This Seiko-Powered Chronograph from an Affordable American Brand Is Surprisingly Innovative

There are a few non-negotiable facts about Florida-based microbrand Traska.

First is that the brand makes damn good-looking watches. Second is that their watches are extremely durable, as Traska was one of the first brands to broadly adopt a scratch-resistant coating on its steel cases and bracelets.

But if there’s one criticism one might level at Traska — and it’s not even a criticism, really, more of a preference — it’s that the brand’s designs tend to play it pretty safe. They’re very attractive and have broad appeal, but they don’t really bring much that we haven’t seen before.

That’s not the case with the brand’s latest watch, its first chronograph, which manages to look like a typical sports chronograph at first glance, but quickly establishes itself as something unique and pleasantly strange.

Discs, man

Traska’s first chronograph is simply called “The Chronograph,” or Ref. 10251 if you’re feeling fancy. It has a lot of features that we often associate with familiar sports chronographs, namely the Rolex Daytona.

Traska

There’s a broad external tachymeter bezel, faceted baton hands and applied indices filled with Super-LumiNova, and an Oyster-style bracelet. But it doesn’t take long to see that there’s been a lot more thought and design put into this watch than you might think.

Starting with the bezel, it’s made of tungsten, giving it robust scratch-resistance to match the hard-coated steel case and bracelet while also offering a cool natural gray color that’s mimicked on the dial. It also features an atypical tachy scale, which has been reconfigured to only calculate speeds between 50 and 200 mph — you know, speeds you might actually want to measure.

The bracelet, while it largely looks like your usual three-row affair, is overengineered to within an inch of its life. It tapers from 21 to 16mm for an elegant look, every link articulates for a fluid feel and crazy-comfy fit, there are quick-release spring bars for easy strap swaps and the clasp features a toolless microadjustment system for on-the-fly resizing. The interior of the clasp is even hand-finished with perlage, to give you an idea of the attention to detail we’re talking about here.

Traska

The dial features a bicompax layout with a round, framed, color-matched date window. But this isn’t your average bicompax. In fact, it’s one of the most unique I’ve seen.

Instead of hands, the subdials feature static printed red lines at 3:00 and 9:00. The markings for the running seconds at 3 and chronograph minutes at 9 are printed on transparent discs that rotate above these red lines, meaning the subdials themselves move rather than the “hands.” It’s a clever, unique setup that brings some contemporary flair to a mostly classically styled sports watch.

Adding a dash of retro flair are the chronograph pushers and center seconds hand. The former are square-shaped and blend in well with the lines of the case, while the latter is lance-shaped and bright red, bringing a nice pop of color to the dial. There’s a box-shaped sapphire crystal sitting over the dial, furthering the watch’s past-meets-future vibes.

Traska

Then we have the movement which, unexpectedly, comes from Seiko. It’s the Cal. NE 86 automatic chronograph, and Traska says it was really the only option that could possibly work for the watch at its price point.

That’s because the movement is thinner than its Swiss competition by at least 0.3mm. That keeps the watch relatively thin at just 11.8mm thick for the 39mm case, with the crystal bringing the total height to a still-reasonable 13.75mm.

The other reason for choosing the Seiko is that it boasts two premium features that are highly uncommon at this price: a column wheel and a vertical clutch. The column wheel ensures crisp, immediate action from the pushers and a stutter-free start to the chrono, while the vertical clutch allows you to run the chronograph constantly without much additional wear to the movement.

Availability and pricing

Traska’s prices are always well below where I’d expect them to be, and that’s especially true here. Despite all of the ingenuity going on here, Traska has managed to keep the price of the Chronograph well below $2,000, with its SRP listed at only $1,650.

But there’s a catch. Traska isn’t making a ton of these things, and given the lengthy production, the brand doesn’t expect to make more anytime soon — and says it won’t make this Tungsten colorway again. The Chronograph will go on sale on Traska’s website on March 1, with 100 units ready to ship immediately and the remaining stock anticipated in April.

Traska

Traska The Chronograph

Specs

Case Size	39mm
Movement	Seiko Cal. NE86 automatic chronograph
Water Resistance	75m

• $1,650 at Traska

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