When Phil Rodenbeck of Visitor Watches
set to work, he wanted to do something different. "When designing a
watch, there is a temptation to do something like what you have in your
collection." He explained. "I didn't want to do a watch I already had. I
wanted to do a watch I had never seen." After my review of the
Visitor Calligraph Duneshore, I can say he achieved this objective and
has created something truly unique.
An engineer by trade, Phil has
worked in the gas turbine and automotive industries. He began to notice
what the senior engineers were wearing, and discovered the mechanical
marvel that is the automatic movement. Like most of us, the more he
learned, the deeper he got. Eventually, he became enamored with the idea
of making his own. "I wanted to design a machine from top to bottom."
He said. "A car would have been great, but watches are a lot
more manageable!" The Visitor name comes from Phil's experiences
traveling abroad, and his attraction to the exotic. As Phil describes
it, "When you are a visitor, are an unknown to those around you. You are
also outside of your own comfort zone, and unfamiliar in your
surroundings, which makes you more open to new things."
Have you ever owned a watch with a
faceted cushion case? I'm betting the answer is no, because I just made
that up. There is really no adequate descriptor for its case, the likes
of which I have not seen before. It is a three piece design, 44mm wide
with beveled and scalloped edges that peak at the corners and dip low
towards the middle, surrounding a broad central barrel, and curved
exhibition case back, all securely screwed together. This undulating
shape was inspired by the shifting sands of the Indian Dunes National
Lakeshore. The lugs taper dramatically and terminate in a rounded tip,
drilled through for easy spring pin removal. The whole thing is mirror
polished, which makes it a beauty to behold, and royal pain to
photograph, as the curves and angles create a complex network of
reflections. The case may appear organic or industrial, depending on
your viewing angle.
The back of the watch is as
eccentric as the front. Phil drew his inspiration from Chicago's Cloud
Gate structure in Millennium Park, affectionately known as "The Bean."
It is plump and polished with a brushed, convex ring engraved with the
company name, model, serial number, and "Indie.Ana," a reference to
Visitor's home state. The window's crystal is set flush and curved to
conform to the case. It looks fantastic and provides some interesting
distortions when viewed off-axis. Through the window, you will see a
Miyota 9015, a reliable, high beat (28.8k bph) automatic movement with
hacking and hand winding capabilities. This usually prosaic unit has
been dressed up with a custom engraved rotor. The prototype had only a
radiating shield pattern and oblong shapes that mirror the hour markers
on the dial. On the production version, the shield will be filled with
the lion's head design displayed on the website.
As pretty as it may be, the watch is
also surprisingly functional. It has a flat sapphire crystal with
internal anti-reflective coating. The polished, 7mm crown at 3 o'clock
screws down. The crown is undecorated on the prototype. Phil has not
decided whether the production model will be signed, but I hope it is.
Water resistance is a healthy 100 meters. At night, the dial lights up
with BGW9 SuperLuminova. The Duneshore is hardly a tool watch, but it
far more practical than most dress watches.
It is a large watch, but not
overwhelming. The overall lug-to-lug length at 51mm, and it is only
11.75mm from case back to crystal, so it fit within the confines of my
6.5" wrist and slipped under most shirt cuffs without effort. The deep
scalloping around the case also helps camouflage its size, as do the
small lugs and curved case. The watch seems to fall away from the dial
and wrap around your wrist. In many ways, it reminded me a 45mm Panerai
Radiomir. Obviously, these are two vastly different watches, but both
have large cases engineered to gracefully minimize their bulk and appear
much smaller on the wrist than one would expect. I also think both
watches occupy a niche somewhere between casual and dress. Time Bum
readers know my position on bulky watches with formal wear, but I have a
liberal view when it comes to business dress. I have seen some rather
dapper fellows pull off a Radiomir with a suit, and I found I could do
the same with the Visitor. The watch can dress down too, but not too
far. It will look out of place with torn jeans and a Ramones tee shirt
(or whatever you kids are listening to these days) but perfectly at home
with loafers and a button down shirt.
For all of the drama in the case
design, the dial is elegantly restrained. It strikes
a harmonious balance, preventing the watch from slipping too far into
the Baroque. The expansive dial is available in Beach (tan), Blue Slate
(dark blue-grey), and Forest Ore (dark green). The
finished prototypes were Beach and Slate, while the Forest Ore dial was
uncased. All three colors were lovely and suited the exotic design
better than more predicable black or while dials.
The dial is ringed with large,
applied makers that are polished and lume filled. Circles are set at 12,
3, 6, and 9, and oblong darts represent the remainders. There is a
black date disc in a 3 0'clock window, with lume painted numbers. Yes,
you read that right. This custom disc is lumed. The Visitor band is
positioned above it. You will be forgiven if you not immediately notice
that this is a sandwich dial, but direct your eye to the perimeter and
you will be rewarded with a view of the perforated index, revealing
a layer of lume below. The center of the dial is left open and
uncrowded, with just a simple printed cross hair to pull it all
together.
The hand set is an fanciful affair,
with needle-thin sticks topped with bulbous, lumed heads. As
mentioned above, the hour and minute hands both shaped like the nib of a
fountain pen. They are differentiated by shape and length. The minute
hand is more of a diamond shape, while the hour hand is rounder and
appears to have an ink channel. The second hand is polished with an open
loop at the tail. It is a whimsical design that suits the rest of the
watch perfectly. The large heads are properly proportioned within the
dial, and their ornate shapes match the peak and sway of the case. The
hands are also my one point of criticism. I found the shapes to be too
similar, and their stems too thin. It presented no problem when reading
in daylight, but I found I lost the hands on the darker dial when the
light grew dim. The lighter, sand colored dial presented no problem.
At night, the dial pops to life.
Phil apologized for the lume, and promised that the
production version will be brighter, but I was blown away. The blue
green glow is strong and clean. The shapes of the hands are clearly
defined, and the layered index is stunning as it reflects off of the
polished surface surrounding it. Even the date is legible.
Phil provided several straps with
the samples, but most were themselves samples of colors and materials
that were not yet finalized for production. Only the Sand Brown calf
jacket leather on the Beach dial was approved for production. Since
then, he has settled on three strap options. The base strap will be
French deerskin. Calf jacket and genuine ostrich will be offered as
stretch goals. The straps are 22mm wide, tapering to a 20mm Duneshore
buckle, with an engraved, polished, and faceted frame that mimics the
case design. The samples were all of very high and the deerskin in
particular was buttery soft. (Note, the gator prints pictured were
included for a color reference only.)
The Calligraph Duneshore will launch
on Kickstarter on November 3. Early birds will be able to purchase one
for $480 and the price will top out at $520. After the campaign
concludes, MSRP will be $650. The total package will include the watch
on a deerskin strap, carrying case, cleaning cloth, and strap tool, with
the aforementioned extra straps if stretch goals are met.
I am excited to see this watch
launch, and fervently hope is succeeds. Kickstarter has provided fertile
ground for watch projects, but only a few are really special. The
Visitor project is one of them. Phil has created something truly unique
and beguilingly attractive, with solid specifications, and
a quality movement, and has done so at an eminently reasonable price. As
I always say, crowd funded pre orders can be slippery things. There is
always the risk of change, delay, or a failure to launch. That said, I
suggest you have a good look at the Calligraph Duneshore, if for no
other reason, than to see what a truly talented industrial designer can
accomplish.
Pro: Uniquely beautiful.
Con: Easy to lose the thin hands against the dark dial at twilight.
Sum: I love it. The Time Bum swoons.
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