Review and photos by Mike Razak
“How many Basels do I need to wait through until I find my perfect watch? Either I wait forever or make one myself. So, I decided to make my own brand.” And thus was founded Soldat Watch, a new brand out of Jakarta founded by frustrated lifetime collector Jesse Prawiro. Taking inspiration from the vintage racing chronographs of the 1960s and 1970s—in particular the Heuere 1153—Soldat presents the Promessa, a surprisingly wearable Japanese-made watch featuring the Seiko NE88 chronograph movement.
The Soldat Promessa is not a small watch—but very few automatic chronographs are. The Seiko NE88 is in fact thinner than the industry standard ETA/Valjoux 7750, and the tonneau case of the Promessa is just 14mm thick, with a diameter of 42mm and a lug-to-lug of 50mm. But the heft remains and were it not for the case’s gentle curvature and some other excellent design choices, it would be an issue.
If you look at the Heuer 1153, the midcase is quite thin, leaving a protruding caseback. Instead, the Soldat Promessa has thickened the case to swallow that depth. While it gives a thicker profile, the watch has a graceful curve that allows it to hug the wrist nicely.
Drilled 20mm lugs make swaps a snap. One nice additional touch is a bit hidden: to allow for all sorts of straps on the short lugs, they’ve cut under the case, providing extra clearance.
At 3 and 9 are sunken, radially-grooved, piepan subdials. That sounds like a lot—it’s basically all you can do to a subdial—but it works extremely well here. The chronograph hands are all yellow, a nice pop that is matched by the 6 o’clock register and tachymeter text.
Another favorite feature of mine is the tachymeter ring (what a boring, watchnerd sentence). Matched to the dial color and raised considerably off the dial, the tachy ring adds great depth to an already multifaceted dial.
For whatever reason, this still remains a bit of a rare movement. Yema and Vostok have used them recently, but I think consumers still prefer a Swiss movement, even if they can’t explain why. Seiko’s QC and ability and willingness to engage and work with brands is well known. I hope to see more of this movement in the future.
As mentioned above, the 20mm lugs accommodate a wide variety of straps thanks to the hidden undercut. By way of example, I put on my Mercer brown leather and a single-pass from Cincinnati Watch Co. Simply due to the thickness, I’d steer clear of standard NATOs, as they would lift the watch too high off the wrist.
The stock racing strap coordinates with the dial: high quality green leather with yellow thread and yellow backing leather. The red dial comes with a red/white NATO, while the blue dial has a similarly matched leather strap. While the leather on the keepers seems a bit thing, the quality is tops with no break in period and a feeling of sturdiness. To cap everything off, the custom buckle has a very streamline moderne vibe to it and I want to steal it.
The Soldat Promessa brings some freshness to the realm of NE88 watches. Thus far, it’s been equipped in reissues and entry-level brands, and mostly with some over-the-top or underwhelming design. I think The Promessa delivers not just a good option in the NE88 family of watches, but for any automatic chronograph. The only concern I would have is with smaller wrists. While it worked well on my 7-inch wrist, anything smaller would be a challenge.
The vintage racing vibe, the bright colors, the dial details—it all adds up to a great watch. At $1,250, the Promessa is priced right where it should be and well within the range of its competitors. If you’re interested, head over to the Soldat website for more details or to buy your own.⬩
