Wicked Watch Co Basilea Ti
Introduction
Hi guys, it’s been a friggin’ LONG time since I’ve done a written review of a watch. In fact, I think the last time was well over 18 months ago. Ever since I started my YouTube channel, I’ve not looked back, or even missed doing these written reviews. I spend more of my time editing videos these days, so as you can can imagine, this feels a little bit weird. Anyway, moving on… I reached out to Wicked Watch Co a couple of months ago, asking to review their new titanium Basilea model, after seeing it while scrolling through Instagram. Fast forward a few weeks, it landed on my desk. So, after wearing it for a good while, do I think the Basilea Ti is worthy of your hard earned beer tokens?
Manufacturer: Wicked Watch Co. | Price: 749 CHF | $849 USD
Wicked Watch Co Basilea Titanium
- Dimensions: Case – 39.1mm, Thickness – 9.7mm, Lug to Lug – 46.6mm, Lug Width – 20mm
- Total Weight: 62g (on supplied rubber strap)
- Movement: Fully Regulated Soprod M100, 28,800vph, 25 Jewels, Hackable, Self Winding, 42hr Power Reserve
- Case: Grade 5 Hardened Titanium, Drilled Lugs
- Strap: Swiss Leather, Grade 5 Hardened Titanium Buckle & Tang
- Bezel: Fixed, Smooth, Grade 5 Hardened Titanium
- Crystal: Double Domed Sapphire, Underside Anti-Reflective Coatings
- Dial: Oil Pressed Pattern, Fence Post Style Hands, Applied Logo & Indices, No Date
- Lume: Swiss Super-LumiNova® BGW9 Grade A
- Water Resistance: 100m / 10 ATM / 330ft
- Caseback: Screw Down, Exhibition Display with Sapphire Crystal
- Crown: 6mm, Push/Pull, Signed
- Where to Buy: Wicked Watch Co
- Warranty: 3 Years International
Wicked Watch Co., Basilea Titanium Unboxing & Overview
Wicked Watch Co., - A Brief Overview
Another interesting "story" about Basel is the "Dance of the Death". Dated way back in similar times of the 15th century. Painting show the death dancing with every "social level", from the poor person to royalty, priests, even young men. The message of these paintings are actually very easy; your society status doesn't protect you from death. Last but not least, one of my favorites: According to a story, a merchant brought a basilisk to Basel. It is certain that in 1474 in Basel (after an animal trial) a rooster was sentenced to death. The rooster was accused of having laid an egg, which was against nature. Above all, the people of Basel feared that a basilisk might hatch from the egg. The rooster was beheaded after due process and the incriminated egg was consigned to fire. As you can see, Basel is or rather was a really wicked city! That's why we are called Wicked Watch Co., wrapping our "roots" into something more mythical, not always serious, but with the eyes for quality."
Case & Crown
As you can see in the image below, the case of the Basilea Ti does come across as rather flat or slab sided if you will, with pretty much no curvature to the side case profile. Measurement wise, according to my calipers, it has an overall diameter of 39.1mm. The lug to lug is 46.6mm and the total thickness, including the double domed sapphire crystal, I measured in at a very svelte 9.7mm. The mid-case, caseback surround, bezel and crown are all grade 5 hardened titanium. The finish of the case is perfectly smooth in its appearance, as if it’s been finely bead blasted, as there’s not a hint of polishing anywhere. Overall though, the Basilea Ti does look pretty damn cool and certainly suits its rugged tool watch aesthetic, coming across as the ideal everyday, go anywhere, do anything (GADA) sports watch.
The Basilea Ti has an overall water resistance rating of just 100m, but that’s perfectly fine for this style of watch in my opinion. The proportions of the Basilea Ti case are pretty much bang on, and is sized near perfectly at 39mm x 46mm. This will suit a whole variety of wrist sizes! It does wear well on wrist and is definitely very comfortable, as it weighs practically hee-haw! The signed crown is proportionally sized to the rest of the watch, at a sensible 6mm. The crown is also simple to operate, as it has an absolute ton of grip and there’s absolutely zero wobble either when using the crown. Oh yeah, the only slight negative I’ve found with the crown, is that it’s ‘push/pull’, rather than screw down. Not that’s a deal breaker by any means, but I would have preferred a screw down crown, just for that extra piece of mind.
Strap / Bracelet
The strap fitted to the watch, that you can see in most of my images, is my own strap(Barton Elite Silicon) and I only fitted it as it’s the perfect length for my wrist size (6.8″). The strap that’s actually supplied with the Basilea Ti is a really nice Swiss rubber affair, albeit just slightly longer that I would like. I think this watch lends itself to the strap material very nicely and I don’t think a bracelet would suit this watch. The rubber itself is nice, flexible and is also very comfortable on wrist. The strap includes a very nicely made, signed, grade 5 titanium buckle & tang. Perhaps my favourite thing about this strap, is how it ties into the overall watch aesthetic, with the two different textures, and of course the strap and dial are perfectly colour matched. This cohesiveness is something that you don’t see that often, from many brands. It’s a nice, refreshing approach though and it does show great attention to detail from Wicked Watch Co.
