Foster Watch Co. 11 Atmos Skin Diver

One of the first things I did when I sized up the Foster Watch Co. 11 Atmos Skin Diver and got it on the wrist was to text co-founder Everett Meadows and tell him that he wouldn’t be getting the watch back. I didn’t tell him that because he’s a dear friend and I want to support his endeavors—he is and I do. I didn’t tell him that because I’ve watched as this watch went from a simple sketch to a final production prototype—I did. I didn’t tell him that because the watch is $500, so why the hell not?—it is, and why not? I sent him that text, without hesitation and without obligation, but with sincerity and eagerness, because the 11 Atmos is a great watch. Foster hasn’t changed the game or broken the mold, and it’s not trying to do those things. What the brand has done is made a clean watch with vintage design cues executed to modern standards that is sure to please just about everyone.

The immediate standout for me was the bezel, specifically how the PVD-coating contrasted against the green dial and made it stand out. Everything else is just ultra clean and legible—I never had an issue reading the time. But none of it is a surprise for me. The brand was cofounded by Oregonians Everett Meadows and Christian Amondson. You may recognize the first name: Everett is the host of the popular watch podcast 40 and 20, and he knows a thing or two about a thing or two (he actually knows a lot about a lot, and frankly, it’s sometimes intimidating). The podcast—which he hosts with his best friend, Andrew, who lives across the street from him—got its name from the ideal dimensions of a watch: the two believe that the best size for a watch is 40mm across with 20mm lugs. This may be reductive, but for most wrists, it’s not wrong.

At some point, every watch nerd has that thought: “What if I made my own watch?” For som eof us, it’s fleeting, quickly dismissed on account of lack of funds, lack of inspiration, or abundance of rational thought. When Everett met his now-partner Christian at their boys’ tee-ball game, though, there was a spark that led to a flame that grew into a fire. Christian was not a watch guy, but he had started, marketed, and sold business before. When he found out that Everett was a watch guy, it wasn’t long before he asked the question many of us get asked from time to time: “Have you thought about making your own?” Everett had. In fact, he knew exactly what he wanted to make: a vintage-inspired skin diver with a 12-hour bezel and a jangly bracelet (I’m happy to say the jangly bracelet was upgraded to a bracelet that looks like it should be jangly, but is not).

Being as the two were on the golf course at the time of the query, Everett sketched his vision out on whatever tiny surface he could, and the two started brainstorming. After two years of development and the push and pull one might expect between a passionate watch nerd fixated on a specific design and his business-oriented partner, the Foster Watch Co. 11 Atmos Skin Diver was born. The watch features classic skin diver case: fully brushed with a curved outline and square lug box. But the brand, which is named for the street Everett grew up on, had some tweaks in mind. While on most skin divers, the crown simply juts out without protection, the 11 Atmos’ is slight recessed for just a hint of shielding from the perils of flailing wrists. More importantly, they were able to add a generous (for a skin diver) curve to the case and recess the caseback a bit, allowing for exceptionally comfortable wear on the wrist.

One of the highlights—if not the highlight—of the watch is the one-piece, 12-hour, bidirectional, 48-click, brushed, PVD-coated steel bezel. Never before have so many modifiers been added to a bezel description, and it took the brand a lot to get them all there. They tried an insert, but it didn’t look right. And their manufacturer didn’t want to make a 48-click bezel due to the fail rate during production. But through perseverance, patience, and a good translator, a solution was found to get the bezel just right. It operates easily, with excellent grip and an incredibly satisfying click (four of them for each hour). One of the only qualms I had with this watch was the screwdown crown. It’s fine to operate, but I found it was just slightly undersized. You can see in the two shots above that there is room for the crown to be wider; enlarging it to fill the recessed area, plus extending it slightly, would’ve made it just perfect. Relatedly, you may be wondering why the watch is rated to 110m water resistance instead of 100m. On the 40 and 20 podcast, a rating scale was established based the hosts ideas of what would make the perfect watch, a hypothetical “one-watch collection” watch. One of these ideals is 10 ATM water resistance, and the best way to push things a little further is to literally one up it to—drum roll—11 Atmos(pheres).

Foster opted for an acrylic crystal instead of a sapphire one, and I’m glad they did. While I generally prefer sapphire for its durability (people can say it shatters, but I’ve never had that happen and I’m a clumsy idiot), acrylic offers some aesthetic advantages. Like Omega’s hesalite, it offers subtle distortion and even subtler milkiness that add character without actually disrupting the dial or impeding legibility. Head on, it offers almost the same clarity as sapphire, but at angles, it brings extra life. And if you happen to mar the surface, you can just grab some Polywatch and make it all better with a bit of a rub—not an option when I chip and scratch my sapphire (which I certainly have).

With microbrands, it’s usually the dial that does all the talking. The dial is, after all, where most smaller brands can get creative and make themselves standout. But the 11 Atmos avoids that trope and keeps things exceptionally simple. Big, rounded white lume plots make the hours pop against a matte base of black, green, or orange. (Insider secret: prototype dials were also made for blue and gray…but not purple, as I requested.) Bearing a striking resemblance to that of Rolex OP, the handset used here isn’t original, but I also don’t think that every watch needs custom hands. If there’s a design—even a familiar one—that works well with a watch, go right ahead. Again, this watch isn’t about being edgy or standing out, so I don’t need a knobby handset inspired by the barnacle-encrusted cane of John Jacob Astor as discovered in situ by James Cameron

What a pleasant surprise the lume was on the 11 Atmos. At $500, I hope for good lume, but I don’t expect it. There’s no excuse these days for bad lume, but some watches still try to sneak uneven or short-lived lume past you. Not Foster. The C3 lume is even across the markers and the hands. It performed ably in every situation that wasn’t well-lit, from rocking my youngest son in the middle of the night to quick glances in the poorly-lit basement stairwell.

The watch is powered by the Miyota 90S5. If you aren’t familiar, that’s because you’re used to seeing its sibling, the 9039. The 90S5 is identical to the 9039 but features a taller cannon pinion (upon which the hands are mounted). You get the same 42-hour power reserve, 28,800 vph frequency, and -10/+30 seconds per day accuracy. Plus, hacking, proper no-date functionality, and serviceability out the wazoo. And…the Miyota whir!

Lord almighty. Never did I ever expect this watch to be such a strap monster. But here we are, and I just couldn’t stop the swap (#stoptheswap). This is only a portion of the straps I tried with the 11 Atmos—I feel like I had half my straps out on the table in a fit of strapnerd pique. Never mind that the bracelet is well done. It has the look of a cheap vintage 5-link, but the feel of a well-made modern offering (which is what it is). The clasp can be a bit stiff when trying to release it, but I’d rather it be hard to open than prone to unclasping on its own. And yes, Foster did go with the belt-and-suspenders approach: drilled lugs and quick-release springbars.

Alright, I won’t lie. The fact that I know the co-founder—as in we talked about writing a book together, text almost daily, and send each other holiday cards—makes me like this watch even more. I’m excited to have a watch I saw evolve from start to finish, and about which I can say, “My friend made this.” But this watch stands on its own. You don’t need to be pals with the founders to see that this is a solid watch. Easy wearing, rugged, legible, perfectly proportioned, and a verified strap monster—it’s does it all and does it well. It’s time to get excited about clean watch design that’s not about hitting people over the head with texture and size or focused on paring a watch down to be so minimal it would give Max Bill an aneurysm. It’s time to get excited about better design and better watches, and the Foster Watch Co. 11 Atmos Skin Diver is a great place to start. If you’re as excited as you should be, head over to the Foster Watch Co. website to snag yours before they’re all gone.