The Time Bum

More Subs! Not a brand to sit still, NTH has released three more models in its popular Subs series. Regular readers know I have liked these retro-inspired divers from day one. The new models include the Vanguard, the Amphion Commando, and the Tikuna, which I sampled for this review.

Like every other NTH Sub, the Tikuna has a brushed and polished stainless steel case that is 40mm wide, 48mm long, and 11.5mm thick. It is perhaps the biggest reason for the Subs' success. It is neatly sized for most wrists, it will slip under a shirt cuff with ease, and it is wafer-thin for an automatic watch with a 300m water resistance rating. It has a double-domed, anti-reflective sapphire crystal and its broad, flat, screw-down crown maintains the watch's tidy proportions. I've wondered how long NTH can soldier on with this platform before tweaking it and the answer may well be "never." It works so well, there is little to be gained in messing with it.

The Tikuna's dial is an exercise in retro-futurism, a tantalizing glimpse of tomorrow as envisioned in 1965. NTH looked to Longines and Sicura for inspiration (I think I see a bit of Enicar Sea Pearl in there too) but the end result stands alone. I love the exaggerated angles on its numbers, the wildly stylized arrowhead hands, and the red brackets on that black dial, but the cherry on top of this cake has got to be the second hand's hexagonal counterweight. After all, vintage sci-fi was all about the hexagons. It wouldn't be an NTH without crazy bright SuperLuminova on the hands, markers, every engraving on the bezel, and of course, the crown.

It is a striking watch, quite unlike anything else in the NTH line. My only criticism - and a minor one at that - is the bezel. I love the engraved and lumed stainless steel insert, and the 120-click action is spot-on, but I feel that radical dial would have been better suited to a less traditional index. Maybe something more sparse or without numbers. As it is, it looks perfectly fine, just a touch too conventional.

Subs keep their fancy stuff on the top side and the Tikuna follows suit. The case back is plain, decorated with only a few specifications a trio of small logos. Of greater import is the 28.8k bph, 24-jewel, Miyota automatic behind it. If you order the date version (black to match the dial), you will get a 9015; if not, then a 90S5 - the same movement but unburdened by that superfluous wheel, thus eliminating the phantom crown position and rollover click otherwise present with a hidden date. Both have a power reserve of over 42 hours.

The 20mm bracelet is a quality piece with solid ends and screwed links tapering to an 18mm signed flip-lock clasp. Drilled lugs make for easy strap swaps. Personally, I think this one is begging for black tropic rubber.

I've said it before: you can't go wrong with the NTH Subs. They are the watches I recommend most. If you are shopping for a $650 watch that can handle just about anything you throw at it while still carrying off a dash of avant-garde flair, the Tikuna might be the watch for you. Order yours at NTHWatches.com, or at one of their authorized retailers.

Also, if you want to see the Tikuna and more NTH watches, drop by District Time sponsored by NTH Watches, October 12-13, 2019 at the District Architecture Center, 421 7th Street, NW, Washington DC. I have a crazy hunch you might find some Subs there... ⬩

Review and photos by Mike Razak

Let me start out with a mindblower: The Codek Spiral, reviewed herein, is currently available starting at $125. That’s over $450 off retail (with the code "TIMEBUM", which was made just for you, dear reader). Look at the picture below. See that funky case that you’ve never seen before, that dial design you’ve never seen before? That can be yours for a measly $125. The crown? It sets an ETA 2824-2, modified to eliminate the date position. To review: Unique design. Vaunted Swiss movement. $125.

Let’s dig in.

The Codek Spiral is an entirely original offering. The complete design, as you see it is meant to represent the hairspring and balance of a mechanical movement (feel free to google an image or visit the site for a very helpful description of said resemblance. I didn’t know that until I sat down to write, and I certainly had an “Oh yeah!” moment. The case on this is 316L stainless steel (of course) and 38mm, and only 10.6mm thick. While I think the dimensions and included leather straps suggest a dress watch, the design has a more avant-garde feel that while potentially dressy (further suggested by the 30m water resistance), is undeniably casual at its core. The watch sits well on the wrist and catches the eye quite easily due to its unique shape. Most often, when I glanced down, it reminded me most of a horseshoe crab with its tail cut off. Also, of an airborne bot with a socket-mounted thruster (the crown). But that’s just where my mind goes. Because I’m weird. I do enjoy the very thin, hooded 20mm lugs (drilled), which cover the ends of the strap. I imagine a vintage straight-end bracelet may not look terrible on this watch, in fact. The caseback is see-thru, presumably because it’s a Swiss movement and you’ll want to undress it with your eyes. Overall, the case is the star here, and while I do wish it had some contrasting finish, that lack doesn’t detract from its uniqueness.

Moving right on along to the dial, something left me a bit unsatisfied at first. I think I wanted there to be a touch more depth to everything, perhaps raise up the applied indices. That said, like the case, this is an entirely original dial design, and I do like the offset dial halves, which represent the expanding and contracting hairspring of a watch. The wave pattern on the central dial is enticing and fittingly evokes the amplitude of the movement's regulating organ. The logo above the center is not distracting, which is a real risk in a dial this unique, as too much text or logo can ruin the balance. The hands are skeleton style, and the second hand features a saucy orange tip. There’s a lot of great texture and variation in this dial, but what disappointed me was the utter lack of lume. What an exciting layout this would have been to see all lit up by some C3! A huge missed opportunity. If we accept that the watch presents itself as a dress watch despite its casual design, then the lack of lume makes sense. But the design belies its self-proclamation of dressiness, and so we are left with a not-that-dressy watch without any lume. And thus I am timeless in the dark!

I refuse to write anything about the ETA 2824-2 movement other than you should know about it by now. As I mentioned in the lead, the spiral has no date feature, and the set lever has been blissfully modified to remove the date position on the crown--which is engraved with the logo, protected by crown guards, and a snap to use. Let us all give a hearty round of applause to the thoughtful souls at Codek!

The straps that were included with my sample were lack and brown vegetable-tanned calf leather with sturdy quick-release spring bars. They were thicker than I would have preferred for a watch like this (it issupposed to be dressy, after all), but appeared to be of high quality. Further, there is a loop on the underside that keeps the floating keeper from floating too far and off the long end of the strap when buckled. I’ve not seen this before (that I can recall) and was just plum tickled. A shell cordovan strap is also offered for $10 (a whopping $135, if you're keeping track). Strap swaps were a cinch, though finding a solid strap to pair with it wasn’t as easy as I would’ve liked. Browns and blacks are fine, not exceptional. I did find a good pairing in my orange canvas from Barton Bands. It pulled out the orange tip of the second hand, and goes to further my assertion that the watch itself is more casual than dress.

What are we left with? At $125, I can’t complain much about the Codek Spiral. At the retail of $595, I’d suggest the lack of lume, less-refined finishing, and insistence on treating itself like a dress watch were all issues. The counterpoint is that qualifying as a dress watch is not about aesthetics. Perhaps it's about proportion (thin), date (none), lume (none), and seconds hand (none). In that case, three out of four ain’t bad. But, also, it really doesn’t matter: this is an undeniably fun watch, and while it won’t be for everyone…it kind of is, because it’s $125 and why not?⬩

Today, I have a new model from the Roebuck Watch Company, the Diviso. The watch will debut on October 12 at the DC District Time Show and should be available for sale in November. For this review, I sampled a blue and orange prototype.

“Diviso” is Italian for “split,” a name that applies in more ways than one as the watch is split by a band of color, has an internal timing bezel to split timekeeping functions, and has a personality split between diving (the compressor-style case) and driving (the racing striped dial). However you interpret it, the Diviso is an attractive piece.

The Diviso’s stainless steel case measures 42mm wide, nearly 50mm long, and just about 12mm thick; proportions that are spot-on for a modern sports watch and a good fit, even on my smallish 6.75” wrist. Water resistance is 100m; right on target for a sports watch. A flat and anti-reflective coated sapphire crystal tops it off.

I was particularly pleased with the combination of finishes. A polished edge accents brushed recesses in the case sides. Signed, deeply sculpted crowns are matte finished with polished peaks on widely set ridges that make them a joy to grip and operate. The fixed bezel offers a lively contrast to the linear brushing on the tops of the lugs with both its polished edges and its glossy carbon fiber pattern insert. It is all just enough to keep it lively without veering into something too close to a dress watch.

Speaking of lively, the Diviso dial is a treat. Vertically scored ribs create fabulous reflections, creating movement and color changes as it catches the light. Polished markers and hands also contribute a share of sparkle, not in a blingy way, but more like a touch of chrome trim on a ‘60s muscle car. A flat center stripe bisects the dial. Roebuck will offer the watch in black/silver, green/gray, white/black, and the blue/orange shown here. All have the white inner bezel, which operates smoothly by way of the upper crown. BGW9 lume provides a bright glow when the lights go down.

The vast majority of motorsport themed watches are chronographs, but this three-hander leaves no doubt about its motorsport inspiration. Of course, carbon fiber is major clue. Any self-respecting gearhead will instantly associate the pale blue and bright orange color scheme with the fabled Gulf Oil racing livery. The bar markers and squared stick hands are attractive in and of themselves (especially the neat split tails on the hands) but more importantly, they highlight the large 12 centered on the stripe, making it look for all the world like a racing number. Roebuck’s stylish logo and logotype are attractive but the offset and vertically oriented “Automatic” running along the stripe really makes it for me. It’s a simple thing that makes perfect sense given the watch's design brief and adds bags of charm. Finally, the second hand’s red tip and the shiny red triangle on the white internal bezel cap off the racing look, because as every car guy knows, a little red paint is good for at least 2-3 hp (perceived, that is).

Flipping the watch over, the watch drops its racing association, opting instead for an engraved illustration of the Round Rock water tower, a nod to Roebuck’s Texas home. Behind it, is a Miyota 9039 automatic, the no-date version of the smooth and solid 24 jewel, 28.8k bph 9015.

The final touch is a 22mm black leather strap stitched in gray for a muted look that ties to the carbon fiber accent. It is equipped with quick-release pins and tapers to a 20mm buckle.

I liked Roebuck’s original concept, the Alpha, but this one is leagues better in every way. From its use of color and texture to its sculpted case and crowns to its clever racing cues, the Diviso is a delight. The watch will sell for $600 directly from Roebuck. It is currently in production and should be ready to ship in early November. In the meantime, head over to RoebuckWatchCo.com to sign up for updates, and if you happen to be in Washington, DC, check them out in person at District Time by NTH Watches on October 12, 2019. ⬩

Review and photos by Mike Razak

I like the Bangalore Watch Company’s Mach 1A. We’ll start there, so you can skip the rest if you want (please don't). I liked it when I took it out of its box, when I put it on my wrist, and when I saw it in my watch box. It’s a good watch and hopefully, you’ll understand why, soon. But first, a bit of background.

Bangalore Watch Company (hereafter referred to as BWC, because typing is hard), was founded by husband-wife duo Nirupesh Joshi and Mercy Amalraj. The two left successful tech careers behind after falling in love with watches and returned to their native India to start the brand in 2017. They settled in Bangalore—India’s tech-hub and former home of HMT Watches, perhaps the country’s best-known brand. But BWC has aims to change that. Their first release was a classically designed dress watch, the Renaissance, and they’ve followed that up with the MACH 1 pilot watch, which celebrates the Indian Air Force’s first supersonic jet, the MiG 21 Type 77. The MiG served the IAF for 50 years from 1963-2013 and the watch does a beautiful job of commemorating its legacy.

