The Newmark 71 continues the revival of an old British watch brand, bringing back style like we haven’t seen since the late 1970s.
It happens a lot. People get into watches, and get attracted to a vintage watch. But then, you have to worry about servicing a vintage watch, lack of parts, and just the frequently mediocre level of parts finishing and choice of materials that were used.
Cases were made of plated base metal or brass, bezels weren’t unidirectional and didn’t click until the mid-to-late-80s. Bracelets were routinely fragile, hair-pulling, and rattle-y, all at the same time.
What do you do if you’re Newmark?
You update the watch without losing the character of what makes it a 1970s design. You give it a screw-down crown. You give it a double-domed sapphire crystal instead of acrylic.
You float the bezel on ball-bearings, instead of making it a friction fit. And then you keep the bracelet identical in appearance to the original, but update it with solid links, solid end links, and precision fit between the links.
The bracelet isn’t the only option: for Kickstarter backers, there’s a EDPM rubber Tropic strap, which makes an excellent pairing with a watch with as much vintage soul as the Newmark 71 has.
The caseback is even engraved with a skin-diver, just as it would have been years ago. Newmark is also engraving the Newmark 71 with individual serial numbers.
This is the point of this revival: doing things right, even where you can’t see it. The crown tube screws into the case of the watch, instead of being press-fit in. It’s just better.
The dial is very similar to the original, available in black, sunburst blue or sunburst silver-tone. The only diversion away from the original is the concession of adding a date window at the 6 o’clock position in place of a full triangle marker. If you prefer the original look, it is possible to purchase it in a no-date version.
The bezels are fully lumed, and for those who don’t need a dive bezel, a 12 hour bi-directional bezel is available. The bezel inserts are made of either sapphire, or brushed stainless steel.
The Newmark 71 is 38.5mm in diameter, but it isn’t just scaled up. When enlarging a watch, things have to be scaled carefully. Just increasing things and keeping the proportions is a recipe for failure. Here, case proportions were tweaked to provide a watch that isn’t the same as the original, but lives up to it.
The Newmark 71 is available from Kickstarter for £299 GBP. It will come on the bracelet with the EDPM tropic strap, available in silver-tone sunburst, blue sunburst, or velvet black dial colorways. If you had a vintage watch in mind, save yourself the trouble. Buy a Newmark 71 and end up with a higher quality watch. Kickstarter.com
Watch Overview
- Brand & Model: Newmark 71
- Price: Earlybird pricing starts at £299
- Who we think it might be for: You want a vintage watch with modern sizing and none of the vintage compromises.
- Would I buy one for myself based on what I’ve seen?: You really have to respect people for honoring the past.
- What spoke to me the most about this watch: There was never any question this is a vintage revival.
Tech Specs from Newmark
- Case size: 38.5mm, 47 lug to lug, bezel: 39.5mm
- Height: 13mm
- Case material: 316: stainless steel
- Crystal: sapphire
- Strap: stainless bracelet and tropic EDPM rubber
- Movement: Miyota 9039 or 9015
