Owner’s Review: the Straum Jan Mayen Stormy Seas

Spirit Halloween stores are popping up around the city, pumpkin beer has hit the shelves, and 80-plus-degree highs in Brooklyn are in the rearview mirror (please remain true). I’ve returned my most worn summer watch to the display box and this one included quite a few “firsts”.

I received my Jan Mayen Stormy Seas, a collaboration between the Norwegian brand and The Real Time Show (a podcast I’ll admit I’m still ignorant of) in late May after a production issue with the rubber straps delayed the promised delivery date by about three months. I grew up on the west coast sailing with my parents (who until very recently lived fulltime on their 43ft Hans Christian Ketch named “Galatea”) so perhaps that’s why I’m drawn to a watch called “Stormy Seas”, but regardless I found the contents of the precision machined capsule absolutely stunning. This was the first watch I’ve ever pre-ordered. While it’s not my favorite business practice, I knew the risks involved and was quite happy when they included a second strap gratis for the inconvenience. It remained on my wrist almost exclusively for the next three months.

As well as my first pre-order and first Straum, it is also the first watch I’ve owned on a rubber strap, my first titanium case, and first integrated bracelet (more on that later). Straum has been on my radar since a Limited Edition Jan Mayen they released with Fratello back in the Spring of 2023. I loved the textural details in that fiery red dial and had heard great things about the comfort of the bracelet. It launched with a similar pre-order window that I was on the fence about and I ended up not pulling the trigger as the brand was still in its infancy. That being said, I’d spoken with the owners at previous Windup Fairs and was able to handle a pre-production model of the Stormy Seas model briefly at Windup NYC in 2025. I wanted to pick up something to commemorate a recently completed film, so 16 digits, an expiration date plus CVV code later and I was in the delivery queue.

I awoke to a shipping notification in late May, and UPS rang my apartment buzzer the day before a trip to Florida to visit my in-laws. The rubber strap included clear instructions on how to cut it down to my wrist size, the hardware was simple to install and it was in the pool playing Marco Polo with my niece less than 12 hours later. It had a first taste of salt water that same week, a test of its shock proofing in Idaho on the Sun Valley Elkhorn golf course, and represented its nation of origin as the world witnessed Norway knock out Brazil. I band-wagoned for Norway and was fortunate enough to be invited by a client of my wife to attend Neymar’s final international game. The stadium was overwhelmingly Canary Yellow and Green, but Haaland and company gave a thunderous farewell of “Ro!” paced by Erling’s bass drum as the revelers trickled out of MetLife (sorry, New York/New Jersey Stadium). All in all I had a great summer with a Straum on my wrist and I finally appreciate a rubber strap and a titanium case.

While it was my daily wear this summer, I was initially looking for another watch to wear on location shoots. It joins the roster of a Hodinkee Hamilton Khaki Field Limited Edition and my Oris BC3 Advanced Day Date Black PVD that I picked up over 15 years ago (and will likely disappear for servicing shortly). They are watches I don’t worry about accidentally whacking on  a C-Stand and in my opinion look better with a bit of wear. That might take a bit longer in this case though as Straum has deployed an additional hardening process that brings the hardness to 1200 Vickers, thus making it less susceptible to scratching. The screw-down crown and 100m of water resistance was a requirement this time around and I appreciate the crown guard (two things the Hamilton lacks). Post-honeymoon period I normally wear a different watch every day and as a lazy man I don’t love setting a day/date function (something the Oris has), time only is another bonus here. Plus I’ve gravitated towards smaller case sizes as I’ve gotten older. The 38.7mm case size fits between my preferred smaller size of the 38mm Hamilton and what I now feel is a huge 42mm Oris. All this to say that I wanted a tank I could wear worldwide that will disappear on my wrist and the lighter weight of the titanium only adds to this calculus. Needless to say I’ve been quite content with my purchase.

Obviously all Straum dials are interesting and quite unique in different light conditions throughout the day. On that note I also love the applied “S” logo on the dial above the printed “Straum”. It’s always a pleasure when the light suddenly catches it. I often remark at the brilliant fluorescent second hand contrasted against the carved miniature waves on the oceanic blue dial. In fact I’d love to have the option of a color matched Flour Orange rubber strap. There is also polished case finishing on the otherwise matte texture along the bezel, quick release fasteners and case bevels I didn’t notice on the pre-production model and was pleasantly surprised by. The signed crown is perfectly vertical when screwed down, something many of my much more expensive watches lack. Hopefully that’s by design and not luck. The rubber strap was pleasantly pliable upon delivery and I haven’t noticed any changes in its constitution. Months later it’s still running (only very) slightly fast but within the parameters of the automatic La Joux-Perret G101, a time-only movement with a 68-hour power reserve. 

