It’s not all about the dial - Branch Horology The Sector

There are a few things that I enjoy in the watch world, but a well executed dial is quite on top of them.

Sector dials to me, are the best example of craftsmanship, why? Mainly because legibility is top of the agenda, it’s a necessity instead of an aesthetic decision.

This is an important distinction because sector dials are meant to look this way, they are not trying to appeal anyone, they are true tool watches.

I’ve reviewed several beautiful sector dials watches in my time. One of my favourites was the limited edition JLC master control trilogy, the time and date only to be precise. An outstanding watch in terms of quality but let down by its case size at 39mm, don’t get me wrong as it is perfectly wearable but than thin bezel and opaline dial made it wear larger than it sounds.

After having that experience, I’ve already wondered if there was a watch that could quench that thirst. The Patek Philipe ref 5296g has the same size problem than the JLC in terms of size (with some added zeros to the bill) and the Baltic HMS 003 quite handsome but I wasn’t convinced over the movement. It seems that there was no hope for my quest and then, right in front of me, the brand Branch Horology, was building exactly what I was looking for: a stunning watch with great details, a high quality/manual Swiss movement at an affordable price. 

A touch a bit on Branch Horology, the Canadian based team started by restoring vintage watches and re sell them on the market. This is particularly important especially if you want to recreate military watches mainly because there is not particular footprints nor guidelines, the design has to be learnt by experience.

Coming back to their first creation,The Sector, it all sounded too good to be truth but as soon as I opened the box, all my fears were gone. This was the real deal.

Join me to discover more in detail a well kept secret from Canada. Let’s begin.

The specifications 

The Sector is a watch that has both charm and quality. At 36mm, it is hard to fault as it can accommodate a variety of wrist sizes and the lug to lug at 42.5mm also feels right. You can read specs sheets all day long but what need to be described is the built quality of The Sector. The tolerances are quite high mainly because every component it’s custom made for the watch apart from the movement, it shows. The blued thermally heated hands are quite beautiful in an artisanal way while the dial steals the whole show. The opaline center contrast well with the brushed rail track and the crosshair lines at the centre to aim visibility. All these design decisions are not a surprise as the main reason on why these watches exist, was to assist the soldiers in combat with an easy read object at a glance, mission accomplished. I am also glad to see that the only writing on the dial is the brand's logo, a great exercise on restrain.

The thin brushed mid case also pairs to perfection with the polished bezel, looks elegant and eye catching, it simple but well executed. 

The non signed screw down crown feels period correct and it controls the manual winding Sellitia SW210-1 movement. I quite enjoyed the “kickback” feeling while winding the watch and give this extra level of quality matching the construction of The Sector. The power reserve is 42 hours which is adequate for the movement, although we would have love to see a bit of improvement on this department but given that it’s the only third party component, we can give it a pass.

The watch also has some true vintage details such as an acrylic crystal which provides warmth to the crisp dial and a snap closing back case, quite charming.

On the wrist

There are a few things that we enjoy about The Sector but the wearing experience is high up there. The thin profile at 10.5mm makes it wear quite well on my 6.25 inch wrist, it actually feels thinner than that. The curved lugs also help to keep the watch in place as I would have enjoyed having drilled lug to swap straps as The Sector is a strap monster.

Coming to the strap, The Sector is equipped with a grey calfskin or brown suede strap handmade by Veblenist in Chicago, quite outstanding for the price that the watch operates, more on this later.

I wore the sector everyday for a few good weeks, it has become my go to watch mainly because is easy to pair with anything. It works well in very elegant situation but also with gym clothes , this is not an easy thing to achieve but the simplicity of The Sector makes it timeless.

As mentioned, with these types of watches, legibility is assured. The long blued hands are a treat to read while the matte dial texture avoids any kind of reflection.

Concluding thoughts

When I started this review, I already knew that sector dials were my thing, this makes the watch easier to enjoy. That said, this feeling did not happened with watches priced at 5 times of the RRP of The Sector. 

Branch Horology has positioned his new creation at an incredible price bracket which is 500 GBP (506 GBP to be exact). This is truly amazing considering that it is a piece that brings high quality and nostalgia at the same measure, with a Swiss movement and still remaining affordable.

What brings also excitement is to think what can we expect from this brand. If they manage to produce vintage recreations at this price point with this quality, we will definitely see a future hit every now and then. We are looking closely.

Technical Specifications

Case size 36mm

Lug to lug 42.5mm

Profile thickness 10.5mm

Domed Acrylic Cristal

Heated blued hands

Two tone sector dial

Sellitia SW210-1 movement

42 hours of power reserve