I love vintage watches, especially the bold and unrestrained designs of the 60s and 70s, where the TV age and the jet age collided to give us fun shapes, colors, and dial designs. I own a sizeable handful of vintage pieces myself, and they are works of art. Here’s something a little hard for me to admit: they are fragile when compared to even the entry-level watches of today. Maybe I don’t need to baby them, but I do, and consequently, they don’t get much wrist time. Is it any wonder that the modern market has seen such success with reissues and homages of classic designs?
Still, there’s something a little hollow about a modern-era copy of a legend, like a poster print of a Monet painting in the museum gift shop, when you know the original is just a few rooms away. Ferro & Co. Watches, operating out of Vancouver, BC, in Canada, is one of the brands creating new works of art inspired by those classics without being a pale imitation. These watches look the part while offering modern manufacturing techniques, reliability, and finishing.
Ferro & Co. are not new to the microbrand scene, having made their name with chronographs and sport watches inspired by vintage racing liveries (Gulf blue and orange, anyone?) and aviation history. Many of their previous pieces were noteworthy for being single-hand watches. Their latest design, the Ferro Time Master 70s, may be a little on the nose in its naming, but it is a vibrant and original design that looks like it could have adorned the wrist of a matinee idol of the 1970s.
The Time Master 70s is designed around a 39mm square case of 316L stainless steel that features a nice mix of brushed and polished finishes. The TV case echoes old Bulova Clippers while being refined proportionately for modern sensibilities. The case shape, the brawny lugs, and the stepped bezel, topped off with AR-coated sapphire, make it look bulkier than its 10.4mm height would suggest, but in practice, it fits neatly beneath a shirt cuff and wears very nicely on my 6.5” wrist. Small crown guards protect the gear-toothed and signed crown. The screw-down crown looked a little small in proportion to the burly flanks of the case, but it was easy to grip and operate. The watch is rated for 100 meters of water resistance, which is fine for daily wear and the occasional dip.
The Miyota 9039 that powers the Time Master 70s is an off-the-shelf workhorse of a movement. It’s reliable, economical to service, and features hacking and hand-winding, as well as a 42-hour power reserve. It’s not the most attractive movement, but Ferro & Co. have opted to display it through a tinted display caseback that nails the era it’s trying to evoke and shows off the retro font on the rotor. It reminds me of the vintage glassware at my wacky aunt’s house, and I mean that as a compliment.
The watch can be fitted with a leather strap or a bar-linked bracelet which can be changed out using built-in quick-release springbars. The bracelet is the way to go, fitting the overall design so well, though I could certainly see it working well on a retro brown lizard grain strap. I worried that the bracelet would be plucking hair off my wrist during my time with it, but in practice, this wasn’t an issue. While not included with the prototype I reviewed, the mass-production watch will feature a bracelet with an on-the-fly microadjustment system. It’s a feature that’s gradually becoming more common in the microbrand space, and I’m always grateful for it. On a highly subjective note, I wish that the bracelet laid flat when set down, but I suspect that would have required a radically different bracelet link design, and the one Ferro & Co. have chosen works so well with the watch it’s hardly a detractor.
The case may be the thing that first catches your eye, but the dial quickly takes over, effectively capturing the vibe of the general era rather than trying to ape a specific watch. The Time Master 70s will be offered in a variety of color schemes, from subdued silver pictured here to more vivid options such as orange and brown. The color palette on the watch loaned to me reminds me of LIP and Doxa, while the sector dial with its broad silver ringed hour track calls to mind the Jenny Sealab. It’s bold and it’s Funky with a capital F, though I’m beginning to suspect the F on the applied coin logo stands for Ferro. The sleek orange hands make me think of the Concorde supersonic airliner, and I like the nice touch of the minute and second hand just sweeping along the outer edge of the dial at the cardinal hour markers.
I appreciate that Ferro resisted the urge to stuff a date window in. It lets the dial really breathe, as does the lack of any fluff text beyond the word “Automatic” along the bottom of the dial. There is something quite kinetic about the way the dial design radiates out from the central post before the minute track slams into the squared edges of the case
The 3-piece dial uses BGW9 Superluminova, including orange lume on the handset. I’ve become jaded to lume, but orange invariably puts a smile on my face since so few brands use it. It may be a little less bright, but the impact on legibility is negligible.
I adore this period in design, whether we’re talking about cars, watches, or fashion. I already mentioned that my own vintage pieces rarely get much wrist time because, let’s face it: they’re delicate. The Time Master 70s lets you capture that feeling without the worry. It’s also a fun watch to wear, with an unmistakably sporty vibe that nevertheless works well with dressier outfits.
The Ferro Time Master 70s will launch on Kickstarter on March 19th, the first day of spring. Super early bird pricing is as low as $490 USD, and the watch will retail for $650 USD. If this new piece from Ferro & Co. Watches piques your interest, that strikes me as a reasonable value. Visit their website to learn more, sign up for the Kickstarter launch, or view their other products.
