If you think you have seen the Acionna by Lew & Huey on our pages already, you would be correct. I wrote up the Kickstarter project for the site back when I was still a “friend of the site,” and Patrick had a chance to spend a little time with a prototype. Now that they are in production, the company sent over a pair of watches for a final hands-on review.
Kickstarter has been good for the Padron Watch Company, so they are back for their third (hopefully) successful campaign on the site. The Hennepin watch is a chose-your-own movement project, with options for Swiss quartz, or Chinese, Japanese or Swiss automatic movements in the watch. In 2012, the hand wound Vuelta was launched, followed by the automatic Tessera in 2013. Both these watches far exceeded the funding goal, and with the Hennepin at more that 50% less than a day in, it looks like this will be 3 for 3.
Touch of Modern, a web site that I like to browse and where we point readers from time to time is running a limited time sale of Swiss dive watches from Squale Watches. The watches range from the basic diver, the Atmos, to a vintage Tiger from the 70s/80s that has been rebuilt housing an ETA 2892 movement, new hands, new gaskets, and a new rubber strap.
Both Patrick and I are fans of Christopher Ward. And we both like dive watches. But as a diver, I see the days of needing a dive watch as long gone. But the ruggedness of a dive watch, that is something which should stick around. And if you take that ruggedness, and tone it down so it works as a true business man’s watch, ten you have a nice product for the real world. Which brings me to the Christopher Ward C65 Trident Classic, available as a pre-order right now.
Christopher Ward C5 Slimline 03
Christopher Ward is a name that is well known to the site. My favorite watch that I own is a C11, I am pretty sure Patrick has at least one CW, and a friend of mine recently picked up a dress quartz from the company. With direct sales, quality products, and a broad design appeal, they are a company that I can easy recommend to anyone looking for a watch. Right now, they are accepting pre-orders for the C5 Malvern Slimline, due to ship at the end of June.
I really don’t like it when I make my mind up about something, only to slowly have to evolve my opinion based on addition information. I do it, but only begrudgingly. Such is the case with the latest watch project to come up on Kickstarter, the 1776 from Washington Mount Vernon. I was set to be really blase about the project, only to come around and like it.
Magrette is offering fans a chance to order a new watch from them, the Leoncino (Little Lion), an automatic that takes its design cues from the styles of the 60s. The case is a squared off cushion style, with lugs that taper from the edges of the case to the strap. The finish is polished stainless steel (brushed on the sides), perfect to go with bright chrome fenders. The dial, however, that is pure Magrette DNA with a clean modern look.
For long-time readers of our site, Magrette is a brand that needs no introduction. Hailing from New Zealand, their cushion-cased watches have been favorably received, offering a great combination of styling and price. Today, we’ll be looking one of their latest iterations of the Moana Professional, the Vintage Brown. Along with offering a new colorway, it also serves to introduce their new travel wallet.
I have long been fascinated with skeletonized watches. Apart from the sweep of the second hand, there is not a lot to indicate that a watch is an automatic, especially if it is on your wrist and the caseback is not in view. With a skeleton, the guts are on display with the balance wheel, at the very least, ticking away the time. The Earnshaw Longcase brings a skeletonized automatic down to an attractive price point, with the list at $600, but the street price often significantly lower.
This mornings, Touch of Modern (join here is you have not done so already) popped up four watches, three of which are former Kickstarter projects I have reviewed in the past. First up was a favorite I did not pull the trigger on, but am temped to do so now. The Cobre de Calibre is an automatic watch with a Miyota Calibre 9015, a textured ceramic dial and a sapphire crystal. The watch is on sale for $365 to $395, depending on the model, a little less that the Kickstarter campaign price. On offer are 5 models, including the no-date model and the red ricing stripe model. My take on the watches was posted here, and the sale page is here at ToM.