I do have a few criticisms. While I don’t find the watch to be too thick, I also don’t find the LJP movement necessary to showcase, especially in a watch targeting exploration. I would rather have a solid caseback and reduce that dimension slightly. I believe the only additional finishing to said movement is the Straum “S” logo engraved on the rotor. I am also a fan of engraving watch casebacks as I collect primarily to commemorate milestones and would have welcomed the engraving opportunity. They also did not launch this watch with a matching titanium bracelet which I absolutely would have purchased initially.  They announced it as another pre-order at the end of June, almost two months after I took delivery. It’s the same H-link design as their steel equivalent and includes a tool free micro-adjust on the clasp as well as the same quick release as the rubber straps. It’s nice that more brands are moving away from the springbar tool. I appreciate that they offered any early supporter of a titanium Jan Mayen a discount, but only for one month and as a preorder that is estimated to ship in December. I would have appreciated the opportunity to handle it at Windup NYC this weekend before losing the early adopter price, but my indecision means I’ll be paying the full $900. 

Imagine my surprise however when Straum’s new Frozen Metal Titanium found its way across my desk. It arrived for review with the new bracelet serendipitously pre-sized to me, so I was able to jump straight into some wrist time. Placed opposite my Stormy Seas, I immediately understood why some folks collect the same watch in different dial colors. The reflective blue PVD coating on the hands and indices is almost iridescent over the whiteout dial which has a texture reminiscent of windblown snow. Even without a loupe it’s clearly a departure from the patterning of the Stormy Seas and a few of their other watches; it’s nice to know that this isn’t just a straight recolor. The reflectivity of the dial has an almost pearlescent effect but strikes a nice balance between the ultra polished blue PVD and straight matte lume blocks. Viewing both these watches side by side reinforces my decision to buy into Straum. Their distinctive dials are absolutely what drew me to them initially and it’s been interesting to see them iterate upon what is essentially the only component that separates each model. It’s something lost when looking at watches that are ostensibly only available online. Whether it’s a rendering or higher end product photography, it’s difficult to understand how all these iterative colors and textures actually define each watch. Contrasting these two in person makes me appreciate the contouring of each novelty. It really does feel as though they’ve captured a tiny circular snapshot of their respective states of water. The Stormy Seas reminds me of those real waves I spent my youth tacking back and forth over. Just a week into wearing the Frozen Metal and I’m beginning to associate its dial with weekends spent shivering on a chairlift hovering over Heather Canyon on Mount Hood. Nostalgia has really started to creep in the older I get.

The various textures, gradients, and rainbow of hue options of Straum’s dials seem to be encroaching on a certain Japanese brand we’re all quite familiar with. I’m not going to say these dials are better, but the medley of their offerings only proves how creativity can extend the life of the same case design in two metals. Straum’s inspiration behind each dial design seems to be a bit more literal than their Japanese counterparts, less of an ephemeral interpretation of a feeling a seasonal occurrence imparts on you and more of an observable instance of the Norwegian landscape. No shade to the former, I’m a fan of both philosophies. This is evidenced in some other terra inspired Straum dials that manifest visually as a polka dotted volcanic rock (Basalt), all the way to cracked-ice (Glacial Rift).

It’s also immediately apparent how much weight has been lost from the Jan Mayen line in this switch to titanium, something I don’t think I fully appreciated until I was able to wear the watch entirely on metal. The bracelet has plenty of flexibility and I found myself fiddling with the microadjusts throughout each day if it suddenly felt too tight (other people’s wrist size seems to fluctuate constantly right?). I’ve since returned the Frozen Metal and I absolutely miss having a titanium bracelet. The switch back to steel links was almost startling at first and I suspect I’m going to fall prey to another pre-order. This was always going to be a watch I hoped to wear outside production, but having a lightweight bracelet option on one of my “production” watches is just too good to pass up. Both models also have a generous amount of lume applied to the hands and indices which fluoresces a cool blue and the Jan Mayen ranks highly among most legible watches I’ve worn in low light. Yet another tick in the functionality box.

I thoroughly enjoyed occasionally catching that neon second hand ticking diligently over the stormy seas in my periphery this summer. I’m excited to see how the brand continues to evolve, I would love to see them expand from this current case design as well as adding additional complications. I’d welcome their interpretation of a dive watch with a timing bezel or a GMT. The brand ethos of “watches for adventurers” speaks to me and I think they have landed at a great spot in the intersection of something functional and beautiful. 

Coupled with my newfound fandom of that other Røde, Hvite og Blå (Red, White, and Blue) football team, I’m moving Norway to the top of the list for a 2027 vacation. Much like shooting my 503 in Sweden or wearing my Stowa while wandering around Germany, it’s always special bringing a beloved item back to its origin. Hopefully my Straum will witness some Stormy Seas in a fjord soon and it might just be joined by a fraternal twin if I decide to pick up the Frozen Metal. Skål to the watchmakers at Straum and perhaps we’ll cross paths in Oslo someday! Straum