Post by Oisac on Feb 26, 2007 22:48:51 GMT -5
Sinn EinsatzZeitmesser 2 (EZM-2 GSG-9), best divewatch ever?
The company:
Sinn needs no introduction to the true WIS, this German-based watchcompany has been around since 1960, and represents a “value for money”-factor and offer groundbraking technology not often seen elsewhere. They work without the usual distribution network and have depots instead, this saves a lot of costs and this ensures a lower consumerprice for these excellent watches than compared to similar models of other brands.
Sinn lets their products speak for themselves and do not advertise, they manufacture their watches in the knowledge that only first-class, high grade quality and the newest in technology will survive on the market in the long run. Their succes has proven them right, the brand has become increasingly well-known, and has fans the world over.
The watch:
This review is about the Sinn EZM-2, a watch that already had my interest for years, because of the interesting technology, their useability and because it’s the only quartz-watch in their line-up. I bought this watch just after Sinn had introduced the new Sinn UX, AKA Sinn EZM-2B, which is considerable larger and heavier. And because this meant that the original EZM-2 would be discontinued.
A few shots of the Sinn EZM-2 GSG-9:
Front:
Crown:
Caseside:
Back:
Lug/bezel:
This model is one of the last ones made, and it’s the “real-thing”, thus in the same specs as delivered to the GSG-9 for which this watch was created, and has a few different details than the civil version of this watch: the datefeature is easier to read and the GSG-9 logo is printed onto the dial.
The specifications of the Sinn EZM-2 GSG-9:
Articlenumber: 403.021 (Civilversion: 403.020)
Movement: ETA 955.612
Width: 41.5mm
Height: 11mm
Weight without bracelet: 70gr.
Additional features: Sapphire-crystal, Silicon-oil filled stainless steel case with membrane in the back for temperature-compensation, and waterresistant to every depth. Stainless steel bracelet with safety lock and a divers-extension.
The GSG-9:
The GSG-9 was formed as a direct result of the inept response of German police to actions of Black September terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympics. GSG-9 is currently broken down into three primary groups; GSG-9/1, GSG-9/2 and GSG-9/3. These units are specialized according to these respective taskings; counterterrorism, maritime CT, and airborne. The first two have approximately 100 operators each, with GSG-9/3 manning only 50. Operationally, GSG-9 has chosen the five man patrol as its principle combat unit. The troopers enjoy the full support of the government when it comes to their equipment. As such, they are issued not one, but two complete sets of combat gear.
The Maritime-group (GSG-9/2) is issued this Sinn EZM-2 as their ‘official’ timekeeper.
The review:
This watch is clearly designed for one purpose in mind, to display the time under all conditions possible, and has a very easy to read dial and hands. The big markers and wide hands have great contrast against the black background and, due to the Silicon-oil filling, is readable from under all angles. All other watches that doesn’t have this Silicon-oil filling, turn into mirrors when viewing them under water over a bigger angle than 45 degrees. The Silicon-oil filling also handles the pressure at great depths, as this oil cannot be compressed like you can with air. This eliminates the use of a big, thick and heavy case like seen on the Rolex Sea-Dweller, Breitling SuperOcean and such.
The form, fit and finish of this watch is excellent, the watch is very comfortable to wear and the bracelet is smooth and easy to adjust. The bracelet has solid links and bracelet-screws and in the clasp there are three additional ‘microadjustments’ possible. The divers-extension folds nicely into the clasp when not in use, and stays there. The clasp is partial solid and features a safety lock to prevent opening, the divers-extension is of sufficient length to fit over a light divingsuit.
A few shots of the bracelet:
Clasp open:
Divers extension:
Clasp with engraving:
The casework is excellent, the bezel ratches nicely and secure into the 60 fixed positions and can only be turned counter-clockwise for safety, the grip on the bezel is great, even when having wet hands or when wearing gloves, and for optimal grip the bezel sticks a small bit over the watchcase. The crown (fitted to the left side of the case to prevent catching it into things) screws down secure and is easy to use due to the ‘sharp’ serrations.
Silicon-oil filling:
This watch is completely filled with a Silicon-oil, which enables the watch to be read underwater from all angles, and makes the watch waterresistant to any depth imaginable. But with the oil-filling it also looks pretty cool on the dry as well, as you can see below, it almost looks like the hands stick onto the crystal, a very cool look when viewed from the side:
Below you can see a catalog-shot demonstrating the Silicon-oil filled watch next to the non-filled sample with the usual mirroreffect when submerged:
Not unimportantly for a watch like this, the watch is very bright and has long lasting Luminova applied onto the hands and markers, as can be seen here:
Conclusion:
I’ve used many different watches in the past during dives, from Seiko to Rolex, and this EZM-2 is the best to use. I cannot think of another watch that has the same easy to read dial, under all angles(!), and ease of use. Also the depth-rating is the best from all of my other watches, not that this matters, as you’ll never reach a significant depth even close to that as a diver anyway, but its nice to be able to, I like the ‘overengineering’ in this piece. This divewatch doesn’t cost an arm or a leg to purchase, and due to it’s low profile on the wrist and the satin finish makes it very resistant to scratches or dings. Plus, the connection to the GSG-9 counterterrorism group gives it a bit ‘cachet’, a bit extra…
Hope you’ve enjoyed the show!
