We are no stranger to Mr Jones on these pages, as a their designs have pop up from time to time. As of late, they seem to have been getting more into collaborations with other brands. One of their latest, with custom bike shop Untitled Motorcycles, really sort of grabbed my attention. Read on to see what the Mr Jones motochrono is all about.
As you might guess, with the collaboration, this one is all about motorcycles. For starters, the overall layout is inspired by a Smiths speedometer. Where this particular design really shines for me is when you get into the details of the frieze that they’ve incorporated in the time-telling portion of the watch. Which, now that I mention it, we should probably start there. I mean, how do you tell time on a watch where you only have half of the normal dial indices?
Those indices go from 6 to 6, with 12 o’clock taking it’s normal position on the dial. How you tell the time is by looking at the position of the headlight (for the daytime scene) or taillight (for the night scene) – it will be positioned by the hour that is being indicated. For the minutes and seconds, that follows a more traditional layout with the inner dial. Now that time keeping it out of the way, lets get back to the artwork shown on the dial. This was created to represent a sort of life cycle, with the start (daytime) showing Untitled Motorcycles bringing an old bike back to life, and then riding off on it when you get to the night scene.
For me, a rider who sold his bike off a few years back, I understand the appeal of this sort of a watch. The artwork speaks to something that most of us would like to be able to do – find some old bike and bring it back to life – but simply do not have the time, money, or skills to pull it off. With a watch like this, you can see an approximation of the work occurring, day in, day out. An unexpected treat with the the Mr Jones motochrono is that it includes a mechanical movement (Seagull 1622), whereas all prior models have been quartz from the brand.
It is, to my eyes, a bit of a shame that something more was not done with the lower half of the dial; it seems that whitespace is a palette just waiting for some other customization. Regardless, at about $300 (depending on conversion rates), it’s an unique take on a motorcycling-inspired watch. Is it for everyone? Not likely, but for those who like (or like the thought of) tinkering on old bikes, this just might be your cup of tea. mrjoneswatches.com
Watch Overview
- Brand & Model: Mr Jones motochrono
- Price: $300
- Who we think it might be for: Other than customers of Untitled Motorcycles, this is for those who like to tinker around on old bikes
- Would I buy one for myself based on what I’ve seen?: Tempting though it would be, I think this is one I would pass on
- If I could make one design suggestion, it would be: Do something with the lower half of the dial – perhaps some pin striping or something
- What spoke to me the most about this watch: The use of the artwork to tell a story (as well as indicate day/night)
