A Touch Of Elegance, A Splash Of Gold - Steinhart Nav B-Chrono Limited Gold Edition

Words like "Special Edition" or Limited Edition" tend to send watch freaks like us into a frenzy. Owning one becomes the key objective of every fan boy of that particular brand or model. Thus, when Steinhart sent out teasers of the Nav B-Chrono Limited Gold Edition, it got everyone into a tizzy.

Upon receiving news of this variant, I placed a reservation for a piece with Gnomon Watches. What follows was a long and arduous wait.

The watch comes in a huge wooden box that makes me kind of regret not providing the pomp and fanfare that it seems to command. Within the box is a plague with the model and production number etched on it. I find the box a tad too much and utterly unnecessary. I don't see myself lugging the box around but merely have its key content strapped securely on my left wrist.

A pair of cognac straps accompanied this variant but I prefer a darker shade to bring out the gold hands. To add its appeal, the watch is limited to 99 pieces worldwide.

As the name suggests, this watch shares the same DNA as its siblings in the Nav B-Chrono line-up. Actually, it's more apt to narrow it down the the Nav B-Chrono 47mm only. It shares the same case but the main differences are the Gold-outlined hands and the absence of a seconds sub-dial at the 9 o'clock position, the absence of the day window and the position of the date window at the 6 o'clock position.

The same satin-brushed, surgically precise seen on the regular model Nav B-Chrono 47mm can be found on this classy variant. The same (painful) diamond crown and piston pushers adorn the right side of the watch.

The biggest difference between this and the regular model is visible only through the exhibition case back. The Valjoux 7750 used in this version is finished in gold. It certainly makes the watch stand out but this becomes a conversational piece only when you flip the watch to show its rear.

The lume is identical to the regular model. A definite head-turner.

Like the regular offering, this version wears slightly big on the wrist due to the lug design. Expect a little overhang on smaller wrists.

What steinhart did with this watch, in my opinion, is turn a versatile piece into a handsome, elegant yet, subtle little charmer. If you like the regular model, there is no real reason why you won't like this aesthetically toned down variant.

Specifications:
Case Diameter : 47mm.
Lug Size : 22mm.
Movement : Valjoux 7750.
Crystal : Sapphire.
Case back : Sapphire.
Power Reserve : +/- 42 hours.

Pros:
- Elegant, dressy.
-Surgically clean and precise finch.
- Easy to find aftermarket straps.
- Rarity.
- Less busy looking dial.

Cons:
- Less versatile.

- lug design leads to visible overhang.
- Diamond crown cuts the flash of.
- Rarity and no longer in production.
- No day window.