Wrapping up the QLOCKTWO

Why we like a watch is often a very inexplicable, very visceral thing.  It is often something that can't be logically quantifiable.  It is emotional, sometimes bordering on the irrational.  And the watch companies that can harness that sort of subconscious desire and marry it with high quality manufacturing are onto something.  

Such was my experience with the QLOCKTWO.

Before I dive into the usual stuff you'd expect in a review, I have to delve back and share a personal story -

Way back when dinosaurs were roaming the earth, my grandfather decided that the one thing that every 10 year old needed was an LED watch.  So a very large, very chunky LED watch arrived and was given to me.  I LOVED that watch, hitting the buttons incessantly.  It worked for all of a week before malfunctioning.  We sent it back to the folks at Texas Instruments and were told to wait a month.  Only to receive a BRAND NEW identical model less than a week later, swiftly followed by the original "repaired" model a week after that.  Spoiler alert - both watches died within a week of arrival.  

So it was more than a stroll down memory lane for me to wear the QLOCKTWO this past week.

So as you've probably figured out, the QLOCKTWO is a battery powered watch.  But it is a far cry from the LED watches of my youth, the ones favored by Millennials attempting to be ironic.  No, this is something for the grownups.

As you can see in the picture above, the QLOCKTWO is square in shape with letters (and dots) engraved into the watch face.  And that is how it looks until you engage the button to read the time.  

You will note, no numbers, just words.  As you can see, the time is 4:40, or twenty to five.  The watch face is programmed to light up the time in words.  This is how we typically say the time, and in a world of cell phones makes this a somewhat kinder and gentler way to experience the passing of minutes.  

Want something more precise than time in 5 minute increments?  Not to worry, QLOCKTWO has you covered!  

You will note at the bottom of the watch face a single dot is illuminated.  You will also note that there are four dots at the bottom of the dial.  Each dot represents 1 minute.  Meaning that you simply add the number of illuminated dots to the time indicated above.  If it is a quarter to four - 3:45, add 1 minute to that?  3:46!

So if you engage the side button once, you get the time.  Engage it twice?

You get the date.

Three times?

Seconds!

The watch is even more intelligently designed as there are setting indicators for AM/PM, the month and the year.  This ensures that the QLOCKTWO will not need to be adjusted for pesky little things like months that vary by 1 or 3 days from the typical 31, and also account for leap year.

The construction of the watch is first rate.  Assembled in Germany, the finish and the overall quality was outstanding.  And it is important to keep in mind that this is a review of a used watch, not something brand new out of inventory.  This to me is even more valuable an assessment because it gives you an idea of just what this watch will look like and perform in a few years.  And the watch performed flawlessly.

So let's get to details per Biegert & Funk -

Details

1.38 x 1.38 inch (35 x 35 mm) case made entirely from brushed stainless steel
Innovative long lasting LED technology
Timepiece with 114 illuminating units
110 letters gently etched out of a thin valuable metal plate
Milanese bracelet with adjustable length
Display of seconds and calendar day

Water-resistant 5 ATM      

The QLOCKTWO has been wonderfully comfortable to wear. The size is suitable for pretty much any size wrist.

The Milanese bracelet was quite tactile and strong. The finish was smooth and balanced.  The clasp was not like the usual sharp and jagged, tinny ones used on other Milanese style bracelets.

And beyond everything else what was most telling was the amount of questions I got from friends and complete strangers about the QLOCKTWO.  I have worn and reviewed a LOT of watches over the last seven years.  This one, BY FAR, got the most attention and the most positive feedback.  And that feedback came from both watch and non-watch folks alike.

And I think that is a lot of the appeal of the QLOCKTWO - it is downright charming.  It took me back nearly forty years to that wonderful (albeit, malfunctioning) gift that my grandfather gave me.  And now I know what it would have been like if that watch had actually worked ; )


So before I close this, a few observations.  This is not a watch for everyone, you have to adapt a bit to the display, and also remind yourself that you have to engage the button to get the time.  But once you get past these two things, it is a joy to wear.  It is also quite a fun notion to have the watch on your wrist without anything indicated.  Not unlike having on a Reverso with the crystal side "reversed".