Modeled after pocket watches used by officers aboard 19th century navy and merchant ships, the new Deckwatch by Archimede is a stunner. Not only is it a testament to visual clarity, but the watch hearkens back to a more romantic era of commercial  and military sea travel. The purpose of the deck style watch was to be used as an easy reference by the commanders of a vessel. Life aboard a ship very much revolves around regular scheduled duties. Navigation was also reliant on the time before modern navigational computers  and radar were available. The 42mm wide steel case is made in Germany by Ickler, and houses a Swiss ETA 6498 manually wound mechanical movement. Winding it replicates the experience naval officers had with their pocket watches like this well over 100 years ago. Early in the 20th century, such pocket watches eventually became wrist watches, but shared the same style dials.

The Deckwatch dial is a matte silver with sharp looking Arabic numerals and stylized blued steel hands. For clarity, the face has a subsidiary seconds dial, and an AR coated sapphire crystal. You can get the watch with a black or brown leather strap (matched with a deployment style clasp). It is hard to argue that this isn’t a great looking vintage style watch – that feels as fresh today, as it did back when such watch dials were much more common. This is due to a combination of slight decorative elements, mixed with functional minimalism. Price is $635 and available online at Archimede’s website.