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The Seiko made VK61A MechaQuartz movement has become quite the darling of the Kickstarter watch crowd. We have seen a number of releases featuring this “hybrid” movement. And for good reason, it’s a movement that comes pretty close to replicating the action of a mechanical chronograph in a quartz movement, thereby keeping the cost lower than it would be with a mechanical chronograph movement. Another watch has popped up with the MechaQuartz movement with a very minimal and clean style that is worth a look.
The brand is Meshable Watches based out of Germany, who have produced one watch already, the One (now sold-out). Their second watch has a similar look but of course with the chronograph as mentioned and is simply named the Meshable Chrono. The tag line for the Chrono is “a watch designed for designers” and the team states they took cues from street culture and architecture. The design of the watch is one of simplicity. The dial is black across the three case options (more on that in a minute) with the markers done in a very subtle fashion; the color is close to the dial color so they blend rather than pop. The two sub-dials are at 12 (minute counter for the chronograph) and 6 (running seconds) with the logo coming in subtly at 9 o’clock. The only contrast on the dial is the date window which is the standard black numbers on a white dial. It’s the only interruption in an otherwise uniform look.
The hands of the watch are a simple stick affair. No flourishes or tapering, just straight stick hands. The choice of hands does a good job of reflecting the minimal design and they appear to be fine as far as legibility. No mention in the Kickstarter if the hands have any luminescent material but my guess is they do not, which is not untypical of watches in this category.
The case of the Meshable Chrono is 39mm in diameter and will come in three finishes: rose, black and silver. The dial is protected by a sapphire anti-reflective coated crystal. The lugs on the Chrono are 18mm and each model will come with a complimentary strap and a mesh bracelet. The black case comes with a black leather strap and a black PVD bracelet; the rose with a dark brown strap and a rose finished bracelet; lastly the silver model has a dark brown strap and silver mesh bracelet. Each of the straps and bracelets have quick change pins for easy swapping.
If you are into very clean looking watches without a lot of bells and whistles then the Meshable Chrono should be worth your look. The Kickstarter campaign runs until Tuesday, November 10, 2015 at 1:56 PM UTC. As this is written they are close to their goal of $16,861 (USD). Prices during the fundraising campaign start at a very resonable €139 ($156 USD) for a case color of your choice. After the 50 each of that pledge level are gone prices rise to €159 ($179 USD). You can, as usual, head over to the Meshable Chrono Kickstarter page for full info and to support the campaign.
