REVIEW:

The Thomas Ninchritz Regulateur

By: John B. Holbrook, II

September 30, 2007

The watch industry seems to have polarized into two distinct product sectors - high end, multi-thousand dollar Swiss and German made watches with quality to match the price tag, and sub $1000.00 mass produced watches assembled in the Pacific Rim with Swiss parts, often with dubious quality and pedigrees.  The gap in between these two extremes is expansive, with very few offerings  to fill the gap unfortunately.  Well, I'm proud to say that I've had the opportunity to review a wonderful timepiece which fills in this gap quite nicely from an amazing watchmaking talent named Thomas Ninchritz. 

Thomas Ninchritz of Nurnberg (CLICK HERE FOR HIS HOME PAGE) is a third-generation watchmaker in a German city that has been producing watches since the Middle Ages. I was recently provided an example of Thomas Ninchritz's work - the Thomas Ninchritz Regulateur:
 


Simply put, the Thomas Ninchritz Regulateur is an exceptional example of old-world, classic horological craftsmanship which I did not know was within reach and available to the average consumer.  The TN Regulateur is a 42mm stainless steel wrist watch of extremely limited production, with a surprising number of hand made components in its construction.  The case has an almost entirely polished finish applied, and gives the watch an extremely attractive, dressy appearance.  The case is fitted, both top and bottom, with sapphire crystals, double anti-reflective coated (front and back AR coated).      

The case lugs are 22mm, and holds and extremely supple, and well-padded 22mm strap with a case matching polished stainless steel buckle.  The quality of both construction and comfort of the strap were exceptional - both the strap and the buckle are signed" Thomas Ninchritz."  Note the screws in the case lugs (above photo) which secure the strap to the case lugs - a very rare and high quality feature which not only makes strap changes easier, but also reduce the possibility of scratching the case while performing a strap change.  

 

 

Now let's shift our focus to the hand made dial of the TN Regulateur, constructed entirely of silver.  The guilloché pattern work applied here is not only breathtaking, but also equal in craftmenship to watch dials I've seen costing 10 times that of the TN Regulateur.  Additionally, the hands of the TN Regulateur are heat (not chemically processed) blued and, as the name suggests, done in a Regulateur style layout. 



Turning to the back of the watch, we find the decorated and modified Untias 6498 base caliber which is the heart of the TN Regulateur.  The Unitas 6498 (a product of Swatch Group's ETA movement division) is a 17-jewel, hand wound mechanical movement with a leisurely beat speed of 18,000 vibrations per hour, and a power reserve of  46 hours.  In the below photo, notice the hand finishing and decoration work, as well as the genuine heat blued screws:

 


In the photo below you can see that the Unitas 6498 in the TN Regulateur has been fitted with a high decorated swan neck style Regulateur (I'm told Thomas spends over 8 hours on the neck alone) - a highly coveted high horology design feature often seen on watches from premium Germany luxury watch manufacturers like A. Lange & Sohne, and Glashütte Original.


The Thomas Ninchritz Regulateur is not a watch for the enthusiast who demands brand name recognition from manufacturers like Rolex, Breitling, or Omega.  The Thomas Ninchritz Regulateur is a watch for the connoisseur who seeks hand made German craftsmanship as well as horological excellence and uniqueness first and foremost.  At a retail price of 2,750 Euros the TN Regulateur is a near unparalleled value - I can't think of another hand-made, limited production mechanical timepiece at this price point.  I greatly look forward to seeing more offerings from the creative genius of Thomas Ninchritz.

ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS

Please email James Newell at INFO@europeanwatchgroup.com if you are interested in ordering the Thomas Ninchritz Regulateur.

*All text and images contained in this web site are the original work of the author, John B. Holbrook, II and are copyright protected. Use of any of the information or images without the permission of the author is prohibited.
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