New York City newcomer Sakab Watches has worked up a unique look for their first model. The Defender collection will make its debut on September 30 on Kickstarter and at the District Time show in Washington, DC. I got the chance to check one out beforehand.
Sakab has four colorways in the series. The watch I tried is called the Boundary, a mocha and gold combination. It was a prototype and a very well used one at that so it bears some of the knocks and scars of regular wear. All Defenders have an oblong, stainless steel case, an anti-reflective sapphire crystal, an exhibition case back, and a 24 hour index engraved on the fixed bezel. The watch is water resistant to 50m.
For the heart, Sakab went with the Miyota 8219 automatic, a tried and true 21.6k bph unit with 21 jewels and a 42 hour power reserve. With the crown in the 3 o’clock position, it shows a date at 3, small seconds at 5, and a 24 hour indicator at 9.
Don’t let the 40mm width fool you, this is a huge watch, measuring over 13mm thick and a mighty 59mm from lug-to-lug, which dwarfs my 6.5” wrist. I understand they are considering a version with a smaller case and I think that would be wise because as it stands, you really need a wrist circumference of at least 7” to even begin to pull it off.
In light of the watch’s mass, I applaud their decision to keep the crown small. Oversize crowns seem to be popular but generally strike me as unnecessary. The Defender’s flat, signed crown blends right in. It provides more than ample surface area for your fingertips when pulled out, but does not disrupt the lines of the case.
The dial is a very dark brown, nearly black with lumed gold sword hands. The applied Arabic hour markers are gold except for a red 2 and 7. From a layout perspective, oval dials are a tricky prospect as they constrain hand length while creating large expanses of space at the extremities. As a result, the hands fall well short of the three top and bottom hours. Sakab’s retro logo and the small seconds marker fill some of the extra space, but there is still a void. Reeling in the overall case length would improve the dial’s proportions.
The Boundary arrived on straight-cut and lightly padded, 24mm leather strap and pre-V style buckle. It carried the Defender’s heft well without adding unnecessary bulk. Quick release springbars are a welcome touch.
List price for the Defender is $549.99. Head over to SakabWatches.com and join the mailing list for information and announcements, and if you find yourself in the neighborhood, come to District Time to check them out in person and meet the Sakab team.
District Time will be held Sunday, September 30, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm at the District Architecture Center, 421 7th Street NW, Washington, DC. ⬩
