If you make a list of the great watchmaking nations of the world, chances are Australia would figure nowhere near the top of it. But there’s one company looking to change that perception. In fairness, we’ve seen watches from Australia a few times before. Bausele is perhaps the best-known name, which created the evocatively-named ‘Sydney Diver’, as well as some special editions to mark the Bathurst 12 Hour race: Australia’s equivalent of Le Mans.
Head to Melbourne, Australia’s second city, and you’ll find the home of Second Hour: a husband and wife team that has been creating a wide variety of watches since 2019, mainly of the dive and sports genre. Peter and Akira, the founders of the brand, come from quite different backgrounds. He worked as a technology transformation consultant before teaching himself watchmaking, while she comes from the fashion industry. What inspired them both was a love of the classical art of watchmaking, in contrast to what they felt was the throwaway digital culture of the modern age. As a result, they have created a number of collections that pay homage to the traditional canon of horology; with a firm emphasis on quality but at a price that is eminently accessible.
The latest example of this is the Memoir, a rectangular watch offered in a variety of colours. This seems to have come at exactly the right time, given the number of new releases of similar models recently – most notably, the Patek Philippe Cubitus. You won’t, however, be paying Patek money, as the Memoir is yours for $580 AUD in its homeland – or just £295 in the UK. For that, you even get a Swiss movement, which is a Ronda 1069 quartz, backed up with a two-year warranty and a reasonable 50-metres of water resistance.
So, as a value proposition, the Second Hour seems second to none at first glance. But does it stack up in reality? Let’s take a closer look…
Hands On with the Second Hour Memoir
This is a watch that is wholeheartedly inspired by the Art Deco period: a golden age for design in general and watchmaking specifically, which gave us timepieces such as the iconic Cartier ‘Tank’. First produced in 1919, it’s the benchmark by which all Art Deco rectangular watches are measured. And it's clear that Second Hour has adhered loyally to the trusted template, although looking at the intricate dial, for example, the Memoir is actually even more Art Deco than most Art Deco watches.
The case back in particular is covered in an Art Deco motif that immediately makes you think of The Great Gatsby, flapper girls, and powerful cocktails (the popular ‘Earthquake’ cocktail, for example, was so-called because it was said that if an earthquake struck while you were drinking it, you would be unlikely to notice).
This attitude is at the very heart of the Art Deco period’s appeal: it reflected a carefree time of fun, frivolity, and unrestrained excess, as the world celebrated its exit from one world war, and partied like there was no tomorrow in anticipation of the next.
Hedonism, decadence, luxury, and spirited fun: these are all core Art Deco maxims that seemingly present a challenge to fit in within a sub-£300 watch. The remarkable thing is that Second Hour has somehow managed to achieve this, by going all-out on the design language of the period, yet just stopping short of hackneyed cliché.
Five colours are available, with the red and the green being the most immediately recognisable, with the others being the more predictable variations on black or blue. The dimensions are also classical; measuring 28mm in width and just under 40mm from lug to lug. However, the most impressive aspect of the case is its curved shape, which helps it sit very comfortably on the wrist and gives it a more streamlined appearance. As a result the crystal is also curved, which again makes you appreciate just how much engineering is being offered for a very contained price. The obvious conclusion is that Second Hour can’t be making a lot of money out of every watch sold – but that’s great news for collectors. The steel case is brushed and polished; giving a contemporary nod to the overall vintage aesthetic.
And then we get to the dial. There’s a huge amount going on in there, starting with the railroad track that runs around the outer edge, to the multidimensional surfaces and patterning that’s happening more or less wherever you look. The middle of the dial is cross-hatched, set off by a sunburst effect towards the outer edge. Finally, there’s a square sub dial in the traditional six o’clock position to count the seconds, which again is finished to interact perfectly with the light and create a geometric illusion of extra depth.
The actual small seconds hand is tiny, which also helps to hide the quartz heart of the watch – for those who care about such things. Quartz actually works well for a dress watch in my view, as these timepieces are less likely to be worn every day. So it means you can just drag the watch out of its box along with your dinner jacket, and not have to worry about setting the time during an inevitable – in my case – last-minute scramble to get suited and booted. The main hands sport the classic dauphine style, with double faceted polished surfaces. You’ll find applied hour markers that fit in perfectly within the sculpted curve of the case, and a phenomenal amount of other details at every level, which would be remarkable at most price points: let alone this one. It’s fair to say that I’ve seen watches that cost far more that don’t have this same level of execution and finish.
The tag line for the Memoir is ‘for those who remember’, but there aren’t many people alive now who actually remember the Art Deco period in its heyday. What people do remember is its historical influence on style and design, which is still very relevant to the present day. And it’s precisely this spirit that Second Hour has successfully evoked.
