I’ve been harping on about E.C. Andersson so much lately you’d think this was paid content (it isn’t), but the Swedish brand really is on a roll. The Mytilus Bare Metal looks like nothing that came before it and draws comments from everyone who sees it. The Timepod, which I’ve yet to handle, keeps that design language but adds a true GMT, tool-free removable lugs and a square case unlike anything else in the range. For their latest release, the Cpt, they’ve simplified things in the name of building a watch worthy of a salty sea dog. The brand calls it an unexpected tool watch, and the result is far more elegant than that brief suggests, closer to a dress watch than a diver at first glance.
It reverts to a classic round case, and a compact one at that. The bezel measures 35.6mm across (35mm at the case), with a lug to lug of 43mm and a thickness of 10.4mm, or just 8.5mm if you exclude the box sapphire crystal. It’s a footprint you’ll forget you’re wearing, whether you’re at the helm or just helming a spreadsheet like me. The flanks alternate polishing and brushing, and the refined look doesn’t come at the cost of toughness: 100m of water resistance, a triple-sealed screw-down crown and an anti-reflective coating on that box sapphire.
The dial comes in Bright Silver or Midnight Blue, both with a textured finish and raised, polished markers filled with Super-LumiNova. The pencil-style hands are faceted and polished, also lumed, and the seconds hand gets a capped tip. Where the Mytilus Bare Metal uses a sandwich dial, here they’ve gone the other way and built the depth upwards, but the sweeping corner shapes that mark out all three models are present, which gives the range a consistency a lot of bigger brands struggle to manage. One detail worth noting: a 35mm case normally means a cramped dial, but the Cpt’s slim bezel leaves a full 30.3mm of dial, so it reads larger than the numbers suggest.
The nylon strap comes on a deployant clasp with a tucked end to keep things tidy. A Marine Nationale-style strap would have been more comfortable, but the 20mm lugs make swapping easy enough.
Inside is an automatic calibre based on the Miyota 9039, with stop seconds and a 42-hour plus power reserve. The base is bought in, but regulation, testing and final assembly happen in house, and each watch is regulated to within -1/+6 seconds per day under the brand’s own precision certification. For a watch at this price, that’s a point of difference.
I recently wrote a piece on why brands all seem to converge on the same designs and trends at the same moment. Here’s a brand keeping a strong identity across a varied range. Whether you’re wearing the Cpt to dinner or on deck, it’s a strong contender for a GADA watch, especially at £755. The first run is capped at 45 pieces per dial, though the brand says the model will return.
Price and Specs:
More details at E.C. Andersson.
Whilst I am not familiar with this brand myself I have to state that these two beauties have a foot in two camps, GADA / utility and also dress watch territory. It would be hard not to like these and at that price point, clearly winners.
I don’t normally like NATO style straps due to being a little uncomfortable and of course the dilemma of how to manage the spare bit of strap (particularly when you have smaller wrists), Andersson appear to have nailed this (metaphorically anyway) with the deployment clasp, a nice touch, and, judging by the photo of the watch worn on the models wrist, the thicker nylon webbing will hopefully overcome the usual comfort problem. Both colour versions do look good, but my personal choice would be the silver dial with what appears to be a biscuit coloured strap. Very sleek. Good to read that they are planning on an extended run after the initial release of 45 pieces per colour as I’m sure they will sell quickly and give us sluggards a better chance of getting our hands on one in the follow on release.
Great looking watch.