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Had no idea they ever made a hand-wound El Primero (given the name refers to it supposedly being "the first" automatic chronograph movement).
Yeah, there are thinner watches on the market for sure. I honestly think that thinness is something that generates a lot of noise in the comments sections but probably doesn't affect overall sales all that much. Same thing as date windows. A vocal minority hates them, but many customers would never buy a watch without a date. Again, same with automatic winding.
Having said that, looking at the market I think there's a shift happening towards more choice. There are more options now for people who want something smaller / hand wound / without a date. The watch internet (by which I mean recent stuff like Hoodwinkee, Instagram, Teddy Baldassarre etc) and online groupthink is definitely changing what people are demanding from watch brands. But it takes a while for the brands to respond to that.
Regal-
I agree it does seem a bit of a weird variation for an El Primero. Its this one. An earlier version of which I noticed in a read back through the thread got a kicking a few pages ago ... LoL. I love it, probably my favourite watch and definitely would be the last to go.
Best not get started on date windows ... I don't mind a date but I absolutely detest contrasting date wheels, especially in an otherwise single colour dial. If its a panda dial or similar I can sort of understand it, but a black dial with a white date wheel just grates.
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I honestly think that thinness is something that generates a lot of noise in the comments sections but probably doesn't affect overall sales all that much.
Seems weird to me... If I wear an ordinary watch I'm often annoyed by it interacting with my sleeve; I'd've thought that would be a common experience that would have a lot of folks looking for stuff on the thinner side, but apparently not... Although for what it's worth, this regularly gets compliments when I wear it. (6.5mm, and the non-chrono Skin is 4mm!)
tertius
Kimmo
Zenith and JLC also make some lovely slim watches. I have a Zenith El Primero chrono that's only 10mm thick - pretty svelte for a chrono (though it is hand wind).