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It looks like a classic 40's timepiece but the Szanto Desert Sands Chronograph watch - model 4553 - has modern accuracy and toughness: It's powered by a Miyota 6S21 movement and waterproof to 100 meters. With 3-year battery life, it's your next retro dress watch, as watch aficionado Dave Taylor checks out and demonstrates in this detailed review video.
Learn more about this watch at https://www.TimeConcepts.net/
Check out Dave's Q&A Web site at: https://www.AskDaveTaylor.com/
#szanto #chronograph #watch #antique #retro #antiquewatch #noir #askdavetaylor
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0:00
Looks like you found it at the antique store, but it's a modern watch
0:03
Let's check it out. Dave Taylor here. I'm checking out this
0:13
This is so beautiful. This is the Sonto Desert Sands Chronograph, Model 4553, and I really like it
0:22
Let me just start right out with some close-up so you can see what it looks like
0:25
It features a 41-millimeter stainless steel case. with antique gold plating. So in the close-ups, you can see
0:34
it really looks like something you found at the antique store, and you're thinking is probably from like the late 1800s or something
0:41
But it actually is a modern watch. Now, it's not a smart watch
0:45
doesn't have a computer in it, doesn't synchronize via Bluetooth with your phone or anything like that
0:51
but I like that. I have smart watches, but I really like the ability to just have a chronograph on my wrist
0:59
There's a sense that this, This is something people have been doing for hundreds of years, and that's exactly what this style is
1:05
Now, it features a, like I said, 41mm case, and it's a 20 millimeter leather strap, and let me just show you the clasp on this is pretty sweet
1:17
Again, this is really an old school sort of style, and they've done something really interesting with the nighttime visibility
1:25
You notice on the close-up that the hands have these big white sections
1:29
Well, that turns out to be something called Swiss super luminova lumet
1:36
And it is basically an iridescence or a luminescence. I don't know exactly what it is
1:42
But what happens is in the middle of the night, it just pops
1:46
And it's very easy to read the time. If it's two in the morning and you just woke up in a dark room, you can look at it
1:54
And you can puzzle out that it actually is two in the morning and say
1:58
I think I need to go back to sleep That good Now inside of this it features the Japanese Miota 6 S2 movement which gives it really great precision And I have found that once I get the time set it stays spot on
2:16
There's no atomic clock. There's no synchronizing with world time or anything like that
2:21
It's just accurate. And that's really easy. On the back, they have a classic screwback case
2:27
You do need a special tool, but you can pick it up on eBay. Then you can unscrew it and replace the battery as needed
2:34
Pretty easy. The top, the front is a hardened mineral crystal. Again, I've been wearing it, and I have accidentally scuffed walls
2:42
and certainly bumped into things and absolutely no effect. Really, as far as I can tell, it is a pretty tough cookie
2:50
And it's also 100 meter water resistance. So I was going to drop it in a little bucket of water
2:56
but not a great demo because it's not 100 meters deep. That's 300 feet
3:01
Now, think about how big a bucket I would need to be able to demonstrate it being 300 feet deep in water
3:07
Now, realistically, with a leather band, you're probably not going to wear this when you're actually deep sea diving, nor would I recommend it
3:14
But I really like that it's waterproof because that means that if you get rained on or if you accidentally fall in the pool or something, it's not going to damage the watch
3:24
It's really important. Now, let's get to some more close-ups because I want to show you how the time
3:29
works. Here's a close-up where you can see what's going on with the watch and there
3:33
are two complications. That one is associated with the timer and this one on the
3:39
right is the sweep second hand. It is a little disconcerting to have the big
3:45
secondhand up here just sit and not move but once you get the hang of it not that
3:51
big a deal. Now it does have a timer feature and to do that you push the top
3:57
button. And now you can see that secondhand moving because it's timing. So you can stop it by pushing
4:05
that button again And you can reset it by pushing the lower button and it goes all the way around and resets And that about it There not much more functionality Notice that the day of the month is hidden in that six
4:20
That's a handy little feature. And that's it. Not a lot of complications, not a lot of things to confuse you when you want to see what time it is
4:28
Just a really elegant, classic, retro antique style watch. Cool. Let me jump back on camera
4:36
That's about it. There's not much else to talk about. It's just a really, really, nice, very simple, very straightforward watch. Now, the only comment I will make is because they
4:46
use the main secondhand for the timer, it is a little disconcerting to look down and see that
4:52
secondhand just sitting there. And more than once, I was like, oh, the battery must have died
4:58
And then you watch it a little closer and you're like, oh, I see. It's the inner complication
5:03
that gives me the time in seconds and it's actually the correct time. So you can take a deep breath
5:09
on that and just know that even if the big second hand isn't moving, as long as the little one is
5:15
moving, your watch is still fully functional. But again, really, once you get the hang of this
5:21
there's really nothing to do. There's no manual to read. You don't have to go watch YouTube
5:26
videos on how to use your watch or anything. It's super simple. It has two pull-out spots for the
5:33
crown. Thank goodness. So the first one let you adjust time, just as you would expect. But the second one
5:39
let you adjust the date quickly. Oh, gone, thank goodness, are the years of going around and around and around and around
5:46
and it's the next day, and around and around and it's the next day
5:49
and you know, your watch is saying it's the third, and for you, it's the 28th
5:53
And you're just like, I have 15 minutes of winding a damn watch
5:59
Super frustrating. But again, with this, because it's time and date, this model lets you quickly adjust the date
6:06
which I found really easy to work with. So it's just a really nice watch
6:11
To me, chronographs should be about looks and style. And even if it's not perfectly precise
6:17
but this is really really precise I can forgive a watch wandering time slightly as long as it looks cool And I will tell you when I had this on my wrist I have had people come up and ask me about it and I received compliments where people are like wow that is a cool watch
6:34
What is that? Whereas with the Apple Watch or something like that, everyone has one
6:38
No one really is interested in them. But this is old school
6:41
It's classic. It's stylish. It's going to compliment any outfit. and I think the 41 millimeter size is really good
6:50
It's a smidge small for a big masculine wrist, but it's going to work really well for a feminine wrist too
6:56
or a smaller or larger wrist, however you want to categorize that. So lots to like here, really, really a nice watch
7:04
Only thing to talk about is the price. But before we get to the price
7:08
I'm going to ask if you could subscribe to my channel, click or tap on that subscribe button
7:12
and then turn on notifications so you see my new videos, and we're connected
7:17
Great. This, I know it's upside down, sorry, is the Santo Desert Sands Chronograph
7:23
Model 4553, and there are three color variants that you will want to check out on their website
7:30
It is $295 at timeconcepts.net. This is not the first Santo watch I have reviewed
7:37
I really like their design. I really like their retro taste. So really their whole lineup feels like
7:45
watches that you might have bought at a high-end store 75 or 90 years ago. This feels like
7:51
something I could just keep wearing even when I slipped into my film noir roll where we're all in
7:56
1949 or something. And I really like that. Definitely one to be checking out. That's all I got
8:03
I can see what time it is. That means it's time to catch you in my next video
#Antiques & Collectibles