Let me start with the dial. The Mach 1 comes in either a “civilian” or “aviator” layout; reviewed herein is the aviator. The difference lies in where the numbers are. On the aviator, the primary dial numbers are in 5-minute increments with ’60; at the top, while your typical 12-hour markers are on the chapter ring. The Civilian model (Mach 1C) has this reversed. What else about the dial? It’s a well-balanced matte black with matched day and date display that flips over instantaneously at midnight. The numerals are thick Super-LumiNova C3 that suck light in and spit it back out twice as bright, for a fantastic lume experience. That goes for the hands as well, which are pencil style, with an orange-tipped seconds hand that, to me, evokes a jet fighter. The dial makes this watch unmistakably a pilot’s watch, including the obligatory red triangle on the chapter ring at 12 o’clock. Dial text is well balanced, with branding under the day-date display, and above the display, an applied BWC badge—which represents the State of Mysore, India, as well as suggestive of a watches escapement (which I still cannot see, but that’s what I was told.) The left side of the dial features the IAF fin-flash (the Indian flag colors as they appeared on the MiG’s vertical stabilizer) and the model name. The dial offers excellent legibility in day and night, and the addition of the fin-flash and the badge add a bit of restrained flair that deepens the Indian roots of the watch and ties it more tightly to the MiG.

The 42mm case offers equal balance and restraint. A rounded, brushed bezel surrounds the sapphire crystal to good effect. Between the bezel and the midcase is a thin polished ring, offering the only break in brushed finishing throughout the watch. I love the simplicity and grace of the 22mm lugs. They are the perfect length, and the tops slope down towards the side as they come to an end. Coming around to the 3 o’clock side, the crown is a real standout. It’s exceptionally easy to use, but more importantly, an excellent design meant to represent the MiG’s afterburner. Very cool, I say. For a more direct “HEY! LOOK! AIRPLANES!” effect, just flip the watch over to see three MiG’s flying in V formation on the screw-down caseback, surrounded by historical information. Interested in the mundane details of the watch itself that you’re so used to seeing on other, lesser case backs? It’s there, on the slopes between the notches. It includes such hits as “100M” (water resistance) and “316L” (steel; though the watch is also available in black PVD). And don’t forget the “SW220-1” (movement).

Tick tock goes that Sellita SW220-1. I usually don’t write much about movements, and while that will remain true here, day-date movements are slightly less common, so here you go: it’s Sellita’s version of the ETA 2836-2, has 26 jewels, and will keep going for 38 hours. And you can’t see it because there is not a display back. Because the good people of India aren’t a bunch of Peeping Toms like the rest of us. Thank god.

Bangalore Watch Company Mach 1A case back

The Mach 1 comes standard with a leather-lined textile strap (think Cordura) that is easy to wear and looks great with the watch. No break-in issues here, though I wasn’t the first reviewer. The watch was easily paired with a variety of other straps, as some of the photos show. I really liked how it looked on my red Barton Elite Silicone and my G&Co. brown leather racing strap. That is to say, while the dial has some small flashes of color, it’s nothing that will disallow a good amount of strap pairings.

The Mach 1 succeeds where many other pilot watches (and watches in general) fail. It says it is paying homage to something and actually does so. Explicitly with its engraved caseback, but more subtly—and more powerfully, I’d say—with the afterburner-inspired crown and the fin-flash on the dial. “Made in India” isn’t something that’s often celebrated or even sought after in the US, and maybe the Bangalore Watch Company--India's first microbrand--and their Mach 1 can start to change that. It’s available now for pre-order for $680, which I think is a perfect price for such a great timepiece.

P.S.- In furtherance of the watch's legitimacy, BWC has sourced metal from one of the decommissioned MiGs and recycled it into a limited edition of 21 Mach 1 dials. Pretty awesome until you realize they're already sold out.⬩

I learned of Australia's Orange Watch Company (OWC) from my friend and fellow watch blogger, Paul Hubbard. Paul had written about OWC watches for A Blog To Watch, WatchOtaku, and his new site, Ultracrepidarian, and along the way, got to be good friends with the owner. Considering how much Paul liked them, it is a bit surprising that I dragged my feet so long, but in the interest of making up for lost time, I finally took on three OWC models to review at once: two MS-9411 Snowflakes, and Paul's personal MS-6538 Bond. All three are lovely watches, but they are not without their flaws.

My OWC care package came via Paul Hubbard, who had recently reviewed them himself (you should read his review too) and fitted his own straps (more on that later). He sent me the three watches, bracelets, and one full set of packaging and accouterments. The complete kit is an exercise in massive overkill. It starts with a large plastic box, and since I said "plastic," I'm sure you are thinking it something flimsy. Oh, I assure you, it is not. This thing is hewn from 1" thick polyethylene and is heavy as all hell. Your first challenge is to open it. There are no hinges or latches. Instead, the thick sides are held by precision-cut finger joints. You find the small gap for your fingertips and pry it apart to reveal a padded interior containing ... another box.

This one is Pelican-style and contains the watch. Each package also includes two Torx drivers and a commemorative $5 AUD silver coin. Given my recent rant about excessive packaging, you can imagine my reaction. I can't deny that all of this is not high quality, unique, and makes the unboxing moment memorable, but it is entirely too much for my taste. I'd much prefer the watch and tools (no coins) in a lightweight box that I can open on the first try and then recycle afterward.

So let's get down to the watches.

OWC zeroed in on its brand identity right from the very start. The company produces mechanical dive watches in the '60s Submariner idiom and while they have consistently refined it over the years, they have not deviated from that formula. All three watches share similar 40.5mm wide, 51mm long, 12.9mm thick cases, brushed on top with outstanding mirror-polishing on their smooth sides. You can choose cases with or without crown guards. Thanks to O-rings, screw-down crowns, and crystal retaining rings, they are sealed for a 300m water resistance rating. A 4.5mm thick, anti-reflective coated sapphire crystal finishes things off. The case feels solid, and the finishing is superb. Clearly, OWC built these things to be used like proper tools while looking damn fine in the process.

Torx screws secure both the relatively unadorned case back and the strap bars, as well as the bracelet links. This is both a blessing and a curse. I appreciate the utility of screwed bars as you are never going to accidentally pop one free as you might with a spring bar, but screws often need a dab of low strength Loctite to prevent them from backing out. Torx heads provide a much better seat than conventional flat or Philips heads. You might not have Torx head tools in your watch box, but OWC helpfully supplies two, and you will need them both as the screw is threaded into the bar, not the lugs. This is in itself a "good news, bad news" situation because it means fiddling with a screwdriver in each hand while your third hand holds the case, but if you do happen to strip those threads in a ham-fisted moment, you need only replace the bar, not repair the case. It is also worth mentioning that because the bars are much thicker than spring bars, you will want to be sure that the strap you are fitting can accommodate them.

So after all this, do I like having the bars or not? Personally, I’ll always choose a conventional spring bar over a screw because I like to swap straps, and screws make that process more difficult, but if you prefer the security of a bar, the OWC set up is pretty dandy.

The 20mm brushed bracelet is a sturdy unit with solid end links held by Torx screws. When fitted, the watch is an absolute brute, weighing in at 7.6 oz. A signed butterfly clasp keeps the profile low and smooth, unlike many of boxy flip-lock and extension clasps I have encountered lately.

I got a pair of OWC's tough kangaroo leather straps as well. These are custom made to the company's specs, fitted with tubes, and really look the business in black and orange. While I marveled at their construction, I didn't wear them because try as I might, I could not squeeze them between the lugs. My calipers told me they were 21mm wide and while that is usually an easy enough squeeze, it proved unbelievably frustrating with the tubes in place. I could have removed the tubes, or compressed the strap with hand tools, but as these all were going back to Paul, I simply left the watches on the aftermarket straps he provided and concentrated on the bracelets instead. I'm not saying the straps don't work, I'm merely warning you that they are an extremely tight fit.

OWC offers a choice of ETA 2892-2 clone movements: a Chinese Seagull ST1812 and a Swiss Soprod A-10 (renamed M-100). Which should you buy? That depends. I know many a watch nerd who will insist on Swiss or nothing, and choosing the Soprod ticks the last box to make your OWC officially Swiss Made, but assuming proper assembly and quality control, there is no reason why the Chinese clone won't perform admirably as well. It will also be less expensive and be covered by the same 2-year OWC warranty. The review samples all had Soprods.

C3 SuperLuminova shines brightly on the markers, hands, and yes, also on the engraved ceramic bezel insert. I love the look of a glossy ceramic insert, and I keep a special place in my heart for those that are fully lumed.

At this point, both Snowflakes and the Bond go their own ways. These watches are built to order, so customers can do a bot of mix and match to get the watch they want.

I got two MS-9411 Snowflakes to play with, one with a matte black dial, the other with a blue gradient dial. As the name indicates, both have polished snowflake hands and rectangular markers, giving the watches a Tudor vibe. The black sample was the more conventional of the two, sporting crown guards, and a 40.5mm bezel with minute marks for the first quarter of its index and polished depressions in its coin-edge. Its 6mm crown shares the same style and finish.

The matte dial, AR coating, and printed markers banish nearly all reflection for a perfectly flat and highly legible appearance. The crystal practically vanishes, particularly in low light. This one had a red second hand that, to my eye, clashes with the attractive orange OWC "hamburger" logo. Dial text matches the logo's squared typeface. A brushed rehaut completes the no-nonsense look. This is the only sample that had the optional date window, neatly tucked between the fourth and fifth hour markers and black to match the dial, just as it should be.

The blue dial is a stunner, fading from black at the edges to a vibrant Royal Blue at the center. The orange logo and faithfully matched second hand pop against it. Unlike the black dial, this one has applied and polished markers and a chapter index. The bezel is the same size as that on the black version, but carries a knurled edge, as does its 8mm crown. Finally, the ceramic insert forgoes the individual minute marks for a cleaner look.

The end result is a touch flashier than the black version, although it gives up nothing in utility. I found it to be the most modern of the three samples and the one I wore the most often.

In a way, the MS-6538 Bond walked the line between the black and blue Snowflakes. It wore a conventional Sub-style dial and like the black Snowflake, had polished markers, polished Mercedes hands, and a red spear-tipped second hand. It shared the same chapter index, bezel, and crown as the blue model. This one was Paul's personal watch, so it had the odd dings of a well-loved piece, but was holding up quite well.

Bezel action was a bit disappointing. I found the coin-edged one on the black Snowflake to be perfectly crisp, but both of the knurled bezels exhibited more back play than I would like. On the Bond, I might have chalked it up to age and use, but the blue Snowflake had no such excuse.

OWC does things its own way and this includes the ordering process. There are no prices on the webpage, no "add to cart," just an email address where you submit your request and start a dialogue about what you would like. Depending on options, OWC watches generally run between $1200-1500 USD. For this not inconsiderable sum, you are getting a very attractive and highly capable watch that is made just for you and is a bit of a rarity, even among boutique brands. Whether that justifies the price is up to you.

For more information or to start an ordering conversation for an OWC of your own, visit OrangeWatchCompany.com. ⬩

I'll just say this up front: the pictures on the Phoibos site do not do the Eagle Ray Bronze PY0118D justice. The shape and layout are right, all the details are correctly rendered, but there is a whole panoply of gloss and sparkle that was entirely left out, and that is a shame because this watch is really pretty in addition to being pretty badass. Now, let's get down to it.

This Phoibos is the latest iteration of the brand's popular Eagle Ray series, only this time, produced with a brushed CuSn8 bronze case. You can choose from blue or black ceramic dials with bronze bezel inserts, blue or black meteorite dials, or the black ceramic dial with the black ceramic bezel insert that I chose for this review. Measurements are the same as they were on the stainless steel version: 41mm wide, 47mm long, and 14mm thick from the case back to the double-domed and 3x anti-reflective coated sapphire crystal. It makes for a satisfying balance between sporting wrist presence and real-world, daily wear practicality. I found it to be a proper fit on my 6.75" wrist while still substantial enough to not appear undersized on bigger folks. Using your watch as a real dive instrument? Never fear, the Eagle Ray is sealed for a whooping 500m depth rating.

