Oak & Oscar has just launched its second chronograph, the Atwood, a modern take on vintage racing chronographs that’s powered by a manually wound Sellita AMT5100M. The movement is a derivative of the Valjoux 7750 that has a few tricks up its sleeve, namely a column wheel and flyback functionality.

Chicago-based Oak & Oscar was founded in 2015, making it part of the early wave of ‘micro brands.’ Over the past nine years, the brand has managed to develop its own recognisable minimalist aesthetic across a range of versatile go-anywhere, do-anything sports watches.

Initial Thoughts

I tend to be fond of Oak & Oscar’s designs, and a lot of that has to do with the expert use of colour. The Atwood is offered in three colourways that are each appealing in their own right, and will feel familiar to fans of the brand.

The brand’s signature orange seconds hand is complemented by matching accents on the sub-dials, a stylistic choice that evokes sporty ’70s chronographs like the Tudor Monte Carlo. But the design still manages to feel fresh, thanks in part to the brand’s own strikingly modern typeface.

The Atwood is the brand’s second chronograph, after the Jackson which debuted in 2017. The Atwood addresses one of the few shortcomings of the Jackson, which is the latter’s 14.5 mm case thickness. The 39 mm Atwood is comparatively slim at just 12.9 mm, a figure that includes the domed sapphire crystal, meaning that visually it will appear even thinner.

While the dimensions are appealing, if I could change one thing about the Atwood it would probably be the case styling. While the fully brushed finish feels appropriate for the design and the dimensions are near Goldilocks territory, the design feels simple, bordering on generic. While I suppose that fits the brand’s minimalist aesthetic and emphasises the well-proportioned dial, it feels like a missed opportunity.

Oak & Oscar tends to offer a lot of watch for the money, and that’s true for the Atwood, priced at US$2,450 on a leather strap or US$2,650 on a stainless steel bracelet. This makes the Atwood cheaper than rivals from Massena Lab or Nivada Grenchen, despite the fact that it offers a more original design and a higher-spec movement.

What’s in a name?

Easter Eggs

The Atwood is available in three colourways, including one panda format and the other two in reverse panda, with a choice of either a warm grey or navy blue dial. Like other Oak & Oscar watches, the specific shades of each colour are well-considered, and appealing.

While the colours are different, all three dial options share the same sandwich-style construction, which suits the aesthetic and contributes to a satisfying sense of depth.

Like the Jackson, the Atwood’s dial also features two clever Easter Eggs. The first is a colour-matched secret signature underneath the Oak & Oscar logo that aligns perfectly with the counterweight of the chronograph seconds hand (when it’s pointing to the 30 second mark).

The second is a tachymeter scale that doesn’t stop at 60 units per hour, but instead counts down to 54. This quirk is a nod to the 1895 Chicago Times-Herald race, the first official road race in the United States, which charted a 54-mile course around the city.

One thing I do like about the case is the large crown, which not only looks good but should also make winding the watch more enjoyable. Specifically, winding the AMT5100M, which is essentially a manually wound Sellita-made derivative of the Valjoux 7750, upgraded by the firm’s AMT Manufacture division to feature a blued column wheel and flyback functionality.

The movement ticks at 4 Hz and has a power reserve of 56 hours, and has a lot in common with the Sellita SW510 M BH b used by the Massena Lab Uni-Racer and Nivada Grenchen Chronomaster, but the latter two lack both flyback and column wheel switching.

The Atwood is available with either a Horween leather strap or a fairly generic three-link Oyster-style bracelet. Bland looks aside, the bracelet is well equipped, featuring a nice taper from 20 mm to 16 mm at the micro-adjust clasp, and female endlinks, which shorten the effective lug-to-lug length to enhance the fit across a variety of wrist sizes.

