WATCH REVIEWS

THE SPECS

• 40.5mm stainless steel case with 100m water resistance • Sellita SW510 MP Elaboré automatic movement with 62-hour power reserve • £1,750, farer.com

HANDS-ON WITH THE FARER

SEGRAVE MONOPUSHER CHRONOGRAPH

A refreshing twist on a decidedly vintage complication that’s as affordable as it is fun

I love monopushers. There, I’ve said it, my dirty little secret is out. I’m well aware that they’re intrinsically not as useful as the kind of dual pusher fare we’re all more familiar with; the inability to stop and start without resetting limits their uses slightly. But with that kind of thinking mechanical watches would have fully died out with the advent of quartz.

Instead, the fact that I’m sitting here writing about an outdated method of timekeeping shows that there’s room for the archaic complication. And while monopushers are seeing the light of day more and more – Vertex, Montblanc and, most recently, Bamford Watch Department have all given them a go – I’ve been waiting with bated breath for something more modern than vintage. Farer’s Segrave is just that.

On the surface, a black dial with white indexes seems far too classic for the British brand. But in true Farer fashion, they’ve opted for a big-eye layout, with the larger of the two subdials in high-contrast white for stopwatch minutes. The contrast is in more than colour too; not only is it inset, but it’s been given a radial, turned texture to set it apart.

Like the white-on-black date at six o’clock, the running second subdial at nine all but blends in. Or it would if it weren’t for the bright orange hand. Farer being Farer, that’s not the only hint of colour, with the chronograph minutes opting for green and the chronograph seconds an eyecatching sky blue. As ever, it’s a combination that on paper shouldn’t work but, as I’m sure you can see from our images, really, really does.

It’s not all about the dial though. The 40.5mm monobloc bellytanker case is in a word, lovely. It feels relatively small on the wrist, partially thanks to the sizing, partially to the drop away lugs, but still has a nice heft to it. The knurled sides are a great touch too, adding detail to a part of the watch most wearers – and very few designers – ever bother to look at.

The one downside is that I’d say it could be a touch bigger. 40.5mm is a nice, retro size but it doesn’t leave much room for the telemetre around the circumference of the dial, which to my screen-fried eyes is a bit hard to read.

The movement inside is a Sellita, but not your entry-level workhorse. Farer has opted for the SW510 MP Elaboré, a monopusher movement with a distinctly non-entry-level of finishing. Blued screws, a touch of guilloche and a cool, navyblue Farer rotor mean that the exhibition caseback is welcome. Aside from the finishing, the movement has a substantial 62-hour power reserve, which is even more welcome.

I have felt more mechanically satisfying monopushers in the past, but then I’ve played with a lot more expensive ones to boot. It’s solid enough and responsive, so I can’t complain that it doesn’t have the heft of a piece of haute horology. In fact, for £1,750, this is a lot of watch.

The knurled sides are a great touch, adding detail to a part of the watch most wearers – and very few designers – ever bother to look at

Unlike other Farer collections so far, there is only one variation of the Segrave, which makes me wonder when the rest are coming out. It’s not like them to miss the opportunity to flex their design muscles with a few funky twists on the formula. Still, it does come with plenty of different strap options, so you can pick out which of the colours you want to show off.

A monopusher is a difficult thing to pull off, and there are multiple reasons why there just aren’t that many of them around, let alone ones that actually have a bit of fun with the formula. I’ve liked Farer for a while, so I was expecting good things from the Segrave; now it might just be my favourite piece in their collection.

£1,750, farer.com

THE SPECS

• Gucci 25H Automatic • 40mm stainless steel case with 30m water resistance • GG727.25 calibre automatic movement with 60-hour power reserve • £7,500 for the steel edition, gucci.com

HANDS-ON WITH THE GUCCI’S

NEW HIGH WATCHMAKING LINE

The legendary Italian fashion label sets their sights on sports luxe horology with the 25H

When I heard that Gucci were ploughing forward with their fine watchmaking wing, I wasn’t all that excited, and I doubt I was the only one. Other than the likes of Louis Vuitton and Hermes, fashion labels aren’t known for the… classiest of designs, Gucci included. But, they insisted, this was their new entry into high-end watches, a shiny new chapter in the Italian brand’s horological story.

Fortunately, when I got the Gucci 25H in my hands I realised that I really shouldn’t have been worried. The watches are, perhaps unsurprisingly, very well done.

First off, the 25H wears its inspirations on it’s sleeve and while Gucci may be a little late to the Gerald Genta-hosted sports luxe party, it definitely belongs there. The label started making watches back in 1972 (bring that nugget out at your next watch trivia party), right at the time the Royal Oak was first born, and that legacy is readily apparent here.

Rather than the chunky, muscular look of that legendary AP however, the Gucci 25H follows more in the line of the rounder Nautilus and more modern Piaget Polo, albeit with a striking, monochromatic look, particularly on the full steel model. The bi-colour’s a bit cooler in a decidedly retro way, but I love the tone-on-tone of the steel; it has more of an industrial twang. It’s not particularly original and feels like playing it safe given the current zeitgeist, but that could be exactly what Gucci need.

Across the board the 25H is incredibly well finished and the integrated bracelet is up there with the Royal Oak. There’s also a lot less branding than you might expect. The quartz versions of these watches include Gucci logo hour markers, but here there’s just the typical signature at 12 o’clock. It’s refreshing to see and the engraved red calibre number at six o’clock is a particularly cool touch.

The main dial includes yacht decking-adjacent bars, spaced slightly further apart than the Nautilus or Omega Aqua Terra for a more industrial feel. With the brickwork look of the bracelet it has the feel of an old factory building converted into a series of seriously high-end apartments.

On the wrist, the ultra-slim nature of the 25H’s 38mm case, combined with that bracelet makes for an incredibly comfortable piece. Beware though. As I’ve been told by a more hirsute member of the Oracle Team you do risk a few hairs between those links.

Inside is what will make or break this new direction for Gucci, a solid automatic movement. I say solid as it has some serious horological chops behind it. Kerring, owners of Gucci, also make Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin and the calibre GG727.25 is made in the same manufacture out of La Chaux-

With the brickwork look of the bracelet it has the feel of an old factory building converted into a series of seriously high-end apartments

de-Fonds. The micro-rotor-equipped movement has a solid 60-hour power reserve and is a lovely sight besides, with bars matching those on the dial, albeit slightly finer.

Now, there are tourbillons in the new 25H collection and are pretty much the same design just with said complication open at six o’clock. Personally, I’m not interested in those nearly as much as the pair of automatics. Just throwing a tourbillon into the mix does not a great watch make. The overall sports luxe design exemplified in the automatics is what really matters.

Gucci still have plenty of work to do to hit the watchmaking heights that LV, Bulgari and Hermes have achieved over the years, but not only do they have the heritage to back it up, they have some serious expertise on their side. If the 25H is their first foray, then I’m far more excited than I ever thought I would be to see what comes next.

Steel edition, £7.500, gucci.com