In profile, the case appears to be mostly bezel. This is a trick of the eye, perpetrated by the bezel's aggressive saw-tooth, the subtle chamfers cut along the upper edge, and the pronounced undercut on the bottom. It works quite well, giving the case an attractively slim, vintage look. The screw-down crown mirrors the bezel's jagged pattern and is not signed, but decorated with an engraved star/iris shape on its domed head. In my review of the Phoibos Sea Nymph, there was much debate of the correct orientation of a sawtooth. I firmly believe they should peak to the right on anything that turns counter-clockwise, and so they do here, just as God and The Time Bum decree. It is the same on the crown. Arguably, this is merely an aesthetic issue as the crown must go in both directions, but it works well when unscrewing, and that is the motion most likely to encounter a degree of resistance. Regardless, the crown was easy to grip and smooth to operate, and the bezel action was similarly excellent, clicking firmly through its 120 positions without undue effort and with zero shimmy or back play.

On the flip side, you will find the gateway to the movement guarded by Phoibos's "Angry King Octopus" (my name, not theirs), stamped and polished on the threaded stainless steel case back. It is nicely executed, and I must add that I have come to love the unapologetically eccentric Phoibos logo. Behind it lies a Sellita SW200-1, a Swiss automatic based on the venerable ETA 2824 featuring 26 jewels, Incabloc shock protection, a 38-hour power reserve, and a smooth 28.8k bph sweep.

Phoibos Eagle Ray Bronze Black case back

Let's turn back the dial and bezel. Both surfaces are a glossy black ceramic that looks about a mile deep. The syringe hands, lollipop second hand, and applied markers are polished and finished in a rose gold color. That same color is repeated in the printed index, dial text, and logo. The only element that is not printed in gold is the date, but the white-on-black disk tucks in unobtrusively at 6 o'clock. All hands are exactly the right length. Phoibos treats the hands, makers, and bezel pip with 15 layers of C3 SuperLuminova for a potent nighttime glow.

Usually, I would bemoan the fact that the bezel insert is not fully lumed, but not this time. You see, Phoibos has instead layered a cut-away insert over the engraved bezel, creating a sandwich that reveals the bronze beneath the ceramic. It is an uncommon yet very cool choice. The bezel pip lume sits in a cylinder that stands proud of the engraved triangle below. I like the extra dimension and trust that it will prove to be less vulnerable to knocks than an exposed lume pearl.

Phoibos Eagle Ray Bronze Black bezel pip

The overall effect is lovely as the reflective elements contrast against the more utilitarian finish on the case, while the rose gold color complements the warm bronze. Again, I have to say the web illustrations kind of suck the life out of a watch that is a real stunner in person.

Phoibos provides a rather impressive kit with its watch. Along with the usual zippered travel box, they give you a strap tool, a black rubber tropic strap, and two minimally stitched leather straps (black and tan). You also get not one, but two bronze buckles. The first is large and sculpted with a broad, flat tang to fit the leather. The second is signed and smaller to fit the tropic. The engraving is deep and clean on both. The buckles are a big plus in my book as it is not always easy to find bronze buckle and even less so to find them in the right color for a given case. Kudos to Phiobos for looking out for us strap swappers. The straps are 20mm wide and taper to 18mm buckles.

I really dig the Eagle Ray Bronze. Your $420 will get you a sharp-looking watch with all the right specifications, thoughtful extras, and bags of charm to boot. Better still, being a bronze watch, it will begin to oxidize right away, further enhancing its personality. No doubt many owners will wonder if they will keep that case as clean as the ceramic or revel in the unpredictable gnarliness of its patina. Frankly, you'll win either way.

For more information or to order an Eagle Ray of your own, see PhoibosWatch.com. ⬩

Review and photos by Mike Razak

Most modern divers are derivative in one way or another. Usually, they are heavily inspired by the Rolex Submariner, if not entirely ripping off that iconic design. So when a watch comes along that isn’t that, I pay attention. And when that watch is so not that as to be just entirely different, I become quite interested. That’s the case with the Isotope Goutte d’Eau diver, the brand's second offering after their debut jumping hour Rider model. The design language of fluidity and a general avoidance or harsh angles is continued in the Goutte d’Eau to great effect.

By way of history, Isotope was started in 2015 in England by José Miranda, following two other less successful forays into watchmaking. The brand was born of desperation and a bit of necessity. Mr. Miranda longed for a Genta Jumping Hour but felt that he needed both kidneys, so couldn’t afford one. His solution? Build his own. The result was the Rider, a jumping hour with a bespoke movement module created just for the brand. The watch is a study in inspired design: it is clearly reminiscent of Genta’s design language and simultaneously infused with newness, freshness. The Goutte d’Eau is no different, as even a cursory glance elicits a genuine “Well now, what’s this?” Working with the designer behind the Konstantin Chaykin Lunokhod, Isotope sought to bring something new, original, and distinct from the competition. And with a watch that is fully bespoke save for the movement, I dare say they’ve succeeded.

I was fortunate enough to be able to test out both iterations of the watch: the standard Orange and the Nordblad Limited Edition. The latter is a partnership with Johanna Nordblad, a Finnish champion ice freediver. I checked, and ice freediving is definitely a thing. If you’re familiar with freediving, just add a top layer of 4- to 6-inch ice and make the water much, much colder. That’s ice freediving. It’s not something I’d ever do, but it’s something that Johanna Nordblad does very well, and Isotope seized the opportunity to partner with her for their special edition. The notable differences are in the coloring and casebacks, but we’ll get to that in a bit.

The Goutte d’Eau (French for “water drop” and pronounced “goo’dough”) features a distinct 40mm case that I’ve not experienced before. While its certainly in the cushion case family, the design style is intentionally referential of the Streamline Moderne aesthetic (think of those beautiful, sleek vintage trains). It features a brushed finish in its entirety. Normally this might play a little on the blah side, but given all the curves and the depth of the dial, it works here. The 22mm lugs start as a very slight slope down from the main case, but then plummet down, making for stubby little buggers. The effect is a 40mm case that’s only 44mm lug-to-lug, 13.3mm thick, and sits quite nicely on my 7-inch wrist, but I imagine it could do well on nearly any wrist. Such is the beauty of proportion and balance: it just works. On the righthand side of the case are two crowns: the upper features a colored water drop matched to the dial color (orange or ice blue) and manipulates the internal dive bezel; the lower adjusts the time. While to lower crown is screw-down, the upper is not, but is instead equipped with 4 gaskets to ensure water resistance to 200m. The crowns were one of the few issues I had with the watch, though. They were simply to small, making setting the watch and rotating the bezel an unfortunate chore. The happy ending here is that the production models will have larger crowns that will allow for easy manipulation—win.

Flipping the watch over, we find a screw-down caseback. In the case of the Nordblad model, the caseback is etched with an artistic interpretation of Nordblad freediving (though given the orientation, perhaps she’s rocketing out of the water), to the right of which is text with her name and title of “Ice Freediving World Recordist.” You’re probably wondering if World Recordist is an actual thing. A Google Search—you’re welcome—suggests that it is not. Though I’m happy to entertain it here, it sounds more like her entire profession is just accumulating world records, like some sad Guinness Book addict. And given the video I’ve seen of her dive, there’s much more to it than that. Anyway! On the Orange version of the watch, a sapphire caseback provides a view of the automatic movement with a custom Isotope rotor. As you may have guessed, I spent about 3 hours watching the balance wheel go. Thank goodness for see-thru casebacks.

Coming back to the front—unless you want to watch the movement for a bit longer?—an anti-reflective sapphire crystal gives way to a killer dial. Just to get it out of the way: the Nordblad version has ice blue, the orange version has…orange. Coming in from the outside, we first have the inner dive bezel, which will be fully lumed for production. One nitpick of mine is the use of a standard triangle for the 60 marker on the bezel; I think this was a missed opportunity to incorporate another waterdrop style marker and create even more consistency in design. For those of you who would argue that this may lead to it being confused with the dial markers on the main dial, keep in mind that the bezel and hands are C3 lume while the dial markers are BGW9. Which is to say you’d be wrong.

Along with the contrasting lume, I love the sandwiched center dial that uses the water drop for the markers and the rounded ‘12’. The sandwiching adds another layer of depth that is furthered by the recessed water drop motif that begins just above the ‘12’ and descends to midway between center and the 6 o’clock marker. This sunken droplet contains the logo—a circle with a bar radiating to the 7 o’clock, position, a lucky number across cultures—above the hands and standard dial text below (in the case of the Nordblad edition, it is so indicated between “Goutte d’Eau” and “200m”). This water drop is the culmination of the watches design: fluid, dramatic, smooth, and aesthetically pleasing. I will mention the hands as a matter of necessity, but they are my least favorite part of the watch. They are admittedly not offensive, but I feel they could have been better in two respects. First, they are sharp, pointy things that do not mesh with the rest of the watch’s design. An improvement may have been something in the vein of the Shinola Sea Monster’s handset (GASP!), or perhaps like the upcoming Badger Islander. Second, despite an absence of any polishing elsewhere, the hands feature a polished finish. Given how unique the rest of the watch is, how it was built from the ground up, I was surprised to see such a misstep. Handslappery aside, the dial pleases at every other turn, and continues the originality of the case.

The driving mechanism behind the dial will be one of two options. At the time of purchase, you’ll be able to choose from a Japanese Seiko NH35A or a Swiss Sellita SW200-1. They’re both automatic workhorse movements, and you honestly can’t go wrong with either. The NH35 gets you slightly longer power reserve (41 hours vs. 38 hours), but you lose a bit of accuracy (-20/+40s vs -12/+12s). The watch will further be offered with a date or no-date dial, meaning with a useless crown position or with a useful one. Looking at the renders of the date option, tradeoff seems to be a bit of imbalance: the date window has been snuck into the 4 o’clock marker, making it larger than it’s cross-dial friend at 8 o’clock. This comes down to taste and what you find more abhorrent, a phantom date position on your crown, or a 4 o’clock date window that creates dial imbalance. These are the decisions that separate the leaders from the followers, so choose wisely.

Let’s talk straps. At this point, you’ve already googled “Streamline Moderne,” which is helpful as I’m about to use it again. The metal bracelet that comes with the Goutte d’Eau is what I imagine a Streamline Modern version of the Seiko Fishbone bracelet would look like. And that’s a great thing. It features a slightly chunky ratcheting clasp for quick micro-adjustments—or to fit over your thick neoprene wetsuit. It’s sturdy and wore well, though the end links protruded beyond the ends of the lugs. This is due to the exceptional stubbiness of said lugs, which also makes freestyle strap swapping (not as hard as ice freediving) challenging. The short lugs mean that there’s very limited room for extra material and a spring bar, so only the thinnest of straps will be compatible.

The Goutte d’Eau has hints of other watches here and there, but it comes together to form something original. And that’s something to get excited about whether or you not you actually like the watch. I do, so I’d say if you do too, it’s worth the investment. Speaking of which: for the NH35 version, you’re looking at just under $290 until October 6, then about $305 until preorders run out—final retail will land at $380ish (depending on the markets). If you want to spring for the Swiss SW200 movement, it’ll be $385, $410, and $513, respectively. Let’s focus on those final numbers for just a bit. For a completely original watch designed from the ground up—the only stock part is the movement—you barely have to step beyond the $500 mark. And that’s for the Swiss movement. The only drawbacks you need to consider: stubby lugs that should just a bit longer, phantom crown position/dial imbalance with the date display, and polished hands that should be brushed. None of those alone are dealbreakers, nor are they together, for that matter. The Goutte d’Eau isn’t much like any other watch I’ve seen, and while it’s not new to try something new, it is refreshing to see something new done well. So even if you don’t think it deserves your money, it certainly deserves your plaudits.

