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It’s always fun to see a brand mature over time, finding a unique voice and direction as they go. Over the last two years we’ve seen four models from Straton Watch Co., each progressively refining their ’70s-era automotive chronograph theme and gaining more character. Their newest watch, the Speciale, is by far their most daring, but it’s also their most successful, featuring a love-it-or-leave-it cushion/TV case and an unabashedly ’70s dial. It’s fun, quirky, but more importantly, it’s well-executed.
Straton has always been into offering a lot of options, and with the Speciale they continued this trend. There are a total 20 variations of the watch, including five color ways, two finishes and two movement options. The latter option is the most interesting, as the watch will be available with either a Seiko Meca-Quartz VK67 or a Valjoux 7750 automatic chronograph, for $499 and $1199 respectively. This is a good way to not exclude customers (and to get around the inevitable “make it automatic” comments), but is also a good value for either, especially the 7750.
