Oak & Oscar Atwood: a new chronograph appears

Watches, these days, are made all over. More often than not, we find them coming from Switzerland or Asia. That’s not the only spot. Here in the US, you’ll find inroads being made. Sure, we aren’t making all of the movement components (hairsprings are tricky), but we can certainly design and assemble things here. As well as manufacturing other components. One of our favorite local (particularly to me) brands is Oak & Oscar, and they’ve just released a new column wheel chronograph. Time to meet the Oak & Oscar Atwood.

Oak & Oscar Atwood: the dimensions

Any time you’re talking about a mechanical chronograph, you know you’re dealing with, if not a big watch, at least a thick watch. On the Oak & Oscar Atwood, the movement is manually wound, so you drop some height without the rotor. This means they’ve managed to keep the the thickness to 12.9mm, which includes the domed crystal up front.

Paired with the 39mm diameter of the case, this should be a compact approach to the typical chronograph “bubble”. The lug-to-lug is 46mm, with 20mm lugs on either side. For the first time ever (for an Oak & Oscar chronograph) you have the option of a steel bracelet. If you opt for that, it starts at 20mm, and tapers down to 16mm at the clasp. You’ll also have the option of their signature Horween strap. Whatever you choose, you’ll also get a second nylon strap, along with a strap change tool and a waxed canvas watch wallet to store it all in.

The color scheme

Going into this, you know that there are going to be some typical Oak & Oscar colors showing up on the watch. Of course, you’ve got the bright orange seconds hand with it’s large logo counter-balance. One of the dial options is their signature blue; the other dials are either a classic panda or a reverse panda. This keeps things cleanly legible, while making for a cohesive color palette, no matter the dial choice.

The movement

The Oak & Oscar Atwood makes use of a movement that we’ve not heard of before – the AMT5100M. Apparently, this is a sub-brand of the well-known Sellita, and is where watch brands can get a movement that’s to their specifications. In this case, it’s a manually-wound column wheel chronograph. This offers flyback timing, and the ability to track times up to 12 hours with the various registers.

Wrapping things up

The Oak & Oscar Atwood continues the design language that we’ve come to expect from the brand. There is a dedication to the aesthetic that is refreshingly consistent, and denotes a careful eye to detail. Of course, these watches are not just for show. They’re well-sorted and planned out, making for a design with specs that many watch afficionados will appreciate.

The Oak & Oscar Atwood has just gone up for pre-order today, coming in at $2,650 on the steel bracelet, or $2,450 on the Horween leather strap. You will need to wait a little bit to get yours on the wrist, as they’re planning to start shipping in late summer and into the early fall of this year. So, it’ll be ready to go crunching through some leaves with you. You can check out all the details, and order your own, directly at oakandoscar.com

Oak & Oscar Atwood Details

• FORM MEETS FUNCTION
  • The Atwood is a classically inspired chronograph with a modern, innovative design. The manually wound AMT5100M caliber delivers flyback chronograph functionality in a compact 39mm case that’s just 12.9mm thick. With those proportions, the Atwood will look great on just about any wrist.
• BLUED COLUMN WHEEL
  • The Atwood features a blue column wheel for crisp pusher action and precision timing. The intricacies of the column wheel and movement design are visible through a sapphire caseback.
• DETAILS MAKE THE DESIGN
  • The Atwood is available in a classic panda style as well as a reverse-panda charcoal grey and our distinctive navy blue. The high-contrast, tri-compax dials feature our signature sandwich dial construction. Each subdial features subtle yet bright hints of orange. The Atwood includes a wrapped tachymeter scale along the rehaut that goes to 54 units.
• STAINLESS STEEL BRACELET WITH QUICK ADJUST CLASP
  • The Atwood is presented on a stainless steel bracelet, a first for an Oak & Oscar chronograph. Our precision-designed bracelet features fully articulated links and tapers from the 20mm solid end links to the16mm, on the fly, quick-adjust clasp.
• HORWEEN LEATHER STRAP
  • Manufactured in Chicago by a local artisan, our handcrafted Horween leather straps are individually selected from the best parts of the hide and hand-finished, producing a rich color and soft feel from the very first wear. And, of course, the smell of leather pairs wonderfully with a pour of bourbon.
• NYLON STRAP
  • A lightweight and durable option, our olive green nylon strap is constructed of a breathable nylon textile with custom orange stitching and signed Oak & Oscar hardware.
• SANDWICH DIAL GOODNESS
  • The design of our two-layer sandwich dial creates an iconic architecture. With high contrast features and bright Super-LumiNova applied in strategic places, you’ll be sure to know the time wherever you go.
• THE MOVEMENT
  • Powering the Atwood is the innovative AMT5100M caliber, a product of Sellita’s experimental AMT Manufacture division—a high-end experimental group like Mercedes’ AMG or BMW’s M program. The AMT5100M is a manually-wound column wheel, flyback chronograph caliber with a robust 58-hour power reserve and 23 jewels.
• PACKAGING WITH PURPOSE
  • The Atwood is presented in a carefully designed, canvas watch wallet with leather accents, two gusseted suede pockets, and a zippered closure. Ideal for storing watches and accessories at home or while on the go. And of course, it’s designed right here in Chicago.