Bedat & Co. has an interesting history for not being such an old brand. Life, lost, and then reborn, the brand today is now trying to attack Cartier’s market share for women’s pieces. During the brand’s former life (and potentially again in its future) it had a few men’s models as well. One of my favorite of them (and one of the only ones) was the Bedat & Co. Number (No.) 8.

Wit a sort of cushion shaped case that had a round dial, the watch comes in a few flavors. There was a power reserve model, and one with a bit date, as well as this most basic version that happened to also be a limited edition model. This is known as the Ref. 878 series of Bedat & Co. No. 8 men’s watches. Each of the versions (a few steel, gold, and maybe a platinum one) were offered as a limited edition of just 878 pieces.

The dials started with Bedat’s really nice hands. For good luck, the number 8 was place at o’clock in contrast to the other applied baton hour markers. Each model has a deeply textured dial with a sunburst motif. The dials came in three colors, being black, silver, and slate. For the life of me I can’t find the size of the case. I’ve seen them, and I think they are about 40mm wide, but I can’t find the measurement online.

Unlike the rest of the No. 8 collection for men, the 878 models features a manually wound movement being the ETA calibre 7001 with a subsidary seconds dial. Arguably the only dis-tasteful part of the dials is the label “Limited Edition” printed in the subdial. One of the coolest elements of the men’s Number 8 watch was the fact that some of them came with woven leather straps – you know, just like woven belts. This feature really made them unique. A lot of these 878 watches are floating around. Street prices for them are a few thousand below their original cost, and you have just about every variant to choose form. A steel one will run you about $4,000 for a well-made, attractive men’s watch with a sophisticated yet casual look to it. Double that price for a gold one. See one of these Bedat & Co. No. 8 Ref 878 watches for men on James List here.