For those familiar with New York-by-way-of-Hong Kong menswear retailer The Armoury, Mark Cho’s move into watches won’t come as any major shock. His brand has long flirted with watchmakers and collaboration over the years, including with H. Moser & Cie., UNIMATIC, and Paulin. Now, Temporal Works, co-founded with The Armoury’s creative director, Elliot Hammer, is the natural progression for the brand.
Their inaugural collection, Series A, reflects the same approach that has defined The Armoury since it opened in 2010 (and why the store has recently been named one of New York Times’ top 50 menswear stores in the country). Taking inspiration from a bygone era of tailoring, The Armoury is all wood-paneled, brick-walled masculinity that celebrates an inherent grace when dressing well.
The Series A has this same throughline, using Cho’s singular vision of his retail store – masculine, elegant, and minimalist. In fact, the connection between Temporal Works and his existing brand is a throughline explicitly made by the founder, who noted, “Our goal was straightforward: create watches as thoughtfully designed and effortlessly wearable as a perfectly tailored navy blazer.”
This jumping-off point seems to work in both Hammer and Cho’s favor, as the Series A clearly shows an unwavering vision of a brand identity that feels complementary without being derivative (something other lifestyle-to-watch brands like Louis Vuitton and Montblanc sometimes struggle with). This, to me, is most notable in the case itself, which is a custom 37mm monobloc stainless steel case. The shape references the curved, slightly futuristic cases of the 1960s and ’70s, with a mix of sharp transitions and softer edges. Zaratsu polishing gives the case crisp, though slightly softened, lines. Not unlike, say, the structure of a sportscoat’s shoulder.
Most interesting to me, as any longtime reader won’t be surprised to learn, is the fountain pen-inspired nib hands, which were crafted with three facets: two polished sloping sides and a matte flat top for a more visually interesting texture.
The Series A comes in two dial styles. The first is an oversized sector dial in navy or black, complete with a toothed minute track and a quarter-brushed finish. The second, called the Fortune Dial, uses a glossy red lacquer with no markings at all. Where the sector dials lean traditional, the Fortune Dial reads modern and straightforward, which in a way, is a great balance of the two sides to The Armoury’s brand identity itself.
Finishing the stylistic elements of the Series A is a bespoke Jean Rousseau leather strap. A steel-mesh bracelet, designed exclusively for this particular collection by Staib, is also available and will be available for free during the watch’s’ introductory release period (and an additional $250 after that).
The Series A is powered by a Sellita SW210-1 automatic movement and promises approximately a 42-hour power reserve.
The Series A by Temporal Works launches today, December 4 and will be available online or at one of The Armoury’s store locations in New York and Hong Kong. The watch will retail for $2,500.
