One of the more interesting watch designs of the past few years was the Eone Bradley, which leveraged ball bearings and a tactile (and exposed) dial that allowed folks with limited (or no) vision to be able to tell the time using the watch. The design has been largely unchanged, until now, and the introduction of the Eone Bradley Apex.
While the dial of the prior model was a bit more sub-like, the Eone Bradley Apex takes things in much more of an elegant style, going with raised stick indices that stretch from the inner ball track to the outer edge of the dial. Speaking of those – if you?re not familiar, the watch relies on magnets to move the balls around their tracks. The inner-most one indicates the minutes, and the one around the outer edge is for the hours.
Driving the timekeeping of the Eone Bradley Apex is a Swiss Ronda quartz movement, and you have to admit the lack of hands is one of the more interesting applications. This is tucked into a 40mm case made of ceramic and steel, and manages to be only 11.5mm thick (quite an achievement with the ball bearing tracks needing to be in there).
For this latest release, the Eone Bradley Apex is available in two colors – black and silver – and comes paired to a variety of NATO-style straps. If you want to pick one up, you can order it directly from the brand at a very reasonable $285 – though for the next few days, you can save 15% with the code FRIDAY15. eone-time.com
Watch Overview
- Brand & Model: Eone Bradley Apex
- Price: $285
- Who we think it might be for: Obviously, for someone with vision issues who still would like a watch – or for someone who just wants a unique way of indicating the time
- Would I buy one for myself based on what I?ve seen? Perhaps – though I think the ball bearings would be more of a novelty than anything for me
- If I could make one design suggestion, it would be: On this one, keeping the 12 hour marker more distinct from the 3/6/9 seems like it would be helpful.
Tech Specs from Eone
- Materials
- Case: ceramic
- Face: stainless steel
- Strap: Italian leather
- Movement: Ronda quartz movement with Swiss parts
- Dimensions
- 40mm diameter
- 11.5mm thickness
- Fit
- Adjustable buckle with holes fits wrists 5 3/4 – 8/1/4 inches in circumference
- 20mm width
- Water and shock resistance
- The Bradley will easily withstand brief contact with water, like getting caught in the rain or washing hands. It is not intended for submersion in water or high intensity sports.
- Battery: Renata 371 button cell
- Warranty: 2 year full warranty
