Huckleberry & Co. of Melbourne, Austalia have just launched their first timepiece, the Archibald. This Bauhaus beauty has a 40mm polished stainless steel or rose gold PVD case with 20mm wire lugs and a knurled, low profile crown. It successfully channels the essence of classic modernist pieces like the Junghans Max Bill Chronoscope, but eschews that watch’s domed crystal and rounded back for a flat sapphire crystal and vertical case sides that emphasize its 11mm thickness. Water resistance is 50m.
Inside is a Miyota 9132 automatic movement, a variant of the familiar 28.8k bph 9015 with the addition of a power reserve meter and a 24-hour register. The dial is clean and modern. Small Arabic numbers occupy the outer edge of the dial and are printed in a lightweight, sans-serif font, leaving ample open space. Slim baton hands maintain the understated layout, echoed in the small seconds register and reserve meter. The company logo is printed at 9 o’clock, and I applaud them for choosing an attractive typeface. The more traditional, serif font is a pleasant counterpoint to the stark markers and prevents the face from appearing too cold. It is an elegant, uncluttered design, but I do wonder if that light dial might be at odds with the heavy, slab-sided case.
Kickstarter early bird rewards start at $380 AUD ($269 USD). After the campaign, the price will increase to $490 AUD ($380 USD).
