I’ve been working in the watch industry for many years now, and I’ve yet to come across a porcelain dial watch besides the Seiko Presage Arita that incorporates any type of artistry on it, that is until a couple weeks ago when I was contacted by Halcyon Watch asking me to take a look at one of their new creations. They sent me their Dragon watch, and I’ve been quite enamoured with it, it’s so unusual and beautiful that I think I’ll be shooting a video soon to show you guys as well.
Apparently porcelain dials are extremely rare to come by due to the difficulties of meeting wrist watch specifications, such as the specific thickness of the dial which usually needs to be under 1.5mm. Just imagine how delicate a slice of porcelain would be under that thickness.
When I checked the definition of Halcyon on Google, it says: “denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful”. Now when looking at the Dragon dial we have here, I kind of get that vibe from the gorgeous artistry which was created by porcelain artist Ms. Sun Dena.
The Porcelain Dial
Let’s jump into what were all here for first, which is the Porcelain dial with the artistic dragon etched onto it. Upon first look you probably wouldn’t guess the amount of testing that’s gone in to making this dial, as we’re looking at the final product. In order to get this dial the way it is, with the correct amount of sheen, and the proper sizing to fit inside the watch case Halcyon went back and forth for three years using high-end laboratory equipment from Jingdezhen Porcelain University. After hundreds of test they ended up with only three versions of a complete dial, they chose one of them and went into full production using that sample.
Gazing closely at the dial is like looking at a hand painted mural, just in miniature form – the level of detail gone into the artistry is astounding. What I find quite amazing as well, is that you can really tell this art is set against porcelain, there’s no mistaking the type of lustre that it emits. The bottom half of the dial has a little bit of a mother-of-pearl sheen, but as you shift upwards into the sky and clouds it’s essentially matte and reminds me of a bone china tea cup material. Halcyon calls this a fire enamel painting.
The small dial with the minute and hour hands located off center at the top of the dial is remarkably sharp as well. There’s just something about the black against the egg-shell white porcelain that’s giving off a luxurious definition appearance. The dial exudes quality and uniqueness and I’m blown away by it.
925 Silver Case and Sizing
Here’s another thing we don’t see too often, a solid sterling silver case. I thought the watch had different lustre to it than steel, and it felt slightly heavier as well when first handling it. After pondering this choice for a while I really think the silver case compliments the porcelain dial, there’s just something organic about the two materials that goes well together. I’m also curious how this watch would age, perhaps beautifully as it builds natural oxidization patina over time.
For a time only dress watch the Halcyon Dragon is slightly large coming in at 43mm, but the size on wrist is mitigated by the very slender and short lugs. It’s very wearable on my 6.6 inch wrist and has a nice sleek wrist presence.
The watch case is also slightly thick due to the restrictions from using a porcelain dial and in combination with the movement.
Movement
Halcyon went the extra mile to include an automatic movement, which I think was a great idea. Smaller startup brands are starting to get the drift now, that us watch collectors really prefer something mechanical inside our watches.
They chose the Seiko NH05 which isn’t really anything special, but at least it’s reliable and again adds to the overall organic vibe of the watch instead of a battery powered quartz. The Seiko NH05 has a power reserve of 50 hours, beats at 21,600 bph, and uses a bidirectional rotor also known as a magic lever for this specific movement. The height of the movement is 5.92mm which again is proving our point of the slightly thick case.
For more information visit the official Halcyon website here.
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