You might not have heard of Pope Watches yet, as they are a very new brand, but they have released their first model the P70 and so far has been successful. Originally funded through Kickstarter, they are now fully produced and available direct from the Pope Watches Website.
Owner Perry Dickson set out to create a vintage Aviation style timepiece and designed everything himself, except the movement and the clasp. Pope Watches are named after one of the first military airfields built after the Wright Brothers flight. Some design elements included on the P70 are hands that resemble wing ribs, and a calfskin leather bomber jacket style perforated strap.
The Pope P70 retails for $650.
Here is the full list of specifications:
· Case Material: 316L Stainless Steel
· Case Diameter (mm): 43.0
· Case Length (mm): 53.5
· Case Thickness (mm): 10.0
· Crystal Material: Sapphire with Anti-reflective Coating
· Dial Color: White
· Crown Diameter (mm): 5.5
· Strap Material: Leather
· Strap Width (mm): 22.0
· Clasp: Butterfly Deployant
· Movement: Swiss Ronda 715
· Water Resistance: 10 ATM / 100 Meters / 333 Feet
· 2 Year Manufacturers Warranty
Now if I am being honest, at first look the P70 appeared to be a little plain looking for me, but when you start to look closer, you see all the elements that are in place, and I realized it was a classic aviation style piece with some modern flair and touches.
The packaging is simple but nice. A branded black lacquered wooden box with the watch sitting securely inside on a black pillow. It is not extravagant at all, nor what I would consider a presentation box, but a very nice quality box.
The case is a mirror polished 316L stainless steel. It has a very slim profile at 10mm thick, and a case width of 43mm. I like the fact that it is a modern size, but not oversized. With there being no bezel, the P70 does appear a little larger on the wrist than its listed specs. It uses hex screws to attach the strap and I like the look the hex screws give to the overall appearance of the case. They are also very easy to remove… provided that hex screwdrivers were supplied, which unfortunately they are not.
One thing I did notice on this particular example is the lug bars are slightly visible, which might be because the strap is a little too short in width. I am not sure if this is with all watches, but hope that it is resolved if that is the case. The case design utilizes long lugs with little curvature, but they because of the overall length of the case it still wears very nicely on the wrist.
