If you’ve been reading here for any amount of time, you know I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for New Zealand brand Magrette. Most of this stems from the fact that the Regattare 2011 was the first automatic I ever had. As of late, though, it’s of course influenced by the tremendous value I feel you get your for money. You may also realize that I love a good GMT complication. While this new watch doesn’t quite hit that mark, the Magrette Dual Time has a fun trick up it’s sleeve.
Let’s start there – the actual dual time portion of the watch. The studious among you probably have already realized that the Miyota 9015, while a fine movement on it’s own, does not have a GMT complication, or even a 24-hour indication. Rather than rely on the movement, Magrette instead utilized a feature from my beloved 2011 – a second crown that operates the internal bezel. Through that, you can quite easily track a second time zone. While this maybe isn’t as quick to adapt for a traveler, it’s easy enough to use, and should get the job done.
This is all housed in a 42mm cushion case that will be familiar to fans of the brand. That said, at least from the renderings, it looks to be a bit “slimmed down” in some ways, with narrow shoulders on the face, and a skinnier bezel around the crystal. What this means is that it should be a more accessible watch (especially with it’s 22mm strap) than previous models have been (which were commonly 44mm).
Interestingly enough, as the inner bezel is printed with a 12-hour scale (which makes sense since the movement isn’t modified), I think you could easily enough use this as an ad-hoc (if rudimentary) timer as well – just rotate the arrow to the hour or minute hand (depending on what you’re timing), and then look back down when the even is finished. Perhaps not the intended use, but one it’s definitely capable of.
The watch itself comes in one of four dial colors and two finishes – steel (with a black or white dial) and black PVD (with a green or brown dial). Another first for the brand (at least as far as my memory is going) are the dials themselves – they’re sandwich style, with a greenish vintage lume applied on the indices. This should give a nice bit of dimensionality to the dial while keeping things clean and simple.
Coming in at a pre-order price of $515 (steel) and $540 (PVD) (after pre-order prices go up about $60), I think this is another solid value proposition from the brand. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Magrette Dual Time be one of the more popular recent releases, with the combination of a smaller size, their defined styling, and the inclusion of their new presentation case / travel wallet (you can see more about that here). To get your pre-order in now for one of the 500 pieces (of each style), just follow head on over here and bring along $150; delivery is anticipated for January 2015. magrette.com
Watch Overview
- Brand & Model: Magrette Dual Time
- Price: Pre-order pricing is $515 (steel), $540 (PVD); after that, prices go to $575/605
- Who we think it might be for: This could have some broad appeal – those looking for a smaller cushion case or someone who wants a simpler (in terms of movement maintenance) dual-time capable watch
- Would I buy one for myself based on what I’ve seen?: I would say yes – the smaller size has me intrigued, as does the dual-time capability
- If I could make one design suggestion, it would be: This iteration looks great. I would love, of course, to see a true GMT complication. I’m also hopeful we’ve gone back to the higher quality straps from the Regattare 2011 era
- What spoke to me the most about this watch: I’m going to go with the cleaner, tighter look of the smaller case
