Timeless Watch HMS

It’s time for another new brand. Not new new. But new to me and new to most. With a name that is decidedly on the nose, Timeless Watch made its debut in the Winter of 2020 with the HMS 001 and 002. Founded by graphic designer Maël Oberkampf, the models have a decidedly industrial aesthetic, almost steampunk-ish in its blending of textures and materials. The watches are offered in a limited edition of 250 pieces for each model, the 001 having a white hour track and the 002, considered herein, having an anthracite hour track to match the guilloche central dial. Mr. Oberkampf’s experience designing cars, yachts, and yes, watches is clear. The design alone is engaging and unique without being over-the-top. Let’s take a look at how the watch holds up to scrutiny.

For me, the first things I noticed were the logo badge (no, thanks), the rotating gear wheel linked to the hour hand, and the tubular lugs with rose gold accents.

While the dial has plenty to discuss, the case is really the highlight of the watch. The brushed caseband complements the sandblasted lugs and bezel. Smartly, the caseband is broken apart from the bezel and caseback by thin polished rings. I love the rings of rose gold-plated stainless steel where the lugs join the case. As is found in much higher-end watches, these lugs are in fact individually screwed into the case from the interior. One thing I found to cheapen the look of the watch is the plasticky crown. It’s not actually plastic, it’s steel with a black PVD coating but against all the metal of the case, it seems out of place. Perhaps the same form in non-PVD steel with a rose gold ring would have been a better fit?

The watch sits rather nicely on the wrist, though the straighter lugs and concave case back might lead one to believe it would wear poorly. The rounded bezel and the shortness of the lugs, however, balance out any features that might have caused wearability to suffer. While I’d never put a case-side nameplate on a watch I designed, I’d never design a watch, so I don’t terribly mind.

There’s a lot to unpack with this dial: the font, the hands, the guilloche, the open gear, the date window, the name plate — that’s a long list to discuss. While it dominates the dial’s real estate, the guilloche may be the least divisive part of this dial. It’s brilliantly done and plays with light superbly. Let’s explore the rest.

We’ll start with the font. I’m a big fan. Very design-forward, a bit Bauhaus, and I like how it emerges from the central ring and is segmented. The way the 5-minute numbering is included–not interrupting the chapter ring, but encapsulated within–is a great touch, too. And here, you can see the divots match the hour/5-minute indicators. The hands are made of blasted rose gold, with a polished steel seconds hand. They’re a bit flat against the texture and contrast in the rest of the dial and the roundness of the case. The aperture reminds me of the openings of a safety razor, if you’re familiar. I like the shape and design, and legibility doesn’t suffer for the flatness, so it’s really a matter of opinion.

How do you feel about this date window? Scroll up to the wide dial shot and notice how the “DATE” text only becomes visible at angles. My first impression was that it was like a Magic 8 Ball, which is not entirely accurate but is close enough. Here’s the thing: if you want to make a watch of a certain size, your dial design will still be hamstrung by the diameter of the movement. This is why you see date windows encroaching on hour markers and floating in the middle of dials at 4:30. That ruins the dial. The solution found with the Timeless Watch HMS may be the best available: make the date window take up more space so as not to be left stranded in the dial, waiting for rescue. With a dial like this, sparing in text, there’s no intrusion and it works. Plus, the glass magnifies the date making it easier to read. While I don’t love the use of the “DATE” text, it’s there, and as such, I’d rather it be visible at every angle.

Matching the rose gold hands is a decorative gear wheel, attached to the cannon pinion and rotating with the hour hand. I think if it rotated with the seconds hand, it would have seemed gimmicky, but with its slow turn, you just notice that it is in a different position on occasion, which is just right. What’s not just right is the pronounced badge at 9 o’clock. It recalls an “Admit One” ticket, and it really hammers home the brand’s name (which, let’s face it, isn’t the best). My issue may be more with the brand name than the actual badge on the dial. Design-wise, it’s consistent with the hour track, which is something: if you must do such a thing, might as well maintain the overall appearance of the watch.

The Timeless Watch HMS has a lot of elements that remind me of non-watch things. With the caseback, it’s a sand dollar, which makes me nostalgic for the beach trips of my childhood. Under the sand dollar is the Swiss-made STP 1-11. This ETA 2824/SW200 clone is from one of the more recent entrants into the mass-produced movement market, Fossil. But you shouldn’t equate the movements with the fashion watches the brand offers. These are spec’d just like their counterparts: 28,800 vph, 26 jewels (one more than the ETA), and antishock technology. While STP beats out its competitors with a 44-hour power reserve, it falls slightly short with off-the-shelf accuracy, with a claimed rating of +/- 15 seconds per day (Sellita and ETA offer +/- 12 seconds for their standard movements).

The strap on the Timeless Watch HMS is supple and comfortable on the wrist. The anthracite leather and contrast golden stitching pair well with the 002 model (the 001 has a brown strap). The tang buckle is unremarkable in the fullest; I would’ve liked something a bit more customized to match the case design. Further, as you can see on the caseback shot, the strap lacks quick-release tabs, which would be helpful given the slim margin for error offered by the lug design.

I like the overall design of the HMS (named for its display functionality, though where’s the D?), especially the rose gold accents against the various grey tones of the rest of the watch. The finishing is top-notch, and the guilloche dial is at times mesmerizing. There are elements that aren’t perfect to me, but the brand deserves plaudits for its date window solution. We don’t often review watches in this price range (which should be obvious by the site name), but I’m happy I got to go hands-on with this one. If you’re interested in finding out more or buying one for yourself, you can head over to the brand’s website and do so.