I decided to treat myself as I always wanted a "better" watch and with my purchase of THIS watch, I finally got it!  The serial number indicates that the watch was manufacturered in April, 2014.  As others have mentioned, the watch arrived already running; a mystery.  The owner's manual states that once the watch begins skipping four-second intervals it's time to change the battery.  The leather/suede band was very dry, but flexing it and wearing it has softened it up.  For my large wrists the band still manages to get around my wrist with plenty of room to spare.  So far, it keeps excellent time but then only time will tell how this watch's accuracy will perform over the long haul.  The mother-of-pearl face is irredescent but not distracting.  The second hand accurately lines up with the second marks, something that you find defective on less well-made watches.  The watch has the weight and feel of a solid timepiece without making its presence known while you wear it.  The face markings are all perfect.  This watch comes with a sapphire crystal so should be fairly resistant to scratches.  I paid $99.99 for this watch and lucky I did!

I've only had this watch a short while so I will update this review IF I find something defective with the watch but so far I'm very pleased with my purchase.  Real Swiss quality!

Update regarding the mystery of the running watch.  I read on a watch forum that if your watch has water resistance to at least 100m, then it's better to push the crown in and let the watch run.  Leaving the crown out for extended periods could allow humidity and dust to enter the watch since the crown generally does not seat into the gasket while the crown is in the out position.  Seems reasonable and it's cheaper to replace the battery (currently $22 at the Swiss Watch Service Center in New York City) then having to replace the entire watch.