Reviews

Review: Eoniq Alster Automatic

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Written by:

Jacky Chou

Eoniq Alster Automatic is a beautiful, simplistic digital watch that doesn't need any batteries. It's also waterproof and has an unobtrusive sensor to track your activity levels. There are two versions: one with a black leather strap for men and another with brown leather straps for women (and some colors).

The "eoniq watch review reddit" is a brand new watch that has just been released. The watch, which is made by Alster, has been reviewed on Reddit and has received mixed reviews.

Your Opportunity to Design Watches

You'll be glad to hear that there are several businesses out there that will help you "create" your own watch from the comfort of your online browser if you fancy yourself a watch designer but lack the technical or aesthetic skills to do it. One such business is Eoniq, and in the "build your own watch" market, they have the most appealing brand to me.

In my investigation for this review, I looked at five rivals. Sadly, I lack the influence to request that they all mail me a watch (some cost well into the four figures), so I was forced to conduct window shopping. I learned that Eoniq has the best customizer among the lot in this way. I also learned that Eoniq is one of the more reasonably priced brands, with the Alster costing around $400. The one I personalized cost $398.

For $400, you can obtain a Miyota 8245 automatic watch with sapphire glass, a partial skeleton, the option to personalize the watch to your liking, the capacity to add your own text and photos, and the opportunity to nitpick every little detail. It certainly sounds like fun, and it really is!

Technical Information on Eoniq Alster

  • Alster model number 008
  • MSRP: $398
  • 40mm CASE DIAMETER
  • ALTERNATE MODELS: Numerous alternatives are feasible.
  • MOVEMENT: Miyota 8245, automatic
  • COMPROMISES: Minor seconds
  • POWER RESERVE: 42 hours approximately
  • RESISTANCE TO WATER: 50 m/165 ft
  • Sapphire crystal material

Customizable watches are a fantastic idea, but only if they really work.

As a self-proclaimed watch geek, I'm all for customized watches, but with the condition that the watch's quality must not be compromised in the name of such customization. My concern is that producing a lot of unique timepieces might easily result in a product plagued with quality assurance issues. I sometimes see flaws like these in manufacturing samples, like as dust beneath the crystal, scratched hands or indices, dial imperfections, etc.

No matter how cool or potent you make the watch personalization process, if the watch itself suffers as a result, it doesn't matter. This worry is slightly heightened by the fact that Eoniq lets you upgrade to a customisable rotor and add text and pictures on the dial. The majority of DYOW (design your own watch) businesses don't provide that amount of customisation, or if they do, it's far more constrained. Being the worried kind of person that I am, this further increased my worries about the watch's quality.

I just had one concern after designing and purchasing my Eoniq: how well would it be made? In the end, my worries turned out to be mostly unfounded.

A Highly Customizable Experience That’s Ideal for Creatives

A personalized watch might fall short in two areas: during the customizing process itself and in terms of construction and quality control.

Since production economies are often attained at scale, I am worried about possible quality problems. A highly customisable watch eliminates the advantages of scale for certain items, which may cause issues. Throughout several pre-production samples, I've seen minor flaws like dust behind the crystal, flaws in the dial or finishings, scratches on the hands or indices, etc.

You may adjust the size and placement of uploaded photos or text, as well as the location of the hour markers on the clock, which might lead to a possible QA catastrophe.

Thankfully, the Alster I got does not fit that description. The watch is not flawlessly crafted, but the few things that worried me proved to be unimportant. I'll go into it in greater detail below.

The customizing process itself might be difficult. Here, Eoniq has done a fantastic job of offering direction and assistance without confining you to a template. You decide on a foundational style (like the Alster that I choose) and then create around it.

There are countless instances of how each of their watch models may be personalized. Choose one of the numerous sample designs to begin started after examining each model's case size, shape, and general design theme.

There are nine pre-designed alternatives available when the watch designer first loads (and the ability to show even more). To start altering the design shown on the right side of the screen, click the pencil icon or choose one of those to use as a basis.

