An independent you don't know but need to know : Reima Koivukoski

[AngeloASI]

Originally Posted by llngoc

Zirconium is available? It is an interesting choice. Wonder if he can do palladium. palladium spot price is at multi year low so it may be good value. I always prefer Pd over Pt.

Reima seems to be interested on doing a zirconium case, he said he will ask his metal supplier regarding it (i’m not in a hurry)

As for palladium never asked, i did ask for the gold case price and it was out of my budget heh

[llngoc]

Originally Posted by AngeloASI

Reima seems to be interested on doing a zirconium case, he said he will ask his metal supplier regarding it (i’m not in a hurry)

As for palladium never asked, i did ask for the gold case price and it was out of my budget heh

Zirconium is actually cheaper than gold? Which can be a very good choice then.

Have you asked about tantalum? Both @unknown and myself ordered tantalum. It was very good value when compared to all the other tantalum choices out there. (Which is not many )

But in the end, it is what you like that matters

[unknown]

When talking about these materials it’s not the price of the material that makes the price but more the hardness of the material
Tantalum for example is not that expensive but the problem is the hardness. It will really destroy your tools 50 times faster than gold.
On top of that it will take much longer to polish also because of the hardness

Zirconium and palladium are also harder than gold, not as hard as tantalum

But also for these 2 materials the price will go up because of the extra labour hours and because of the tools that suffer much more.

But zirconium and palladium are definitely a great option

Tantalum was my first choice because this is rare in watchmaking…. Most refuse to work with it. And I love the colour of the material
That aside I’m aware that my tantalum case will be less beautiful polish than a steel or gold case. And since Reima makes his cases the most difficult way , for example soldering the 4 lugs to the case I know I will see colour difference where they are soldered
Cause he had to solder it with white gold and not with tantalum… that tantalum won’t probably melt so forget soldering lugs to the case with tantalum

[AngeloASI]

Originally Posted by llngoc

Zirconium is actually cheaper than gold? Which can be a very good choice then.

Have you asked about tantalum? Both @unknown and myself ordered tantalum. It was very good value when compared to all the other tantalum choices out there. (Which is not many )

But in the end, it is what you like that matters

1 ounce (28grams) of zirconium ingot cost like 14euro

1 ounce of 18k gold cost 1450 euro

1 ounce of tantalum cost 56euro

Tantalum is great but likely alot would opt for it and I want something unique

[llngoc]

Originally Posted by AngeloASI

1 ounce (28grams) of zirconium ingot cost like 14euro

1 ounce of 18k gold cost 1450 euro

1 ounce of tantalum cost 56euro

Tantalum is great but likely alot would opt for it and I want something unique

So he charges based on metal price. No wonder it is so reasonably priced.

I have a set of Voutilainen watches on order. The case price is more than platinum due to difficulty to machine.

Zicornium is used in a few MB&F references. His comment also was that it was a pain to machine.

[AngeloASI]

Originally Posted by unknown

When talking about these materials it’s not the price of the material that makes the price but more the hardness of the material
Tantalum for example is not that expensive but the problem is the hardness. It will really destroy your tools 50 times faster than gold.
On top of that it will take much longer to polish also because of the hardness

Zirconium and palladium are also harder than gold, not as hard as tantalum

But also for these 2 materials the price will go up because of the extra labour hours and because of the tools that suffer much more.

But zirconium and palladium are definitely a great option

Tantalum was my first choice because this is rare in watchmaking…. Most refuse to work with it. And I love the colour of the material
That aside I’m aware that my tantalum case will be less beautiful polish than a steel or gold case. And since Reima makes his cases the most difficult way , for example soldering the 4 lugs to the case I know I will see colour difference where they are soldered
Cause he had to solder it with white gold and not with tantalum… that tantalum won’t probably melt so forget soldering lugs to the case with tantalum

Yeah tantalum is the hardest case to make because of its melting point and hardness

I did check zirconium melting point and hardness and it seems to be 10% higher than titanium

[llngoc]

Originally Posted by AngeloASI

Yeah tantalum is the hardest case to make because of its melting point and hardness

I did check zirconium melting point and hardness and it seems to be 10% higher than titanium

Wait til we start using Tungsten

[AngeloASI]

Originally Posted by llngoc

So he charges based on metal price. No wonder it is so reasonably priced.

I have a set of Voutilainen watches on order. The case price is more than platinum due to difficulty to machine.

Zicornium is used in a few MB&F references. His comment also was that it was a pain to machine.

I dont think reima charges just on metal price, like bruno said he charges on the difficulty of working with that metal too

Fortunately for me zirconium is easier to work with than tantalum and more cost effective too

[cal14]

Excited to see new pictures of everyone’s projects! Tantalum, Zirconium.. Reima is making some incredible watches!

[AngeloASI]

Seems Zirconium is cancerous when inhaled during milling and buffing so this is a no go.. I might just stick with stainless steel.

[llngoc]

Latest update from Reima. Wonder if this is mine.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0LpSHjt...RlODBiNWFlZA==

[cal14]

Originally Posted by llngoc

Latest update from Reima. Wonder if this is mine.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0LpSHjt...RlODBiNWFlZA==

Beautiful! The base is the Omega movement?

[llngoc]

Originally Posted by cal14

Beautiful! The base is the Omega movement?

Yes. He offers different level of finishing depending on the cost. I believe this is the highest level with more interior angles and wider anglage.

[llngoc]

https://instagram.com/stories/reimak...RlODBiNWFlZA==

This looks epic

[cal14]

Reima is a genius. Very excited!

[llngoc]

Originally Posted by cal14

Reima is a genius. Very excited!

I am for one very excited about this new design. 38mm and less than 10mm thick manual chronograph just sounds right.

[WatchEater666]

Originally Posted by llngoc

https://instagram.com/stories/reimak...RlODBiNWFlZA==

This looks epic

Definitely.
!

[llngoc]

Originally Posted by WatchEater666

Definitely.
!

I just found out that this will be an in-house movement designed by him. Epic++

And the other good news is that my order will be ready soon. The enamel dial is coming and once it is here, he will assemble it as case and movements are all done.

[cal14]

any new watches back ��

[llngoc]

Did anyone get into contact with Reima in the past few weeks? I wonder if it is summer vacation time at Finland...

[llngoc]

An update. Finally got an UPS shipping notice and I will be seeing the watch next week if all goes well. I will post pictures and thoughts once it is here.

[llngoc]

Originally Posted by AngeloASI

Seems Zirconium is cancerous when inhaled during milling and buffing so this is a no go.. I might just stick with stainless steel.

Any update on your order?