Tool watches are just that: tools. They’re built for a specific purpose and nothing matters other than they get the job done. It’s why all too often great design falls to the wayside in favour of functionality. That’s no bad thing – there’s a lot to be said for the form-follows-function argument – but it’s hard to get excited by a spanner. For Draken, its tool watches don’t just have to be practical instruments but good-looking ones, too.
Named after the South African mountain range of Drakensberg, its watches are built to withstand environments just as unforgiving, and you can be assured that they won’t let you down. But the same can be said of plenty of other watchmakers out there as well. What separates Draken is its eye for design and its watches not just built to tackle harsh environments, but aesthetically defined by them.
Where many a watchmaker is embracing archival, retro and vintage designs – including plenty of re-issues and watches ‘inspired by’ older models – Draken’s pieces are entirely new. There’s nothing recreated or rehashed here, just bold, functional designs you won’t have seen anywhere else.
It’s an idea that began with its first watch, the Tugela. It took a great deal of inspiration from South African culture, with the case profile shaped like the local Protea flower, the indices of the dial imitating Zulu beadwork and the bead-blasted smoothness of the finish inspired by the stones of the eponymous Tugela river. After a touch of re-engineering in 2019, it’s remained Draken’s most popular watch.
The Tugela was followed by the Peregrine pilots’ watch with a power reserve indicator subtly hidden behind the logo at 12 o’clock and the Kalahari, a military piece inspired by the sands of its namesake desert. The latter is particularly interesting, with a big power reserve indicator that can be easily read in any conditions and a rotating inner 12-hour bezel – the fewer moving parts sand can get into, the better.
Of course, one defining aspect of a tool watch is affordability. This is a watch that you’ll be putting through hell and still needing to use on the other side; it’ll suffer knocks, temperature extremes and everything a watch shouldn’t. It will get damaged, which for any expensive watch is enough to put most wearers off completely, no matter how adventurous they are.
With that in mind, Draken tends to use Seiko movements in many of its watches, frequently opting for the vastly underrated NH35 workhorse movement. It has a 40-hour power reserve, bi-directional winding rotor and a solid accuracy rating of +/-20s a day, the equal of many a more expensive stock movement. The difference is that it drops the price of the Tugela from the all-too-common £500 mark to just $349 – less than £275.
If that’s not a reason to get climbing, diving or flying with a Draken on your wrist, not much is. Find out more at Draken Watches.
