Today I have another time zone watch, and, no, it does not have a GMT complication. You see, YK Wong of Vesuviate Watches had already made the perfectly nice Volare GMT when he decided to take things in a totally unexpected direction and create the dual-dial Vesuviate Attivo-Duplex.
When you see two dials in a single case, you might naturally assume that there are two quartz movements running in there. After all, quartz movements are generally small enough to do the trick, and if you omit the second hand, there is little to give away the game. It’s a sound assumption unless you know Vesuviate, in which case, you might have guessed that the brand did not take the conventional path. The Attivo-Duplex uses two mechanical units, and to up the ante even further, they are automatics.
Vesuviate chose the Peacock SL-7020, a Chinese-made unit mainly marketed for ladies’ watches. It has 25 jewels, shock protection, a bidirectional rotor, and a 36-hour power reserve. The twin second hands on the Attivo-Duplex’s dial will show you its smooth 28.8k bph vibration rate. Best of all, it is a diminutive 17.5mm wide and 4.8mm thick — perfectly sized so that two could fit inside Vesuviate’s square case. Quoted accuracy is within -10/+30 seconds per day.
You will recall the design from such Vesuviates as the Attivo and the Attivo Chrono. In Duplex guise, it measures 39mm wide, 46mm long, and 11.5mm thick at the peak of its domed sapphire crystal. Vesuviate’s 2,000HV hardening treatment is present here as well, protecting that lovely brushed and polished finish from unsightly scratches. All Attivos are intended for sporting use, so the Duplex has 100m water resistance. The greatest departure from the rest of the Attivo line is the fact that it has two crowns, one at 4:00 and the other at 11:00.
Where the three-hander had conventional guards flanking its 3 o’clock crown, the Duplex’s case is broadened on both sides in a manner that mirrors the size and angle of the other Attivo’s guards but in a single, long unit that spans nearly the length of the case. These mono-guards (for lack of a better word) serve their function well and are more visually balanced than smaller guards erupting just adjacent to the crowns would have been; however, they also have the effect of making the case larger. I know we typically don’t include crown guards in case measurements, but it’s kind of impossible to miss these. My precision instruments here at Time Bum Labs say they increase the overall width to 42.8mm. My 6.75″ wrist tells me the extra width makes no difference and the Attivo-Duplex wears as well as the Attivo and Attivo-Chrono.
With crowns on either side, you can wear the Attivo-Duplex on either wrist, although given the crowns’ size and position, they would be unlikely to interfere under any circumstances.
I am not a fan of exhibition casebacks unless they actually show something worth exhibiting. This is one of those situations where offering a peek through a couple of sapphire windows is worthwhile. First, so you can prove to your fellow watch nerds that there are indeed two tiny rotors at work in there; second, because their gilt finishing livens up the otherwise businesslike brushed and engraved caseback.
The Attivo-Duplex’s face strikes me as a bit of 1970s retro. I can recall seeing quite a few dual-movement watches from that era, often in inventive cases or with unorthodox dials. Vesuviate’s shimmering surface, undulating texture, and metallic color scheme fall neatly into that genre. I was taken with the Pastel Blue review sample, but the Cyan Blue, Cyan Green, Silver, Rose Gold, and Yellow Gold all exude a similar vibe.
The small dials are soft-cornered, sunray squares that mimic the case aperture, featuring applied bar markers and baton hands. I applaud the decision to apply Grade A BGW9 Super-LumiNova for a useful glow when the lights go down. The dial text is consigned to the unoccupied upper right and lower left quadrants.
It’s a striking dial, and yet, I kind of wish Vesuviate had taken some more chances. I would have loved to see the delineation between the small dials and the larger face erased. I would have welcomed even more extreme design choices like spidery markers that radiated to opposite dials and filled the limits of the case. To my way of thinking, an uncommon layout begs for an equally adventurous design, but I’ll admit that approach may have been more of a gamble.
The Vesuviate Attivo-Duplex uses the line’s excellent three-link bracelet, with small brushed links and a broad polished center. A narrow 16mm lug gap expands to 24mm links that follow the edges of those stout lugs. It, too, is heat-treated for hardness but just a little more than half that of the case. Still, 1,000HV is nothing to sneer at and will be more than enough to ward off most desk-diving marks. It tapers to a signed 22mm push-button clasp. If you prefer, the watch will also accept Vesuviate’s narrow-end leather straps.
The Vesuviate Attivo-Duplex sells for $545, which is right in line with the rest of the brand’s offerings and pretty tempting for such a unique piece — even more so when you apply the discount code VesuviateDiscount and shave another 10% off.
Head over to vesuviate.com for more information or to order your own.
