Is the British brand’s latest go everywhere, do anything watch the best in its price bracket?
When it comes to budget watches it’s all about preference and what matters to you. There’s always going to be some level of tradeoff. Some might want the best movement, some might want the best construction and some might want the most beautiful watch, but what do you do if you don’t want to make a compromise? You take a look at Beaucroft’s new Arc.
Beaucroft – and by extension the Arc – are near and dear to me. My dad bought me one of the earlier Seeker models, of which this is the successor. But even without a rosy tint, there’s more than enough here to love. Because for £525, you don’t get a lot of compromises.
First off, the construction is exemplary, particularly for this section of the market, featuring a beautiful flowing (and ARCing) 38mm case architecture, inspired by the Bridge of Sighs in Cambridge, and a chamfered edge on the case, twisting around the lugs, that would make even the most elegant architects blush. You can really tell by looking at the case design that Matt, one of the co-founders behind Beaucroft, has a background in design, as this watch oozes his artistic credentials. For bonus points, this watch features a full on sapphire sandwich case construction, allowing you to see, in full glory, our next subject of conversation.
If we are discussing the movement for a few moments, this might, for many people, be where they’re disappointed in this watch, featuring a Japanese (yes I know but bear with me) Miyota 9039. However, at this price point, it’s hard to knock on specs alone. Hacking seconds? Check. Reliable? Check. Custom finished rotor? Yep! But surely it has that annoying ghost date? Or maybe the accuracy is terrible? Absolutely not!
At this price point the Miyota exceeds many far pricier Sellita SW200-1 pieces, with its – / +10 seconds a day accuracy. It also beats it’s main competitor on power reserve, featuring 42 hours on the Sellita’s 38 hours. (It should be noted that the SW200-1 has now been superseded by the 200-2 power+, which features enhancements across the board, but that’s still filtering through). In reality, the only true downside of this movement is that it won’t suit the Swiss movement snobs amongst us. And in the enthusiast community, we’ve all been guilty of that.
Despite all of that goodness across the construction and the movement, the best is to be revealed when you actually LOOK at the thing. For review, I have the olive dial, however Orange, Denim and Teal (a Beaucroft signature) are all also available. The dial is a really beautiful, subtle fume complimented by wonderfully unique, simultaneously elegant and oddly legible leaf style hands. Fluidly graceful as hours and seconds are however, my favourite detail is the second hand, that is almost a “reverse lollipop” with a polished metal stick and a lumed lollipop counterbalance providing the low light legibility.
One thing people often forget about watches, and something that is impossible to gauge from an article, is that comfort is also key! And key to comfort is a good strap, which I’m pleased to say is the case here. Made in collaboration with Delugs, with a co-signed buckle, the strap is very soft, very supple and moulds perfectly to the wrist. But, if you would like to swap it, it features quick release spring bars, which coupled with the 20mm lug width, means that stap wise the world is your oyster! And trust me, Delugs have plenty of other options.
All in all, how would one surmise the Beaucroft Arc? Well, it’s well-made, it’s pretty as a peach and it’s very comfortable to wear. So are there any downsides? That’s a hard question because while I could probably find a nitpick or too (I’m not too keen on the crown for example), it’s hard to complain in the context of a £525 price tag. Compared to the Seeker, all the niggles and ‘microbrand’ quirks have been ironed out with regards to quality and finishing and compared to pretty much anything else in this price range, the Arc’s hard to beat.
The Arc is priced at £525 and available from beaucroftwatches.com.