I have a lot to tell you about the Lōcī Watch Company. It is a new brand with an exciting debut model, a conservationist ethos, and a table at the District Time show (March 2-3, 2024, Washington, D.C.), where you can win the Lōcī Pacific Coast Highway that I am reviewing today. But first, I’ll tell you about the name.
Lōcī is pronounced exactly the way it is spelled, with a long “o” and a long “i,” so it is not the Norse god of mischief but the Latin loci, the plural of locus, meaning place, e.g., local, location, or locality. This is significant because it represents the brand’s mission of preserving fragile environments. Founder Trip Henderson was previously an executive and front-line relief worker at Team Rubicon, the veteran-led disaster response organization. He brought that same spirit to Lōcī. The watches are designed, assembled, inspected, and tested in the United States. Furthermore, 10% of the profits are donated to trusted conservationist organizations. In the case of the Pacific Coast Highway case, the beneficiary is the Surfrider Foundation, a California-based nonprofit dedicated to protecting the oceans and coastlines for all to enjoy.
The name also relates to the watches themselves, as they are designed to evoke a sense of place. Their first model is inspired by and named for the Pacific Coast Highway, a magnificent stretch of road winding along the California coastline. Three dial variants represent three attractions on the route: the Surfrider Beach has a sunburst-textured dial in gradient tan, the Monterey Bay is blue with a wave pattern, and the Bug Sur celebrates the road itself, carved into that rugged region where the mountains meet the sea. Each is available with either a Swiss Sellita SW200-1 automatic (28.8k bph, 26 jewels) for $1,050 or a Swiss Ronda 715 5-jewel quartz for $675. For this review, I had a Big Sur quartz.
I usually start my reviews with a description of the case, but that will have to wait as the Big Sur’s two-part dial is so arresting. You don’t get a more literal representation of a highway than an asphalt black background with double yellow stripes. I love how the stripes darken as they approach the dial’s edge, creating the impressions of both wear and distance. Other tasty details include the Lōcī’s shield logo on the yellow second hand’s counterweight, a black date at 6 o’clock that does not interfere with that hour’s marker, and the fact that they rendered “Pacific Coast Highway” in the same typeface as a California road sign. It may just be my own association, but I can’t help thinking of posted speed limits when I read the 60-minute/second markers printed in increments of five.
Perhaps the most dramatic element is the ring of hour markers that overhang the main dial, brushed with the faces of their chisel tips polished to match those long faceted hands.
Swiss X1 Grade Super-LumiNova graces all these elements.
The Pacific Coast Highway’s case is 39.5mm wide, 48mm long, and 10.8mm thick from the caseback to the sapphire crystal. It’s a sensible size, particularly since the shape tends to add a phantom millimeter or two. I found it a nice balance on my 6.75″ wrist and an easy fit under a buttoned cuff.
The large crown is surprisingly mechanical and automotive, calling to mind a belt on a pulley. For a watch named for a highway, it makes sense. You won’t need to fiddle with it much on the quartz, but it feels good to operate and screws down to seal the watch for 100m water resistance.
I see a lot of 1970s sport watch influence in the tonneau case and sharply angular lugs. Longitudinal brushing with a pronounced grain decorates the top and side surfaces and the fixed bezel’s outer edge. Bright polish on the lug faces, bezel top, crown, and the beveled upper edge on the case sides provide a sharp contrast. All of the finishing is top-notch, exhibiting clean edges and crisp transitions.
I know integrated bracelets are all the rage again and would look right at home on this case, and yet, I’m relieved that Lōcī’s designers resisted the urge. I’m much happier with a standard 20mm lug gap like the one we have here so that I can swap my own strap sometime in the future — an operation facilitated by the drilled lugs. Not that I’d be in any great rush to do so. The Pacific Coast Highway comes fitted with a practical and cleverly styled FKM rubber strap. Did you notice the shield logo at the lug ends? It has fitted ends, quick-release pins, and tapers to 18mm at its signed buckle.
Mind you, I wouldn’t be mad if they were to release a bracelet for the watch. It could work well with this case, and fitted end links that matched the case finish would line right up to the vertical lines scored into the case from the inner edges of the lugs to the bezel.
The case back is secured with four Torx head screws and is decorated with an image of the California coast. I appreciate the deep engraving and two-tone finishing to distinguish the land and sea.
Finally, we come to the box. You all must know by now that I find it almost impossible to get too effusive about packaging and that I also despise waste (see my rant here). I’ll only call out a box if it is particularly good or particularly bad. This is one of the good ones. It is secure and simple cardboard. It offers more than adequate protection and an excellent presentation but exerts no pressure to stick around. If you dispose of it, it will degrade relatively quickly and not return to haunt future generations as a plague of microplastics. I wholeheartedly approve.
The Lōcī Pacific Coast Highway is a handsome, practical, and brilliantly executed watch that clearly reflects the brand’s mission statement. It’s a powerful start for this new venture and one that I believe will take it far.
If you want to explore Lōcī’s collection, visit lociwatch.com, or if you happen to be in Washington, D.C., on March 2-3, 2024, you can check them out in person at the District Time show where you can win this very watch (I promise, I’ve taken very good care of it for you). However you do it, I recommend you give the brand your attention.
