I found the 40mm Twelve to be a beautiful watch with a wonderfully conceived and executed design. But it did nothing for me - lovely, stunning even, but not for me.

The new 36mm Twelve is a completely different story. Again, beautiful and wonderfully conceived & executed…and I love it!

How do 4mm and a date window make such a difference is perceptions and reactions?!

We spend so much time and effort trying to measure, record, commentate and justify. As with art, music, architecture, even nature, sometimes you just have to let it hit you. Good feeling.

Because it’s like listening to music - and then having someone guide you and teach you to listen with a detail and closeness you’ve never listened with before. You developed your ear for detail and nuance and depth that many people just aren’t aware of.
With watches it’s also like honing your perception to notice detail and nuance that other people wouldn’t notice. You’ve developed a sophisticated eye for what works for you and what doesn’t. What looks right and what doesn’t.

This is the sort of argument you need to employ when someone asks you why you need more than one watch - ‘my senses are just more horologically attuned than yours are’.

missF wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2023 8:30 pm Because it’s like listening to music - and then having someone guide you and teach you to listen with a detail and closeness you’ve never listened with before. You developed your ear for detail and nuance and depth that many people just aren’t aware of.
With watches it’s also like honing your perception to notice detail and nuance that other people wouldn’t notice. You’ve developed a sophisticated eye for what works for you and what doesn’t. What looks right and what doesn’t.

This is the sort of argument you need to employ when someone asks you why you need more than one watch - ‘my senses are just more horologically attuned than yours are’.

Very well put, @missF.

ajax87 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2023 10:34 pm Maybe it’s this?

DEV.Woulf wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2023 2:50 pm Ziggurats are slightly different and with a bit more space in-between. Twin Flags moved down and applied makers are thinner. The dial breaths better now.

Well that could very well be so. I'm reminded of that old saw about "size isn't important"....... especially when you've got enough.

I'm not sure in truth. @missF makes a very compelling argument above. Perhaps this is what is meant by the term 'diminishing returns'. If it works for ya, it works for ya.

Des

DEV.Woulf wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2023 2:50 pm Ziggurats are slightly different and with a bit more space in-between. Twin Flags moved down and applied makers are thinner. The dial breaths better now.

Would they be the Zuggurats of Ur, or of Maidenhead then?

NigelS wrote: ↑Fri Aug 25, 2023 8:47 am Would they be the Zuggurats of Ur, or of Maidenhead then?

You would need to ask @asqwerth

She coined it when The Twelve came out, people liked it and it slipped into Forum currency. Mayan pyramids were mentioned as well.

They reminded me of the pics of ziggurats from my secondary school textbook on Ancient History, so I say Ur!

Though now on googling that, it looks like the Ur ziggurat had a ramp only on one side of the main 4-sided block. I didn't really think of Mayan pyramids because the main block of those were, well, pyramids with slanted sides. The CW Twelve dial texture appears to be made up of small 4-sided blocks with vertical sides with the ramps sloping out from the straight sides.

Comparing pics of the 36 and 40mm models, I think it's clear that they spaced out the "ziggurats" more on the 36mm dial.

I keep looking at these watches and, the more I see them, the more I find I like them. They are not for me because I find the 40 mm perfect and I wouldn’t want more than one Twelve in the box, variations of colour and size notwithstanding. And what surprises me is that the two I like best are the ones I thought I would like least.

I go on endlessly about white dials being bland, but what they have done with the Alta White, with rose gold seconds hand and edging to the hands and indices, is lovely.

But it’s the green one (Frosted Lichen) I find captivating, especially on the rubber strap. And yes, I’m a long-time critic of green dials, but this one is different. It’s cool, good looking and clever. It exudes a strong air of confidence in its own identity. It challenges and addresses preconceptions, but it does so by subtle reasoning and not by screaming from the rooftops.

If watches were characters from literature, it’s Lizzie Bennet.

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: ↑Fri Aug 25, 2023 10:31 am But it’s the green one (Frosted Lichen) I find captivating, especially on the rubber strap. And yes, I’m a long-time critic of green dials, but this one is different. It’s cool, good looking and clever. It exudes a strong air of confidence in its own identity. It challenges and addresses preconceptions, but it does so by subtle reasoning and not by screaming from the rooftops.

That’s the very one that inspired my post, for most of the reasons you give…just not on rubber!

missF wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2023 8:30 pm
This is the sort of argument you need to employ when someone asks you why you need more than one watch - ‘my senses are just more horologically attuned than yours are’.

Fantastic phrase, my quest will be to use "horologically attuned" in a sentence at least once a day for the next 30 days.

The move from 40mm to 36mm wasn't a simple case of setting the photocopier to 90% and pressing print. You're not alone in thinking that the change in proportions has made a more attractive watch. Rescaling and slimming the indices has made them less prominent and removing the date window has brought more balance to the overall dial. It appears to be less cluttered as there are fewer unique elements on the dial now.

I'm not convinced that CW have changed the actual texturing of the dial and Mike France has not alluded to this as a change either but the other proportional changes have made a big difference. I'm not a fan of little watches and find the dial texture to be "too much". But, of the pair I certainly think the 36mm to be the more successful, attractive design. I particularly like the Alta White with rose gold hands and indices but certainly understand the attraction of the frozen lichen with matching strap. Happy Retirement too.

Great post…I bought the 40mm in silver and like it. However, now I want the silver and gold 36mm… I like the smaller cleaner look of the 36 and the no date really classes it up in my mind.

Anyone know if the rubber bands from the 40mm (20mm band) would fit the 36?

Now I think I’ll try and sell my 40mm one!