Studio Underd0g x Fears The Gimlet

Buffy Acacia

• Celebrating British Watchmakers’ Day, Studio Underd0g and Fears have created The Gimlet collectively.
• It’s a mix of a Fears case with a Studio Underd0g dial, full with a multi-dimensional lume show and 100 metres of water resistance.
• Powered by a hand-wound Sellita SW210-1, this restricted version of 200 items with a hand-crafted strap by The Strap Tailor is simply £1,000.

In some methods, it feels just like the world continues to be getting used to the unimaginable collaborations which have emerged from unbiased watchmakers and third events. Each occasionally although, we get two sensible independents collaborating collectively – and Studio Underd0g is as soon as once more the perpetrator – not less than partially. The Gimlet is a brand new joint effort between Studio Underd0g and Fears, two British watch manufacturers with vastly completely different vibes. And but, the results of their work has yielded a watch that might seamlessly slip into both of their catalogues. Let’s dig a bit of deeper.

Though Fears as a watch firm has its roots all the way in which again in 1846, the fashionable incarnation started in 2016 as an primarily solo startup by Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, a descendant of the unique Edwin Fears. Framed like that, it makes far more sense {that a} storied, historic model comparable to Fears is experimenting with Studio Underd0g, the lighthearted British microbrand of Richard Benc. Whereas Fears treads extra in the direction of the sting of its playful stoicism and Studio Underd0g leans into its refined facet, the 2 have met within the center with The Gimlet as a mix of class, whimsy, and high quality.

The Gimlet does have the next stability of Fears affect in its total design, however the Studio Underd0g touches have a higher impact. The 38mm stainless-steel case relies on the Fears Brunswick, which is a modernised model of a Fears cushion case from 1924. Its sharpened corners and thick lugs do give it a recent presence, even when the aesthetic is a classical one. The onion crown actually cements that twentieth century character, as does the gleam of the polished bezel. At 12mm thick together with the domed sapphire crystal, and 43.5mm in lug-to-lug size, it hits a really comfy spot for lots of wrists.

The dial is the place issues get tasty. The Fears structure may be very a lot intact, with skeletonised baton palms that assist you to view as a lot of the dial as potential, whereas nonetheless retaining the time clear due to a neat minute observe across the dial’s perimeter. The Artwork Deco Arabic numerals add an exquisite contact of sophistication to the alternating batons, and the co-signed logos are all the time refreshing to see on a very collaborative watch. After all, the magic of the dial lies with the pale inexperienced gradient, clearly inspiring the title of The Gimlet watch after the gin and lime cocktail. The dial development takes after the Studio Underd0g 02Series, with a sapphire disk screwed onto the primary dial, in order that the printing casts a shadow onto the dial beneath. That provides unimaginable depth to a dial that’s already complicated and welcoming, due to seven layers of Tremendous-LumiNova that create that intoxicating full lume gradient.

Fears and Studio Underd0g usually function in numerous worth brackets, however a fantastic center floor has been discovered on the £1,000 mark. The watch is powered by a Sellita SW210-1 which is manually wound, has a easy beat price of 4Hz, and a good energy reserve of 42 hours. It’s not going to win any awards, however it’s a stable Swiss motion to maintain the worth attainable, and the accuracy of ±7 seconds per day locations it because the élaboré grade. There’s a stable caseback, engraved with a twist of lime. As if the collaboration between two British watchmakers wasn’t sufficient, the strap can also be made by one other British firm – The Strap Tailor. It’s a hand-made calfskin with quick-release spring bars at 20mm, so you possibly can simply swap it out should you wished to take this 100-metre waterproof watch swimming and hold the leather-based in good situation.

The Gimlet by Studio Underd0g x Fears worth and availability

The Gimlet by Studio Underd0g x Fears is a restricted version of 200 items, and can solely be accessible to buy at British Watchmakers’ Day on March eighth, 2025. Value: £1,000 (~US$1,245)