One of the hallmarks of our brand is the use of words for hour markers. I've started using this concept back with the 39a then on to the Nereid Argo, both of which were Bauhaus-inspired typographic marvels.

People loved them!

So I decided to create something a bit more true to the marine theme and came up with the Nereid Atlantic. It is based on a nautical instrument called an engine order telegraph or chadburn. This instrument was used to relay instructions to the engine room as to the direction and speed of the ship.

During the design, I thought about creating a successor to the Nereid Argo but that concept belonged more to a bauhaus line than to a marine one.

I had to thought of several concepts including a 'porthole' dial that never got into prototyping phase. Truth be told, there are so many concepts that can be done for the Nereid series but as things go, I had to decide on the Atlantic sub model.

It uses the Miyota cal.9015 so there's a bit of refined specification there. All else, it shares with the Nereid Pacific.

How does it wear? As well as the original Nereid of course.

But what about the fantastic deep blue version below?

That my friends, is for another blog entry. In the meantime, do sign up for the preorders!

The Nereid Pacific has returned with an updated design! It features a cleaner, wider dial with longer hands. Nothing beats the classic marine watch with its utilitarian look and pleasant readability.

Case redesign. I've decided to redo the case design to incorporate a couple of design elements like a brushed mid section and slightly longer lugs, much like our debut model, the 39a. The crown is shorter to make it less intrusive but wider so it still retains grip.

The Nereid Pacific I is ~46mm lug to lug while the successor is 50mm. The reason for this is to allow for the straps to be slightly farther from the case and prevent wear. It's also to be more NATO strap-friendly. However, since the lugs are sloped, it wears smaller than it looks.

Variations. The Nereid Pacific have two dial colors much like first one, namely, the classic white in enamel and deep blue with a sunburst finish.

The white dial has a subtle detail in which all numeral markers are printed as dark blue, only detectable by the wearer. The hands are blued to add to the accents.

Specifications: Miyota cal. 8247 / sapphire crystal front / mineral crystal display back / 316 stainless steel

Dimensions: 42mm case diameter / 13mm case thickness / 50mm lug to lug

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One of the most polarizing complications of a watch is the open heart. But to say it's a complication is kind of underwhelming. After all, I would consider a feature as a complication only if it did something utilitarian (date, GMT, power reserve) or one that is horologically impressive (minute repeater, tourbillion).

The issue. But an open heart is just that -- it exposes what's already in there with not much fan fare. No utility, no horological feat, just standard metal parts made visible by simply cutting open a plate. It's just relatively unimpressive.

To most people, it's a thing of marvel. I mean look at it, it has a jewel in the middle and all. It must be something right? And if you stretch your imagination, the pallet fork that rocks back and forth looks like a two-pronged wizard's staff.

But to the snobbish few (I am one to some extent), it's more of a cheap trick to make it more magnificent than it really is. Like ricing you car. Or increasing your credit card limit. More often than not, it's looked at as a poor man's tourbillion.

The realization. Watches that do make use of open heart movements either simply put a hole in the dial or mount a grill on top of it which does make it tolerable. Others just decorate around the hole which is easy if there are complications beside it like the Miyota cal.82S7. I think the reason it's hard to make such a thing work visually is because the finish of the open heart contrasts ungracefully with the dial: small metal parts versus the pantone colors. Those metal parts aren't even polished to a level like with the hands or the case.

This is somehow not an issue with skeleton watches because at least in those, the idea is to expose the whole movement. For now however, we're not going to debate further if skeleton watches are any better as it does suffer the same stereotyped image as an open heart.

The solution. If I was to design a watch with an open heart, what choices should I take to make it more visually appealing? As mentioned previously, putting a grill on top makes it tolerable but I'd like to do it differently. So my idea is to cover the open heart that is not simply cutting a hole on top yet expose it enough so those who are curious can still look at it beating away.

Find out more how I tackled this idea in a future blog entry.

Credits:
All images pulled from Miyota website.