Key facts and price

Oak & Oscar Atwood

Diameter: 39 mm
Height: 12.9 mm
Material: Stainless steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 50 m

Movement: Cal. AMT5100M
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, flyback chronograph
Winding: Manual
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Power reserve: 58 hours

Strap: Stainless steel bracelet or Horween leather strap; a green nylon strap is included with either option

Limited edition: No
Availability: Watches will begin shipping in late summer through early fall of 2024.
Price: US$2,650 (on bracelet) or US$2,450 (on strap)

For more, visit Oakandoscar.com

To mark 20 years of its first boutique, and also 20 years of limited editions, F.P. Journe has created its final limited edition of any sort. Limited to 200 pieces, the F.P. Journe Chronographe FB is a flyback chronograph with big date that’s powered by the manual-wind cal. 1518.2. Like past boutique anniversary editions, this has a titanium case with pink gold accents.

Initial thoughts

In terms of intrinsic attributes, the Chronographe FB scores well on all counts. It is a good looking watch that is priced well.

The FB doesn’t depart from the established aesthetic for boutique editions, which is a good thing since the titanium-and-gold combination is appealing. The watch is classical F.P. Journe in terms of dimensions at 40 mm wide and just over 10 mm high, which makes it elegantly slim.

Styling aside, the FB is also notable as it is equipped with a new calibre. Few brands design new movements for a small-run limited edition. Admittedly the cal. 1518.2 inside is based on the current split-seconds movement, but it is still a new, different construction.

Technically, the movement is not as much of an achievement as say the FFC or Vagabondage III, but it is executed well, and the watch is priced right for the complication.

As is typical for majority of F.P. Journe watches, the Chronographe FB is reasonably priced at retail, just CHF90,000 before taxes. Accessibility, rather than affordability, is instead the problem. That’s true despite the 200 piece run is bigger than any past F.P. Journe limited edition. The larger run is logical considering the demand for its watches and also the fact that this is the final chapter.

Hello and farewell

A country dear to François-Paul Journe for cultural and person reasons, Japan is home to his brand’s first-ever boutique. Opened in September 2003, the Tokyo boutique is located along a quiet street in the upmarket district of Omotesando, not far from a well-known museum specialising in East Asian and Japanese art.

The building that contains the two-storey boutique was designed by Tadao Ando, while the boutique’s interior was the work of Seihachi Sagawa and François-Paul Journe, and formed the template for all future F.P. Journe boutiques.

Now there are a dozen boutiques around the world. Over the years, the brand as periodically released Tokyo Boutique Anniversaire limited editions to dedicated to each boutique. The last one was the Centigraphe Souverain Anniversaire of 2016.

The Chronographe FB sticks to the template established by prior anniversary editions: a ruthenium-coated dial and titanium case with pink gold pushers and crown.

Stamped with the customary hobnail guilloche, the dial is ruthenium coated, giving it a dark grey finish. It’s matched with rose gold-tone print for the numerals and minute scale, as well as rose gold-plated hands. For contrast, the tachymeter scale on the periphery is silvered.

And finally the twin chronograph counters are in clear sapphire, a detail also found in the brand’s other chronograph models.

The dial has a two-disc date display at six o’clock

The titanium case is entirely polished, with the crown and pushers in rose gold for a two-tone effect. Inside the case is even more gold: the bridges and base plate of the movement are in 18k red gold, as is tradition for F.P. Journe.

The ca. 1518.2 is essentially a simplified version of the cal. 1518 split-seconds movement found in the lineSport Chronographe Rattrapante.

It does away with the split-seconds function, and is instead a single chronograph with a flyback function. The movement does, however, retain the unusual oscillating pinion found in the split-seconds version.

Key facts and price

F.P. Journe Chronographe FB
Ref. FB

Diameter: 40 mm
Height: 10.4 mm
Material: Titanium with 18k pink gold crown and pushers
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: Cal. 1518.2
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, flyback chronograph, and big date
Winding: Manual
Frequency: Unavailable
Power reserve: 80 hours

Strap: Alligator strap with folding clasp

Limited edition: 200 pieces
Availability: At F.P. Journe boutiques and retailers
Estimate: CHF90,000 before taxes

For more information, visit Fpjourne.com.