You can get your very own, right now, over at the Isotope website.⬩

The Time Bum has been a big fan of the Undone team since they launched their first customizable watch in 2014. Now, as the company approaches its fifth birthday, the Undone team has revised the line-up and revamped its online customizer.

Visitors to the Undone site will find a “less-click, more visual” experience. Every aspect has been streamlined making for a more seamless, better-informed purchase. The interface has been stripped down and the custom options refreshed with new colors and lines.

The upgrades are starting with the popular Basecamp model. Improvements include increased water-resistance (from 50m to 100m), K1 glass instead Plexiglass bezel inserts, and more color options for both the insert (graduated bezels in black, green and blue) and the dial (textured blue gradient).

The Basecamp features a brushed and polished stainless steel case measuring 40mm wide, 48mm long, and 15mm thick from its case back to the top of the double-domed Lexan Polycarbonate crystal. Inside, beats a durable Seiko NH35 automatic. Buyers can outfit it with a variety of 20mm straps.

The price is $315 USD (excluding personalization). For more information or to make your own, visit the new customizer on Undone.com. ⬩

October 6, 2019 Update!

Ok folks, this is it. Bill McDowell and I have been working double-time to get everything in place for our biggest watch show yet. Read up, and then get on down to DC!

This is the fourth annual DC watch show produced by yours truly and Bill from McDowell Time. District Time Sponsored by NTH Watches will be held on October 12 and 13, at the District Architecture Center, 427 7th Street, NW, Washington, DC. We will be open to the public from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM both days.

The Horological Society of New York will be on-site conducting Watchmaking 101-103 in 4-hour sessions. This hands-on class teaches the inner workings of a mechanical movement. Our first three sessions sold out fast - so we added a fourth. If you want in, head over to the HSNY Eventbrite page and register. The class costs $500 and there are only three spots left so if you want in, you should jump on it now. Please note that the classes will start sooner and end later than regular show hours.

Show Participants

We've had one or two changes since the last update. A couple have dropped off (hey, life happens), but even more have come on board (yay!). Here is the final list.

AboutTime Magazine ⬝ Ardor & Forge ⬝ ArtWatchFrame ⬝ Attra ⬝ AVeritas ⬝ Caliper ⬝ Collins ⬝ DC Vintage Watches ⬝ EMG ⬝ Gavox ⬝ Hager ⬝ Havaan Tuvali ⬝ Hemel ⬝ HKED ⬝ Isofrane ⬝ Kingsbury ⬝ Lesablier ⬝ Lip ⬝ McDowell Time ⬝ Nodus ⬝ Nove ⬝ NTH ⬝ Ocean Crawler ⬝ Roebuck ⬝ Sakab ⬝ Seals ⬝ Siduna ⬝ Techné ⬝ The Time Bum ⬝ Traser ⬝ Traska ⬝ Tropic Straps ⬝ Tsao Baltimore ⬝ Undone ⬝ Vario ⬝ Ventus ⬝ Visitor ⬝ Watcha ⬝ Zelos ⬝ Little Treasury Jewelers (Alexander Shorokhoff ⬝ Ball ⬝ Bremont ⬝ Orion ⬝ Seiko Prospex ⬝ Seiko Presage ⬝ Grand Seiko ⬝ Zodiac) ⬝ The New Romantics (LIC Watch Straps ⬝ Sartory-Billard ⬝ Minase ⬝ Raketa ⬝ Patton) ⬝ Watch Gauge (Balticus ⬝ BOLDR ⬝ Casio G-Shock ⬝ Draken ⬝ NTH Limited Edition ⬝ Reverie ⬝ Sartory Billard ⬝ Straton) ⬝ Fine Time Solutions (Ameriquartz-powered Bertucci ⬝ Brillier ⬝ Minuteman)

We are looking at more than 26 exhibitors each day and well over 50 brands on display - most of which you only ever be able to see online. Ardor & Forge will be taking early bird discounted preorders. Caliper and Vario will offer show-only discounts. I hear that Hager and McDowell Time may have something brand new. You don't want to miss this.

Note that Ardor & Forge, Seals, and Roebuck will be there Saturday only, and Havaan Tuvali and Little Treasury will be Sunday only. There will be plenty to see on both days, but why choose? Come Saturday and Sunday. You'll have a great time and will also get a chance to win great stuff. Seven amazing prize packages will be awarded each day. See the prize list and schedule below. All you need to do is sign in when you enter, and be there at 2:00 PM when we call the names.

And there it is. We've assembled the best District Time yet. Now, all we need is you.

See you this weekend!⬩

Daily Schedule and Prize List

Saturday, October 12

9:00 AM - Horological Society of New York, Watchmaking 101-103 (registered students only)

11:00 AM - Doors open to the public

2:00 PM - Prize Drawing #1

Kingsbury Dress Watch Prize Package — ARV $143.29

Monarch II quartz dress watch ($89 from Kingsbury)
Maple watch stand ($34.29 from ArtWatchFrame)
Deluxe Travel Case ($20 from Vario)

Helgray Gold — ARV $299

LeMans Rose Gold quartz chronograph from Helgray Watches

Racing Chrono Prize Package — ARV $383.29

McDowell Time Maxton MechaQuartz chronograph ($349 from The Time Bum)
Mahogany watch stand, ($34.29 from ArtWatchFrame)

Time Bum Review Sample Prize Package — $421.29

Aquatico Oyster automatic dive watch ($329 from The Time Bum)
Vario Vintage Italian Leather 22mm blue strap ($38 from Vario)
ArtWatchFrame Beech watch stand ($34.29 from ArtWatchFrame)

Biggr and Boldr Prize Package — ARV $534.29

BOLDR White Storm automatic dive watch ($450 from McDowell Time)
American Nut watch stand ($34.29 from ArtWatchFrame)
BOLDR Slim Wallet ($50 from The Time Bum)

Undone Custom Watch — ARV $Varies

Winner’s choice of a custom Undone watch to be ordered directly after the show (excludes Pro-custom program).

Day One Grand Prize — ARV $659.29

Gavox Avidiver automatic sport watch ($625 from Watch Gauge)
Maple watch stand ($34.29 from ArtWatchFrame)

2:30 PM - Horological Society of New York, Watchmaking 101-103 (registered students only)

4:00 PM - End of day one

Sunday, October 13

9:00 AM - Horological Society of New York, Watchmaking 101-103 (registered students only)

11:00 AM - Doors open to the public

2:00 PM - Prize Drawing #2

Vintage Watch Prize Package — ARV $176

Stellaris (Seiko) hand-wound watch ($80 from DC Vintage Watches)
Deluxe Travel Case ($20 from Vario)
(2) Vintage Italian Leather 18mm straps ($38 ea. from Vario)

Helgray Silver — ARV $299

LeMans Classic Silver quartz chronograph from Helgray Watches

Kingsbury Diver’s Prize Package — ARV $263.29

Dark Water 300 automatic dive watch ($229 from Kingsbury Watch Co.)
Maple watch stand ($34.29 from ArtWatchFrame)

Art Deco Prize Package — ARV $360

Empire hand-wound dress watch, ($349 from Vario)
Deluxe Travel Case ($20 from Vario)

Super Slim Dive Watch Prize Package — ARV $470

Trident quartz dive watch ($450 from Nove Watches)
Deluxe Travel Case ($20 from Vario)

Brabant Prize Package — ARV $568

Brabant MechaQuartz pilot’s watch ($499 from Hemel)
Luxury Leather Watch Travel Roll ($69 from Hemel)

Day Two Grand Prize — ARV $675

NTH Santa Cruz automatic dive watch from NTH Watches

2:30 PM - Horological Society of New York, Watchmaking 101-103 (registered students only)

4:00 PM - End of show.

These are good days for those of us who like mid-sized divers. While there is no shortage of behemoth dive watches in sizes 44mm and up, quite a few brands have released more manageable pieces. I’d say 40mm is the new 42mm and I am perfectly good with that. One of the newest is the Sea Hunt from new Malaysian microbrand, Aerotec, now live on Kickstarter at an early bird price tag of $399 AUD ($279 USD). They let me have a go with their meteorite dial prototype.

The Sea Hunt’s brushed stainless steel case measures 40mm wide, 48mm long, and 14mm thick. The domed sapphire crystal increases overall thickness to 15.7mm. Short, vertical brushing on flat sides enhances its stout proportions. I found it to be a fine fit on my 6.75” wrist but mid-sized though it may be, the Sea Hunt is not hurting for presence. It feels like a burly tool and the specs back this up. It is rated for a healthy 500m water resistance, has a screw-down crown and case back, and a flush helium release valve at 9 o’clock. Do we need saturation diving equipment in our wristwatches? Probably not, but it is cool to have.

Meteorite a hot commodity or watch dials right now, and the Aerotec’s does not disappoint, the play of light displays shots of silvery-gray through the deep graphite surface. The handset is a “non-Mercedes” style, which is to say the same general poire squelette style Rolex uses, but without the three-pointed star. Curiously, they are finished in brushed gold, as are the applied markers. It is not a bad look, but I would have preferred a more homogeneous brushed steel to match the case. The meteorite dial will be a $150 AUD ($105 USD) option. Standard dials are brushed blue or red.

Dial decoration is minimal, just the attractive applied Aerotec logo on top and “50ATM” below. A 6 o’clock date window keeps things neatly balanced although I do wish they had gone for a black date wheel. C3 SuperLuminova lights up the hands, markers, and bezel pip. It was a bit off between the three areas. A close look at the signed crown reveals what appears to be a lume pip on the embossed logo too, although even with a UV flashlight, I could not detect a glow. Aerotec informs me that lume will be improved in all areas before production.

The bezel sports an attractive, glossy black ceramic insert with an engraved index. Sadly, the index is painted bright white, which creates a mismatch with the greenish-white C3 elsewhere in the watch. Bezel action was easy. Too easy, actually. It never slipped or wobbled but it felt oddly soft as it went through its 120 clicks.

Flipping the watch over you will discover a stamped image of an old deep-sea diver’s helmet where the viewport is a sapphire exhibition window - a very cool touch! Behind it is a smooth and reliable Miyota 9015 (24 jewel, 28.8k bph, hacking, and hand winding).

The standard strap is 20mm medium brown leather with a pleasantly weathered pull-up effect and dark red minimal stitching. It is equipped with quick-release pins and a brushed and signed buckle. I like it, and it is most likely the way I would wear the watch, but a diver needs a proper waterproof strap. For that, they provided a well-made seatbelt NATO in a dark olive and mustard stripe color scheme that does well to tie in the gold accents on the dial. This will be a stretch goal in the campaign. The final option is a $45 AUD bracelet ($31 USD). It has solid end links and a push-button flip-lock clasp. It is signed on the clasp and on the bottom end link as well.

Overall, I liked the Sea Hunt. Assuming the lume and bezel issues are resolved before production, the standard brushed dial version is a good buy at the early bird Kickstarter price. For more, visit the Aerotech Kickstarter page. ⬩

Review and photos by Mike Razak

When I first got this watch, I thought it was Goodwood, and then I thought, “Well that’s a helluva tie-in with the Festival of Speed.” But then I realized I can’t read well, and the brand is Goodspeed. And then I felt DoubleDumb™ when I realized we’d reviewed their last offering, the Petrol. Just wanted to get that off my chest.

