Like I said, everything with the Rapide is custom. Besides the ETA 28292 movement, I do not believe I have seen a similar looking case, dial or strap on another watch. The crown I might have seen similar before but it is well knurled and has the logo etched into it and while not the first company to do it, the placement of the crown at the 10 o’clock position was a smart move for a watch this large.
The dial is a grid pattern, and while I’m sure it was not what Ed was going for, it reminds me of the desktop paper cutters. If you don’t remember what I am talking about, google paper cutter and you will see what I mean. The dial color is anthracite grey, and has red accent colors for the numbers around the stadium dial, second hand and the lume paint used for the hour and minute hand. The date is located at the 10 position as well, and has a diamond shaped cyclops. If you have read some of my reviews before you might know I am not fond of cyclops on the crystal as I find them unappealing to the eye. While I could do without the cyclops personally, the placement and the shape of it make it easier for me to deal with.
The crown placement allows it to not dig into your wrist if you wear it on your left, and if you wear it on your right wrist as most lefties do, it is now much easier to adjust while on the wrist. The crown itself and the winding are smooth, which is obviously good machining, but also because of the use of the ETA 2892 automatic movement. While many upstarts these days use the Miyota series or even Sellita and Soprod, many enthusiasts and collectors still want the Swiss Eta in their more expensive watch, so this will not disappoint.
The outer rubber case and strap is done in the heavy tire pattern but not hard to the touch. It is a natural rubber that is used here and still has a little flex. I am not sure how the rubber is attached to the inner titanium case, but however they did it, it is solidly on there and does not look like there would ever be an issue of it coming off or pulling away. The rubber strap is a continuous flow from the case; meaning the outer case and strap are all one piece. This means no strap changes….ever. But that is the way the watch is designed, and it is meant to have a certain look. Because of this, it does bow out on your wrist when being worn, making it appear large. The strap width starts at 28mm and tapers to 20mm near the clasp, with the titanium clasp being 22mm. I love this buckle. Not only with how easy it is to adjust the strap to the wrist, but the way they integrated their logo into the dual deployant clasp. This just shows how much thought went into the design of the Tire’d Rapide. The one thing I do not like about the strap….the red stitching. I didn’t like it when I first saw it a year or so ago in photos, but wanted to give it another chance and make my final decision in person. I still do not care for it. The way the stitching goes up the track and over the bumps makes it look uneven and just out of place on a rubber strap such as this. It is even though, but it is more an optical illusion with the way the strap is constructed with the tire tread pattern.
My other gripe would be the lume, or lack thereof. You will see in the photos that the lume on the odd numbers is just fine, but the use of red lume paint on the skeleton sword hands barely glows at all. My photo is after a full minute of charging under my studio lamps, and that is the best the hands illuminated. I have seen on the other models, (white version and olive green) that the lume paint used on those glows a little better. (different color lume paint). I know that Ed was going for cohesiveness with the colors, but still feel it would have been better to use the same lume paint on the hands that he did with the numbers, which I believe is C3 superluminova. Is lume on a watch really the most important thing? No, far from it, but I feel that it is an area that could have been improved upon.
I want to state, that I truly do feel the Tire’d Rapide is a fantastic watch. I honestly love the look, with the dial being the standout to me, and the comfort of the rubber and the titanium. It is definitely unlike anything else out there.
While I have my issues with the lume on the hands and the stitching on the strap, no watch is perfect and in this case the pros far outweigh the cons.
The Tire’d Rapide might not be the watch for you, or it might be the watch you have always been looking for, just like Ed. But whatever side of the fence you are on, I think you can agree that Ed should be commended for his hard work and design elements that brought the Rapide to life.
You can see all versions of the Tire’d Rapide and read more info on the start of the Tire’d brand at their website HERE. Thank you for reading and please leave your comments below.
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