In designing the Falcon, our goal is to hearken back to an era when a watch was an essential component of the adventurer's toolkit—think of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay ascending Mt. Everest in their Rolex/Smiths watches. These watches could take a beating, yet were virtually indistinguishable from fine timepieces. In fact, many of these watches would be considered dress watches by today's standards. Thus, the intention behind the Falcon's design is to create a watch that is robust, yet refined. It's our go-anywhere-do-anything watch, and in this blog post, we go into what makes it special.

The Case

The Falcon features a sleek, yet sturdy case profile. Polished chamfers on all its edges (on the sides of the midcase, as well as the top and bottom of the fixed bezel) highlight its elegance. Just like the watches of old, it makes a statement whether worn on our signature bracelet or on a strap.

To top it off, the Falcon sports a box-type plexiglass crystal. It is the most impact-resistant, oleophobic crystal available, and the dial can be seen more clearly through plexiglass (as opposed to sapphire's harsh reflections and proclivity to fingerprint smudges). And, true to the utilitarian spirit of the watch, it can be polished when scuffed.

The Dial

The dial is our interpretation of several vintage references. First, we put a waffle texture on it—a tasteful, timeless, yet rare detail. It's a subtle element that packs a big punch. Another distinguishing feature of the Falcon is its gilt indices, which emphasize the watch's classic aesthetic. Filling the indices with BGW9 Superluminova adds to the watch's utility.

Also note the overlapping hands and indices. It's a callback to the classics and adds a certain panache to the dial. The dial colors of black, white and green are a nod to old favorites, and make a statement without being overbearing.

Note the gilt dial on the Explorer (top right; photo credit: Lunar Oyster), and the waffle dial, overlapping hands and markers on ref. 6305 (bottom right; photo credit: Bulang&Sons).

Note again the overlapping hands and markers on Sir Edmund Hillary's Rolex (bottom right; photo credit: Hodinkee), and the robustness of the ref. 5015 bubbleback case (top right; photo credit: Items of Beauty).

The Falcon in hunter green next to the discontinued Seiko Alpinist (right; photo credit: Massdrop).

We use the highest quality coating for the gold Falcons. While containing actual gold, it holds up much better than standard gold plating due to the method of physical vapor deposition (PVD) used, along with the addition of titanium nitride. 

Above, the Falcon in PVD Gold/White and Tenzing Norgay's Rolex Datejust (right; photo credit: Rolex Passion Report).

There are so many great, classic watches that are no longer available, or whose modern versions are simply inaccessible to most people. The Falcon is a way for us to carry on the pioneering spirit they embodied. 

Finally: why the name Falcon? The powerful, handsome bird of prey is as elegant as it is striking--qualities this watch has in spades.

 

*A portion of each Falcon purchased is donated to nature conservancy via Oceana, an organization that seeks to change laws to protect our oceans and seas.