The Artel Rotec Sky Series Brings Elegance to Their Signature Tonneau Design

Artel Rotec is a microbrand known for producing small batches of cool, street-style wristwatches with urban designs like the V Series. However, their new collection, which goes up for pre-sale today, trades in the urban aesthetic for one that embraces refinement and elegance. The new collection, called the Sky Series, is far more sports luxe than it is street-smart and it’s a good look.

As with the V Series, the Sky Series (consisting of three watches, Sky 4, Sky 5 and Sky 6 – the numbers following from the V1, V2 and V3) has a tonneau case with a classic barrel shape, although that’s where the similarities stop.

The new Sky watches are much daintier with a 38mm diameter and 46.8mm length, a notable reduction compared to the 41mm x 51mm of the V Series. The Sky is also made from stainless steel as opposed to carbon composite. The dial is completely new, sporting a matte centre surrounded by a pronounced hour scale ring with applied pyramid indexes. Outside of the hour scale are four more areas of block colour and lastly a peripheral minute scale.

The segmented, layered appearance is akin to retro sector dials and really enhances the elegance of the model. Each version of the watch is in a different colour: the Sky 4 is white and silver, the Sky 5 is black and the Sky 6 is green.

Housed inside is the ETA 2824-1 automatic calibre, modified in-house and featuring a custom Artel Rotec rotor visible through the sapphire crystal caseback. It’s a solid movement with a 50-hour power reserve and there’s not too much more to say about it. It’s a calibre everyone is familiar with at this point.

Rounding out the watch is the fact it’s presented on an FKM rubber strap in either blue, black or green depending on the edition. Rubber, with its comfortable and waterproof properties, leans into the sportier side of the watch’s aesthetic. Although, swapping it for a nice leather number will instantly make the Sky a great watch for refined events and soirées.

Honestly, considering the Sky is only Artel Rotec’s second major collection, it’s a surprisingly mature and well measured release. I expected them to follow the blueprint set out by the V series and lean more on the streetwear and technical design elements with an emphasis on carbon materials and skeleton designs. That original DNA still shows through in the strong, shapely design, but it’s been tempered by a fair degree and matches my personal preferences much more.

The Sky Series is available for pre-sale today from 3pm GMT at a price of $1,950 (approx. £1,620). Whether street or sports luxe, the Sky makes me eager to see what Artel Rotec have in store for the future.