Pelagos 39... I wish I hadn't bothered

[Gary.]

So, Like many, I've been waiting for years for a smaller Pelagos.

I was never really into the mock-tudor (forgive me) faux-historical Black Bay stuff and I was convinced that a smaller Pelagos would hit all the sweet spots. My name hit the list immediately upon the announcement of the 39 and, at the end of last week, the call came in.

But, after a few days of living with it, I have to say that it has left me cold.

I'll start out with the subjective stuff. The "well, perhaps this is just me" stuff.

Firstly, the bracelet.
I cannot get a good fit.
I like my watches snug and, in the case of this watch, that is even more necessary as will be explained in the paragraph following the next.

I had it sized in the shop (on a very cold day) with the adjustable part at its tightest. My reasoning was that I would need to go the other way when the warm weather (possible nuclear winters aside) inevitably comes back but I was back at the shop having another link removed within 20 minutes because...

(Here it comes)

.... the bracelet is like a bloody saw blade. Having it rattling and rolling around on my wrist for 20 minutes made me feel like I was on a chain gang.

I have felt (though not worn) the famously rough new Speedmaster. It is like an oiled pebble compared to my Cartier Santos which was, up to this point, has the sharpest edge I have ever felt on an object not intended for hair removal, let alone a bracelet.
But the Pelagos is something else altogether. It is finished like the edge of a freshly-opened tin can.

So, I had a link removed to make it stay planted and straight and it felt better for a bit. The (new) problem is that it is now very snug and the fact that it is now at the maximum extension means there is nowhere to go with it when I find myself getting warm.

Ok. I'm spoiled. We all are. Twenty years ago there were no on-the-go adjustments, right? But that was when clasps were stamped rather than machined out of blocks of metal and left with edges that could cut glass. Any manufacturer that was machining these things was almost certainly taking the trouble to finish them properly.

So, what else?

Well, ceramic is great, right? Super hard and almost scratchproof?

Hmmm...

Apparently not when you etch a fine sunburst effect into the surface.

I have quite a few ceramic bezels on Rolexes, Omegas and even a Blancpain which have seen a lot of wear and still look pristine. But this Pelagos already has a scratch on it and I have no idea how.
The notoriously scratchable grade 2 titanium is spotless so it isn't as though I'm being hard on it but, whatever ever ill-treatment the watch has received was apparently too much for those microscopic striations on the surface of the bezel.

And there we are.
A beautiful, if unapologetically toolish, watch to look at.
Specs are on point.
Heritage?
Bags of it.
Owning experience?

Owning experience?

Owning experience?


....