The Rolex Submariner may be a the ultimate mid-century modern watch. Production began in 1953 with ref. 6204 and the rest is history. Especially, after James Bond wore one in Dr. No. I would venture that the Submariner is both the most recognizable watch and most copied watch in the world.
That said, we tend to focus on furniture here at Boon Manor because that is where our passion lies. However, what is the fun of having your own blog if you can’t break the rules once in a while. In keeping with the theme of “mid-century inspired” – here is a watch that meets the criteria.
The actually history of Raven Watches is complicated and does nothing to enhance my interest in the watch itself, so I will skip it. The watches are made in China (boo) to design specifications laid down in Kansas with support in Germany as well. I am not sure if it is possible to make watches like this, at this price point, in the US so I won’t begrudge the China manufacturing.
This is the latest historical take on the Submariner, the Kingston from MKII being another, to utilize stock movements and classic styling. Here the movement is an ETA 2824-2. Some nice design elements include the domed acrylic crystal; Superluminova on the hands, dial markers and bezel; and rubber, bracelet and zulu bands.
The watch runs $700 with shipping – a decent price for what you get. Swiss movement, solid construction (based on other models I have handled), lots of accessories and great customer service. This does break my rule on watches which is: they should cost less than $500 or more than $5000. But again, rules are made to be ignored. So strap on a Raven Submariner homage and plop down in your Eames chair and have a glass of your favorite brown booze – it’s the 1950′s again.
(phone from Raven Watches)
Tags: homage, Raven Watches, watch