The watch in question is the Goodspeed Sonoma, the brand’s second chronograph offering. While the Petrol was highly reminiscent of the Yema Rallye chronograph from the late 1960s, the Sonoma took its biggest design cues from the Heuer Autavia Diver (11063P, look it up), making several adjustments to avoid being just another vintage homage. The result is a pleasing one and fulfills the brand mission of vintage-inspired racing chronographs at an affordable price. While there will be many iterations of the Sonoma, I received the mechanical movement, black bezel, stainless steel edition on the leather rally strap.

Opening the Sonoma, my first thought was “that’s a big watch.” It’s not, it just looks that way because of the shorter lugs. But it is solid. Very much so. You can feel the heft—and I’d say quality—when you hold it in your hand. The classic tonneau-style case is 42mm with a lug-to-lug of 46.5mm, and its weight makes it seem larger than it is. How can something that heavy with those dimensions sit so nicely on the wrist? Goodspeed wasted little real estate on the 20mm lugs, and so you get a big fat watch that wears much more reasonably than it should. The stainless steel case (also available in black PVD) features a brushed finish and a polished chamfer that extends around the entire top edge of the watch, which is a great aesthetic touch. On the right side you get classic cylinder pushers for the chronograph, with the crown betwixt (the crown will be etched with the new Goodspeed logo (think of a G formed by slot car track). The pushers functioned perfectly, and while I had few issues operating the crown, I do think it could stand to be slightly thicker, perhaps 3.5mm as opposed to its current 3mm. Finishing off the topside, you get a fixed bezel with a black tachymeter insert (also available with a blue and red Pepsi insert). The bezel itself has what I’ll call a construction tire tread edge; of course, this is purely decorative, as there’s no need to grip a fixed bezel. On the reverse, you’ll notice a slight curve of the lugs to better hug the wrist, and a fully polished screwdown caseback with the Goodspeed signature logo that’s also on the dial, the model name, and obligatory SpecsText™: mechanical Seagull 1901 movement, sapphire crystal, and water resistance of 100m.

As there was something about Mary, so too is there something about this dial. You may say, “Well Hey, Mike. That’s just a black dial with some colors.” You’d be partially right. But the main dial has an extremely subtle pearlescent finish that the light catches every so often and it just makes you go “Wowieweewow!” The dial is a simple two-register chronograph layout with running seconds at 9 o’clock and chronograph minutes at 3 o’clock. At 12 o’clock you’ve got the Goodspeed signature logo (as seen on the caseback) and at 6 o’clock a simple sans serif movement designation. Those subdials feature two steps, one for the numerals, and one for the central portion, which has a radial texture. Around the outside of it all is a seconds track with a radial texture, same as the inner subdials. The handset features a straight minute hand and a massive arrow for the hour hand. Enormous even. Distractingly big. But it kind of fades into the rest of the watch over time, so don’t worry. Vintage lume graces the hour markers and the hands, including the chronograph seconds hand. I am torn about this lume. One part of me likes the color (it leans pink in some light), and part of me doesn’t care much for the brightness that the vintage lume sacrifices compared to your standard C3 or BGW9. I’d be interested to see this watch with all black and white, save for the red seconds—I think it could be a real standout in that case. Speaking of that red lollipop seconds hand, I wish it were a bit longer. You’ll see in the photos that while it extends to the edge of the peripheral seconds track (good), the lollipop itself only partially overlaps with the hour markers (bad). This should have been corrected and perfected to achieve full overlap. And while it’s not going to affect the functioning of the watch, nor really the overall aesthetics, it’s a slight imperfection that I noticed, and it held the watch back from true greatness.

Let’s bring it back to the tick-tock! The hand-wound Seagull ST1901 powers this beauty. Based on the Venus 175 from the 1970’s, it’s got a whole bunch of jewels (19), and a whole bunch of power reserve (40 hours). I’ve had several watches with this movement. It offers great quality and finishing at an amazing price and is a favorite of the smaller microbrands for just that reason. Go forth with confidence! Or buy the quartz version with a Miyota 6S21 and go forth with confidence and accuracy but a little less swagger!

The Sonoma comes standard on a supple black leather racing strap. The stainless steel editions will come with a white contrast stitch, but the all-blacks will be…all black. Through a serendipitous error, mine came with half of each, so you get to see both! It’s these little moments I treasure. In addition, Goodspeed will offer a metal beads of rice bracelet with straight ends for an additional $45 during the Kickstarter campaign. I didn’t get to try it out, but at $45, you’ve got no excuse: get the bracelet. Always better to get one now and have it. You’ll recall my mentioning that the case is mostly watch and then lugs happen to be there, short and stubby. While it’s not quite as egregious as the Isotope I just reviewed, you’ll still have trouble with some thicker NATO straps. I had no issue with a bevy of other strap options, though, and I think you’ll be able to find some great combos.

The Goodspeed Sonoma offers a beautiful vintage-inspired racing chronograph at an astounding price. As I mentioned up top, you really feel the quality of this piece. If that Heuer Autavia Diver is just out of reach for you (maybe you’re looking for something under $9,000?), and you love the vibe, then the Sonoma is a perfect pick. That said, if you just love a solid vintage-styled chrono, the Sonoma is good for you. The Kickstarter is live now, and the Sonoma will start at $275 for the mechanical edition and $150 for the quartz (which will feature mineral crystal).

P.S.: If you want to get crazy, you can buy all four colorways through the Kickstarter campaign for $1,150 and get a sturdy metal box to hold them in. The box is made by Best Made Co (famous for making everyday items no one needs, at prices that are geared towards Brooklyn hipsters, who especially don’t need any of the stuff Best Made sells. AND THEN they are further customized for Goodspeed. Is it cool? Sure, sorta. But why? If I’m buying ALL FOUR COLORWAYS, I’m probably giving some away as gifts. And then I don’t need the box. So you'll understand my hesitation.⬩

From the Windy City of Chicago comes Farr + Swit, a new microbrand with a nicely thought out debut model, the Seaplane Automatic. This watch is available now at farrandswit.com, and they gave me a turn with both the brushed case Day Trip ($629) and the PVD black Midnight Landing ($649).

Farr + Swit Seaplane Automatic Day Trip and Midnight Landing

Despite the name, there are actually three people behind Farr + Swit: Adam Farrand Hodge, Andrew Paetzo Id, and Zach Switalski. Please spare a thought for poor Andrew, whose name was reduced to a conjunction that was replaced by a symbol. Much love, Andrew. Much love.

In keeping with its name, the Seaplane is a pilot/diver. I have always liked that hybrid design and have owned several in varying styles, including the Ventus Caspian, Redux COURG, and the first generation Orient Mako. Pilot/divers work because they marry the aesthetics of two distinctive tool watches, generally incorporating the most appealing aspects of pilots (e.g., dagger hands, large numerals, and the occasional navigation triangle) with the burly case and useful water-resistance of a dive watch - in this case, 100m, which should be sufficient for most tool watch use and all but the deepest dives. Farr + Swit did not deviate from this design brief, but they did impart their own unique spin.

The Seaplane’s brushed stainless steel case meets modern expectations for sports watch size, measuring 42mm wide, 50.5mm long, and 12.5mm thick with 22mm between the lugs. Vertical sides, a large screw-down crown, and prodigious crown guards lend it some visual heft, while the 30mm dial aperture shrinks it a tad. I managed to carry it off on my 6.75” wrist just fine.

Farr + Swit Seaplane Automatic Midnight Landing wrist shot

An exhibition case back allows a view of the Sellita SW-200-1, an ETA 2824 clone with 26 jewels, a smooth 28.8k bph sweep, and a 38-hour power reserve. This Swiss unit meets the Seaplane’s case here in the US, where all Farr + Swit watches are assembled. It is not easy to create a truly “American Made” watch (indeed some would say impossible), but the team has done what they can, even going so far as to source their silicone straps from Barton of Austin, Texas, and their packaging from Florida.

Farr + Swit Seaplane Automatic case back

Farr + Swit have placed all of the watch’s aviation cues on the dial, in the form of long, blue, dagger-shaped hands, the 12/6/9 number layout (the 3 is replaced by a white date), and an image of a seaplane, but the most clever cue is the horizon design that features a night sky complete with stars and a wave-textured ocean beneath. The airplane logo and water resistance figures are printed on a rounded that encompasses the 6, around which the model name wraps. A bright blue chapter index surrounds the dial, offering a neat pop of color that is especially nice on the all-black model. A white second hand with a hollow loop near the tip finishes it off. It’s a whimsical dial that stops just short of looking campy. Color options are limited, so if you want a Seaplane, you really have to love blue and black.

Farr + Swit Seaplane Automatic Midnight Landing

As the Seaplane is a Diver, it is only fitting that it features a 120-click, unidirectional bezel. Eight textured sections on its edge offer adequate grip, and the action is excellent, with smooth, positive movement and no shimmy. I love the glossy black sapphire bezel and its somewhat compressed, underscored numbers. A blue triangle ties the bezel to the hands and chapter index. Of course, the crystal is sapphire as well, and AR coated on the inside.

Lume junkies will undoubtedly enjoy the bright BGW9 SuperLuminova that lights up the hands, indices, and every marker on that bezel.

Farr + Swit Seaplane Automatic Day Trip sailcloth

Buyers will get their Seaplanes with two straps. The first is black sailcloth and blue stitching that tapers to a 20mm signed deployant clasp. The second is a textured Barton elite silicone with a standard 20mm buckle, quick release pins, and two tail ends (long and short) to ensure a fit on almost any wrist. Both look and feel great (I particularly like the super slim profile of the Barton), but I think the most appealing aspect is that they stay true to watch’s character. There is no embossed leather here, no pretense that you should wear the Seaplane with a suit or to your grandfather’s funeral*, they offer very different looks, but both are practical choices for a dive-worthy sports watch.

Speaking of practical, the fellows at Farr + Swit pack the Seaplane in a simple, foam-padded cardboard box and a generously sized, PVC dry bag that folds to almost nothing. An odd choice for a watch accessory? Maybe not. Unlike the usual display box, it is actually something I would use, and it is by far more memorable. If you are using the Seaplane as intended, you will probably need the dry bag.

Overall, the Farr + Swit Seaplane Automatic is an appealing piece that delivers a quality feel without taking itself too seriously. It boasts a quality Swiss movement, some clever design choices, and a healthy dose of charm. For more information or to order your own watch, bag, or swag, head over to farrandswit.com. ⬩

* Unless Grandpa was both a pilot and diver, in which case you should wear one and bury another with the old man. Respect!

Review and photos by Mike Razak

If you want to see what a fledgling luxury watch brand getting its footing looks like, look no further than Attra Watches. The Attra Classic Sport is the first step toward even greater things for the New York-based brand. The brand was born of necessity: the company’s founder, Lucas Bernstein, had been bitten by the watch bug, but had trouble finding a watch that checked all his boxes. So, he did what anyone who ignores their friends saying, “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” would do: he designed his own and started a watch brand. Fast forward a year and a half—through building a watch from scratch—and the Classic Sport is ready for primetime.

Let’s start, as ever, with the case. And what a stunning case! The case reminds me quite a bit of a rounder Piaget Polo, and sure enough, that watch was a source of inspiration in the design of the Classic Sport. There are so many flawless finishes on this case: straight brushed bezel, polished bezel bevel, circular brushed midcase top, polished sides and lug bevels…oh my! It all comes together in a 40mm case that sits only 10.2mm tall. At 47mm lug-to-lug, that equates to a watch that sits perfectly on my 7-inch wrist, and I imagine on most others. As hinted at above, the 20mm lugs first extend out from the case, and then angle down, which is accentuated by a change from circular brushing to polished finish. I love this feature of the case, as it adds a little extra pop.

