By now, you should be familiar with the look of a watch from Schofield. We’ve gone hands-on with their straps and their Telemark, we’ve written about a number of their releases. We’ve become familiar with a number of their design cues, and then comes along the Schofield Obscura to mix up what we’ve come to expect from the brand.
Schofield Obscura: the case
So many Schofield designs start with the case, and it’s become an icon for the brand. The Schofield Obscura shares a similar profile, but then it looks unlike any other one. We’re used to smooth and matte finishes; here, it looks organic and textural.
What you might not expect – at first – is that the case is made of Damascus steel. We’re more used to seeing it with wavy lines; here, it shows up in some cross of a super conductor material and an end-grain cut of a piece of wood. It’s a startling and unique look, and further offset with bronze bushings within the lug holes.
The dial
Though dials across the Schofield line have varied, they’ve been recognizable as belonging to the same family. The Schofield Obscura still falls into that, but it pushes the envelope. For one, it has a much greater number of layers and channels than we’re used to seeing. The main dial itself is rather sterile, with just an engraved 0 to denote which way is up.
Spinning over that dial is a handset that also strikes out in a different direction. The hour hand is lumed, but the minute hand is not. It’s skeletonized, which allows it to show the hour’s lume when they cross. The minute hand also blocks out the lumed minute track, which allows you to still tell the time in the dark. Finally, you’ve got the running seconds, where the classic lollipop finally shows up, and brings an additional pop of color to the dial.
The caseback
The Schofield Obscura has an exhibition caseback, but not in the way that we’re used to. Rather than one single crystal, there are three domed, smoked sapphire crystals that give you a view of the manually-wound Unitas 6498-2 movement. Why three windows? It’s to evoke sci-fi themes, like an UFO or the tri-beam laser sight of the Predator. This otherworldly look is enhanced by the font choices made for the caseback, one of which is inspired by semaphore flag positions.
Wrapping things up
As you can see in that photo above, the Schofield Obscura comes in a very unique bit of packaging. This canister not only protects the watch, it’s meant to be displayed and house the watch when you’re not wearing it. Inside, it sits on a gimbal, allowing the watch to rotate around.
All in all, this is a masterpiece in unique design, starting from the point of a consistent brand design, and going forth into something that is all it’s own. Given that the design started back in 2017, we think it’s safe to call it a labor of love. This limited-edition watch (44 pieces) is available now for £9558 (including VAT) or £7965 (for the rest of the world that doesn’t deal with VAT). Check out all the details, order your own, and get more in-depth on the design directly at schofieldwatchcompany.com
Schofield Obscura Tech Specs
- Movement
- Unitas 6498-2, Geneva stripes, blue screws. Manual wind
- Functions: Hours, minutes, sub seconds
- Power reserve: 46 hours
- Diameter: 36.6mm/16.5”’
- Height: 4.50mm
- Jewels: 17
- Frequency: 18,000 VPH
- Case
- Damascus steel. Stainless
- Diameter: 44mm
- Crystal diameter: 35.5mm
- Height not including: lugs 15mm
- Width between lugs: 24mm
- Lug length: 52.7mm
- Weight with strap and buckle: 128 grammes
- Crystal: Double dome sapphire, Swiss AR coatings in green or red
- Case Back: Text-up, three window – smoked grey sapphire crystals, DLC coated and brushed finish
- Crown: Double o-ring pull out type with nail groove, Super-LumiNove filled, DLC
- Dial
- Multi-level, electro-plated, machined grooves of Super-LumiNova
- Date: None
- Luminescence: Super-LumiNova C3, pink/red with green, blue, purple and orange emissions
- Hands: Machined hands (thick) Sage green, blue (seconds) and DLC
- Strap: 24/22mm Cloud grey leather
- Buckle: Obscura Best Ever type, DLC with red paint fill. Brushed and bead blast, laser engraved
- Box: Polyester and steel canister
- Serial: Limited to 40 watches not individually numbered
- Water resistance: 200m
- Warranty: 2 years