My watch took a good deal of time to create. As it turns out, I have absolutely no notion what I want my watch to look like despite having reviewed more than 150 watches and owning a personal collection of more than 50 watches at any one time. I went through a lot of revisions and spoke back and forth a lot with Brian, who was my contact at Eoniq. Additionally, I used the Facebook Messenger chat option and received some assistance that way. They were quite eager to assist me in realizing my vision—or at the very least, to keep me on the correct path.

I had a great time throughout this process and decided for a red leather strap and a racey dial with a red small-seconds hand. Of course, I had to take advantage of this chance to display the WYCA logo prominently at noon.

The Miyota 8245 Automatic Movement provides the power.

A simple yet reliable movement, the 8245 automatic is used in dozens, if not hundreds, of various watch types. It is a workhorse movement with basic requirements. The 8245 beats at 21,600bph, is accurate to -20/+40 seconds per day, and has a 42-hour power reserve. It is not hackable.

The 8245 has been completed by Eoniq pretty well; it is mounted neatly in the case, and the straightforward Côtes de Genève/Damaskeening decoration highlights and enhances the movement. For this reason, I opted for the hollow rotor (included in the Alster's standard price) rather than paying extra for the solid, custom-made rotor. I was eager to see the motion!

I discovered that this particular 8245 was operating at -17 seconds using toolwatch.io, which is fine and within specification. The average of the previous four weeks' wear is used for this measurement (totaling roughly 100 hours of wrist time).

So how does the “Myself-Designed” watch work?

Overall, the watch lives up to my expectations. The printing on the dial for the markers and in particular the WYCA logo, which might have been wrong, is very much up to the standard you'd expect from a $400 watch.

This very close-up picture of the dial demonstrates how well the writing on the logo, which has fine lettering and hour markers on the C, appears. I don't see any flaws there, if any. The other markers, which are all fault-free to my knowledge, are the same way.

Even though the two-tone brushed/steel casing is well completed, the top-right lug has a little fault that can be seen when the case is turned about (a flaw I just noticed as I inspected the watch).

Pay particular attention to the top-right lug's base. Recognize it? The lug seems to "bend" somewhat in compared to the other lugs due to the modest overmachining at the very bottom. The 24-month warranty from Eoniq covers this flaw. Inform Eoniq if yours shows up with a same issue, and they will replace or fix the timepiece.

My least favorite aspect of the watch is the red leather band, which I chose to match the red seconds hand. In retrospect, a black strap that suited the outer dial rather than the seconds hand would have improved the appearance of the watch. The strap is fine in and of itself, and since it has a quick-release, I can and will replace it when it begins to look worn.

Notably, this is a Cameron issue as opposed to an Eoniq one.

The Customizable Eoniq Isn’t Perfect After All, But I’d Still Buy One.

I really appreciated the design process and having complete control over the watch. Before I identified the version I wanted to try, my wife and I iterated at least a dozen times, and even then, I had ideas for what I'd do differently for the next one.

Two areas that Eoniq might develop are as follows:

  1. Include choices for mobility other the Miyota automatic. Though it isn't yet available, Eoniq intends to release a higher-spec automatic.
  2. Establish QA. An regrettable defect in an otherwise well constructed handmade clock is the over-machining of the lug.

It seems like fantastic value to me to be able to build something special and representative of your own interests for $400. Despite the lug disappointment, which I think was an exception rather than typical for the company, I really feel that Eoniq is on to something with this. I'm eager to watch how their product develops over time.

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Summary

evaluated by

C. M. Martel

Review Period

2018-12-12

Observed Item

Customizable Eoniq Alster Watch

Rating

The "Eoniq Alster Automatic" is a new watch brand that is currently available in the market. The watches are made of high quality materials and are designed to be stylish. Reference: create your own watch brand.

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About
Jacky Chou

Jacky Chou is the co-founder of Uberwrists and has gotten into watches from his father from a young age. His first watch was a black G Shock that was comedically large for his wrist. He appreciates watches from Seiko to a Patek Philippe.

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