The crown is ample and has great action (I’d say only a notch below Rolex crowns), making it highly functional without being oversized—always welcome; it’s emblazoned with the Attra laurel wreath logo. Flipping the watch over (Careful! Don’t muck up the case finishing.) we encounter the laurel wreath beautifully rendered in relief on the screwdown caseback. Not to be left out, but not too in your face, the caseback of course features SpecsText™: stainless steel, Swiss made, sapphire crystal, and 10 ATM (100m) water resistance. Some of you may balk at only 100m of resistance, but in a watch of this style (It leans far more “Classic” than it does “Sport”), you’ll likely be switching to your purpose-built dive watch for those deeper desk dives. I was quite taken with the case of the Classic sport, and it was mostly due to the exquisite finishing, which is something you’re more likely to see at a much higher price point.

Follow me through the crystal and on to the dial! Radiance! Beauty! Starshine! Sunshine! Moonshine! Drunk! No, not the last one. Everything but the last one, this dial has it. The version I reviewed was the silver dial, though it comes in similarly finished black, blue, and green options. They all shine bright due to their radiant sunburst finish and feature the same Super-LumiNova C3 lume on the applied inidices and obelisk hands, which shine bright even with minimal UV exposure (not quite Seiko or Omega bright, but certainly adequate). The hands and indices are all polished to a mirror finish, which against the brushed dial, echoes the surfaces of the case, further creating cohesion of design—and some great shininess! An unobtrusive date window sits at the bottom of the dial, featuring a beveled frame. While the white date wheel is not an issue for the silver dial, it’s become quite “the thing” to color match the date wheel, but Attra has opted not to do so. Looking at the photos for the other dial colors, I’m not too concerned: the white of the lume and dial text allows the white of the date wheel to feel more natural than it might otherwise. It’s also nigh on impossible to texture match a date wheel, so even color matching wouldn’t cut the mustard in this case. As for dial text, we have the Attra logo and name at 12 o’clock, “Automatic” at 6 o’clock, and “Swiss made” on either side of the 6 o’clock marker. Sparing and well proportioned, the only minus here—and one of few on the entire watch—is the lack of depth. It really would have punched the whole dial up to have at least the laurel wreath logo applied and three dimensional, if not the brand name as well (another option is to have the applied wreath as the 12 o’clock marker and move “Attra” up a bit). As it is, the dial falls a bit flat in the middle, holding the it back from perfection.

On down the cannon pinion we go to explore the brain of the watch—a Swiss made Sellita SW200-1 or “ETA 2824-2 clone.” To be fair, Sellita has really come a long way and deserves to be regarded as more than just a clone factory. This isn’t a Star Wars movie, Rebel scum. Relevant specs: automatic, 38 hour power reserve. Less relevant specs: 28,800 vibrations per hour, 26 jewels.

Let’s take a breather from the watch itself and talk about the straps. I was absolutely devastated not to get the chance to test out the optional bracelet. It looks stunning and my friend—who did get to try it out—was raving about it. It has a very Patek Philippe Nautilus vibe and I can’t wait to go hands on with it next weekend at District Time (shameless plug). However, I was a bit underwhelmed with the included leather and rubber straps. While the rubber strap was just run of the mill—comfortable, didn’t smell like vanilla, fit well—the leather option disappointed.

This watch aims to be a luxury timepiece, and the strap did not feel it. It wasn’t bad per se, but just not as impressive as the rest of the watch. The deployant clasp mitigated this somewhat, but that’s more of a functional luxury than anything else. What did it for me was two things: first, the silver dial comes with a brown strap that I would describe as “Playmobil Brown.” It is one of the drabbest shades of brown in existence, being totally devoid of any semblance of richness. It is a color that should be banned from existence. The other part is that it just did not feel that great. It was leather, it was flexible, but it wasn’t high end in its finishing or feel. When you bring that together with a beautiful case, you get a mismatch. I didn’t even wear it. Fortunately, the watch is a bit of a strap monster, and as you can see, I had outstanding success pairing it with a braided leather strap (note the richness) and a blue Barton Bands Elite Silicone (the rubber strap to beat). The watch carried both with grace and aplomb. So, what’s my point? Get the bracelet (it’s only $50 more) and swap out the other straps for a few of higher quality. Or of any color other than Playmobil Brown.

I want to thank you for taking this exciting journey with me. Did you have fun? I sure did. And the Attra Classic Sport was there the whole time! If you still want it to be around, I’ve got some great news. They’ve just gone on sale on the brand’s site! The retail price is $999 (which, if I’m being honest, is a bit high), but you know how this works by now: the first hundred buyers can get the watch at $449, and thereafter the watches will be $549. Add on $50 for the bracelet (which you definitely should), and you’ll get yourself an absolutely stunning watch at a solid price. Attra has come out swinging, and with another watch already fully designed and ready for release soon, they’re going to be making some serious waves. I can’t wait.⬩

You know what I like the most about 60's vintage watches? The proportions. Sure, there were some bruisers back then too, but by and large, the style was slimmer, more compact, and for a smaller wristed fellow like me, better suited to daily wear than many modern pieces. When I pick up a new "vintage-inspired" watch, this is what I am looking for. Many watches convincingly mimic a vintage look, but few really "get" the vintage feel. The Traska Summiteer has got it. The watch has yet to be released, but if you want a sneak peek, head down to District Time by NTH Watches this weekend and check it out.

As you might have guessed from the name, the Summiteer draws its inspiration from the original Rolex Explorer (let's just leave the Rolex/Smiths Mt. Everest controversy out of it for now) while adopting a sleeker interpretation of the iconic 3/6/9 dial; most notably in long and thin hour markers and the numbers' geometric typeface (Futura, perhaps?). These elements are printed in bright BGW9 lume. A recessed center lends the matte dial some dimension. Polished and lumed MilSub sword hands and a spear-tipped second hand (red on this charcoal black version) finish it off. It is a clean, practical layout, and while the watch's inspiration is unmistakable, no one would ever mistake it for an homage.

Lovely as the dial may be, I'd say the real action is in the case design. It is 38mm wide, and that alone sets it apart from the crowd. Mid-sized watches are growing in popularity, but it is still uncommon to find a 38mm microbrand. Better still, it is just 10mm thick, which is crazy thin for a 100m automatic watch. Slim, polished edges on the bezel and along the upper edge of the case enliven the otherwise businesslike brushing on its surface, dressing it up enough to pair with a suit. This is handy considering how handsome it looks and how easily it slides under a shirt cuff. A slight downturn to the lugs makes it all the more comfortable. The finishing is impeccable and Traska ensures that it will stay that way with a proprietary anti-scratch coating. They did the same on the earlier Freediver model that I own. I am not terribly hard on my watches but they do pick up the odd scratches and scuffs - but not the Traska. So far, that one is unscathed so I can only assume the coating works as advertised.

The crown is coin-edged, signed, and screws down. I am pleased to see that Traska kept its proportions in check, eschewing the common fat cylinder and opting instead for a broad, flat shape that better suits the case. After all, the Summiteer is a field watch, not a diver.

Traska Summiteer Charcoal Black case back

As if this were not enough, Traska outfits the watch with one of the best bracelets I've tried in recent memory. The slim H-links taper from 20mm to 16mm. The low-profile, push-button clasp is signed, decorated with perlage inside, and accented with polished chamfers. Four micro-adjustments ensure a proper fit. Traska says they based it on traditional Gay Frères models, and I absolutely see it. The watch and bracelet fairly melt against your wrist. If you decide you are not the bracelet type or if you just want to try a different band, drilled lugs make the swap easy.

Sapphire crystals front and rear provide protection and a view of the Miyota 9039 inside. This movement goes far to make the Summiteer the svelte beauty that it is. Part of the familiar 9xxx family, the 9039 spec sheet reads much like the more common 9015, retaining the 24 jewels, 28.8k bph, and 42-hour power reserve while shedding the date complication and few precious fractions of a millimeter in both thickness and hand height. Those tiny reductions make a huge difference. You just could not make this watch with a different movement. A fatter, 9015 equipped Summiteer would still be a nice watch, but it would lose the proportions that make it so delightful.

The Summiteer will launch on Kickstarter on October 22. Variants include Midnight Blue and an intriguing Sage Green in addition to the Charcoal Black pictured here. List price is $500 but early birds will be able to get on board for $400. If the Explorer type of field watch appeals to you (and why wouldn't it?) I recommend you give the Summiteer a serious look. Traska has cooked up a good one.

Visit TraskaWatch.com for more information. ⬩

Review and photos by Mike Razak

I need to talk to you about tonneau cases. It’s the case shape of the Badger Watches Islander, reviewed herein. It’s that rectangular shape with bowed edges. And it’s also French for “barrel,” which is why it’s used interchangeably with that English word to describe the case shape. While tonneau cases have been around nearly as long as wristwatches have been popular, they were the domain of dress watches until gaining popularity in the 1960s and 1970’s in more robust, sportier pieces (think Seiko World Time, Oris Chronoris, Vostok Amphibia). Yet as the interest of the watch community—especially the affordable watch community—have shifted towards tool and dive watches, the tonneau has been all but phased out.

Leroy Zhong, founder-and-everything-else at Badger Watches says the explanation for this phase-out is simple: manufacturers streamline their processes towards more traditional case shapes [read: round], and so typically only large or luxury brands have the numbers, money, and patience to go through the process to have a tonneau case made (and that’s certainly supported by the fact that brands like Franck Muller and Richard Mille trade almost exclusively in the style). But what happens when an industry veteran like Leroy, who knows who to talk to and what to say, comes along? The (affordable, microbrand) Tonneau Renaissance begins!

The Badger Islander has arrived to start that renaissance and has done so with a bang. The 38mm case is multifaceted with a combination of brushed and polished services. The polished bezel echoes the overall watch shape, but in a condensed way that provides some contrast between the case layers. While only 10.9mm thick, at 48mm lug-to-lug—short, hooded, 22mm lugs, at that—the watch wore large on my 7in wrist, on the precipice of, but not quite overwhelming. I was able to wear it comfortably both under a shirt cuff to court (for work, don’t worry) and with a t-shirt at the park, and it looked great in both instances—so if you’re worried, don’t be. Dual-finished (polished and brushed) crown guards continue the faceted look and protect a crown signed “BDGR.” While it succeeds in not disrupting the lines of the case, the crown itself is a bit too small. I had occasional issues getting a solid grip, but nothing that made it nonfunctional, just inconvenient. It’s down to whether the aesthetic cleanliness of a smaller crown is more important than the ease of use of that crown. I’m leaning toward no, but it’s a choice you’ll have to make.

Rolling the watch over, we find a sapphire display caseback that is secured by eight screws—neither the crown nor the caseback are screw-down, and the watch has 50M water resistance, perfectly suitable for a dress watch that comes on leather. The steel portion of the caseback is brushed and features all the SpecsText™ you’d want along with the brand and model names. This case is big and bold, not something you usually see with tonneaus, but a perfect way to usher in a resurgence of the form.

Leroy told me that the case that he’s proudest of, and I get it: all the effort for a case style that’s not too popular (yet!) and an outstanding result. But HAVE YOU SEEN THESE DIALS? I got the chance to handle both the sage green and the white “Origin Edition.” The latter will be in a numbered limited edition of 99, though for me the green stood out. The sunburst guilloché beautifully catches every ray of light that hits it, and the green dial simply comes alive. Hours are marked by batons, with a triangle at 12 and numerals at 3 and 9–Leroy advised that while they may look applied, they are in fact embossed from behind during production. All the indices are surrounded by an orange border (blue on the Origin Edition), which I think is a great accent. Smartly, the date window (white on all models) sits exactly where the 6 marker would be, not further in or out. It allows for limited disruption of the circular placement of hour markers, but also restricts that placement to farther from the dial’s periphery than I would prefer. The only way to resolve this, though, is to lose the date—which would allow you to push all the markers out to the edge for a more open feel. That said, there’s something I quite like about the circle inside the tonneau-shaped dial.

