Feynman One review

We’ve covered a couple of watches from Singapore on WRUK and they have all had a unique look. The Feynman One doesn’t disappoint on that score – how does it hold up as a daily wearer?

A Week on the Wrist – Feynman One

The Feynman One was a Kickstarter project at the back end of 2018 that completely passed us by. The watches have now been produced and are on sale from the manufacturer’s website. It’s a dress watch with a difference – the dial is quite unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. That’s always a positive, and full marks to Feynman for effort. The watch costs $998 Singapore Dollars, which as of today is about £560 – plus import taxes of 20%. That’s a big wad of cash and sets the bar higher than usual when it comes to fit and finish.

Case

The Feynman one is housed in a 39mm case. Unlike most dress watches, it is rather squat, with a 12mm thickness that is accentuated by vertical, ribbed sides. The thickness is especially surprising when you flip the watch over and find a hand-wound ETA 7001 movement inside. Automatic watches tend to be thicker due to the need to accommodate a spinning rotor so it’s unusual to have such a thick manual winder.

There are sapphire crystals on the front and back, with the rear crystal fitted apparently on top of, rather than underneath, the case back. It’s an unusual look which I can’t say I disliked, but it struck me as an unusual choice. It’s all built really well and it nicely fits on the wrist thanks to some sensibly-sized lugs. The four O’clock crown adds another point of interest, it’s easy to operate and has the Feynman F engraved on it. Around the back, you can view the ETA hand-wound movement, which looks absolutely beautiful. The watch wears well but is a touch thick for wearing under a dress shirt cuff, in my opinion.

Dial and Hands

The Feynman One has a multi-layer dial that is based around a brushed steel circle. On the outside is a minute track with Roman numerals; within that is an hour track with Roman numerals, and inset and overlapping the centre is an offset second hand with Mandarin numbers for 12 and 30. There’s no lume anywhere, not even on the steel hands, but that’s hardly important on a dress timepiece. There’s a lot going on, despite its simplicity, and there is a good sense of depth, especially when viewed from an angle through the crystal’s bevelled edge.

I must admit that I was unconvinced by a couple of aspects of the dial. The S shaped seconds hand looks interesting as it rotates, but the sparkly finish looked out of place to me, as did the blue jewel at the centre of the main hand stack. This is a watch you’ll either like or you won’t – and there’s nothing wrong with dividing opinion by making some bold design choices.

Strap and Buckle

The strap on the Feynman one is superb. It’s made of unpadded but thick lizard skin and it is hard to explain just how nice it is to wear. It’s one strap I would not seek to immediately change the minute the watch arrived – and it is not often I say that.

The buckle is a standard tang type. I’d have preferred the option of a deployant both at this price point and in order to protect the strap for longer.

Feynman One Video Review

What I Liked

  • Full marks to Feynman for choosing a bold, original design. Most watches look the same these days, so this really stands out
  • The strap is superb – all too often the strap is a cut-price afterthought, but not here
  • The Swiss hand-wound movement is excellent. It looks amazing through the caseback and it adds value to the watch as a whole

What I Didn’t Like

  • It’s another “love it or hate it design” that just didn’t speak to me like, say, the Arcturus LC-1
  • The Feynman One is very thick for a dress watch, and it’s not easy to slip under your sleeve
  • It is relatively expensive – too high a price for an impulse buy.

Feyman One – the WRUK Verdict

If you like this watch and can stomach the asking price, you will be pleased with the quality. There’s not a sharp edge in sight and the complex dial is assembled superbly. However, it’s just too expensive for me – for a dress watch in this price range I’d pick the Waldhoff Ultramatic instead (and indeed I did – read the review of my watch here).

Buy a Feymnan One

You can order your Feyman One at Feynman’s website https://feynman.watch/

By Mike Richmond

Mike spends what little spare time he has writing for WRUK; and what little money he makes building up his collection of timepieces.

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