Sponsored Post written for aBlogtoWatch by advertiser.
Every so often a new brand emerges that just seems to hit all the right notes. The past few years have seen a wave of crowdfunded watch campaigns emerge to bring us many iterations of divers, minimalist designs, and way-out concept pieces. While new campaigns are a dime a dozen, and crowdfunded pieces are now often dismissed with little consideration, there’s no doubt Kickstarter has introduced some serious players to the market. A typically Australian sensibility, where the outdoors lifestyle heavily influences design, is the calling card of Ayers Watches; a new micro-brand showing real potential to be one of the brands to be taken seriously.
Their first watch is the Metropolitan. Refined enough for the office, but rugged enough to escape outdoors, this could well be your new daily timepiece. Inspired by the rich Art Deco architecture in their hometown of Melbourne, The Metropolitan is recognizable in its retro inspiration, but maintains modern simplicity.
The 44mm cushion case is masculine without being flashy and still wears very well on a 6.5” wrist. Its brushed finish and the screw-down crown seated neatly between its guards project a sporty presence, and the sapphire crystal aligned slightly higher than the case offers some scratch protection to the surrounding stainless steel.
Specifications
- Movement: Miyota 9015 Premium Slim Automatic Movement
- Dial & Lume: Full Swiss Super-LumiNova® dial, Swiss Super-LumiNova® hour & minute hands and indices. MT-1 (White BGW9 on Dark Blue), MT-2 (Dark Grey on White BGW9), MT-3 (Dark Orange on White BGW9)
- Case: 44mm Stainless Steel 316L Cushion Case with Exhibition Caseback
- Crystal: (Top) Sapphire crystal with Anti-reflective coating and (bottom) sapphire crystal
- Bracelet: Stainless Steel 316L Bracelet with butterfly clasps
- Water Resistance: 10ATM (100m)
- Dimensions: 44mm x 52mm (49mm diagonal)
- Thickness: 10.50mm
- Lug to Lug: 51.20mm
- Lug Width: Internal width 14mm and external width 26mm
- Crown: Screw-down
- Features: Date window at 3 o’clock, serialized Backers’ Edition engraving
- Warranty: 2 Years
The 100m water-resistance rating confirms this is no basic dress watch. However, the engine turned decoration on the inside surfaces of the butterfly clasp reveal a meticulous attention to aesthetic details. The ever-popular Miyota 9015 keeps case thickness to just 10.5mm from sapphire crystal to sapphire caseback, impressive considering it contains the striking piece of 3 dimensional work that is the sandwich dial.
The brushed H-link bracelet tapers from 26mm to a 21mm butterfly clasp and the solid links give the recognizable weight of a good quality watch, ensuring no bracelet ‘jangle’ that is often felt with hollowed bands. The full Swiss Super-LumiNova® very generously applied on the dial, hour, and minute arms is where this piece really comes into its own. The way this watch lights up at night is nothing short of striking, and the contrast from refined daytime piece to attention-grabber never fails to impress.
The Metropolitan is available in three options; white hands and indices on a blue dial, orange on a white dial, and dark grey on white, and will retail at $980 USD. Available for pre-order at around $500 USD currently on Kickstarter, this is a no-brainer for anyone looking for a versatile, contemporary, original piece. ayerswatches.com
