Fears Arnos Pewter Blue | INTRODUCING

Nina Scally

• Fears launches a brand new core assortment, the Arnos, with a chic rectangular case.
• Its slim and tall kind echoes the model’s Artwork Deco-inspired creations of the Twenties and Thirties.
• The Arnos debuts a rubber band, marking a primary for the model, hinting at sportier releases sooner or later.

By no means thoughts the Tanks and Reversos of the world. As interesting as these rectangular watches are, a few of us don’t have the pockets for a five-figure timepiece. There are many manufacturers making extra inexpensive alternate options, although, just like the sub-$1k Hamilton American Basic Boulton or the Longines DolceVita for these less-endowed wrists. Anyway, regardless of being accustomed to telling time on a traditional spherical floor, I need to admit there’s something enticing about understanding a producer has needed to considerably lengthen itself exterior of the norm to make the position of the mechanics contained in the trickier dimensions of an oblong watch actually work.

A fast look by British watchmaker Fears’ on-line retailer will reveal that the model beforehand provided an oblong watch within the type of the two-handed Archival 1930 Restricted Version watch and the Archival 1930 Small Seconds. Each designs had been revived throughout Fears’ celebration of its a hundred and seventy fifth anniversary in 2021. In reality, it’s from these very designs that Fears attracts inspirational cues in its newest Artwork Deco-esque watch – the Fears Arnos Pewter Blue. It’s a watch with distinctive proportions harking back to the model’s Twenties and Thirties choices and marks the beginnings of a core assortment that may now sit alongside the model’s Brunswick and Redcliff collections.

Fears is about to showcase this third core assortment watch on the Time to Watches exhibition in Geneva subsequent week, and it’ll doubtless entice these significantly within the model’s historical past since Fears is thought for its Bristol-inspired assortment names, which nod to its heritage. Its two different core collections are named after areas the place the corporate was based (the Redcliff district) and the place its export warehouse was primarily based (Brunswick Sq.).

Curiously, the model has hinted at experimenting with extra “angular” case shapes when the time involves finally lengthen the Arnos assortment as a substitute of reserving the vary for rectangular fashions completely. May a extra trendy design language see the Arnos go down a extra aggressive, sporty avenue with time, I’m wondering? And talking of avenues, Fears continues its custom in namesake collections with this new core line. Arnos Vale, after which the gathering is called, is the cemetery by which firm founder Edwin Fears is buried and the place the model’s present headquarters reside.

The brand new Fears Arnos Pewter Blue has a slim, elegant profile measuring dimensions of 33.5mm by x 22.6mm with a thickness of 8.40mm. Its curved back and front are designed to hug the wrist for a extra snug match and obtain a softer, much less angular look. The 40mm lug-to-lug size can also be a pleasant Goldilocks measurement for the slender 6-7-inch wrist. The elegantly curved case and crystal assist archive Fears’ imaginative and prescient of yesteryear proportions harking back to the Artwork Deco interval and undertake a tall, slim silhouette.

The Fears Arnos Pewter Blue may nearly be a circle-within-a-rectangle design (how about that, Bell & Ross?) It gives the look that the round dial is sitting atop the case fairly than the dial itself. It’s doubtless as a result of the destructive house surrounding the dial has been achieved utilizing CNC-machining to create a hobnail sample. The textured floor is then coated in rhodium, giving it an nearly metallic mesh-like look, particularly for those who’re taking a look at it side-on. In the meantime, the galvanic blue dial is sunken and separates itself from the textured sample across the exterior with a machine-turned concentric sample.

Roman numerals symbolize the hour markers in a silvery hue and are framed by railroad minutes across the outer fringe of what Fears describes because the “interior dial.” Contemplating the dial proportions are pulled in to create this a lot smaller-than-normal dial design, the show lacks nothing in the way in which of readability or legibility. The distinctive “Pipette” fingers – a Fears signature – attain proper out to the touch the hour markers, and the dearth of any further detailing, save for the model title and “England” lettering, is refreshing.

Fears has been recognized to equip its watches with new-old-stock actions in different collections, just like the Archival, however the brand new Arnos Pewter Blue will work on a Sellita motion. The automated SW1000 was launched in 2014 and has seen probably the most distinguished use in TAG Heuer’s Calibre 9 actions and the East-West Computerized by Tiffany & Co. Its compact proportions lend themselves properly to the brand new Fears Arnos Pewter Blue mannequin, offering an sufficient 46-hour energy reserve. One significantly good contact is the Fears Blue embellished rotor adorned with the Bristol flower motif – a vivid red-coloured bloom that has been related to the town and its individuals for the reason that 1600s.

The Fears Arnos Pewter watch marks one other first, in that it’s the one Fears watch to date to function a rubber strap. The sporty darkish blue FKM rubber band matches the tones of the dial and secures to the wrist with a metal butterfly clasp and micro-adjustment mechanism. A second strap choice is a taupe-coloured hand-sewn-and-stitched Berenia leather-based strap with a foldover edge and distinction white stitching, completed with a traditional metal pin buckle. Each straps are manufactured by leather-based specialist Delugs, marking a debut partnership with the Singaporean model.

Fears Arnos Pewter Blue watch pricing and availability

The Fears Arnos Pewter Blue watch is now open to pre-orders within the Time+Tide Store, each in-store and on-line in each our London and Melbourne Discovery Studios. Worth: £4,350