On November 1st 1911, Captain Robert Falcon Scott set out on the Terra Nova Expedition to reach the South Pole. Eleven weeks later, the naval officer became the first British explorer to ever reach the pole, but sadly perished on his return journey. The world was informed of the tragedy when Terra Nova, the ship that took Scott and his team to the Antarctic, reached land in New Zealand over a year later. Within days, Scott became a celebrated hero and national icon. The Haskell, by Marloe Watch Company, is inspired by such great British exploration, and is named after the Haskell Strait, an ocean passage which Scott and his team crossed as they set off from Ross Island in Antarctica.

Designed with the modern day adventurer in mind, the Haskell is robust enough to withstand the daily rigors of the modern traveler and elegant enough for the urban adventurer. It has everything it needs to accompany you every step of the way; as you bustle through the daily commute or trek over the next peak.

The case is a 2-part construction with a gently barrel-shaped profile, reflecting its strong and purposeful design. At 9.4mm high, from caseback to crystal, the Haskell offers exceptional comfort and discretion. Slim and unobtrusive, the Haskell is proudly anchored to your wrist with robust lugs, allowing it to slip comfortably under your cuff.

At 40mm in diameter and coupled with the edge-to-edge dial, the Haskell wears small but reads big. The dial is scalloped, leading from a flat center, curving up at the edges to the underside of the crystal. It looks so close, you feel you could reach down and touch it.

The dial is the watch. It’s everything. The Haskell has a truly intriguing dial; multi-layered, multi-textured, and multi-finished. At first glance, the dial might not look like it, but it has 23 individually applied metal blocks for the hours; each one meticulously finished and set to the metal dial. On each of the metal blocks there is also a layer of BG-W9 luminous material to assist with low-light reading.

Each dial has three sets of printed markings; the train-track minutes and seconds around the scalloped perimeter, Marloe’s logo at 12 o’clock, and in the very center of the dial, a small set of dots adding hour references – in addition to the all-important “Swiss Made” statement.

Then we come to the textures. The white dial has a subtle sandpaper finish in the center, while the sand version has a more pronounced surface. In both cases, the scallop retains a subtle brushed texture. For the green and blue dials, Marloe have chosen a more metallic approach with a sunburst texture in the center and the same finish to the outer scallop as the other dials. Always changing with the light, the four options each have their own character.

The polished date frame forms part of the applied index set and presents a clear, instantly readable presentation of the date. Date complications on dials are usually quite timid. The Haskell doesn’t know such a word.

The hands are meticulously designed to afford quick time reference – the hour hand is short with its own dot track around the center; the minute hand reaching out to the applied indexes and perimeter train-track scale. The sweeping seconds hand, thin with a luminous tip, completes the set. All hands feature counterweights that are identical, for that one moment in each hour when they’re all perfectly aligned; a small detail within a dial full of them.

Marloe typically likes to make a big statement about the other side of their watches – the Cherwell and Lomond both feature exhibition casebacks, whilst the Derwent features a small porthole. For the Haskell, Marloe used the real estate to celebrate the spirit of adventure and reference where the Haskell got its name. The outer polished ring is engraved with information and, in a first for MWC, sequential numbering. The inner section is gently domed to represent the globe, with an engraved and sand-blasted map showing Antarctica; at the very center of the map coordinates lies the South Pole, one of the greatest of all adventures.

Each of the Haskell versions comes with its own beautiful leather strap; supple yet firm, a deep lustrous material that changes appearance as you wear it. The strap is lined with the nubuck leather and finished with a signature polished buckle, including an offset Marloe cog icon.

To withstand the daily rigors of life, travel, and adventure, Marloe have used marine-grade stainless steel with thicker case walls and robust lugs for strength and rigidity. An anti-reflective coated sapphire crystal remains unobtrusive yet reassuringly strong. The Haskell is rated to 100m using a double-sealed caseback and crown to prevent any ingress.

For a Swiss Made watch comes a Swiss movement, and Marloe have specified the dependable ETA 2804-2 manual winding mechanical movement for the Haskell. It’s a petite movement at around 25.6mm in diameter, a mere sliver at 3.35mm thick, and when fully wound will run for over 40 hours. Despite this small frame, the 2804-2 still beats at a brisk 28,800 beats per hour; meaning the running seconds hand moves around the dial at 8 beats per second. Compared to a quartz watch running at one beat per second, the Haskell displays a gloriously buttery smooth sweep to its running second hand – evidence enough that something special ticks within.

Presentation comes in the form of a custom outer shipping box that holds a smaller black box which opens to reveal a beautifully presented celebration booklet and matte black cube form wooden box with engraved logo. Opening this, we are treated to a rare sight in the watch-box world; a non-leather interior. Marloe have opted for a tactile grey fabric interior, with a debossed tan leather label stitched to the inside of the lid bearing the tag “British Design, Swiss Made.” It’s a striking aesthetic and an overall visceral unboxing experience.

The Haskell is priced at £995 (c. $1,300). For the movement, design and presentation, it’s an interesting value proposition and one that, coupled with the serialization and small batch production, is an opportunity to get a hold of what could be the foundation of future success for Marloe Watch Company. marloewatchcompany.com

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