Independent Watch Brand Addict

Specs

• Diameter 39mm
• Lug to Lug 48mm
• Lug Width 18mm
• Thickness 12mm
• Case Material Stainless Steel
• Water Resistance 120m
• Screw Down Crown
• Sapphire Crystal
• Miyota 9000 based Movement

Brand

E. C. Andersson was formed in Gothenburg, Sweden by Erik Andersson and Wictor Kanerva and are still based there and make the bulk of their watches in their Gothenburg. The brand form their watch cases out of raw metal, and buy in and modifying known and reliable movements such as those made by Sellita or in the case of this watch Miyota 9000 range ones.

As all of E.C.A’s watches are hand made in Sweden they are made in small batches, just 200 in the case of the Calypso II, and their current line, the Mytilus, are being made to order. Their watches are all quite unique, not just from other brands but each watch is different from the other. In my dealings with the brand they have always been very helpfull and professional, and I really have no complaints to make about them.

Positive Points

This is the first watch I’ve had which made me think that the dial pops. That beautiful deep blue, with a nice waffle effect in a pattern that matches the E.C.A logo, some very nice applied indices and white features that show up very well against that fantastic blue. I’m one of these rare people that actually really likes a power reserve indicator and this one has a nice discrete one between the nine and the ten. Because of all these white features the date display works with a white date wheel and I like that it has a white border.

This watch has a very interesting case. It does look fantastic with it’s mix of brushed and polished surfaces. I like the industrial look of the watch emphasized by those massive lugs, which with the straight space between the lugs helping to ensure that this watch will work with almost any strap or bracelet you want to pair it with.

As for the lume, this is not a dive watch, and should not therefore be compared to one but the lume is very good. There’s not a lot of it, as it’s just on the hands and the quarter points. But that’s enough to allow you to tell the time and it lasts well.

Negative

After complimenting the case I now need to point out it’s flaws. The case measurements could lead you to believing that this is a watch that will fit small to medium sized wrists, but I did not find this to be the case. For reference I have a 7inch/17.8cm wrist, while not a large wrist, not an overly small one either, and I found this watch to be slightly uncomfortable. The lugs are quite long, and the fact that they’re quite thick, while creating a cool industrial look, makes the watch feel off balance, as it feels too thin to me.

Movement

The movement in this watch is an M9000 based movement, which I believe means that they took a 9000 caliber Miyota movement, which Miyota class as their premium movements and modified it to include the power reserve indicator, something that I don’t believe is standard with any 9000 series movement. The movement has a power reserve of 45 hours, a 28800vph beat rate and 24 jewels.

I never had an issue with this movement, it always seemed to keep excellent time and I was very happy with both the date display and power reserve indicator. The only issue I have with it is that if I’m paying extra, at least in part because of the work that’s gone into the movement, I’d like to be able to see the movement without taking off the caseback and possibly compromising the water resistance like with my Le Jour that is similarly priced. However, if you’re wanting to cover the movement the artwork on this caseback is a good way of doing it and works a lot better than what Tusenö did with the Windseeker.

Conclusion

This is an interesting watch, that I did not have the wrist for. I will say that I met a fellow Watch Cruncher at the 2023 Stockholm Time event, which showcased Scandinavian watches, who had one of E.C.A’s Poseidon watches, a watch with a similar case style and size, and a much larger wrist. The watch looked great on him and he Said he found it very comfortable on.

E.C.A claim to form their watches out of solid blocks of metal and this watch feels as exactly like that, as do the two other watches of their’s I’ve come across the Poseidon and the latest offering from them the Mytilus. I’d have a hard time recommending these watches to anyone with my wrist size or smaller, but if you have a larger wrist and an interest in industrial design, I would definitely recommend that you take a look at E. C. Andersson’s collection.