Any readers who might have visited this blog before will be aware that I have known Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, the 4th Managing Director of Fears Watches for a few years. I was therefore very pleased to receive an invitation to the celebration of this important anniversary. Given the recent lack of any watch connected social life the invitation itself regardless of the location would have been accepted in double quick time, but this party was held on the top three floors of the Shard in London. Apparently the tallest building in Europe – wow.
The event as well as a great excuse for a party was an opportunity for Nicholas to showcase his latest book of the company’s history and the limited edition commemorative watches.
The book I have already covered in a recent post has received a positive reaction from those that have seen it. I particularily enjoyed Nicholas’s exhaustive background explanation as a guest on a recent Scottish Watches podcast ( here’s a link)
You will notice commerative watches, plural. The commerative series is known as Archival and it comes in two variants, both of which based on a 1930’s model suitably scaled to a more modern size. Consistent with Nicholas’s attention to detail the size increase is 17.5%.
The two variants are the Archival 1930 and Archival 1930 Small Seconds. The series will be limited to 175 pieces, one for each year ot the history of Fears. Each watch will have the number of a year engraved on the case back.
Of the entire series 39 will be the small seconds version, these watches representing the years that the Fears company was dormant before being re-started by Nicholas.
The two models differ by the movements that power them, with the two-handed Archival 1930 (136 watches) using a new old stock manual winding movement dating from the 1960s. While the three-handed Archival 1930 Small Seconds uses a new old stock manual winding movement dating from the 1930s. Both are movements that Fears used in the past. Each movement, having never previously been used, has undergone a full re-build and recondition in the workshop while receiving an upgraded mainspring to enhance reliability. The small seconds version using a NOS Swiss made ZentRa 185/ETA 717, circa 1935, and in the two handed version you will find a ETA 2360, from circa 1968. Both movements are manual wound running at 18,000 vph.
As we have come to expect from Fears both of these watches are beautifully made. I was lucky enough to have the chance to see and try the in the metal a few days before the anniversay event.
The17.5% size increase nicely satisfies modern tastes, this is a watch that sites very snuggly on the wrist, this helped by the gentle curve of the caseback. This stikes me as being a watch that offers similar utility to the Brunswick, a watch that can be dressed up or down by using a different strap. I continue to suggest to Nicholas how good his watches can be “casualised” using prelon straps. You can just see this watch on wrists at the Hamptons over the summer.
The hint in much of the the Fears literature is that these watches are the first of the Archival series. I am sure many of us will be looking at the back catalogue and will have our own ideas of what should be next. Always be wary of suggesting a dive watch, how many times has Nicholsa been quoted as saying he cannot swim. Maybe if he had swimming lessons he might change his mind.
Here are the full technical specs:
Archival 1930 specification
| CASE | 316L stainless steel, 40mm x 22mm rectangular-shaped with curved front and back (depth 8.54mm). Closed caseback. Made in Germany |
| LUG WIDTH | 20mm |
| MOVEMENT | New-Old-Stock, Swiss made ETA 2360, circa 1968, manual winding, 17 jewels, 18,000vph (2.5Hz) and 40 hr power reserve. Reconditioned, serviced, and fitted with an upgraded main spring in the UK |
| GLASS | Sapphire Crystal to front with ARdur® Swiss anti-reflective coating on inside and outside. Crystals made in Hong Kong, Anti-reflective coating applied in Switzerland |
| DIAL | Vintage Champagne with 18ct yellow gold coating. Polished and matte finishes. Glossy black printing. Made in Germany |
| HANDS | ‘Fears’ hands – Bevelled, diamond polished and Blued. Made in Germany |
| FUNCTIONS | Time |
| WARRENTY | 2 Year guarantee from date of purchase |
| STRAP | Oxblood Red, British calf leather, lined in Alcantara®, handmade. Leather tanned in the UK, Strap made in Belgium |
| SERIAL NUMBER | Individually numbered, sequentially |
| LIMITED EDITION | Engraved with a unique year from 1846 – 1976 and 2016 – 2021 |
| MODEL REFERENCE | BS8-1930-0 |
| RETAIL PRICE | £3,500 inc. VAT (£2,916.67 ex. VAT) |
Archival 1930 Small Seconds specification
| CASE | 316L stainless steel, 40mm x 22mm rectangular-shaped with curved front and back (depth 9.28mm). Closed caseback. Made in Germany |
| LUG WIDTH | 20mm |
| MOVEMENT | New-Old-Stock, Swiss made ZentRa 185/ETA 717, circa 1935, manual winding, 15 jewels, 18,000vph (2.5Hz) and 38 hr power reserve. Reconditioned, serviced, and fitted with an upgraded main spring in the UK |
| GLASS | Sapphire Crystal to front with ARdur® Swiss anti-reflective coating on inside and outside. Crystals made in Hong Kong, Anti-reflective coating applied in Switzerland |
| DIAL | Vintage Champagne with 18ct yellow gold coating. Polished and matte finishes. Glossy black printing. Made in Germany |
| HANDS | ‘Fears’ hands – Bevelled, diamond polished and Blued. Made in Germany |
| FUNCTIONS | Time with subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock |
| WARRENTY | 2 Year guarantee from date of purchase |
| STRAP | Oxblood Red, British calf leather, lined in Alcantara®, handmade. Leather tanned in the UK, Strap made in Belgium |
| SERIAL NUMBER | Individually numbered, sequentially |
| LIMITED EDITION | Engraved with a unique year from 1977 – 2015 |
| MODEL REFERENCE | BS8-1930-0 |
| RETAIL PRICE | £3,950 inc. VAT (£3,291.67 ex. VAT) |