“New year, new goals. Mine is building a watch brand. Wait, what? Yes! I have set myself a ridiculously ambitious challenge for this year. I spend my time reviewing and critiquing other people’s work. The time has come to take up the gauntlet and see how well I fare myself. And I want to take you along for the ride to show what it involves.”Thomas Van Straaten, founder of VPC
But the watch that Thomas started to conceptualize got me excited. He wanted to go all out on the details and not skimp on parts that would make the watch more expensive. Economic suicide? Maybe. But if he can barely make it work without losing money, so be it. Just like his book, “The vintage Rolex Datejust buyer’s & collector’s guide”, Thomas wanted to start another passion project for the love of watches.
“I am sure many of you will not like what I am going to make. I do not intend to make a version for everyone. But if the watch that I envision speaks to you, I hope it does so loudly. It is the only way that makes sense to me in a watch world already overflowing with offerings.”Thomas Van Straaten
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maxresnick.design
First exploratory sketches by VPC’s designer Max Resnick
What followed was a multi-month series of articles describing what it was like to start a watch brand. As the watch took shape, I began to like it more and more.
Marketers love this, my wallet hates it
I’m pretty easily swayed by stories and clever design. If I understand how something is made, I am more attached to it. You could take me to a clothing store, show me a beige jacket, and I’d shrug. But if you tell me where the wool comes from, how it’s made by a single craftsman in Europe, and that the stitching lasts 10 times longer because it’s done by hand, then you’ll hear the cash register.
I had the same feeling with this watch. I was taken into the design process, I saw the extra effort that went into every detail: be it the material, the bracelet design or the dial.
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vpcwatch.com
Early rendering of the VPC Type 37HW.
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vpcwatch.com
Wearing one of the first 3D-printed prototypes.
Even the typography was “made to fit” by Thomas, who commissioned his own typeface from Type DesignerSamuel Baker. I have a knack for good typography and even had to write about it in “The State of Watch Typography”. So I love that a brand is finally taking this seriously as a differentiator in a market full of of stretched Arial and Times New Roman on watch dials.
An abundance of case finishing
Disclaimer: The photos below show a pre-production model. The watch that will be delivered to customers will have minor changes and improvements. One notable change is that the crown will be slightly recessed into the case, forming a flat crown guard. The crown didn’t look bad before, but compared to the new version it stuck out a bit. It’s details like this that keep me excited about VPC.
Source
vpcwatch.com
Little adjustment to the production model with an integrated crown. Left: production model, right: pre-production model.
The Type 37HW has many different layers of brushing and polishing.
Watch the video below to see the different facets and finishes in natural light.
A COSC-regulated movement
The movement inside the VPC Type 37HW is a Sellita SW216-1. It’s hand wound and has a small-seconds indicator at 6 o’clock. Since the design of the watch relies on its thinness, the movement couldn’t be too big, but it still had to be able to be regulated to COSC standards. If you’re not one of those crazy collectors, who only talks in reference numbers, here’s a recap of what the COSC certification means.
To fulfill the criteria for the chronomètre certification, the average daily rate over the first 10 days of testing can’t deviate more than –4 seconds to +6 seconds, or up to 10 seconds per day. If using the metric system for comparison and we assume the watch runs with a +6 seconds error, this would result in a deviation of only 0.07 meters every 1000 meters. COSC
In 2023 Switzerland produced 15.8 million watches, of which 1.8 million were COSC certified. That’s one out of every ten watches running to COSC standards. To have that kind of a movement in such a new brand, I think that’s pretty neat. You can see all technical specifications here.
Venustas is the name of VPC’s own typeface.
How it wears on different wrists
As you can see in the photos below, the Type 37HW fits comfortably on any size wrist with its compact dimensions of 37.5 mm in diameter and 45 mm lug-to-lug. The dial appears slightly smaller than the overall dimensions with a thick bezel and slightly twisted lugs. If you like the dimensions and aesthetics of a Rolex Explorer or a Tudor Black Bay 54, then this wears similarly. As for the Rolex Explorer, the size is right between an Explorer 36 mm and its bigger sister in 40 mm.