The company:
Sinn needs no introduction to the true WIS, this German-based watchcompany has been around since 1960, and represents a “value for money”-factor and offer groundbraking technology not often seen elsewhere. They work without the usual distribution network and have depots instead, this saves a lot of costs and this ensures a lower consumerprice for these excellent watches than compared to similar models of other brands.
Sinn lets their products speak for themselves and do not advertise, they manufacture their watches in the knowledge that only first-class, high grade quality and the newest in technology will survive on the market in the long run. Their succes has proven them right, the brand has become increasingly well-known, and has fans the world over.
The watch:
This review is about the Sinn EZM-2, a watch that already had my interest for years, because of the interesting technology, their useability and because it’s the only quartz-watch in their line-up. I bought this watch just after Sinn had introduced the new Sinn UX, AKA Sinn EZM-2B, which is considerable larger and heavier. And because this meant that the original EZM-2 would be discontinued.
A few shots of the Sinn EZM-2 GSG-9:
Front:
Crown:
Caseside:
Back:
Lug/bezel:
This model is one of the last ones made, and it’s the “real-thing”, thus in the same specs as delivered to the GSG-9 for which this watch was created, and has a few different details than the civil version of this watch: the datefeature is easier to read and the GSG-9 logo is printed onto the dial.
The specifications of the Sinn EZM-2 GSG-9:
Articlenumber: 403.021 (Civilversion: 403.020)
Movement: ETA 955.612
Width: 41.5mm
Height: 11mm
Weight without bracelet: 70gr.
Additional features: Sapphire-crystal, Silicon-oil filled stainless steel case with membrane in the back for temperature-compensation, and waterresistant to every depth. Stainless steel bracelet with safety lock and a divers-extension.
The GSG-9:
The GSG-9 was formed as a direct result of the inept response of German police to actions of Black September terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympics. GSG-9 is currently broken down into three primary groups; GSG-9/1, GSG-9/2 and GSG-9/3. These units are specialized according to these respective taskings; counterterrorism, maritime CT, and airborne. The first two have approximately 100 operators each, with GSG-9/3 manning only 50. Operationally, GSG-9 has chosen the five man patrol as its principle combat unit. The troopers enjoy the full support of the government when it comes to their equipment. As such, they are issued not one, but two complete sets of combat gear.
The Maritime-group (GSG-9/2) is issued this Sinn EZM-2 as their ‘official’ timekeeper.
The review:
This watch is clearly designed for one purpose in mind, to display the time under all conditions possible, and has a very easy to read dial and hands. The big markers and wide hands have great contrast against the black background and, due to the Silicon-oil filling, is readable from under all angles. All other watches that doesn’t have this Silicon-oil filling, turn into mirrors when viewing them under water over a bigger angle than 45 degrees. The Silicon-oil filling also handles the pressure at great depths, as this oil cannot be compressed like you can with air. This eliminates the use of a big, thick and heavy case like seen on the Rolex Sea-Dweller, Breitling SuperOcean and such.
The form, fit and finish of this watch is excellent, the watch is very comfortable to wear and the bracelet is smooth and easy to adjust. The bracelet has solid links and bracelet-screws and in the clasp there are three additional ‘microadjustments’ possible. The divers-extension folds nicely into the clasp when not in use, and stays there. The clasp is partial solid and features a safety lock to prevent opening, the divers-extension is of sufficient length to fit over a light divingsuit.
A few shots of the bracelet:
Clasp open:
Divers extension:
Clasp with engraving:
The casework is excellent, the bezel ratches nicely and secure into the 60 fixed positions and can only be turned counter-clockwise for safety, the grip on the bezel is great, even when having wet hands or when wearing gloves, and for optimal grip the bezel sticks a small bit over the watchcase. The crown (fitted to the left side of the case to prevent catching it into things) screws down secure and is easy to use due to the ‘sharp’ serrations.
Silicon-oil filling:
This watch is completely filled with a Silicon-oil, which enables the watch to be read underwater from all angles, and makes the watch waterresistant to any depth imaginable. But with the oil-filling it also looks pretty cool on the dry as well, as you can see below, it almost looks like the hands stick onto the crystal, a very cool look when viewed from the side:
Below you can see a catalog-shot demonstrating the Silicon-oil filled watch next to the non-filled sample with the usual mirroreffect when submerged:
Not unimportantly for a watch like this, the watch is very bright and has long lasting Luminova applied onto the hands and markers, as can be seen here:
Conclusion:
I’ve used many different watches in the past during dives, from Seiko to Rolex, and this EZM-2 is the best to use. I cannot think of another watch that has the same easy to read dial, under all angles(!), and ease of use. Also the depth-rating is the best from all of my other watches, not that this matters, as you’ll never reach a significant depth even close to that as a diver anyway, but its nice to be able to, I like the ‘overengineering’ in this piece. This divewatch doesn’t cost an arm or a leg to purchase, and due to it’s low profile on the wrist and the satin finish makes it very resistant to scratches or dings. Plus, the connection to the GSG-9 counterterrorism group gives it a bit ‘cachet’, a bit extra…
Hope you’ve enjoyed the show!