aforementioned subdials and visually resembles a Venn diagram.
Tutima has imbued the dial with a notably tasteful quality. The sparing use of colour ensures the dial does not overwhelm the wearer’s vision or prove garish. The sparing and judicious use of red numerals adjacent the hour markers cleverly augments ease of interpretation, while adding a refined soupçon of ebullience.
The dial is a paragon of comprehensibility and yields beauty from each element of its composition.
The case
Sometimes in life, size is a vehicle used to impress. However, the Tutima Tempostopp eschews excessive dimensions, measuring a moderately proportioned 43mm in diameter. The case height is 12.95mm ensuring the watch does not unduly protrude from the wrist and snag objects in the process. Personally, I found the case afforded a comfortable union with my wrist, partly as a result of the short, sharply tapering lugs.
Crafted in 18-carat rose gold 4N, the case exudes a warm, temperate quality. Moreover, the hue of the case provides the perfect foil for the gold-plated movement which is visible via the exhibition case-back.
The movement
While the dial of the Tutima Tempostopp instantly caught my attention on seeing it for the first time, the movement also proved equally alluring. I often feel that many watches employ too many bridges, hiding the mechanical spectacle of the wheels in motion. Tutima has avoided cluttering the hand-wound Calibre T659 with cumbersome bridges. Indeed the levers, gear train, balance and column-wheel are freely disclosed, delivering a mouth-watering vista.
A total of 236 parts form the Calibre T659, a movement ‘engineered, fabricated and finished on Tutima’s premises’. The cocks and main-plate are matt and gold-plated. The balance cock is hand-engraved with the watch company’s nomenclature. Both the cocks for the wheels and balance have a ‘finely striped pattern’ and feature polished bevels. The steel parts have been mirror polished on tin, delivering a high gloss result. This latter treatment also extends to the switching lever and seconds rocker. Moreover, ‘all setting and positioning pins are polished’.
Pressing the push-piece at 2 o’clock delivers a buttery smoothness, an attribute which differentiates the Calibre T659 from lesser chronograph movements.
This is a fly-back chronograph, termed ‘Tempostopp’ in this instance.. While the chronograph is running, pressing the push-piece at 4 o’clock causes the central chronograph seconds hand and 30-minute register hand to stop, reset and restart in one process. This particular feature proves ideal when timing successive intervals.
Closing remarks
The gorgeous face of the Tutima Tempostopp is clear to see. Its snailed dial areas, the symmetry conferred with the two subdials and sinuous golden hour and minute hands, all collaborate to seduce any self-respecting admirer of horology.
However, beneath the beautiful veneer of the dial there is a finely executed movement. The Calibre T659 is magnificently appointed with glorious finishing. Moreover, the absence of large bridges, the sparing use of cocks and the open-disclosure of wheels and levers makes this a movement par excellence and a treat for mechanically inquisitive eyes.
Pressing the push-pieces yields a tactile joy. Furthermore, the additional functionality of a fly-back complication underscores the appeal of this watch still further.
This is a handsome watch but it has many talents hidden within, making it a suitable partner for a long-term relationship, an attribute I am all too familiar with after 25 years of married bliss.
Further information
Technical specification
- Model: Tutima Tempostopp
- Case: 18-carat rose gold; diameter 43 mm; height 12.95mm; sapphire crystal to front and case-back; water resistant to 5 Bar (50 metres)
- Functions: Hours; minutes; small seconds; fly-back chronograph.
- Movement: Caliber T659; Hand-wound movement; frequency 21,600 VpH (3Hz); 28 jewels; power reserve 65 hours when fully wound
- Strap: Alligator strap with 18-carat rose gold pin buckle
- Limited Edition: 90 pieces
- Price: €28,600 – European price inclusive of taxes (RRP as at 19.10.2017)