NationOfLaws wrote: ↑Mon Jun 20, 2022 6:45 pm
I don’t mind the painted logo on the blue Aquitaine because it matches the indices and hands, but I think it sticks out pretty badly on the black Aquitaine where the lume is aged.
If you're referring solely to color here (white vs. off-white/cream), it should be noted that this type of mismatch is common for actual vintage dials, due to the different aging properties of lume and dial text paint. Of course my remark is only about the accuracy of vintage recreations, without implying whether one should or shouldn't like the aesthetics of such an implementation. Personally, I love this detail on my C65 Trident — some heterogeneity can add a pleasant visual interest, and knowing that it's historical makes it even cooler!
Here's a vintage Explorer II as an example.
(Photo stolen from the internet.)
Regarding the printed vs. applied logo discussion, I'm a big advocate of the
design element equality principle™. This ideal, which I totally haven't just made up, states that no single design detail (or lack thereof) should make a watch feel cheaper. I believe what truly matter are a clear, well-positioned, coherent vision of what the watch aims to be; and a well-executed design (both in theory and practice) with whatever elements that work in symphony to implement said vision.
Following this narrative, I really don't think that a printed logo is inherently cheap — it just belongs to a slightly different design grammar. As Jameson noted, they are widely used even at the highest level of horology. Both printed and applied can look great if done correctly. If anything, I would really, very cautiously speculate that printed logos even blend a bit better into the recent flat/material trends of contemporary design.
In any case, I'm perfectly fine with CW's current, mostly printed choices.