Introducing the All New BOLDR x Pokémon Voyage Collection

What’s your pop culture blindspot? Everyone has at least one. I know people who have devoured every important prestige TV hit over the last two decades except The Sopranos, for example. And then you’ve got music obsessives who have an encyclopedic knowledge of the most obscure indie rock from a specific period of time (usually whenever they went to college) but might have ignored an entire genre for years. These blindspots are nothing to be ashamed of. No one can possibly be exposed to everything, and there are so many variables involved when it comes to access – it’s easy for something to slip right by you if you don’t have a subscription to a particular cable channel, use the right music streaming service, or are on the cusp of aging out of the target market for something. I have two pop culture blindspots I’m prepared to volunteer today. One is anything related to Harry Potter. I’ve never read the books, and I have only the foggiest memories of seeing what I think is one of the first two or three of the movies. The second is anything related to Pokémon. 

It feels good to get that off my chest. I honestly don’t even know what Pokémon is, really. It’s an animated series, right? But also a card game? I do know that certain Pokémon cards sell for amounts that could finance dream watches for many of us. I’m also vaguely aware of Pokémon video games, but I’ve never played one. The truth is, I don’t know a Charmander from a Chimchar (I looked both of those up). I just know Pokémon is massively popular and has been for years, and sometimes there’s a watch related to this particular universe that sends to me to Wikipedia for a crash course, and this is one of those times. 

Here we have four new watches from BOLDR Supply Company, each featuring a different Pokémon (I’ve been told it would be redundant to write “Pokémon character,” as the word “Pokémon” refers to the creatures themselves – I’m learning). For this run, we get watches inspired by Pikachu, Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur. Each watch is rendered in a colorway that matches that of the Pokémon it corresponds with, which means, well, a lot of color. These watches derive from animated characters aimed (ostensibly) at children, so vibrant oranges and blues are well represented. Each watch bears a subtle (no, really!) outline of its Pokémon near 6:00, but otherwise, you’d be hard pressed to identify these watches as being associated with any particular game/series/franchise.

While these watches will obviously be snapped up primarily by Pokémon fans and collectors, for more general enthusiasts who are tracking what BOLDR is up to, it’s worth noting that these watches represent entries in the new BOLDR Voyage collection, which they describe as a refresh of the popular Voyager series. All have stainless steel cases measuring 40mm in diameter, with matching steel bracelets. Like all BOLDR watches, these are designed to be robust and tough, and fit for outdoor adventure (they have 200 meters water resistance, screw down crowns, and so forth), but also fun and colorful, so the Pokémon link really makes sense. 

In terms of movements, three of the four use fully mechanical Seiko-made calibers. The Pikachu and Charizard watches use the NH38 automatic movement, and the Blastoise uses the NH37 caliber, which features a 24 hour subdial at 10:00, which combined with a 12 hour bezel makes it suitable for tracking a second time zone (ditto for Charizard). The Venusaur watch features a VK64 meca-quartz movement, which uses a quartz regulator for timekeeping, but has a separate chronograph execution with which is operated mechanically. 

If you’ve read this far and are thinking “I can’t wait to collect catch them all,” and you happen to be in America, you might be disappointed to learn that due to what I can only imagine are deeply complex licensing restrictions, these watches will only be available in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Not ideal if you live somewhere else, but exploring the enthusiast forums should lead you to options if you’re creative, industrious, and serious about your Pokémon. At the very least, you can learn more about the collection and sign up for the waiting list here.

The retail price for each watch is $449, and they are scheduled to go on sale via BOLDR’s website on April 27.