Trematic Archvio Uno
When you are at a watch show and the person running the booth asks to take a look at your watch, you know you’ve got something good on your wrist. I was in this fortunate position when I wore the Trematic Archivo Uno while attending District Time in DC recently. The watch had arrived a day before I left, and it was a no-brainer to bring it along. For one, I’d get to show it off to my fellow Time Bum writers in attendance. Secondly, I’d get to see how the watch felt while wearing it through a day of travel and socializing. The Archivo Uno passed all tests with flying colors. It was reliable, comfortable, and eye-catching for the entire trip and a true pleasure to wear.
The modern and the vintage
It’s clear from every detail of the Archivo Uno that Trematic put a lot of effort and thought into getting the design just right. While the specs list the case as 9mm thick, it certainly doesn’t wear like it. With the gently domed crystal, the overall thickness is probably closer to 10mm but it wears like a much thinner watch. It fit right within the flat of my 6.5” wrist and stayed neatly under my sweater cuff.
On the plane
For my style, I consider the 38mm case a bit large for a true “dress watch”, but that’s clearly the category Trematic is targeting. With the slim case, no date, and a very minimal design, this watch begs for a night out on the town – dinner and dancing, preferably to big band jazz. The crown is exactly the right size for the case, if a little bit small for modern users. With no date to set and a reliable Sellita SW-200 elabore, it’s not like the crown will see much use anyway.
Just look at those transitions
As I remarked to multiple people, “Who even does lyre lugs anymore?” It’s complicated to get the connection from lug to case right, and Trematic knocked it out of the park. The gently curved midcase and lugs of the Archivo stand out. The machining is extremely precise, and the surface polishing is flawless. The planning of each edge enhances the overall midcentury modern aesthetic. The 20mm lugs bend very slightly downward and are finished with a very narrow brushed edge. To complete the effect, the brushed caseback is an excellent canvas to leave an engraved message for a future recipient. The buckle on the custom vegan leather strap shows the same attention to detail. The edges are crisp, and the brushed finish is perfectly even.
The same attention to detail on the buckle as on the case.
While I’m not usually opting for straps these days, the “suede” strap Trematic chose for the Archivo Uno matches well with the watch. Vegan leather has come a long way from the “pleather” days. The strap is supple, and its texture suggests that it will patina nicely with time. I found the strap breezy and light, even when wearing the watch for 15+ hours straight. The strap that Trematic paired with my model is a deep brown, but I’m betting a black lizard strap would look equally sharp.
Looking great in the early morning
The domed dial calls back to a bygone era in watch design. The angular font of the numerals takes you right back to 1956 when automatic movements were still new-fangled technology. The font matches well with the faceted hands and inset seconds track. The hour and minute hands point exactly at the spots on the dial to make time telling clear and easy. The Sellita movement under the hood drives the seconds hand 4 times a second, matching the recessed seconds track. This draws your eye towards the center, where Trematic has chosen to take the minimalist approach to dial text.
Raised indices, recessed seconds
When given the choice of colorways to review, the bottle green dial stood out to me. The saturated color and semi-gloss finish keep the watch readable. Trematic offers the Archivo in several other colorways, including more traditional black and white dial options with rose gold indices and hands, a chocolate brown version in a rose gold PVD case, and a slate blue dial. Plenty of options for channeling your inner Don Draper.
Edges on edges
At $930US ($980 for the brown and rose gold PVD variant), the Trematic Archivo Uno is priced slightly higher than your average microbrand dress watch. But the Archivo Uno is not your average microbrand dress watch. The watch is an excellent modern execution of the best design tropes of a midcentury dress watch. Trematic excelled with the Archivo Uno – head over to their website to check it out for yourself.
Waiting for a special message
