The BOLDR Expedition Watch lets you get away

BOLDR^[1] is a small watch company with a distinct style. Selling primarily on Kickstarter^[2], the company has gone through a number of design iterations to land on the <a target="_blank" href="/“>Expedition^[3], a watch designed to take you to the farthest reaches of the Earth and/or the copier down the hall.

The Expedition is reminiscent of some of the Hamilton Field Watches^[4] but it is improved immensely by color schemes that are designed to remind us of famous mountain ranges. The model I tested, the Fuji, featured a grey-on-grey design and orange hands and pips. The piece looks artfully faded, a style that comes from so-called “tropical” Rolex watches that spent decades in the heat and sun.

The watches range from the all-black Kilimanjaro to the surprisingly bright Eiger. Each have a Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement and Superluminova lume on the hands and pips. Early birds will pay $395 for one of these and each includes an internal crown for countdown timing and direction-setting.

I found the watches to be quite well-made and, as I noted before, on par with anything Hamilton has been making in their Khaki Field line. While I’m not a huge fan of three-handed pieces, the design, the lume, and the entire color scheme make this a hit. It’s a bit small for my wrist – 41mm is just a bit too wee for my meaty appendages – but it’s a nice beater watch that can stand everyday use including the occasional hike....