I thought very long about it if I should write a review for JR Terrascope. This was due to the awareness that there were quite a lot of reviews about this model and I was not sure if my review would bring something new, but I felt that I had to write it.
My story with this model began in 2018, when I exchanged with a forum friend for my Glycine SST-12. When the watch reached me, I thought, “what an giant!” I put on the bracelet and started getting used to the size of the case, the width without crown is 44mm. I had watches in this size before, but the shape of the case is of great importance in terms of proportionality and appearance. At that time, it was my best watch that I had in my collection, and the awareness that it was made in the same factory where the Girard Perregaux watches were made increased my joy of having it. One time I saw an announcement regarding the sale of Breitling Steelfish. As I did not have enough funds, JR went to the settlement. I became the lucky owner of Breitling, but the longing for my Terrascope remained.

After a while I managed to rebuild my budget and started hunting for JeanRichard. I managed to get the GMT model in a black version through an exchange and additional payment, which I liked very much, although my silver copy was still in my head. Luck wanted that the next combination I managed to get a copy with a silver dial, but on the strap. Many of you already know that I am a typical “bracelet man”, so I tried – to no avail – to get the original bracelet for him. I temporarily put on a mesh, which I think didn’t fit so well but was comfortable to wear. The fate and watch ADHD meant that I decided to leave only one of Richard in the collection. Although GMT is considered a better model, due to the movement used, the appearance of the dial and the see thru case back, the sentiment that I had for the silver copy won and it stayed with me.
After such a long introduction, I invite you to the presentation of an extremely interesting watch, which is undoubtedly JR Terrascope.

Box:

The box is cardboard, with a perforated closure. Inside the box you will find a warranty card, and great leather travel euti that will secure your watch very well during travel. It is well made and you can see that we are dealing with a premium brand.

The etui can be worn on the shoulder or neck, because the manufacturer has attached the original strap.

Case:

The thing that makes the watch stand out and thanks to which we will not mistake it for a watch from another company.
It was patented and entirely manufactured at the La Chaux-de-Fonds plant. 70 operations are needed to perform it, including stamping, grinding and other processes. It consists of ten elements that are closely connected, which you can’t see, but I think the diagram you see here will make you aware and show you what you can’t see through the compact design of the case.

All this makes up an case 44 mm wide, 50 mm long and 12.6 mm thick. The watch, despite its size, is quite slim and holds well on the wrist.
Looking at him from above, it is difficult not to notice the multilevelness that the manufacturer served us. The first of these is the bezel with a brushed structure and whose side edge has been polished. Below this level is a flat surface and another combination of brushed surface connection, this time with a bevelled, polished edge. “Floor below” another element in the same combination. The whole makes an amazing impression, and the cuts are at the highest level.

The sides of the case are completely brushed, which gives a bit of a harsh climate to the whole structure. The lugs, as you noticed, are quite short if we consider the width of the case. They have been polished, which is due to the combinations I mentioned above.
The whole closes from the top with sapphire glass with an incredibly strong internal anti-reflection, which effect is enhanced by the silver color of the dial. The impression of a lack of glass occurs in virtually any lighting, regardless of the angle of incidence of light.

From the bottom, the case is brushed, and it is closed with a signed, polished case back, on which we will find information about the model, as well as the serial number. At three o’clock there is a signed crown. Its work is stable and it’s operated very precisely.

This is one of the best-made  cases I had in my hands, and I had a lot of them, including brands such as Rolex, Vacheron Constantin, Breitling, Panerai, …
However, it has one minus, namely, scratching, for example, the upper part of the bezel (although, in the opinion of renovators, this is a fairly simple operation), it involves the necessity to disassemble the entire case, which is quite a problematic operation; however, it’s not impossible and a person like Sławek Ogiegło – our forum colleague – will undertake this complicated operation.

Dial:

I don’t know myself where my weakness for the silver dial came from.
I mentioned earlier that the silver dial reduces glare on the slide and maybe this is one of the aspects of my sympathy for this color. The second probably is that this dial has been given a vertical polishing, which creates a kind of harmonious whole with the case. Although it’s the same color as the case, we can’t say that it blows with boredom. On the outer part there is a ring with a second scale. The font is quite small, well-made and like a cream in a cake, it overcomes the impression of monotony. On the dial, the manufacturer placed applied polished indexes with a vertical milling cutter and sanding the surface in the middle of those. Superluminova C3 has been applied to the indices, which despite its small amount, shines very intensely and surprisingly long. In the GMT model, the manufacturer used the C1 luma, so the glow was worse by about 40 percent, compared to the silver model.

On the dial you will also find the manufacturer’s name and model name, information on the use of an automatic movement and water resistance, which is 10 ATM.

Let’s get to the hands. The hands are polished to a high gloss. Interestingly, in my previous silver Terrascope, they were covered with silver, matte paint. I noticed the difference only after some time, when I started to view old macro photos. A minute hand in the style of a sword, an hour is a thick arrow; both were filled with the same mass that was applied to the indices. The second hand was finished with a red arrowhead, also filled with luma. In my opinion, it’s good that the manufacturer used a red color that nicely contrasts with the ubiquitous silver color.

At three o’clock there is a date window, through which we can see the thickness of the dial. There is no question here of looking at even a fragment of the next or previous number, specifying the day of the month. This is not so obvious, even on very expensive watches. Here everything is perfectly folded.

Movement:

The movement used was the JR60, which is nothing more than the well-known Sellita SW200-1, which has been modified by the manufacturer by changing the rotor and its own adjustment. I will not write here because the movement is so well known that everyone knows what it looks like and how often it works. I will only add that the watch is very well adjusted and its daily deviation does not exceed +7 seconds per day.

Bracelet:

As I mentioned in the introduction, as well as in my previous reviews, you know that I love watches on bracelets and basically my collection consists only of watches on the bracelet.
The JeanRichard bracelet is perfectly made. The links resemble scales. The endlink sits very tight between lugs. Although it is difficult to put it on at home, it looks great, without any slack. The links are brushed, but their edges were polished from two sides at an angle of 45 degrees. Their side edges are also polished. The bracelet is signed at the clasp that shows no slack, even when moving the wrist. Everything adheres closely. The butterfly clasp is very comfortable. The only thing you can complain to is the lack of microregulation. I wear this watch with a slight looseness, because the case is flat and adheres well to the wrist, and when walking, when blood flows to the limbs and they increase their volume, it does not compress me.
To sum up, the bracelet in this watch is well made and can be safely compared with the bracelets of top watch manufacturers.

Summary:

I hope that I didn’t bore you with my admiration for my Richie. This watch can no longer be bought in any store. These watches at official distributors had quite high prices, but sometimes they came with big discounts on so-called Gray market overseas, second-hand prices were also very favorable. It’s a well-made watch, not differing in quality from known luxury brands. Sowind, i.e. the group to which the brand belongs, made sure that everyone could have a choice and almost 100 different Terrascope models went on sale, which differed not only in size (there are also 39 mm versions), but also in the colors of dials, hands, and types of straps. Recently, it turned out that the producer is stopping production and will focus on renewing the Aquastar brand.
It’s a shame because he created a great line that became quite popular and met with the liking of watch geeks. It remains to hunt for opportunities and enjoy the watch, which is unique and does not pretend to be anything, and which is difficult, because for many years there have been a lot of interesting projects from different manufacturers and it’s not difficult to be accused of “inspiration with another model”. If you are not afraid of sizes and you like original and extraordinary items, then this is the watch for you!

Tomek

 

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