Fears is celebrating the one year anniversary of the opening of their flagship showroom in Bristol, England with the release of a pair of watches in Mallard Green, a color that has never been used on a regular production Fears watch before. This release marks what the brand says will be the beginning of a new “Boutique Editions” collection that will expand to every future model in the Fears catalog.
The first watches in the Boutique Editions collection are the Brunswick 38 and Brunswick 40, two representations of the classic cushion cased design that is at the core of the Fears design language. The dark green color used for the new dials is based on the tones seen on the mallard drake duck, and has hints of gray and blue that give the green an additional depth. The finishing process for these dials involves a silver galvanic coating being applied prior to the hand painting of each individual dial with a translucent varnish. Fears says that green pigment is added a drop at a time to achieve the desired tone. The dials also have a sunburst finish which is designed to catch light in interesting ways, and showcase the depth of the green tones.
The dial layout differs slightly from the 38mm watch to the 40mm version. The larger watch is effectively a sector dial design, with an outer ring for the Arabic numerals and minute track in a high contrast white. The inner section has a very subtle “micro guilloche” pattern that contrasts with the outer portion, which is given a brushed finish. The 38mm version features a subsidiary seconds dial at the 6:00 position, with the rest of the dial rendered in a sunburst pattern emanating from the center. Both dials feature hand-applied, diamond polished Arabic numerals in the signature “Edwin” typeface favored by Fears.
Besides the new dial color, specs for these watches mimic what we’ve seen from previous iterations of the Brunswick 38 and Brunswick 40. The 38mm version runs on a manually wound ETA 7001 caliber with a 40 hour power reserve, while the 40mm Brunswick is powered by an automatic ETA 2824-2 with the date functionality (and phantom “click”) removed. The larger, somewhat sportier Brunswick is mounted to the excellent Fears bracelet, a five link design in matching stainless steel, while the 38mm version is paired to a leather strap in a gray color chosen to complement the dial.
Something to note with these new Boutique Edition watches is that they are not limited editions, but permanent additions to the Fears collection that will be sold only at the Bristol showroom and through the brand’s Owners’ Club website. The retail pricing on the new Mallard Green watches is the same as other watches in the Brunswick collection, with the 38mm version coming in at £3,350 and the 40mm watch selling for £3,750 (both including VAT). More information can be found on the Fears website here.
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