I am a rather boring person, a shy introvert lacking social skills, just another bland guy and this is why I have mixed feelings every time I come across a noisy extrovert, a little bit annoyed, a little bit envious…
My choice of watches has always reflected my blandness as I tend to avoid the flashy ones (BR01-94 being the exception) while focusing instead on the “under the radar” type – dark dial, pilot or diver watches.
And yes, I have the same mixed feelings when someone wears a showy watch, like Brave Beaters 😊
There are times when I would like to stick my head out of the shell, to have a look around, however, I am too scared and never dare to venture much outside my comfort zone. To do that, I would need a helping hand…
There is not much I can do in my daily life and I’ve come to accept that, but in my “horological life” I think I’ve just found it. It came to me from Havana, via Capolago, in the form of a watch that could give me the thrill of wearing a flamboyant timepiece while keeping me in my comfort zone.
Enter the spectacularly named Cuervo y Sobrinos Robusto Buceador Manjuari Autocargante Grande Data Doble Tiempo
Technical details are impressive, as this is a watch which has a 600m water resistance rating, sapphire crystal and bezel and a very interesting 43mm modular case made of stainless steel (the core case), rubber (the sides of the case and bezel) and titanium (the bezel).
There is another version of this watch which uses titanium instead of rubber for the sides of the case, but I prefer the rubber version for the added cushioning. I have bumped the watch several times with little consequences and I suspect that on the titanium those bumps would’ve left some serious dents.
Also, this is the first watch I’ve seen with has such a small gap between the crystal and the bezel, which are both flat and on the same level.
Inside it there is a CyS 2511 automatic movement based on the Soprod TT 651 caliber featuring a big date and a second time zone module. Setting the second time zone is a little bit awkward and only a trip to our favourite watchmaker enlightened me. Basically, if one moves the hands clockwise the second time zone move as well and if the watch hands are moved counterclockwise the hands of the second time zone stand still.
This is the part of Swiss manufacture…
Now, for the Latin heritage…
The rubber sides have flares which give a fancy appearance to the watch, the bezel has a rather uncommon countdown scale and the rubber side of the bezel has “Cuervo y Sobrinos – Habana – 1882” marked all around.
“Clous de Paris” are decorating the dial and a red ring marks the second time zone. The whole watch has an exotic air and it is completely different from any other divers watches rated to 600m.
From other companies one would get a big chunk of metal, perhaps with a helium escape valve, all sorts of protective covers and heavy hands. This one is like a salsa dancer seated next to a sumo fighter while performing the same task with the same precision.
The rubber strap is spectacular and is made from two parts, a black and a red one. The company’s logo is applied and 1882 is cut out from the black part and the clasp is on par with anything from the best Swiss manufactures. I had a very nice email exchange with a sales representative of Cuervo y Sobrinos and they still have the strap available, but it was the regular version not the long one that I need.
The watch box can be turned into a humidor and this is not really a good thing because I am now seriously considering starting to smoke cigars. I’d also need something to put my glass of “Caribbean Gentleman” onto so perhaps in the future the user manual could be used as a coaster…
If I would comment on something it would be the lume, which is barely visible, and the logo on the strap. The company’s logo is a sort of a shield with CyS in it but for some unknown reason on the strap it is C&S. I’ll live with that, though…
The watch oozes quality in terms of execution, it was one of the most appreciated watches by my non-WIS friends. And it does that while maintaining a Cuban air of relaxed confidence, of guaperia…
For more information, please visit CyS website here.
