On the wrist, it wears very nicely. The strap was comfortable and pliable, and the 43.4 mm size was right in my wheelhouse. At 12 mm (to the apex of the domed crystal) it is not a super slim watch, but it is by no means a behemoth; it is definitely a dress watch. The case itself is polished stainless steel, with beveled sides that taper in slightly from the bezel to the wrist. The handset is simple but attractive. For the white dial, a set of blued hands might give a little extra flash, but it would come at a cost. There is no lume of the watch, which I don’t mind as a dress watch. If this were my do everything daily watch, it might be a slight issue, but it was not for me.
Sitting at 6:00 is the small second hand, with a recessed background of concentric circles. It is evident on close inspection, but at a glance it serves more to provide a slight texture difference between the main dial and the sub dial. The dial itself is multi-layered, with the raised square dots of the chapter ring set in a recessed ring. The indexes are applied stainless bars, bridging both the main dial and recessed outer ring. Overall, it gives a nice depth to the dial without making it look busy. Beyond that, there is the applied numerals for 12:00, the branding just beneath it, and a small “hand wound” marking at the bottom of the hour.
If I did have one issue, it would be with the crown, and this is even a give and take. The crown in flared toward the end and knurled, making it very easy to grip. Since you need to wind it every other day or so (the reserve is reported at over 50 hours), you want something easy to grip. But this flair also causes it to dig in just a bit. It would not bother me much, especially if I wound it only when I was wearing it, but if it were my daily wear, or if I took better care of my hands (I rock climb, I have rough skin), it might be an issue.
The Marloe Cherwell Kickstarter project closes on Thursday, February 25 at 7:56 AM Pacific, so I realize I am not giving you guys a whole lot of lead time. And since this is a crowd funded project, I want to toss in my usual disclaimer about these projects, that you are funding the development of a product, not making a retail transaction, and that projects can change from idea to implementation. Projects can also just vaporize, so please go into this with your eyes open. But I have had two of the prototypes in my hands (and on my wrist), so I can attest that this watch does exist, it is not just cleverly done renderings. There is nothing in the project that raises warning bells for me that says it is too ambitious.
Watch Overview
- Brand & Model: Marloe Cherwell
- Price: £169 – 189 (~$213 – 242 USD)
- Who we think it might be for: You want a hand wound dress watch on a budget.
- Would I wear one myself based on what I’ve seen?: Definitely, I like this one a lot.
- If I could make one design suggestion, it would be: Blue the hands.
- What spoke to me the most about this watch: The hand wound movement makes good use of the exhibition caseback.
Tech Specs from Marloe Watch Co.
- Movement: Seagull ST3621
- Functions: Small seconds
- Case: Stainless steel
- Crystal: Double domed sapphire up front, mineral exhibition caseback
- Water resistance: 3 ATM
- Lug width: 20 mm
- Straps: Leather strap
- Diameter: 43.4 mm
- Thickness: 12 mm
The dial layout is beautiful and unique but the case diameter is too big. It should be 40mm.