Carlo Ferrara - History, Models and Owners' Reviews

Carlo Ferrara is an Italian watchmaker who left us in 2012. He had made a specialty of regulators, with his patented system. This model, the CF3 (read CF cube) is atypical even for him. Where normally Carlo Ferrara dials display two sub-dials, one for the hour and one for the minute, here there is only one sub-dial, that of the hours. This does not really make it a regulator because there are two central hands: minutes and seconds. The CF3 was also the entry-level model at Carlo Ferrara. It is this atypical aspect that made me want to acquire this model. The opportunity presented itself, and I chose the CF3, instead of a model called Jockey, because of the 10 ATM water resistance, thanks to its solid case back representing a compass rose, ensuring safety in the use of the watch. The finish is of good quality, the brushed and polished alternate in small touches on the case. The dial demonstrates this finish the most with the numbers, 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes, circled in metal and painted with luminova, allowing excellent readability in darker places. Note also that the watch is from 2006, 18 years after its production, the luminova is still very good. By choosing an oblong sub-dial, reading the time is less instinctive and more atypical than a usual round sub-dial. Moreover with this model, the minute and hour hands overlap regularly, which is not always annoying, but can be disconcerting. What does not emerge from the photos is the size of the beast: 44 cm wide, 54 cm long, 14 cm thick. It is not a small beast. Unfortunately for me, it ultimately turns out to be too big.