Fall or Autumn? Mitch Mason - The Chronicle

If you have been following my reviews you can see that I have fallen for big watches and specially tool ones made of bronze or titanium, I guess it was the summer vibes and I needed to be a bit flashier but fall is here, this means warm colors and leather straps are back together with watches on smaller sizes, no need to show up that 44mm white Panerai with a bright orange strap, it is time for a nice whiskey and some blues. Autumn is one of my favorites seasons not because is cooler but because a casual style is more suited for those windy walks, not to cold and not to warm. Of course all of this mean new watches and what a better time to review what to me is one of the coolest ones I've got my hands on this year: the Chronicle form Mitch Mason. The brand is based in Singapore and it creates vintage aesthetic pieces with lots of modernity, in another words a recipe for a timeless watch.

The Chronicle is a take on a field watch or an everyday watch which looks modern but has vintage dimensions, it has very dramatic lines and sharp edges with warm colors and straps that are as high in quality for watches costing 3x the price. We were lucky to have 2 versions the beige and black one, so let's just get into the review.

The specifications:

The Chronicle is a watch that reminds you of an old school Seiko Alpinist but it also has this baby Grand Seiko 44GS case feel, it might be hard to explain but believe me it works very well, specially in 36.5mm with a lug to lug of 43.5mm, long gone are my Panerai days. The case has brushed and polished surfaces creating a great visual impact, the dial tones are soft and warm creating a balanced watch that can work in many situation, specially now this time of the year. The hands have a unique aesthetic and are very legible, full of lume and easy to distinguish, to me the cream dial is incredible but the black version has a party trick up its sleeve: it's a sandwich dial. Both versions glow like a torch so you'll be ok choosing any of them. Under the hood we can find a Miyota 9039 high-beat automatic which performs beautifully and its controlled by the screw donw crown, another great detail from the boys at Mitch Mason.

On the wrist:

The watch is perfect, there is no other way of describing how it fits on my 6.25 inch wrist, very slender at 12.5mm and that domed sapphire looks incredible, the watch is not a dress watch and is not trying to be one, it’s a casual watch which you can wear every day, basically a one watch collection. The Chronicle is easy to read and that dial weather you choose a sandwich one or not is the reason of its versatility, is not loud but it has character, there is a lot of details and it becomes really hard to get bored of it. As mentioned with the size the Chronicle becomes an object that is perfect to start a conversation, it looks like nothing I've seen before and that is a good thing, especially when everything in the microbrand world looks like a carbon copy of a Rolex Submariner.

Conclusion:

This watch took some good time on my wrist, I've enjoyed a lot my time with the Chronicle and the small details like the colours on the dial, the crown design and the hands made me fall again for the vintage looks of a watch, it is time to put our aggressive watches on the box and enjoy those simpler and warmer pieces that took a time off during the summer time. I loved going back to basics and this to me is a beige dial with no date and smaller than 37mm, it seems that the guys at Micht Mason were really thinking of us watch enthusiasts' when they made this tribute to modern/vintage pieces, make sure you grab one, I am really craving for that beige.

More information at www.mitchmason.com