In an industry full of heritage re-issues, slow incremental design changes, and at times less than inspiring startup brands – it’s a breath of fresh air to sit back and enjoy the creations from a brand such as Mr Jones Watches based out of London, UK.
The watch we have on-hand for review today is “The Golden Hour”, an eclectic and emotionally moving creation by artist Andy Wilx who also resides in London. When commencing a watch review here on the WRB we tend to focus on aspects such as the fit/finish, wearability, and movement powering the watch, but in this case here my focus has shifted to the stunning artistry of the dial, the symbolism behind Andy’s art – and the manner of reading the time.
Story Behind the Dial
The story behind the rather exuberant dial is eloquent, and after reading the design inspiration written on the pamphlet included with the watch many of the small details began to make sense. The overall influence behind the art is that of a classic English Garden. Andy attempted to capture the vibe created by a living English Garden, including its neat manicured appearance, flora, and living creatures like rabbits, birds and symbolizing harmonious community with the large bee in the center of the dial.
Not only does the dial include all of these aspects in gorgeous hand painted art form, but various aspects of the dial bring motion into the mix. The SW200 Swiss automatic movement displays the minutes with the red orchid, and the hours are shown using the pointer on the sun dial. The moving seconds can be found under the bee – which actually gives off a shimmering glitter due to the motion.
Andy’s ideology behind the story of the dial is quite remarkable, especially when considering that he’s an artist first, and less so a watchmaker. It’s this unique aspect that really sets Mr Jones Watches apart from the competition, instead of following the crowd they’ve solidified their own route in the watch industry without attempting to “reinvent the wheel”.
The dial is on the larger end of the spectrum in terms of sizing, but due to the busy appearance of the art it really does not appear too large or empty. The use of a large variety of subdued earthy colors, and some 24k gold, allows the dial to really comes alive on wrist.
Fit and Finish
This is by no means a small watch which you’ve probably guessed due to the XL size label. The watch comes in with a 45mm case size, and 52.9mm lug to lug distance – wrists larger than 7 inches will certainly appreciate the larger sizing of this watch. If you have a smaller wrist you could indeed still pull it off though, as the black coated stainless steel case and overall darker theme of the watch gives the illusion of an average sized watch – instead of for example a bright white dial with a light attracting raw steel case.
The attention to detail in terms of the finishing of the watch, like the polishing of the case, and the cleanliness of the dial is actually quite impressive for its price point of 695.00 GBP. The caseback also has a display window showing off the mechanical movement. The lugs curve really well, contouring the wrist which provides a sleek comfortable fit. All this to say that Mr Jones is not just focusing on unique artistic watches with a message, but they also care about the end consumer, or collector, who wants to wear this watch as a daily.
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