We like Traska here at The Time Bum. How much? Well, enough to vote the Traska Summiteer our 2020 Microbrand Watch of the Year. The brand clearly had a good thing going with its Freediver, Summiteer, and Commuter models, but they haven’t stopped there. After selling out their inventory by the beginning of the summer, they have built back a new and improved collection, improving the three existing models and launching a brand new one, the Venturer. Let’s have a look.
Whole Range
For starters, let’s talk color. Traska was into pastel dials before they were cool. Indeed, it was that fresh green dial that hooked me on the first-generation Freediver. It turns out, I was not the only one. It has been a winning color for Traska and fans have been asking for it to be applied on other models as well. Ask and ye shall receive. Traska has now made the Mint dial available across the entire collection.
Customer feedback also drove decisions on anti-reflective coating and strap clearance. All new Traskas will now have multiple layers of clear anti-reflective coating to the underside of the sapphire crystals instead of the light blue one used in the past. In order to better accommodate strap swappers, they have added a small chamfer on the case to improve the clearance between the case and spring bar perch, allowing a little breathing room for straps.
The Freediver, Summiteer, and Commuter’s dial openings have been reduced by 1.2 millimeters in diameter thanks to the new inward slope of the internal part of the bezels. This enhances the appearance of the boxed sapphire crystals while improving off-angle legibility.
Finally, the faux center links in between the endlinks now protrude slightly beyond the rest. Why? Just because it looks better.
The Freediver
The Freediver’s dial and hands have been thoroughly redesigned with new “maxi” applied markers that allow for better legibility, and a new handset that marries the trapezoidal and circular design elements found on the dial and bezel. The lumed minute markers on the ceramic bezel insert are now fully graduated for greater precision.
A white dial has now been added to the lineup, but as Traska giveth, Traska taketh away. The stainless steel bezel insert has been discontinued in favor of lumed ceramic.
The Summiteer
More than the others, the Summiteer benefits from the legibility improvements. The only other tweak is that in order to match the new, smaller dial-openings, the triangle and 3, 6 and 9 Arabic numerals have been proportionally reduced, making for a more restrained design.
The Commuter
On this model, the revised dial opening has improved minute track visibility and reduced the negative space between the polished frame of the date window and the minute track. Sharp-eyed fans will notice that the hands have been shaved down just a tad.
The slate black dial variant now has a more pronounced sunburst effect. The sunburst “glacier” white dial has been discontinued and replaced with a more vibrant “arctic” white dial with a matte finish. You can now get the Commuter in both date and no-date configurations.
The Venturer
Here is the biggest news: a new model. The Venturer is Traska’s first dual-crown sports watch, with a lacquer dial and an internal rotating 12-hour bezel.
The Venturer is water resistant to 150 meters and equipped with scratch-resistant stainless steel and a sapphire crystal. At a glance, its appearance may remind you of the Commuter, but the larger case size, glossy dial, and ability to display two time zones at once combine to give it its own distinctive identity.
The Venturer will cost $585 including worldwide shipping and is available in Arctic White, Carbon Black, Steel Blue, and of course, Mint Green.
The new collection will be available for reservation for a 48-hour window starting Saturday, October 16th at 10:00 am EST. Instead of full-price pre-orders, the brand is taking just a $50 deposit per watch with the remainder due just prior to shipping – likely early January 2022.
For more information or to place an order, head over to TraskaWatch.com.