Movement / Accuracy
The chosen movement for the Basilea Ti is a fully regulated Soprod M100. This Swiss made movement is self-winding, has 25 jewels and the oscillating weight spins up, giving it up to a pretty reasonable 42 hours of power reserve. The balance runs at 28,800vph (4Hz) and the movement is also hackable. Checking the accuracy on my timegrapher after wearing the Basilea Ti for a good couple of weeks, I was pleasantly surprised, with the Wicked Watch Co Basilea Ti coming in at a very impressive +2 second per day, with minimal beat error. The movement is proudly on show too, with the case utilising an exhibition caseback, with the added bonus of sapphire crystal.
Dial, Bezel & Hands
The Wicked Watch Co Basilea Ti has an extremely well manufactured grade 5 titanium bezel that’s also been hardened during the manufacturing process (not a hardness coating either), and matches the rest of the case absolutely perfectly. The Wicked Watch Co logo on the dial is applied and is at the usual spot of just under the slightly larger hour marker at 12 o’clock. The only text on the dial is Swiss Made just below the hour marker at 6. As you can clearly see, the dial itself is the star of the show. All dials are oil pressed and with this version, the white of the dial is truly white as freshly driven snow! All the hour markers are also applied with black surrounds, that perfectly compliment the whole monochrome aesthetic.
Taking everything into consideration, this all adds up to a very striking, yet beautifully designed dial. Next up are the fence post style hour and minute hands, that are actually really nicely manufactured, with their legible black surrounds. They’re proportioned to the dial very well, and the whole white/black design is stunning. The black seconds hand is very nice too, with the actual red tip of the hand reaching right out to the very edge of the printed black dual aspect minute track. One thing’s for sure, I have absolutely zero complaints regarding the dial. Gorgeous! Other brands should take note, as this is how a perfectly legible white dial should be done! Great job Pascal!
After Dark...
The lume on the Basilea Ti is pretty much what I expected from Wicked Watch Co., absolutely phenomenal! Wicked Watch Co have always been one of the kings of lume in my opinion, and not just in the microbrand world either, Wicked Watch Co. are probably one of the best I’ve seen, outperforming the big boys along the likes of Zelos, Seiko, Formex etc… The actual formula that’s been applied to the Basilea Ti, is Swiss Super-LumiNova® BGW9 Grade A. It’s not only been applied pretty damn thickly yet very evenly, it’s executed with 100% precision. The lume is also as bright as a f**kin’ torch (I’m sick to death of hearing that bloody analogy). Trust me, the lume is excellent!!
Packaging
I don’t usually bother mentioning the packaging, as it’s just something else that ends up getting thrown in a drawer or cupboard. However, as you can see below, the packaging for the Basilea Ti is actually pretty friggin’ nice! Super soft, high quality premium leather that also smells fantastic by the way. Inside, on the right side, there is space for 2 straps, a strap removal tool (that is included), as well as the 3 year warranty card slotted directly underneath. On the left side there’s a fully padded pocket/pouch protecting the watch head itself. All in all, the packaging is nice, really nice, that just adds to the overall first impressions and experience when unboxing the watch. Nicely done!
Conclusion
The conclusion then… jesus, how do I write this!? As I said in my intro to this written review, I’m really out of practice doing this writing malarkey. I’m used to the whole YouTube routine now and just blurting out whatever comes to mind, although some might say, it’s more of a brain fart that I publish every week. (Cheeky f**kers!). Anyway, on a more slightly serious note… The Basilea Ti from Wicked Watch Co., is a superb watch and great overall package. But like everything else in life, it’s not exactly perfect. There are a couple of small niggly things I could mention, like no screw down crown, date or bracelet option… but as I’ve already said, these are not exactly deal breakers for me. There are two quite substantial issues that I think are worth mentioning though.
The first being the price. Yes, I know the watch is Swiss Made and has a fully regulated Swiss automatic movement. Does “Swiss Made” these days actually equal a premium price tag? The main reason I mention this in my conclusion, is because of what’s available from the competition, especially from brands along the likes of RZE Watches for example. You do get all the options from RZE, and on overage, they’re at least $200-$300 cheaper than this offering from Wicked Watch Co. I know that RZE Watches opt for the more inexpensive movements from Miyota, but I think those movements are really under-rated within the watch community.
It all comes down to what you value in a watch, and obviously, how much you want to spend of your hard earned cash. Don’t get me wrong, the Basilea Ti from Wicked Watch Co is an excellent watch and I love the design and of course the attention to detail. The watch is also very accurate during my tests, so I can’t really fault it for that. It’s just that bloody price tag and what’s available from other brands that really puts a question mark above the Basilea Ti for me. My heart says the Basilea, but my head says RZE. This damn watch collecting thing isn’t easy!
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