Speake-Marin Serpent Calendar – hands-on with the 2015 collection

Speake-Marin remains one of our favorite manufactures here at Monochrome-Watches. Since the inception of the brand, Peter Speak-Marin (founder and master watchmaker) had created iconic details and shapes that are so easily recognizable now. Almost all of the watches made by Speake-Marin share this unusual English feeling, combined with high-end watchmaking clues. For this year, he has decided to update one of his best-sellers, the Speake-Marin Serpent Calendar, with new dials, new colours and a new movement. 

Until now, the Speake-Marin Serpent Calendar was available in 2 editions – a steel edition with white dial and blued hands and a 18k red gold edition with white dial and blued hands – and two sizes – 42mm and 38mm. For 2015, the collection sees 3 additions:

• a titanium edition with black center dial (with a concentric pattern) and silver hands
• a titanium edition with blue center dial (with a concentric pattern) and silver hands
• a 18k red gold edition with white dial and snailing on the date track

On the top of that, the stainless steel edition have been replaced with a titanium version, always with a white lacquered dial and some blued hands.

The dials are still multi-layered and painted a glossy white-lacquer. It features 4 indications – hours, minutes, central second and date via a central hand. Both the case and the hands are similar to the previous edition, with their iconic shapes. The 38mm or 42mm case, finished with both mirror polished surfaces and brushed casebands, uses the same typically PSM lugs and bezel (a.k.a the Piccadilly case) as the rest of the collection, such as the sporty Spirit Mk2 or the complicated Magister Tourbillon. Same goes for the hands that uses the classical Foundation style of Speake-Marin.

Compared to the very first edition of the Serpent Calendar with enamel dial, the date indication had been moved to the center of the dial on a separated date track, allowing for an improved legibility and a nicer balance of the face. However, the date hand keeps its serpent shape so nice to look at.

Inside the Speake-Marin Serpent Calendar ticks a Vaucher 3002 movement, a hand finished mechanical movement with self-winding mechanism and 50 hours of power reserve. Speake-Marin no longer uses the Eros movement with its 5 days of power reserve (that was sourced from Technotime) but instead uses this new, more refined movement. The power reserve may be shorter, the movement is now coming with a proper refined finish (beveled angles, finished screws, Geneva stripes) that will complement the rest of this superb watch. It also features a double barrel, not to improve the power reserve but for a more stable accuracy over the full range of power.

More details on Speake-Marin.com