Product: Brathwait’s Classic Slim Watch
Who tried it: AmongMen contributor Mike Dojc
Retail price: $185
Available: brathwait.com
In 1631, a suave bloke named Richard Brathwait, schooled in the ivory towers of Oxford and Cambridge, codified gentlemanly conduct, etiquette, and manners with “The Complete Guide to the English Gentleman.” Nearly four hundred years later a classy wristwatch maker pays homage to the pioneering gent, proudly taking his name.
Brathwait uses the same materials and factory expertise as watch brands that sell for more than five fold the price by selling directly to the consumer and cutting out middlemen. But what makes them really unique is how straight forward and transparent they are about watch component costs parsing everything from a Miyota Cal. 9015 high-beat movement ($55) to rose-gold case coating ($14.95). Sure, it’s a marketing tactic and it helps them arrive at their affordable luxury bona fides honestly, but it also pulls back the curtain on the pecuniary minutia of watchmaking.
40mm wide and 7.5 mm tall, this elegant beauty is a perfect fit peeping out under the cuff of a dress shirt. The Classic Slim features Swiss quartz movement and a sapphire glass dome so you get a lot of bang for your watch bucks. Brathwait straps are also conveniently interchangeable, there’s a quick release lever on the inside you push to swap’em out. So you can go from stainless steel mesh to top grain Italian tanned leather in a jiffy depending on the outfit pairing.
Keeping with its gent reputation, Brathwait timepieces 12 month warranty is contingent upon buyers answering in the affirmative to a short questionaire: “Do you bow when greeting others? Do you open the door for your date? Are you the first to give up your seat? If not are you willing to start today?”
