Modern art or battery eater?
With the Xeric Evergraph behind us and the Inverter ahead, today we will take a look at the Xeric Soloscope and discover if this quartz powered watch is a work of modern art that will confuse and enthrall you simple friends or just more branded Ali Express™ junk to saturate the market!
This Xeric Soloscope was purchased off eBay and imported from the US through eBay’s excellent international shipping center.
Who’s it for? Like all Xeric watches, the Soloscape SQ is a unique timepiece that, in this instance, sits on one’s arm like a modern piece of art while still offering value and sufficient quality. The Soloscape is for someone who appreciates fashion over function, and wants to walk their own path while not following all of the throw away “fashion watches” [read DW™, MVMT™, etc…].
TWC Paid: $235.00 CAD (exchanged from $175.00 USD) Shipped & Taxed
| Xeric Model: Evergraph Reference: SSQ-3018 (leather version) Origin: USA Case: 41mm Stainless Steel Height: 12mm Length: 44mm Lugs: 20mm Movement: Miyota Chronograph JS55, Quartz Crystal: Custom Sapphire-Coated K1 Mineral WR: 5 ATM – 5 Bar – 50m Lume: Yes Strap: American-Made Famous Horween Leather MSRP: $350.00 USD Regular price / $249.99 USD SALE price Website: Xeric.com |
The Quick Take…
As a little work up for the upcoming Xeric Inverter I wanted to try out a couple of watches in the Xeric line-up to get an idea of what to expect. For additional reference, check out my previous review of the surprisingly enjoyable Xeric Evergraph.
The Question Today: How much is fashion worth over function?
1. Packaging
- Sustain: The grey textile finish with burnished brand name is a nice minimalist touch that I appreciate from the brand for a watch of this price point.
- Improve: I’d appreciate a booklet along with the warranty card but to reset the chronograph function I went online and looked it up in 1001 language flavors so I get why one isn’t included.
2. Case:
- Sustain: The rounded corners are soft to the touch and the overall cash is softly polished which should minimize how much you notice any scratching and swirls.
- Improve: It looks like a coffin from the side…
3. Bezel & Rehaut:
- Sustain: Due to the case shape there isn’t a tradition bezel or rehaut but what is here does look cool from close up.
4. Lugs:
- Improve: They look like tack-ons; I love wire lugs but whatever you call these I do not like them. Maybe Xeric was going for a contrast between tube shaped lugs and the square shaped case?
5. Crown:
- Sustain: Xeric definitely put thought into designing the crown, right down to the Xeric logo recessed on the face of it.
- Improve: The weird little posts around it is an interesting choice… I suppose they are an alternative to traditional cut recesses…
6. Crystal:
- Sustain: Custom domed crystal has a sapphire coating, and combined with the domed edges I’d expect that
7. Dial:
- Sustain: The Soloscope I think looks pretty cool at a glace and although I did loose a little love for it when I examined it closely, I still think it’s an interesting take on telling time. I appreciate that Xeric has standardized the front everywhere and everything on the dial reflects light nicely as well.
- Improve: The screws that hold the 2 red posts for the chono wheel are not turned to line up; a tiny detail that is of no consequence but is that really what the artist had intended? I personally don’t find the way the Soloscope tells time to be particularly intuitive compared to say the Evergraph but it’s at least straight forward enough. If your eyesight isn’t particularly sharp then you may have trouble making out the numbers on the chrono wheel as the silver blends in a little too well with metallic blue.
8. Hands:
- Improve: Really is hand, singular, along with 2 matching posts, but this is art so are any of us really hands? They’re shiny but the red starts to get lost against the blue of the dial as a back ground.
9. Lume:
- N/A – This exhibit closes at 5pm today…
10. Movement / Functions:
- Sustain: It’s a quartz Miyota which keeps things simple…
- Improve: It’s a quartz Miyota that has stopped working for no reason… I had to use the manual to reset the chrono, which worked, but today the chrono buttons aren’t working at all now… The buttons also have zero feedback and feel mushy when you use them. Honestly, I don’t get to point of having a chrono that ONLY times seconds but maybe I just don’t get art…
11. Case Back:
- : It’s nicely engraved!
- : I dislike having to remove 4 tiny screws to change the battery, but I doubt the majority of Soloscope buyers will ever notice that the red hand has stopped turning…
12. Strap / Bracelet:
- Sustain: At first glace the texture and finishing make this feel like the strap is some sort of rubber / synthetic, but it’s actually horween leather which sits comfortably on the wrist and only requires a minimal amount of adjusting to conform to the wrist. For this price point it’s a great strap, and it’s even on quick release pins so you can change the frame around the canvas (how many art jokes is this now?).
- Improve: The outer finish is very modern looking, and it doesn’t work for me.
13. Gravitas / On the Wrist:
- Sustain / Improve: It’s a fashion watch with aspects of a decent entry watch. Because of the bulky square frame, when I wear the Soloscope I feel like I have a Dick Tracey communicator watch on; now that would be cool! The Soloscope wears comfortably enough and really if you dig this watch then it’s really not a bad watch to live with.
- I definitely feel like this is a $100 USD / $150 CAD watch and that I definitely overpaid this time for it, especially since the chrono is being fussy… I’m considering keeping the horween strap and rehoming the body on another strap… so if you want a Soloscope for a steal message me…
14. Wife:
- Improve: Go figure the Soloscope is NOT my wife’s bag of watch, but I did have a fun time watching her try and figure what time it was! If you want a quick laugh read my wife’s take on the Soloscope.
Final Impression…
So jokes aside, the Soloscope is the right watch for the right person, which isn’t me. Like anything, watches and watch collecting isn’t for everyone, and for many / most, a watch isn’t even a practical thing like a car is now that we have mobile devices. This means that watches are really just jewelry / luxury good / accessory for most people and are destined to spend the majority of time losing battery strength in a desk or jewellery box. With this stated, I would recommend Xeric and the Soloscope to anyone in the market for a fashion style of watch and would happily see someone walk away with one of these versus a branded Ali-Express™ junk watch.
The last thing I’ll say is that as with many Xeric watches you need to shop around as even on their website the pricing varies wildly depending on the version and style.
(I quite enjoyed my time with the Evergraph so if you’re browsing the Xeric site right now for a watch, either for yourself or as a gift, then you now have my preferred Xeric recommendation!)
A Question to You:
Would you be interested in a…
- A final score associated with each review like out of 100?
- A pass / fail all or nothing?
- A buy, hold, pass?
- Or keep it as is with no score?
Let me know through one of our online comment sections.
The Watch Consumer 