Just at the edge of the sunburst sits a minute track, where you’ll also find the subtle “Badger” name at 12 o’clock. Truth be told I thought it was a sterile dial for the first few minutes, until I finally found that. Some may say it’s too hard to read or should be more prominent, but you’d ruin the magic of guilloché if you applied it there. Completing the dial is a color-matched green rehaut with hour pips. Super-LumiNova BGW9 is applied, somewhat unevenly, to the hands and hour markers. While the elegant teardrop hands* (which I adore) have what I’d call “adequate” brightness, the markers, especially the two numerals, barely shine at all. Brightness (and lume for that matter) is not extremely important on a dressier watch like this, but if you’ve got it, I feel it should at least be consistently applied. There are always nits to be picked, but the sheer awesomeness of the texture of the dial and the outlines markers make this dial a treat.

The Islander finds the source of its awe-inspiring power in the Swiss Sellita SW200-1. The movement has 26 jewels, 38-hour power reserve, 28,800 vph frequency, 4 escape pods, and a holodeck. While undecorated, the Badger name has been etched onto the rotor, and in the case of the Origin Edition, the rotor also carries the watch number of 99. You’ll get no issues from this movement, Sellita’s clone of the ETA 2824. While Sellita had its issues in the early days, they’ve resolved they’re QC issues and are producing movements at an almost equal level to ETA.

Point blank: these straps are killer. They are block-ended, quick-release, perfectly sized in every dimension, flexible without feeling cheap, textured without feeling rough. Also, the watch passed the Barton Bands Elite Silicon Test™. The Kickstarter campaign lets you choose from black or brown leather or grey or blue suede. I say find a way to choose them all and put them on every 22mm watch you have. You won’t be sorry.

I recently took a trip to Columbus for work and brought both Islanders along with me (a phrase, I admit, sounds like something out of Captain Cook’s journals). On the last day of my trip, I strapped the sage green variant to my wrist with one of my favorite custom straps. As I made my way through security, having raised my arms and been duly scanned, I was ushered over to the side for further pat down—just of my left arm, below the elbow. As the TSA agent completed his brief caress of my forearm, he paused: “Hey, nice watch.” TSA Guy is right: it is a nice watch. He probably noticed the killer dial. Or the unusual case shape. Or the case finishing. Or he sensed the greatness of the stock straps—so powerful that it can be felt without seeing them.

You’ve probably already made your judgment of the Badger Watches Islander at this point—maybe as soon as you saw a picture—and if you share the sentiments of TSA Guy, I don’t blame you. The Kickstarter is live until Wednesday, with delivery in February 2020. A few Super Early Bird slots remain at right around $420, so go grab yourself one now and thank me later.⬩

*The DiRenzo DRZ 02 features the same hands, and I don’t think either look like teardrops enough to be called that. Feel free to send us an email with what you think the hands look like.

Now that Undone has updated their website and added a graduated bezel option for the popular Basecamp model, they are rolling out a new variant, the Basecamp Cali. The gave me one in exchange for this review, and after wearing it for a couple of days, I've decided this is my favorite of all the Undone watches.

Yeah, I know. That is a pretty bold pronouncement, just hear me out. The original Aqua is a fierce brute and makes an excellent canvas for a Pro-custom dial, but it's also huge, and that is not for everyone. The 40mm Urban chronograph and Mystique 3-hander are both quite lovely, but 30m water resistance relegates them go dress or light-duty status. What was missing from the line up was mid-sized all-arounder that clean up with a tailored strap for a week in the office and still mix it up on the weekends. The first Basecamp certainly fits the bill in terms of size (40mm) and water resistance (100M), but the large orange arrow hour hand is bold, sporty, and more than a little polarizing.

Enter, the Cali. Like the rest of the Basecamp line, the Cali has a brushed and polished stainless steel case measuring 40mm wide, 48mm long, 12mm thick from the case back to the top of the bezel, over which rises a 3mm tall double-domed Lexan Polycarbonate crystal. These trim proportions are right in the sweet spot for my 6.75" wrist, and that massive retro-style dome just knocks me out.

The signed, octagonal crown looks much like that on the Aqua, albeit scaled down and polished. It is a push-pull, offering water-resistance of 100M, which is okay for a diver and right in line for a field watch. Seeing how the Cali straddles the line between the two, I'd say 100m was the right call and likely far more than any buyer will ever need. My sample had a display case back, offering a view of the sturdy (in not exactly pretty) 21.6k bph Seiko NH35 automatic inside.

As you might gather from the name, the Cali features the quirky, half-Roman, half-Arabic “California” dial design, and the handset is a classic, polished, "Mercedes" style that reaches right to the hour markers and gold railroad minute track. Add a lollipop second hand, and a dose of mellow (yet still bright) vintage lume, and you've got a combination that sets a distinctly military vibe but is not quite as in-your-face as the first orange-arrow design. It's a good look, particularly when paired with the vintage-lumed graduated bezel as on this watch. Undone has thrown in another treat for us by putting all of this over a waffle-textured dial. Buyers can opt for Olive Green or the Ebony Black shown here.

Of course, the Undone customizer contains a wealth of personalization options, including a variety of 20mm straps, K1 glass sterile or graduated bezel inserts, and the addition of your text or logo on the dial. This watch arrived on an olive nylon pass-through with blasted rings. It certainly fir the style of the watch, but I must confess that having matte strap hardware on a brushed and polished watch bugged me. Of course, I freely admit that mismatching hardware finishes bug me in an almost clinical way, but this is an easy fix, either by selecting another option on the Undone strap page or by swapping in one of your own.

I am enjoying the heck out of this thing. I kept it on the heavy weave nylon as I handled my weekend chores, but will pair it with a minimally stitched leather strap before heading back to the office tomorrow so I can wear it with a jacket and tie. Really, a watch like this deserves to be shown off.

The Basecamp Cali launches today and starts at $315 before custom options. Head over to Undone.com and check it out! ⬩

Rochester, New York is likely not the first place that springs to mind when you think of dive watches, but Ocean Crawler aims to change that. This small brand has been turning out rugged, capable watches for a couple of years now; each new model more attractive than the last. For this review, I borrowed a Dream Diver, with a glorious deep red dial.

The watch arrived in a well-appointed wood grain case that is padded, lined, wrapped, stitched, the works. Regular readers know I have no use for this kind of display bow and even less love, but even I have to begrudgingly admit that as far as boxes go, this one is mighty nice. It’s like the interior of a luxury car. I half expected it to come with a sunroof and seat warmers.

Ocean Crawler watches are built to stand out, and the Dream Diver is no exception. Measuring 44mm wide, 52mm long, and 15mm thick, this brushed and polished stainless steel beast occupied every bit of surface area on my 6.75” wrist.

Now, this is not a bad thing as the watch makes no pretense of being anything other than a burly dive tool. The bigness isn’t just for visual impact, it is also for physical effect. Like all Ocean Crawler watches, the Dream Diver is shock protected to withstand a 6000 G impact. It features a 3.5mm thick domed and anti-reflective coated sapphire crystal. It also contains sufficient gaskets for 600m water resistance and a helium release valve because ... well, you never know when you will want to give mixed-gas saturation diving a whirl. The watch packs a lot, and all that mass has to go somewhere, so it is something we small-wristed folk must bear in mind. Incidentally, Ocean Crawler showed off a pair of 39mm prototypes at the recent District Time Watch Show that were amazing. Stay tuned.

Out back, you will find a solid, threaded case back bearing the brand name, logo, serial number, and the “crawler” trilobite. Behind it lies a smooth (28.8k both) Swiss Sellita SW-200 Automatic.

Tough as it may be, what struck me most about the Dream Diver was its appearance. This is no doubt due in part because of my priorities (I don’t dive, but I do preen) but also because the watch is so damned handsome. The matte-finished and engraved bezel (unidirectional and 120-click, of course) is staggered and lumed on the 10s. The signed head and underside of the screw-down crown curve slightly, giving it a trim, tailored look despite its generous size and toothy edge.

Then we get the dial. Ocean Crawler offers this model in bright orange, as well as blue carbon fiber or basic black in DLC black cases, but this dark sunray red won me over. The lush, jewel-tone has marvelous depth and provides more than adequate contrast for easy legibility. Applied and polished hour markers dominate the dial, pushing the numerals to the chapter ring. Needle tips on the black syringe hands overlap their markers. Quite a bit of text has been squeezed onto this dial, but there is more than enough space to fit the large OC logo and the model name its striking signature script. The white framed, white date strikes a pleasing balance with the quadrilateral hour markers. Peer down to the 6 o’clock marker, and you will see the watch’s home town is proudly wrapped on either side. It is a stunning dial.

Of course, you would expect a proper diver to have a healthy dose of lume. The Dream Diver’s SuperLuminova lights up like a torch.

Buyers will get two 22mm straps with their Dream Diver: black waterproof canvas and leather. This sample arrived with two canvas straps, one with white stitching, the other orange, both with brushed and signed buckles. I liked the canvas. I firmly believe every dive watch should come standard with a waterproof strap, but I am generally ambivalent about most rubber ones and growing kind of weary of nylon pass-throughs. Leather-backed canvas is a fine practical alternative that strikes the right sporty tone.

The Dream Diver sells for $999 on the Ocean Crawler site. This is not exactly cheap, but you are getting quite a lot of watch and a Swiss movement to boot. The Dream Diver is a limited edition, and only 100 will be red, so if you want one, head on over to OceanCrawler.com.

Microbrands tend to take one of two approaches to develop their products. The most common route is to produce a new twist on a traditional design like the legions of Submariner-inspired diving watches. The other, riskier approach is to say, “what if...” and try something unexpected. Zack Rackovan of Ardor & Forge has opted for that second path. With his debut release, the Rothrock, he created a watch that fuses his industrial design experience with a passion for conservation. After wearing the blue and gray Rothrock Seeger prototype for a few days, I’d say he made the right call.

As evidenced by the watches’ names, Zack found his muse in the wilderness around his Tyrone, Pennsylvania home. Rothrock is a State Forest in central Pennsylvania, and the variants’ names come from designated areas within it. There is really no doubting the Rothrock’s Arcadian overtones. Chiseled angles and a scalloped bezel create a chunky, purposeful shape. Its 42mm stainless steel case gets its distinctive rough texture from a proprietary method of blasting and tumbling. Gray cases like this one are left raw while the black and bronze finishes are PVD coated and weathered. All result in a grizzled appearance that fairly begs for outdoor adventure.

Burly though it may be, I found the Rothrock sat rather comfortably on my 6.75” wrist. The overall length is 50mm, and it is 13mm thick — substantial, but not overwhelming. The offset crown and guards also help keep its footprint under control. It has flat sapphire crystals front and rear, drilled lugs, a screw-down crown, and 100m water resistance, which is precisely what you would expect of a field watch. The Rothrock will easily take on the elements and brush off mud and water, even if it isn’t rated for the cruising depth of blue whale.

The dial is a typical field watch set-up with darts and heavy Arabic numbers marking the hours. It does not have a 24-hour index, and I think it is better off without it. As it stands, the Rothrock is clear and bold. There is no need to get fussy with another, smaller index. The dial-colored sword hands have semi-skeletonized bases and a broad area of lume fill. Indeed, Ardor & Forge laid on the SuperLuminova nice and thick, lighting up everything, including the length of the second hand and the logo.

You can get white, black, or olive dials on your Rothrock, but the Seeger’s rich blue might just be my favorite. It complements the orange elements of the brand name, logo, and hands, as well as the wood grain in the rehaut.