The Type 37HW on a 14.5 cm (5.7 inch) wrist.
The Type 37HW on a 17.5 cm (6.9 inch) wrist.
The case wraps nicely around the wrist and the lugs form a strong arch. The edges of the lugs are not sharp, so they won’t dig into your skin if you like to wear your bracelet a little tighter. I can tell that a lot of time went into getting the proportions just right to make the watch feel like a glove.
The watch is only 9.8 mm thick, including the domed sapphire crystal. Without the crystal, the watch is a slim 7.8 mm. Still, you get 12 bars (120 meters) of water resistance. The low hand stack and dial are pushed up into the
crystal as far as possible, so there is no rehaut. A rehaut is an inner ring or flange that surrounds the dial of a watch, just inside the crystal. The minute steps are printed directly on the dial. The watch is so thin, that if you were to remove the crystal, you minute hand would turn its rounds above the bezel.
The bracelet
The bracelet is brushed on the top and bottom and polished on the inside and outside of the links. That way you’ll see it shine from time to time, but it won’t be a fingerprint magnet with too many polished surfaces. It tapers from 20 mm at the case down to 16 mm at the clasp. The result is a “president style” bracelet, which you might know from Rolex’ Day-Date models.
The clasp has a micro-adjustment mechanism. So you get a few millimeters more when it’s warm outside and your wrist expands. It can be done without tools, and if you’re used to Rolex’ Easylink system, you’ll get the hang of it quickly. That way, it will always be comfortable to wear. The bracelet has links with screws, and the screws are not glued in.
Hardened steel
The case and bracelet both have an anti-scratch coating that increases the surface hardness. It’s a thin coating that will wear off over time and the watch will still accumulate scratches, just at a slower pace. This coating can also be refinished.
Video credit: VPC
Works with any leather strap, seriously.
I love the comfort of a leather strap. The Type 37HW has two spring bar holes drilled into the lugs, each made for leather straps with a different thicknesses. A thinner leather strap can be worn on the inner spring bar hole, allowing the polished area between the lugs to overlap slightly with the strap. This will give the appearance of the strap coming out of the case rather than being attached to the case. If you have a thicker leather strap, you can use the outer spring bar holes, as this gives the strap more room to move and makes it more comfortable to wear.
Two spring bar holes for leather straps with different thickness.
The bracelet has a quick release system that allows you to change the bracelet to a leather strap in seconds. Below are some strap variations that I really like. All straps are from the Belgian-French strap maker Molequin.
Leather strap variations
My personal favorite, Nubuck leather in a concrete-like color.
Classic dark blue with beige contrast stitching.
Summary
As I mentioned in my article on Atelier Wen’s Perception watch, I love it when companies “build in the open”. When Thomas started his new year in January 2023 with the announcement that he wanted to build a watch brand, I didn't expect much. Another microbrand, meh. Then the launch followed on March 7th, 2024, just over a year later. Soon after, the prototype Type 37HW arrived on my doorstep. By that time, I had already ordered the watch. I don’t usually buy a watch I’ve never seen, especially at this price.
As I opened the package, I was a bit scared to be disappointed, but when taking photos of the watch and imagined it on my wrist later in the year, I really couldn’t find a flaw that would disturb me and now look forward to wearing it a lot.
I don’t need seasonal dial colors or a GMT hand slapped onto the same watch model. VPC can and should evolve slowly. But please let every model get the same attention as the debut Type 37HW. I’ll let the founder finish this article, because it describes why I like this indie project and want to support it.
“I am building this watch company for the long haul. My products should last, and so should the company itself.
This is a deeply felt personal mission to build something my family can be proud of. I decided to symbolize this in a photo by including a snapshot of me and my son. To me, VPC is bigger than myself, even if it is still a tiny, fledgling watch company. The fact that you—the enthusiast community— enable me to build something beautiful fills me with humility and gratitude. I will repay all the supporters with the best watches I can possibly produce.”Thomas Van Straaten, founder of VPC
