Review MSTR Commander
It's about time, yeah, yeah, yeah.
The outer box is nothing special, the inner box fit quite snugly. The inner box though is quite nice, with a soft faux-cf look to it. My outer box was different from flipstah's Chief in that the front didn't fold down to provide easy access to the inner box. Not really an issue to just turn it upside down to plop it out.
Opening up in the inner box and the watch was placed around a cheapie cushion. Notice the threads sticking out in the pack of the pick. But it's just there to hold the watch in place, which is did nicely. No problems closing the box either.
The watch is big, especially with the destro crown. But it looks bigger than it wears. Or I'm just used to larger watches now. The polished sections were very clean. The crown protector and the MEISTER badge on the other side have a brushed finish. One thing I noticed was that there are some sharper edges from machining that could be uncomfortable. The crown protector is just for show as it doesn't lock down the crown and has a simple mechanism to click into place. In fact, I could wiggle the crown out far enough to set the watch with the protector in place.
This is my first watch with a cf dial and I have to say I like it. Adds a depth to the face and changes depending on the angle you look at it. One thing that I'm not crazy about is the font. There's something about it that I just don't like and it's something that would stop me from chosing this watch if I were in the market. I didn't realize how much I use my watches for the date and I found myself missing the date window.
Side by side with my lum-tec m25 (44mm) the size difference isn't as stark. The crown adds significant width, but having it on the left side makes it more comfortable to wear on the left hand. No digging into the back of my hand. It is also a thicker watch and I think the proportions work well. Which leads to my next complaint: The strap was really disappointing. Certainly too thin and too narrow for such a large watch. On the plus side, it was comfortable to wear.
I wore the watch for the week after I received it. I didn't think it wore that much larger than the lum-tec and wasn't really much of a conversation piece, except for the day that I unboxed it at work. I did receive compliments on it.
Overall, the fit and finish is quite nice, the design certainly stands out, it's comfortable to wear and is a nice addition to my collection. It's a worthy competitor in the < $1000 fashion watch segment with Nixon and Vestal, Diesel, etc.
On the other hand, it's in a market segment that I would no longer look at for a watch. I would rather save up/spend a bit more and go for a mechanical movement in the $1000 range. I find it hard to spend > $200 for a quartz fashion watch now.
But as a prize for a bit of lyrical rework, I can't complain at all.
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