The BOLDR Odyssey Bronze Gets A Dial Makeover

Boldr Supply has introduced three new watches to their Odyssey Bronze collection, each sporting a new dial color and bezel treatment. Like the existing Odyssey Bronze watches, these are not for the faint of heart, clocking in at a healthy 45.5mm in diameter, and featuring a geometric case with lines that take the shortest possible route between points. The new watches ditch the dial texture and get three new colors while keeping all the impressive specs intact. It’s big, it’s brash, and it’s capable.

There’s no hiding the heft with this one, and that’s kind of the point. And while the numbers may seem intimidating, a fitted rubber strap that allows some curvature make this watch as wearable as it possibly can be. At 17mm thick, and 53mm in total length, the new Odyssey Bronze provides a rather large canvas for the interesting case design and lovely dial shades. The case is like origami, with broad flat surfaces that meet at consistent angles, meaning there is not much in the way of organic curvature here. For it’s size, you’re getting a whopping 500M depth rating with this one. 

Constructed of CuSn8 bronze, the case is evenly matte in texture but smooth to the touch. It’s not too light or dark, it looks like bronze, and of course, will age like bronze. The new dial colors are well suited to the case color, offering slate grey, prussian blue, and pine green, each slightly desaturated in appearance to match the tone of the case. This was a smart move as the case itself has a huge amount of personality, and the dial plays more of a supporting role here rather than competing with it.

The large circular hour markers are something called Lumicast, and feature a 3 dimensional appearance, standing tall on the dial. They are constructed of ceramic and Super Luminova, and give off an impressive amount of glow from top to bottom when activated. The look is nifty and again adds a subtle detail to enjoy without going overboard. A closer look and you’ll also notice the color matched date wheel at 6 o’clock, which also does a good job of not calling much attention to itself. 

While the watch easily overpowers my wrist, I like the approach here in that it embraces the material and sharp, geometric design with gusto. This doesn’t look like a normal sized watch that was scaled up, it looks like a watch that was designed to be this size, and in my opinion, would feel a bit strange sized down. That’s a credit to Boldr’s distinctive design language, which is in full effect here.

The rubber strap made from fluoroelastomer (called Druber) is supple and doesn’t get too sticky on the wrist, again making this watch as wearable as it’s going to get. The strap integrates flush against the case and creates a rounded fit that helps in securing the heft of the watch. There’s not much taper to speak of and a large bronze buckle holds everything together. 

Inside, Boldr is using an automatic NH35 movement from Seiko, a perfectly capable unit that keeps the price at a reasonable $649. Each colorway is limited to just 100 examples, further compounding the value proposition here. If you’ve been bummed by the resurgence of smaller watches lately this one should be on your radar. It gets the vibe of the Tudor Black Bay Bronze with a more unique case design a few grand cheaper. Boldr.