Ah, COSC certification, a meaningless distinction that simply suggests that someone in Switzerland looked at your watch briefly to ensure it isn’t junk. But COSC certification is expensive and until now it’s been rare to see a small brand take the plunge.
Enter Formex, a storied Swiss brand, and their new Essence. The watch, a basic three hander, costs about $700 for early birds and features an automatic movement, steel case, and a unique shock resistance feature that causes the watch to bounce on your wrist like a wheel on a weird dirt bike fork.
From the Kickstarter:
The Essence is your perfect mechanical timepiece; it’s sporty yet elegant, highly precise and reliable, with a wealth of unique features that make it wear incredibly comfortable on your wrist. Every movement has been meticulously tested for its accuracy by COSC, the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute. Only 3% of the entire Swiss watch production goes through this 15-day certification process.
So there you have it: low cost, high quality, and COSC certification. What more could a young lass or lad want out of life, besides world peace? Not much. The campaign runs until October 25 and the watches will ship next March.
