As you might imagine, we get all manner of emails coming in, telling us about “amazing” new brands and watches coming out. Of the new brands, it’s a low percentage that actually grab our attention. Recently, it was the John Robert Archetype that made it past the internal spam filters.

What grabbed my eye, with the John Robert Archetype, is of course the linen dial that they’ve done here. This is something we really don’t see these days, and most famously appears on some older Seiko and Rolex models.

This sort of dial lends itself quite well to a somewhat dressier piece, and that’s what the John Robert Archetype is. And in fact, it’s a bit of a vintage look, further reinforced by the 38mm case. Frankly, other than the date window, this watch looks like it’s straight out of the 60s or 70s.

Now, whether or not you like that, that’s your call. For me, I rather like the look of the John Robert Archetype (particularly in the blue dial form). I also like the fact that they’re planning on offering the watch with two different movements – a Swiss ETA quartz (for $489) or Sellita SW200 automatic (for $959). Other than verbiage on the dial (and an open or closed caseback) you can’t even tell the difference. So, the choice is yours. To sign up to be notified when the pre-order opens, head over to johnrobertwristwatches.com.

Tech Specs from John Robert

Model/Ref: The Archetype (R1)
Functions:Hours, minutes, seconds, date
Case material: 316L stainless steel
Dimensions:  – 38mm diameter (excluding crown)
– 12.4mm overall thickness (Automatic)
– 11.4mm overall thickness (HAQ)
Crystal: Box Sapphire crystal, multi-layer anti-reflective coating on interior
Caseback:  – See-through sapphire crystal set into 316L stainless steel screw-down caseback (Automatic)
– Closed 316L stainless steel, John Robert shield (HAQ)
Dial: Linen (in white, blue or charcoal)
Lume: Grade X1 Superluminova
Calibre: – Sellita SW200 in top execution, 26 Jewels, Swiss Made, 28,800 vph (Automatic)?
– ETA E64.111, 8 Jewels, gold-plated, Swiss Made 32,768 Hz (HAQ)
Power reserve: 38 hours (Automatic) / 3 years (HAQ)
Water resistance: 10 bar
Strap: Premium quality leather strap with signed stainless steel tang buckle
Lug Width: 20mm
Manufacture: Swiss Made

Categorized in:

Pre-Orders, Under $1000, Under $500,

Last Update: December 9, 2020

Tagged in:

,