Ardor and Forge Rothrock Seeger blue side

Let’s pause on the last bit. I did say wood. I’m talking real oak, from a tree. Adding wood to a watch is an exceedingly risky business. It‘s something that should work fine in theory but often falls flat in practice. All too often, wood on a watch comes off as a dated novelty or just plain campy, much like the wood grain appliqué on the sides of an old Chrysler Town & Country. In this case, it works. Zack resisted the urge to go all Brady Bunch rec room, gave us tasteful accents instead. A sliver around the dial and a touch in the crown is all the sharp-eyed will see when the watch is on your wrist.

Ardor and Forge Rothrock Seeger blue case back

Flip the watch over, and you will see the Seiko NH35 automatic movement and custom oak rotor plate. As regular readers know, I’d often choose the durable, easily serviceable, 21.6k bph Seiko over its smoother but pricier rivals.

Ardor and Forge Rothrock Seeger blue strap

The Rothrock arrives on a 22mm canvas strap featuring a signed buckle that matches the rugged case finish, grommets reinforcing adjustment holes, and a floating leather keeper with a crossed-over design. It is an impressive unit, but if you prefer leather, you can option up to Horween Harvest Chromexel or Essex Black two-piece or pass-through straps.

Ardor and Forge Rothrock Seeger spring bar seats

Fitting any strap will be a breeze because, in addition to the drilled-through perch, there is also a second stealth set of spring seats, positioned farther from the head to accommodate thicker straps. Strap nerds rejoice! This is the kind of thoughtful extra that helps set Ardor & Forge apart from the pack.

The Rothrock will be available for preorder on November 19, 2019, and the first on board will get for $350. For a well-equipped and ruggedly handsome piece like this, that’s a steal. As they sell out, prices will creep up to the full $550 final price. If you are looking for a novel field watch with a novel, rustic vibe, heartily recommend the Rothrock. Sign up for alerts at ardorandforge.com.

Contrary to what you might think, Havaan Tuvali is not Scandinavian. I’ll admit it, the “aa” threw me too, and that name does have a bit of a fjord and Viking ring to it, but it is actually a phrase from the aboriginal Taiwanese Burun language (roughly “quitting time”). It is just one of the ways this boutique brand is unique. The others may be found in its watches, like the Project R I borrowed after their exhibit at the recent District Time Show.

The Project R is a 100m sports watch in a 40mm brushed stainless steel Submariner-style case. Its proportions are what you might expect from this style: 46mm long and 13mm thick with 20mm between the lugs. The watch features polished, coin-edged, but unsigned, screw-down crown flanked by small guards. A similarly finished bezel with an aluminum insert completes the look and moves smartly through its 60 positions. The crystal is anti-reflective coated sapphire. So far, everything is very traditional.

Then we get the dial, and things take a whole new turn. First of all, you can order it in black, or the striking and uncommon powered blue I chose. You’ll find nothing even remotely like a conventional dive or tool watch dial here; instead, a series of tall, stylized numbers form the outer index, marked in fives from zero. Ok, not too weird to have a large minute index, except for that “Temp.” subscript. You see, the numbers represent both minutes/seconds and the temperature in Celsius. The smaller Fahrenheit conversion is clearly a nod to those of us in the USA since no one else on earth still insists on using this ridiculous measure.

You read the thermometer with the aid of heat-sensitive surfaces that show through the sandwich dial. As you can see, it was about 30C/86F when I snapped the picture, although I must admit, I put a cup of hot coffee next to the watch to get a clear reading. In my otherwise cool home, it was only about 70 degrees, which registered as only a slight difference between a blackish-green at 25 and a bluish-black at 20. Also, the reading will be affected by your body heat to a certain degree. One has to accept that the thermometer here is a rough approximation at best. It is a fun feature, not a precision instrument.

Moving inward, a set of applied and lume-filled markers show the hours. The logo, model name, and water resistance rating are tucked into the small circle of space remaining at the center of the dial. This leaves no room for the brand name, which is instead cleverly wrapped around the top left quadrant in place of the temperature indicators, which makes sense because, at that point, you will be dying of heatstroke.

Everything on the dial is lumed with BGW9 SuperLuminova and looks fantastic when fully charged, but the thin numbers fade fast. With more surface area, the markers and hands fare better. In the end, the bezel pip shines the brightest and longest.

I love the quirky handset. The hour hand is only as long as is necessary to reach its markers, who’s isn’t much at all. As a result, it is a stubby little thing, yet the minute hand reaches right to the rehaut. To make this Mutt and Jeff pair work together, the minute hand is skeletonized for most of its length, allowing the hour hand and markers to show right through. The red second hand is a perfect compliment on the black dial versions, but less so on the powder blue sample, which I believe would have benefitted from a white one.

The Project R comes on a 20mm bracelet with an engraved flip-lock clasp. Even on the bracelet, the watch was a comfortable fit my 6.75” wrist and no problem to tuck under a cuff. Although I did not sample it, leather NATO is also part of the package. Havaan Tuvali can supply the Project R with left or right side crowns, a choice of five bezel inserts, and even two different movements: Swiss devotees will want the ETA 2824 automatic ($430 USD), but the budget-minded can order a Miyota 9015 instead ($340 USD). Given that both units are reliable, easily serviceable, and have a smooth 28.8k bph sweep, you know I would jump on the less expensive Japanese option.

Overall, the Havaan Tuvali Project R is a weird watch in the best possible way. The layout, handset, and thermometer are decidedly offbeat and lovably eccentric. Watches like this are the reason I love microbrands. If your collection could use a quirky addition, I’d suggest you head over to HavaanTuvali.com. ⬩

Review and photos by Mike Razak

The Swiss Watch Company pulls no punches. It’s right there in the name, perhaps more clearly than any other watch brand, that they A) are Swiss, B) make watches, and C) are a company. If the name confuses you, you may be beyond help. Having moved to the US after a career with The Swatch Group in actual Switzerland, founder Stephen Roemer started SWC in 1996. Along with his son, Josh—who manages the business end of things—the company has flourished. And this is not merely a brand, it is a true company: they started out making watches for armed forces and first responders, segued into managing the manufacturing for other brands, and only in 2018 did they realize the Elder Roemer’s dream of producing his own watch. That watch is the perhaps-too-simply-named SWC Diver. And much like the company, it pulls no punches.

The SWC Diver clocks in a seemingly daunting 44mm wide and 13.2mm thick. These are dimensions that would ordinarily give me pause, if not immediately turn me away from a watch. But this watch is proof that it’s best to see a piece in the metal before judging. Especially when on a strap, it wears more like 42mm, which on my 7in wrist was a welcome surprise. Part of this is due to the short lugs (discussed more below), which make for a 48mm lug-to-lug—rather stubby for 44mm diameter. With the bracelet on, the watch wears closer to its 44mm, as the bracelet acts as a visual extension of the watch itself. The lugs feature brushed tops, ends and sides, with a ribbon-like polished chamfer that expands from the bezel to the tip for an elegant accent on an otherwise rugged watch.

The scalloped bezel is brushed with polished cutaways and a ceramic insert color-matched to the dial. It has radial ridges that are interrupted by the 10-minute numerals. I love the texture around the bezel insert, but feel I’d love it even more if it continued under the numerals. Further, the bezel itself functions to adequacy but not beyond, as I felt it should be a bit tighter in turning. The sides of the case are brushed, with thick guards enveloping the signed crown in a cocoon of safety. While reassuring, the guards are big enough to make screwing the crown down slightly inconvenient, but once it’s in, it’s in, and you’ve got 300M water resistance for those ultradeep desk dives (let’s face it, standing desks are much higher off the ground).

Through a sapphire crystal, the near square dimensions of the whole watch (remember, 44mmx48mm) are mirrored on the dial: The signature of the SWC Diver is the square in the dial, with horizontal striping that creates a wainscoting effect.. The dials are the same color as both the minute-marked chapter ring and the ceramic bezel. The color is rich and I would imagine this is true with all the dial options (currently available are green, blue, and white) I opted for green for the review because I’ve been on a green dial kick lately, and I’m a bit over blue dials. But that’s just me. The real star of the show here, and the star of the watch, is the lume. Yes, it’s Super-LumiNova C3, that classic green. You may look and say “Oh! Applied indices!” Nope. Wrong. That’s 20 layers of lume. Yeah. Twenty. 2-0. SWC laid it on thick and the results are stunning. The initial lume is as bright as you’d expect, but then goes on to nearly outlast both my Omega Seamaster andmy Nodus Avalon (the comparison shots below, with the SWC in the middle, were taken after a 10-second flash with a UV light, and then 20+ minutes later). That’s some serious lume, and it’s no surprise that Mr. Roemer cited it as one of his favorite features.

Sword-style sector hands feature the same amazing lume and are perfectly proportioned to the rest of the watch. A date at 3 o’clock is…just there. It’s not offensive, but it’s not amazingly done. I’ve seen early prototypes of the watch on Instagram: one featured a cyclops and the other featured a thick border around the window, both of which were better (you can look at the early prototypes on their Instagram account). The dial as a whole is well balanced, with lots going on but no clutter. And with that lume, you’ve always got a spare flashlight around in case the power goes out.

The bracelet features facets and finishes that bring it to life; the raised middle sections of each link feature a polished bevel and add great definition and depth. The fold-over clasp adds no thickness to the bracelet, maintain the lines all the way around the wrist and culminating in a short, branded clasp link. It features push a button release and no diver’s extension, neither of which are true to the dive watch style, but also weren't dealbreakers for me as I don't live that underwater adventure life. Another nice feature is the integrated endlinks, which remain attached to the bracelet even when you remove the springbars. A huge negative for this watch (for the first day or two you own it, at least), though, is the Capsa pins. While probably the most secure pin option, they are a monumental pain in the ass to remove. I would have strongly preferred single-end screws, though Mr. Roemer said that getting the same secure link with screws was explored and would've pushed the watches to a price point they weren't comfortable with.

I also must address the shortness of the lugs. As I mentioned above, they allow the watch to sit much smaller than its 44mm when on a strap, but getting the strap on there is a real bear. SWC provided me with curved springbars (in an implicit acknowledgement of the issue), and while that’s a good move on their part, the better move may have been to move the lug holes out or extend the lugs themselves. The fact of the matter is that in the microbrand world, strap swapping is to be assumed: the people who are buying an SWC Diver will likely want to swap the bracelet out for rubber, leather, or whatever other crazy thing they’re making straps from these days. The short lugs make this incredibly difficult, and curved springbars aren’t a satisfactory solution, as they just aren’t as secure as straight ones. All that said, once I got my brown rough-out leather strap on there, it looked fantastic.

For power, SWC has gone with the Sellita SW200 automatic movement. Nestled under a striking wave-emblazoned screw-down caseback, the brand initially wanted to go for the ETA 2824, but sourcing those movements was next to impossible, and the Sellita is edging up on being as good as the ETA. So they made the smart choice. If Swiss-made movements are important to you, you get one. If they’re not, you still get one. Big win.

You’re reading this review and wondering how much this thing costs. Or you’ve scrolled down here and skipped the words (it’s ok, I’m not offended). It’s $450. Yeah. You get a Swiss-movement, real chops diver for only $450. You thought the lume was awesome? Only rivaled by the value. I tossed this thing around a bit, mostly playing with my rambunctious 2-year old, and was happy with it on my wrist the entire time (my son seemed to like it, too). The SWC Diver also comes with a zip-up case that can handle three watches and three straps, so that's nice. The only things to be wary of, are the short lugs—if you’re a strap swapper like me, just be sure you know that you may well not be swapping much with this one. If that’s not enough to turn you off, you can go grab one at the website(and if you love the look, but are looking for a chrono, they’ve got those too, with ETA 7733s). ⬩

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