The Swedish brand E.C. Andersson is one of my favorite “IYKYK” watchmakers. They had a modest hit a few years ago with their Mytilus, at least among a very specific type of watch collector who was ahead of the curve on the current trend for industrially finishished, retro-futuristic designs in odd case shapes that are having a moment right now (see: Otsuka Lotec and others). What makes E.C. Andersson compelling to me though is not just their aesthetic and design language, which is certainly very interesting, but their business model, and what they actually do as a brand. They are, essentially, a machine shop, fabricating cases and other components from their own designs, and selling watches off a reservation system. Interested parties add their names to a list, and when a watch is available, you get an email letting you know your watch is ready.
Their new watch, introduced this week, is called the Timepod, and like the Mytilus before it, the case (and crystal integration) set the design apart and make it unique. The quirkiest thing about the Timepod is the lug release system, which allows the user to detach the wire lugs via the push of a button on the caseband. The lugs simply pop out of the square shaped case and (presumably) reattach easily by hand. E.C. Andersson says the system is specifically designed to inhibit debris from entering the case while still allowing ease of access to the movement and other components in the event a service is needed.
Is this lug release system necessary? I’ll be the first to admit: probably not. But it offers a new, tactile way to experience a watch, which is frankly something many of us are constantly in search of. It has a bit of a “solution in search of a problem” feel to it, perhaps, but I imagine it’s a great showcase for E.C. Andersson’s machining capabilities, which based on my limited hands-on experience with the Mytilus, are considerable.
The other calling card of the Timepod is the unique bevelled crystal, which is attached to the case via six individual and visible screws. It appears to rise dramatically from the center of the case and allows a view of the dial from the side.
The case is a 39mm by 39mm square, which measures 46.6mm from lug to lug when those lugs are attached. That’s a fairly large case for a square watch, so I’ll be curious to see how this one wears. Like the Mytilus, though, the Timepod is impressively thin. It measures 11.2mm tall with that oversized crystal. It appears that E.C. Andersson heard feedback from the watch community on the topic of water resistance when designing the Timepod, as this watch features a screw down crown and is rated to 70 meters, which the brand refers to as a “swimmable” depth, and 10 meters better than the Mytilus.
There are two dial variants available at launch: Burnt Umber and Bare Metal. Both make use of a sandwich construction with an aperture for the date near 6:00. This is a two time-zone watch running on a Miyota 9075, which has an independently adjustable local hour hand, making the Timepod well suited to travel.
The Timepod is available via the E.C. Andersson website and their waitlist program. The retail price is $2,155, which feels like a pretty fair price for a watch with this much custom case and crystal work built into it. E.C. Andersson
