I have known Nicholas Bowman-Scargill the 4th Managing Director of Fears Watches since the summer of 2016, just before he re-launched the company at that years Salon QP.
Redcliff Continental
Since that time he now has a range of three watches. The original Redcliff, the Redcliff Continental and the mechanical Brunswick. Despite being a a little skeptical about the space on the market for another quartz watch brand , however I like Nicholas and admire what he is doing. I want to help him along by maybe offering his watches the little extra visibility this blog can offer. To this end I have continued to drop hints about getting my hands on one of his watches to review. Then a couple of weeks ago he said he might be able to finally offer me the opportunity – a Redcliff Continental. Which colour combination would I prefer? The sensible person inside me said Blue Dial with Blue strap, a combination that suits the most occasions – although the Red/Red combination was tempting.
The feature that distinguishes the Continental from its regular Redcliff sibling is the addition of the extra time zone window. This feature enables the wearer to keep track on the hour in another part of the world. This is clearly a very useful additional feature for international travellers or for people like me, wondering when it is a good time to call a potential client in Korea.
The Continental Package
Anyone that I have spoken to about Nicholas Bowman-Scargill will tell you he is a man with an eye for detail and this is immediately evident from the moment you have the Continental’s box in your hands, As well as the usual guarantee card, each watch comes with a service record book, much like that of a car, and really nice cleaning cloth featuring a map of the area of Bristol from where Fears originated. The service book does in someway help to solve the intrinsic impersonality of quartz movement, suggesting you do more than take the watch to the nearest corner shop when the battery needs changing. You and the watch will have a history to record.
Moving on to the watch itself. Like the original Redcliff the stainless steel case is a comfortable 38mm which looks like an inspired choice given this years trend away from huge men’s watches. This is a size that can work for both sexes and in both formal or informal occasions. The look of the watch falls very much into the “smart/casual” category. Which makes this an ideal watch for today’s office.
As I have already above the key to Fears is detail and this is what separates these watches from the “quartz competition”. The first feature you notice is the distinctive dial design featuring the BOAC globe invoking thoughts of the glamour of mid-twentieth century travel. This further reinforces the idea that this is a traveller’s watch. An important Fears design cue carried over from the original Redcliff is the the pipette shape used for hands and the indices. These details and the second time zone window just above the 6 position are all very clearly through the sapphire crystal glass, which whilst very clear is to my taste disappointingly flat.
The steel case is really well made and has very nice lines, one morning sitting at my desk I found myself just looking at how the light played across the different angles of the watch when viewed from the side. Another very nice feature of Fears watches is the quick change spring bars on the strap, as a habitual strap swapper this makes life considerably easier for that last minute morning change of plan. Fears straps are handmade from goat’s skin in Belgium by a family-run atelier, which has specialised exclusively in making watch straps for over 40 years. The leather being sourced from Madras in India, this type of leather is chosen for its soft, supple nature, and its strength means the strap can be made thinner than a calf leather strap.
As I mentioned the watch uses a quartz movement, For this Fears have chosen the Swiss made Ronda 515.24D movement. his rare quartz movement offers outstanding accuracy and reliability with its powerful stepping motor.
As well as Blue the Continental is available with a White or Red dial, all priced at £725 at the time of writing.
In conclusion, the Continental is a nice upgrade of the original Redcliff. It features a great deal of intesting detail and is really versatile. Fears is definitely a brand to watch, the first of the well received mechanical Brunswick model will delivered to their owners soon. What next ?