Now regular readers of Tempus Fugit will know that I am, at heart, somewhat romantic when it comes to watches from France. I have only been to France twice - a 3 day get-away to Paris with Wendy back in 1999, and a day and 2 nights in Besançon back in 2015 -
Turning Right Again
And this past BaselWorld, I got a chance to finally meet some folks face to face from another up-and-coming French brand, Akrone.
Akrone is (at its heart) a modest effort by a small, committed group to offer something interesting and outside of the mainstream, but at a very competitive price.
As many brands coming up these days, Kickstarter was the catalyst to launch, with the K-01 in 2015 (if I have my chronology correct), which was delivered early the next year (2016).
A ceramic case that measures 40 mm, it came with a Miyota self-winding (automatic) movement.
The second salvo was the K-02, a titanium dive watch -
This one was 41 mm in diameter, made of (you guessed it) titanium, and powered by ETA's 2892.
Next up was the K-04, and if I am brutally honest? I am kicking myself for missing this one -
The case is of stainless steel, and measures a very sane 38 mm in diameter, but with a twist - the lug width is 20 mm. The green dial just speaks to me. The movement, once again, ETA's 2892.
As I said, I regret that I missed this one, but as is often the case, I was at the tail end of the conga-line on this one. Needless to say, I have my eyes locked on Chrono 24 to see if one will ever shake loose ; )
Which brings us to today. Moving on from the Kickstarter platform, Akrone is now up and moving on their own steam, and will be delivering a truly striking group of chronographs in the coming weeks, these are the K-05 chronographs -
It is available in three dial variations with the blue with silver sub-dial (the Steve) being one.
Another option being the Old Timer (with a name that probably speaks to me a little too directly), and is one of the two that I would personally pick.
The other that gets the Henki seal of approval is the Outlaw Dark Side -
It is also available with a non-DLC coated case -
And last, but not least?
A Panda.
The basic pertinents include a case size of 41 mm in diameter, that is made of stainless steel. Hours, minutes, seconds and a bi-compax chronograph. The movement is ETA's 2894-2 automatic with blued screws.
And for the poor sad souls like myself who missed the K-04, there is still an option out there, the K-04 Romantic Black -
This is the SHIT THAT KILLED ELVIS!
As with the previous Kickstarter version, 38 mm stainless steel case with a gold DLC finish. The dial is what Akrone describes as a "black smoke finish", and it is DEAD COOL! The movement is ETA's 2892.
This past March, Akrone could be found (by those with a map, compass and rescue search dog), in the somewhat ill-fated Incubator. Let's hope that the brands that displayed there will get some real assistance and support from the BaselWorld organizers next year. Having said that, I suspect we will all be seeing and hearing quite a bit more from the now Nantes based brand.
Stay tuned!
Turning Right Again
And this past BaselWorld, I got a chance to finally meet some folks face to face from another up-and-coming French brand, Akrone.
As many brands coming up these days, Kickstarter was the catalyst to launch, with the K-01 in 2015 (if I have my chronology correct), which was delivered early the next year (2016).
 |
| Courtesy of Akrone |
The second salvo was the K-02, a titanium dive watch -
 |
| Courtesy of Akrone |
Next up was the K-04, and if I am brutally honest? I am kicking myself for missing this one -
 |
| Courtesy of Akrone |
 |
| Shamelessly borrowed from the world-wide info-web |
As I said, I regret that I missed this one, but as is often the case, I was at the tail end of the conga-line on this one. Needless to say, I have my eyes locked on Chrono 24 to see if one will ever shake loose ; )
Which brings us to today. Moving on from the Kickstarter platform, Akrone is now up and moving on their own steam, and will be delivering a truly striking group of chronographs in the coming weeks, these are the K-05 chronographs -
 |
| Courtesy of Akrone |
It is available in three dial variations with the blue with silver sub-dial (the Steve) being one.
Another option being the Old Timer (with a name that probably speaks to me a little too directly), and is one of the two that I would personally pick.
 |
| Courtesy of Akrone |
 |
| Courtesy of Akrone |
The other that gets the Henki seal of approval is the Outlaw Dark Side -
 |
| Courtesy of Akrone |
 |
| Courtesy of Akrone |
It is also available with a non-DLC coated case -
 |
| Courtesy of Akrone |
And last, but not least?
 |
| Courtesy of Akrone |
The basic pertinents include a case size of 41 mm in diameter, that is made of stainless steel. Hours, minutes, seconds and a bi-compax chronograph. The movement is ETA's 2894-2 automatic with blued screws.
And for the poor sad souls like myself who missed the K-04, there is still an option out there, the K-04 Romantic Black -
 |
| Courtesy of Akrone |
As with the previous Kickstarter version, 38 mm stainless steel case with a gold DLC finish. The dial is what Akrone describes as a "black smoke finish", and it is DEAD COOL! The movement is ETA's 2892.
This past March, Akrone could be found (by those with a map, compass and rescue search dog), in the somewhat ill-fated Incubator. Let's hope that the brands that displayed there will get some real assistance and support from the BaselWorld organizers next year. Having said that, I suspect we will all be seeing and hearing quite a bit more from the now Nantes based brand.
Stay tuned!
