What’s that you say? Are you interested in a quality diving watch and want something distinctive but not garish? I think you might like a traditional design that has been tastefully updated but doesn’t cost a fortune. Did I get that right? Well, if so, read on because I have the Canopy Wake One in hand, and it ticks all those boxes for a very reasonable $599.
Canopy Watch Company is a young brand from Texas co-founded by aerospace engineer Machlen Polfliet and Ross Tomson, a watch collector and entrepreneur. The Wake One was their debut model, and this 200m diver looks nothing like a rookie effort. From the minute you open the glossy display box and see the watch nestled in its neatly trimmed compartment, you know that Canopy is aiming high.
The Wake One’s stainless steel case is 39mm wide, 46mm long, and 12.8mm thick from the case back to the peak of the domed sapphire crystal. These are classic proportions, well suited to my modest 6.75″ wrist. Blunt lugs and a 20mm bracelet lend it a square-shouldered, athletic look. It’s certainly sporty but hardly overwhelming, showing just the right number of bracelet links at either end.
Bright polish on the sides, bezel, crown, and the delicate beveled edge enliven the otherwise vertically brushed surface. The motif is carried through the excellent 20mm, three-link bracelet, offering glints of light both on the sides of the links where you would expect them and also in between the links, where you might not. It’s a lovely effect. They also offer a DLC black variant for those who prefer the stealth look.
Without guards to camouflage its height, the crown’s size is quite apparent. Longtime readers know I would prefer a low profile, but I can’t argue with the utility. The Wake One’s coin-edged crown is easy to grasp, set, and screw back into place.
The bracelet tapers to 18mm, where it terminates in a signed telescoping clasp. Unlike some of this style, the Canopy’s clasp is low profile, and the polished chamfer down the sides prevents it from displaying too sharp of an edge. I’m a dedicated desk diver, so that part is very important to me. I also took full advantage of the push-button release on the extension, adjusting on the fly as I moved from air-conditioned comfort to the heat wave that has taken up residence in Washington, D.C. A couple of millimeters here or there made all the difference, and it was a great convenience being able to do so without removing the watch.
I’m pleased to report that the Canopy used single-ended screws for the links, the easiest of all attachments. No fiddly split pins, none of the two-handed maneuvering of dual-headed screws, no dreaded pin-and-collar. Get your screwdriver and a tiny dab of low-adhesion thread lock, and that bracelet will be right-sized and ready to go in no time.
Flip it over, and you will find a Swiss Sellita SW200-1 with a black custom rotor under a sapphire exhibition window. This is a quality automatic movement of ETA 2824 ancestry. It’s got 26 jewels, an hourly beat rate of 28.8k, and the confidence of legions of watch enthusiasts.
Note the serial number. There will be 250 of each variant, and you can choose your number (first come, first served).
Of course, the Canopy Wake One’s most outstanding feature is its forged carbon bezel. It’s not just the material of the insert itself, which is polished to a glossy finish that makes it appear both high-tech and strangely organic at the same time. It is also the contemporary markings with their fat font and chevrons at 15, 30, and 45 — all lumed for maximum utility. It’s the smooth, solid, flawless action through its 120-click unidirectional rotation. It’s the way the bezel and crown mirror each other in their coin edging and insert material, Yes, that’s right. The signed crown wears a forged carbon cap.
Once you have had enough of that, check out the dial. Those applied markers and obelisk hands (all C1 Super-LumiNova) are bold enough to complement the bezel markers, while the rough surface stands in sharp contrast. Add the framed and color-matched date wheel at 6, the slick typeface with open A’s that echo the chevrons, and a zesty pop of red on the second hand’s head, and you have a daily that is richly detailed and yet still exceptionally clean and modern.
The Canopy Wake One is a commendable exercise in balance. Like an old Mercedes-Benz sedan, it is at once rugged yet refined, traditional yet contemporary, and every aspect feels finely engineered and cleanly executed. Unlike a Mercedes, it doesn’t cost a small fortune. The more I wear it, the less I can believe they are charging under $600. I suggest you head over to canopywatchco.com and check it out before they come to their senses.
