Alpha Jump Hour - Mini-Review

I bought the PN Chronograph for myself, but picked this one up on behlaf of a friend at the same time. He's picking it up tomorrow so I won't have time to do a detailed review or get really good pics, but I thought I would post my initial impressions of this watch.

As with the other watch, it's hard to believe the quality is this good for the money! I took some quick and dirty pics (didn't set-up the light box and tripod, so bear with me on these).

Case and dial are nicely done - solid construction, and nice detail on the dial:



More dial detail, and you can see the minute hand in more detail here. Not impressed with the finish on the minute hand, but again you can't really complain for this sort of money:



I checked the point where the jump hour indicator switches (it's instantaneous, by the way), and it was about 1 minute before the top of the hour. Clicks over nicely, but of course the minute hand is in the way, so it makes it hard to read the hour. Not a big problem IMO:



Looking through the display back, the movement had decoration of sorts, but it's made to look more finished than it really is:



The Geneva bars are pretty rough, and the "anglage" is either not there or not polished. No blued screws either, which would have improved the look of this tremendously.



Other observations - the manual winding is a bit rough, but not bad. The strap and deployant seem quite good. The movement doesn't hack, but that is a minor concern for me.

Still I'm sort of comparing this to some high end watches, and again for the money this does not disappoint in any way. I will likely pick one of these up for myself on the next group buy.

I will ask my friend to see what the timekeeping is like, but if it's anything like the PN Chrono, it will be good. That watch is nearly spot on after 2 days!

[Langnam]

Al,
I need another watch like a hole in the head, but if there's another group by lemme know. I'll either get one for myself or my son.

[charles]

Originally Posted by Langnam

Al,
I need another watch like a hole in the head, but if there's another group by lemme know. I'll either get one for myself or my son.

Same here!

Let's see...hmmmm...1 of every alpha or another rolex.

[padi56]

Agree Al a great watch and review and value for the money,my white dial PN is one of the most accurate mechanical watches I have owned.Even with the chrono running 24/7 gains around 2 secs over 24 hours.And up till now cannot really fault both of them,the black one was fully submersed by my grandson.While he was taking a bath,by accident,but it is still running with out any problem.Not recommend though 30m rating in reality is only slash proof.

[Lt. Dan]

What is amazing about the Alpha's is the quality for the price. I was shocked when the first lot of 33 pieces arrived at my door. I was truly expecting cheap knockoffs. I have the Alpha Explorer I and it keeps very good time and looks amazing.

Its funny, but more people end up comparing these watches to MUCH more expensive pieces, which is truly amazing when you consider how much and Alpha costs!

I hope to start taking orders for the next group purchase next week!

Originally Posted by Lt. Dan

What is amazing about the Alpha's is the quality for the price. I was shocked when the first lot of 33 pieces arrived at my door. I was truly expecting cheap knockoffs. I have the Alpha Explorer I and it keeps very good time and looks amazing.

Its funny, but more people end up comparing these watches to MUCH more expensive pieces, which is truly amazing when you consider how much and Alpha costs!

I hope to start taking orders for the next group purchase next week!

Good news about another group buy!

One question - the jump hour I bought for a friend seemed to come with a very long strap on it. I have a smallish wrist, but he doesn't, and the holes in the strap did not go small enough for him. I ended up using my strap hole punch to make another hole that was smaller than the smallest provided, but that left a good amount of strap hanging out.

Do they offer different length straps?

Thanks.

[Lt. Dan]

Originally Posted by Avalon

Good news about another group buy!

One question - the jump hour I bought for a friend seemed to come with a very long strap on it. I have a smallish wrist, but he doesn't, and the holes in the strap did not go small enough for him. I ended up using my strap hole punch to make another hole that was smaller than the smallest provided, but that left a good amount of strap hanging out.

Do they offer different length straps?

Thanks.

That's a good question. I would contact Mr. CF through the Alpha website and ask him. He's been very good about answering my questions.

[Solo118]

check this one out! really sharp for 100 bucks! http://cgi.ebay.com/ALPHA-21J-AUTOMA...QQcmdZViewItem