Before we get into today’s watch, let’s spend a little time covering the brand behind it. Fraser & Co are a California-based watch company founded in 2020. They donate a percentage of all sales to local charities such as Veteran outreach and local homeless charities. So they’re not just making watches, they’re also trying to make the world a better place. They sent over the Fraser & Co Aesthete for review, so that’s what we’ll be taking a look at – everything from the watch itself right down to any extras that are included.
Let’s start with first Impressions. The presentation box the Fraser & Co Aesthete comes in is pretty big to say the least, wrapped in leather with the company’s logo embossed on the top. Once you’ve opened the box you’re greeted with a abundance of extras such as an additional brown strap, a manual covering their entire range, leather pouch, and an exceptionally large polishing cloth. You get all of those goodies along with, of course, the watch itself.
Once you’ve got the Fraser & Co Aesthete out of the box, it’s time to strap it onto your wrist. When I said it was larger than life I meant it. It comes in at a lug-to-lug of 56mm. That’s not a typo, it is 56mm. In other words, unless you’re built like Arnold, this will likely overwhelm your wrist.
Aesthetically the dial of the Fraser & Co Aesthete features copper and silver tones encased in a classy-looking copper toned case, with the handset powered by a Miyota quartz JS15 movement. While I found it to be an interesting look, the overall size of the Fraser & Co Aesthete is just too large for anyone with a 6.5 inch wrist or smaller. You can think of it as a Richard Mille on steroids and you get the idea of how big it actually is.
While the included straps for the Fraser & Co Aesthete are excellent quality, changing them is a lot harder then it really should be. Why is that? When I was using the supplied tool to change them, the tool itself actually broke. Possibly stiff springbars, but more likely than not it was a cheap tool. Still, I feel quick release straps would be a welcome addition here.
Topping the Fraser & Co Aesthete is a clear sapphire crystal, but one without an anti-reflective coating. Sure, at the $359 pricepoint there will be tradeoffs, but we’ve already accepted that with the quartz movement. If that’s not of concern to you, and you’re looking for a larger watch, you can check out the variants of the Fraser & Co Aesthete directly at fraserwatches.com.
Tech Specs from Fraser & Co
- Movement : Miyota Quartz JS15
- Lug to Lug : 56mm
- Case Size: 46mm
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Crystal: Sapphire
- Strap: Top Grain Leather
- WR: 100m
