Hands-on: Cecil Purnell Double Spherion Escape II watch
It’s been a while since I played Cecil Purnell luxury watches for a while. The brand was founded by Jon Purnell and is an interesting vanity project because his money comes from other companies-the name honors his ancestors of watchmakers. The Cecil Purnell brand has always been committed to producing a small number of watches with exquisite appearance and excellent mechanical properties for decisive and wealthy customers. Since the retail price of each watch is very high, the brand has been allowed to invest in small quantities to produce high-quality original watches.
It’s been a while since I played Cecil Purnell watches for a while. The brand was founded by Jon Purnell and is an interesting vanity project because his money comes from other companies-the name honors his ancestors of watchmakers. The Cecil Purnell brand has always been committed to producing a small number of fake luxury watches with exquisite appearance and excellent mechanical properties for decisive and wealthy customers. Since the retail price of each watch is very high, the brand has been allowed to invest in small quantities to produce high-quality original watches.
Each spherical three-axis tourbillon system can also run quickly in 30 seconds (instead of 60 seconds). This is not only a skill, but also requires Kudley to reconsider the construction of the “traditional” spherical tourbillon cage, because it is faster and requires more torque to accelerate. This means that the movement consumes a lot of power and therefore requires some iron springs. The caliber CP03 manual movement actually has six barrels between the four barrels (two of which are stuck in two barrels), and still only maintains a 32-hour power reserve! Literally, I have never worn such a power-hungry watch before. Therefore, the shell is located on the thicker side. Only the thickness of the CP03 movement is 13.3 mm thicker than that of the Rolex Submariner.
The CP03 movement is made of 386 parts and the operating frequency is 3 Hz. The dial displays hours and minutes, with a power reserve indicator (you will need it) and a double display. There is no doubt that the entire mental exercise of the Double Spherion Escape II watch involves making the exterior look cool. There is no serious intention to improve the watch or innovate the industry. This is what happens when you need to persuade strong collectors of some novelty (and if they can afford it, they suddenly cannot live without it).
Therefore, Eric Coudray and Cecil Purnell have succeeded. Escape II will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is a truly awesome creation without precise reciprocity. Coudray is a fan of heavy metal and heavy facial expressions. He is good at making beating springs and wheels, leaving a deep impression on the audience. Then, Purnell only needed to build a stage around the metal performance Coudray prepared for watch lovers.
Therefore, I am sure that Coudray is particularly satisfied with the sapphire crystal that extends to the side of the case, allowing a better view of the movement. This form of watch case itself is a grade 5 titanium alloy with black DLC coating. It is actually very comfortable to use with a custom rubber strap-although not very practical, when you do something impractical (for example, when you are bouncing around in your own lake on a 40-foo bullet boat) ,best effect. Again, this 48mm wide and 19mm thick case can only be water resistant to 30 meters (which is great for splashes-just don’t decide to sag).
In many ways, I admire the Cecil Purnell Double Spherion Escape II watch almost entirely dedicated to modern design. Although it was manufactured and designed by traditional watchmakers, there is almost nothing that can be traced back to the watchmaking tradition. It may not meet Ferrari’s present grace period, but it will put a smile on your face like a truck.