From RGM –
Regular readers will know that I am a cycling fan and practitioner. However, I am not a follower of the new school – carbon fiber, electronic shifters and the like. I like steel. The frame of my bike was made slowly, by one guy in Bergamo, Italy –
The key materials – Columbus SL tubing. Not the latest and lightest, but rather the same tubing that has been utilized for decades –
Times have changed, but not unlike Vinyl LPs, there are devotees out there (this guy included) who prefer riding steel to carbon fiber. I’m not saying this is a debate of right or wrong (although I know I am right). I don’t have any misplaced fantasies about returning to 1984 and finally winning the Ohio/West Virginia USCF Intermediate road race and going to the Nationals (I still can’t believe that group that went with the Senior Cat 2 breakaway didn’t get DQ’d!). I am 53, I have a more-than-full-time job running an adult education center along with a pretty hectic evening weekend gig as a brand consultant and sometimes writer. During the winter months I head to the gym for spin sessions. But when the weather breaks and I have the time, I take to the road. It is not an issue of simply getting exercise – I have the gym for that. For me, time with my bike is precious and something to be savored. I realize that I am a romantic, and perhaps a bit of a dinosaur, but there you go.
If there is a poet laureate of hand made bicycles, it would be Richard Sachs.
And it is for these reasons that I find the latest collaboration between Richard Sachs and RGM so cool!
The MODEL 500-GMT-RS is based on the Model 500-GMT, but with the added flourish of the Richard Sachs logo enhancing the GMT hand.
To be fair, there are a lot of young aspirants entering the fray, and trying to find their way as watch brands in the US. But just as Richard Sachs has set (at an outrageously high level) the standard for any frame builders to follow, Roland Murphy and the team at RGM continue to set the standard for those that hope to follow here in the US.
So if like me, you crave a bit of romance in your life, you can strap some Richard Sachs / RGM magic to your wrist. Limited to 50 pieces, and priced at an accessible $4,750.
Here are the pertinents –
The Model 500-GMT is the first RGM with a bi-directional-turning GMT bezel. The watch is designed as a sport watch that is also ideal for travel when using the 24-hour GMT hand and bezel. To help ensure durability, the watch has two case-back gaskets, a 2mm thick sapphire crystal, and a high-quality screw-down crown. The bezel is deep engraved, and the numbers are ceramic-filled. We have also designed ribbing on the case side creating a beautiful aesthetic for this versatile sport watch. The dial and hands have X1 SuperLumaNova for low light visibility.
Movement Caliber: RGM-ETA 2893-2 – Swiss-made automatic, 21 jewels, 28,800 vph. Rhodium finish – Cote de Geneve lines and perlage
Functions: Hour / Minute / Second / GMT/ Date
Case: 316L Stainless Steel, 41mm x 11.3mm at bezel, 22mm lug width, 51mm lug end to lug end. Sapphire crystal and water-resistant to 10-ATM. Case length from lug end to lug end 51mm.
Bracelet: 316L Stainless Steel, coming soon
Weight: 3.4oz. in stainless steel