Velthor S1 Concept
Manufacturer: Velthor | Pre-Order Price: $369 USD (€335 EUR, £300 GBP approx)
A hybrid between a vintage classic and a modern robust timepiece, the S1 Concept is a watch that is bold yet very different. Consisting of a dual-tone colour scheme, it is a watch that you’ll either love or hate. Marmite anyone? 🤮
Specifications
- Dimensions: Case Diameter – 40.7mm, Thickness – 10.7mm, Lug to Lug – 48.7mm, Lug Width – 23mm
- Movement: Miyota 9015 Automatic, 28,800vph (4Hz), Hackable, Self Winding, 42hr Power Reserve
- Case Material: 316L Stainless Steel
- Bracelet: Integrated 316L Stainless Steel, Two-Tone, Screw-Pins, Butterfly Clasp
- Crystal: Flat Sapphire, Anti-Reflective Coating
- Bezel: Fixed, PVD Coated Gunmetal, Decorative Screws
- Extras: Wood Presentation Box, Microfibre Cloth
- Water Resistance: 5ATM / 50m / 165ft
- Lume: Unknown (Asian Brand?)
- Crown: Signed, Screw Down Caseback: Exhibition Display, Sapphire Crystal, Individually Numbered
- Warranty: 1 Year Where to Buy: Velthor.com
Velthor - The Company
Velthor is an independent microbrand company producing high-end automatic watches, all of which are built with precision, pursuing nothing but perfection. All their watches are designed and engineered in-house with very strict quality control and only use quality materials and components. Velthor aims to offer something unique to the watch enthusiast that will guarantee satisfaction. They live by the saying “every watch produced has a soul of its own”. Gulshan, the owner of Velthor, also owns the watch brand Spectre Time, a brand you might have heard of who produce the rather fantastic Phantom II which I reviewed back in August.
Packaging
Case & Crown
The S1 Concept has a water resistance rating of just 50m / 5 ATM. The proportions of the watch, in my opinion, are spot on on for my 7″ wrist. The S1 Concept wears extremely well on wrist and is very comfortable and with a lug to lug of just 48.7mm and it wouldn’t look out of place on a wrist as small as 6¼ inches. The crown is also good with very minimal wobble when the crown is at its fully extended position.
Bracelet
The integrated bracelet on the S1 Concept measures 23mm at the lugs, tapering down to 20mm at the clasp. The overall design is light matte grey with darker gunmetal centre links. The bracelet is made extremely well with no sharp edges to be found anywhere, each link has a chamfered edge adding to the overall comfort when on the wrist. When I first seen the bracelet in pictures online, I thought it was going to look cheap in real life, but I was wrong, it’s actually very nice!
Movement
The chosen movement for the S1 Concept is the smooth sweep, high beat, Miyota 9015. This is a slim Japanese made 28,800vph, 24 jewel movement regularly compared to the Swiss ETA 2824-2. Checking the accuracy after running the S1 Concept for a couple of weeks, mainly in my Barrington Watch Winder and occasionally on wrist, I was very happy with the results, with the S1 Concept showing an average of just +6.8spd.
Dial, Bezel & Lume
As you can see in the images, the hour and minute hands are of a sword style and they’re nice, I just think if Velthor want to maintain the silver disc on the dial, they should change the colour of the hands to a much more contrasting colour like black. Personally though, I like the overall aesthetic of the dial.
The seconds hand is a good choice though, being totally red with a reversed arrow head as the counter balance. The lume used on the S1 Concept is, I believe, some form of Asian lume and although still decent, it isn’t the strongest.
Conclusion
All said and done, I really like the S1 Concept. I wasn’t too sure when it first arrived for review, but once I got it on wrist and with the way it wears, I actually wore it more often than I thought I would. I do feel however, Velthor would increase their sales of the S1 Concept if they removed the silver disc on the dial and changed the font to a much more legible one.
Gulshan @ Velthor – As stated previously, this is very much a “marmite” watch, you’ll either love it or hate it. Surprisingly, I like it, I like it a lot, but it could benefit from a few tweeks here & there.
