A Really Comfortable Go Anywhere Do Anything Watch: Formex Essence 39
As a fan of independent watch brands, it was probably only a matter of time untill I came across Swiss independent brand Formex, a watch that gets a lot of respect within the watch enthusiast community. When I got this watch from Formex I immediately became a fan as well and now have three of their watches, this Essence, a Field and a Reef GMT. I’ll be expaining my liking in this watch here.
Specifications
Diameter 39mm
Thickness 10mm
Lug to Lug 45mm
Lug Width 20mm
Material Stainless Steel
Water Resistance 10ATM
Push pull crown
COSC Certified SW200-1
Brand
Formex was established in Biel/Bienne Switzerland in 1999, meaning that while they may not have the heritage of a lot of the more established brands, they have been around for long enough to have grounded themselves and made the more basic mistakes that a lot of brands make when starting out. Probably best known for the Reef line of watches, which come with an interchangeable bezel the Essence line watches are made with the same , patented Case Suspension System, which both protects the movement and gives more comfort to the wearer.
Formex are widely recognised throughout the watch enthusiast world for manufacturing high quality and interestingly designed sports watches, no doubt aided by the founders’ and existing CEO’s interest in motor- and adventure sports.
Review
Okay so right out the gate I have to say that I love the look of this watch. The sunburst dial with the horizontal running grooves alone would have made this the most beautiful watch I have. If you add that to the design and size of the case this is quite simply a stunning watch.
As far as comfort is concerned this watch is again a winner. Cushion type cases can be a bit hit and miss for me. I’ve tried both the Seiko Prospex Land Tortoise and the Circula Aquasport gmt I’ve reviewed earlier and in both cases as well as not being able to get completely behind the look of those two I just didn’t find them comfortable. They dug into the wrist especially on the crown side and lugs whereas this seems to sculpt better to my wrist. This could be because of the very wearable size. The watch also comes in a 43mm size and it’s possible that I wouldn’t find that as comfortable, but I’ve got the 39 and that is very comfortable.
Movement
This watch comes with a COSC certified Sellita movement. COSC is the official Swiss Chronometer board that ensures the watches they rate have an accuracy between -4/+6s/d. Formex claim they perform additional checks after the watch is completed in order to ensure their accuracy. All of this probably contributed to the fact that when I measured the accuracy of this watch on my app i got an accuracy of -0.9s/d making this my most accurate mechanical watch by a substantial amount.
Also as you can see from the following photo the movement is very well decorated adding to the overall attractiveness of this watch.
Conclusion
This watch is definitely a keeper for me; it’s design and comfort mean that it’s one of my watches that get the most wrist time. One negative I have is the fact that the crown is not a screw down crown and is instead a simple push pull which makes me question the water resistance of this piece unlike some of my other 100m water resistant watches such as my Raymond Weil Freelancer. However, this watch is more reasonably priced than the RW and more so than can simply be explained by the additional complications in the gmt. At over 1,000€ this is not a budget watch in my books but it is definitely one I would happily recommend to anyone wanting a green dialed field type luxury watch, but doesn’t want to shell out the money for something like a Tudor Ranger.