During Baselworld 2019, the German brand Tutima Glashütte released a new piece in their Patria Collection. It is a stainless steel, blued dial wristwatch with a gorgeous presence. The timepiece is the Tutima Patria Admiral Blue 6610-01. Here is my review.
Review Tutima Patria Admiral Blue 6610-01
I was thrilled to see the Patria Admiral Blue. The brand is way-to-low under the radar (pun intended as a reference to their pilot watches). Tutima offers an excellent “bang for the bucks“. But before going into the descriptive aspects, the usual wrist-roll video.
The Patria case, in steel
For those familiar with Tutima’s Patria Collection, the presence of steel is an absolute novelty. The Patria collection was, until now, the gold’s territory.
The case is rather elegant with rounded lines, well polished. There are no sharp angles, no brutal edges.
The 43mm case wears smaller as expected. Due to curved lugs and relatively low profile, the case gives a more close to a 41mm impression. It is a great achievement considering this piece is oriented more to the dress watch experience.
The brand’s sportiveness heritage can be observed in the subtle crown protection, also well rounded and highly polished.
The crown is also from the Patria Collection territory – onion-shaped with an excellent grip. It is decorated with Tutima logo embossed in a recessed background.
The first blue dial of the collection
A sublime simplicity, in blue – this how I would describe the dial of the Tutima Patria Admiral Blue. The blue enamel shade is highly influenced by the ambient light. The colour seems to run from navy, maybe even close to black, to an almost light azure.
The dial is decorated with applied baton indexes a white transfer print with the brand’s name and logo.
The lance hands are gorgeously sculpted. They remind me of another Glashütte originated brand, that using purple lance hands. The slender and three-dimensional fly over the dial like a crane over a clear, deep and cold mountain lake – natural elegance.
The small seconds are placed in a recessed subdial. A circular pattern is adorned with a circular indexes track. The small seconds’ hand follow closely the design and refinement of the hours’ and minutes’ counterparts.
Adornment, Glashütte style – Tutima Calibre 617
Tutima Patria Admiral Blue 6610-01 is powered by the Tutima Calibre 617. This movement suffers from the specific Glashütte style finishes. Of course, the Tutima’s in-house movement offers the same three-quarter bridge as the other great German brand.
The movement is gold plated, adding a warm contrast to the back view. The Calibre 617 is beautifully decorated. The Glashütte waves (stripes) give a new dimension to the large plate.
The gold chatons with mirror polish sinks complete the Glashütte specific look. Other ornamental mentions will be the sublime anglage (beveling/chamfering – straight at the barrel gear side, rounded on the balance wheel side), polished screws, satin-finished mainplate.
The three-quarter plate is engraved with the brand’s name, origin and some of the movement’s technical specifications. The manual wound calibre is fitted with a 3 Hz balance wheel. It is capable of 65 hours of power reserve.
Some final considerations
Tutima Patria Admiral Blue 6610-01 is, by all means, a gorgeous piece. Considering what it offers for the price, the wristwatch is a very strong concurrence for the Swiss timepieces. It is delicate and subtle appearance. The timepiece has a touch of sportiness given by the steel case with crown protection. The Patria Admiral could be an elegant daily companion.
Tutima Patria Admiral Blue has a pleasant position on the wrist. The movement has good behaviour by winding and setting. I enjoyed the watch. Asking myself why I don’t have one in my collection? I really don’t know, because it is a great watch. But in fact, like many others, I have underrated and understated an exceptional piece. Simple and exceptional. My loss…
The only thing – I guess, I wish for a 39mm version (hard to produce due to relatively large movement).
Tutima Patria Admiral Blue 6610-01 Technical Specifications and Price
Movement
- Cal. Tutima 617
Case
- Stainless Steel
Dial
- Blue
Band
- Alligator strap
Diameter
- 43 mm
Height
- 11.2 mm
Functions
- Hour, minute, small seconds
Movement details
- Manual winding movement
- Diameter 31 mm
- Height 4.78 mm
- 20 jewels, 3 of which are set in screw-mounted gold chatons
- Screw balance with weighted screws and 4 regulating screws in slotted, threaded holes
- Index-free oscillating system with Breguet hairspring
- Openworked balance cock
- Glashütte three-quarter-plate
- 21,600 vph
- Power reserve when fully wound 65 hours.
Case details
- Water-resistant 5 atm.
- Domed sapphire crystal anti-reflective
- See-through back with sapphire crystal
Recommended retail price
- € 4,900 incl German VAT