The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Agreed. The summation in question, is the new Typsim Noir. Listed as a dress watch on the Typsim website, and I agree, the bezel and the hour markers give it that elegant feel. But you definitely don’t need to baby it. The Noir can definitely be your everyday watch. I can go as far to say, that this can be your ONLY watch, just look at the specs. We have a Sellita 300-1 movement, 100m of water resistance, screw down crown, to alleviate the masses, and an acrylic crystal.
Yes, the usual argument about the acrylic crystal can be brought up. Acrylic can break easily, compared to Sapphire. We can go back to positive aspects of both. At the end of the day, it is a matter of preference. Worth mentioning that my daily watch has a Hesalite crystal, and I live with two 5 year olds, no excuses. Get some Polywatch and don’t worry about it. The fact that it has an acrylic crystal should not keep you away from Typsim.
The Watch
Alpha hands and Patek Calatrava, inspired Hobnail bezel. You mention those two and I think, old speedy and Patek (Obviously!). I would have never thought about putting them together, and that is why I am not designing watches. Let me focus the attention on the bezel. As previously mentioned, we have some Calatrava inspiration on the bezel. Which took me by surprise, mainly because we are getting plenty of fluted bezels. This is the first Hobnail bezel I see, outside of the Calatrava, and I think it is brilliant. Fresh air for sure.
Here is a big part of the winning combo. The Alpha hands, combined with the gilt, and gold accented dial. Add to that, the round metallic applied indices. This is innovation being executed. This is a watch face that I have not seen before, and I absolutely support it. The legibility of those hands, caressing the seconds track, and contrasted with the black matte dial… adjusting the time on the Noir was a delight. One point worth noting is the applied round metal markers. You would think that it probably wouldn’t work in no light, and you might be right in a pitch black situation. There is a small amount of lume on the hands and hour markers. The party trick is with a limited amount of light. The visibility becomes fairly good, thanks to the light reflection that the metal markers add.
As a dress watch, the expectation is, for its dimensions to not be large and intrusive. The Typsim Noir is 36mm and can fit 19mm straps. To put things in perspective, I have handled the 36mm Rolex explorer but I have not spent a significant amount of time with it. Spending time with a 36mm watch gave me plenty of thoughts. Initially thinking it was too small, then after realizing that it fits just right. The only drawback was not having 19mm straps to use with it. This meant that the time spent with the watch was on the bracelet.
The Bracelet
I need to dig deeper on the Typsim bracelets. I feel a bit, ungrateful. Last time, there was barely a mention of how comfortable the Typsim bracelets are. Also, yes, the same “weak points” can be brought up about this bracelet, as with the 200m. No easy release, and no easy micro adjust. These might be deal breakers for you, and I know one guy that would not go near it, based on the bracelet. I’m looking at you Alan. You have to use tools to make these changes. So what?! The bracelet is so good! it melts on your wrist.
Final Thoughts
Somebody told me that architects are the new watch designers. This might carry more truth than what we think. Alain Silberstein and Max Bill are the top two names that come to mind. This is the second Typsim that I get to review, and the second Typsim that leaves me wanting to keep it. And again, it might be a watch that described just by words, and no images, it would be hard to think it would be so good. My hope is that this might be a sign, that what Matt is doing at Typsim, translates into something great.
In Silicon Valley, and I guess you can say this everywhere else. When you “like” something before it becomes popular, you are the “cool” guy before cool was cool. The same thing happens with bands, car models, events, etc. I make the reference in Silicon Valley, thinking about the start ups that become big and successful, like Tesla. My hope is that we are witnessing something similar here. I wish for Matt not to be the next Elon, but to make something great with Typsim. And I do believe he is on the right track. Jump in while the band is still not that well known, so by the time they are selling out arenas, you don’t regret finding them earlier.
Thank you for stopping by,
DL
