The Boldr Expedition’s colourways are all named after various mountains, emphasising the exploring theme of this range. The version in for review was my favourite option; a bead blasted case with black dial and green strap – named the Rushmore.
Described as an “ultra-tough companion for adventure and designed to be worn, used and abused every day”, it promises to be a rugged counterpart for exploration.
Interestingly, whilst at World Time UK – a watch event by London Heathrow, the Boldr Expedition was one of the stand-out pieces for me. It grabbed my attention immediately due to its rugged appearance and simple, attractive design.
Let’s check it out in closer detail.
The specs
- Dimensions: 41mm diameter x 14mm height x 46mm lug to lug
- Weight: 119g
- Water resistance rating: 20ATM / 200m
- Movement: Sellita SW200-1
- Accuracy: -4.4 sec/day
- Lug width: 20mm
- Warranty: 2 years
- Price: $599 / £460
- Available from: https://www.boldrsupply.co/collections/expedition/products/expedition-rushmore
The video review
The case
What primarily drew my attention is the rugged appearance and feel to the case, due to the bead-blasted case and angular lines.
It’s also a near-perfect compact size at 41mm, which looks especially striking with the large dial taking up so much real estate. It fits so well on my 7” wrist – it’s not obstructive, yet large enough to create an impression.
Dual crowns are undoubtedly a key feature of the case as you’d expect; they always catch my eye and offer something a bit different. These crowns have some serious grip, making them easy to use; and there’s a channel halfway through which is interesting. The bottom crown is for the movement and features the Boldr logo embedded on the end, whilst the top crown is for the inner rotating crown and features an orange fill of the channel and lumed ring on the top (who doesn’t love lumed things?).
The bezel is a simple ring around the crystal with a toothed outer edge. Like so much of this watch, it’s a simple, industrial approach which works so well.
A cool, unseen rugged aspect of the Boldr Expedition is the fact that it boasts 20,000A/m magnetic resistance. A standard watch needs to be able to withstand 4,800A/m to meet the international standard. The Expedition greatly surpasses this rating.
Sitting on top of the case is a raised double-domed sapphire crystal. It provides excellent clarity and legibility due to the effective anti-reflective coating.
I’m a real fan of the adventure / explorer themed caseback art, featuring a maze style backdrop with a walking boot print. This art has a polished top against a frosted base, which can pick up scratches but I’m not fussed about that.
The dial
They say that simple design is the best design, and Boldr has certainly embraced that point with the dial. When you deconstruct the dial, all the elements are bold, functional, and simply well laid out. Take them all together and the dial is a prime example of not overcomplicating things to make something that catches the eye.
The hands are a good example of creating something unique and stylised, but not overdoing it; nor forsaking the core function of them: to be easily readable. They are an interesting “A” shape, with a legible white tip, filled with lume. The seconds hand features a bright orange tip and lume filled rectangle- providing a splash of colour.
The inner rotating bi-directional bezel is positioned on top of a short rehaut, which is a cunning introduction to it – framing the dial well whilst not making too much of a big deal.
The date window is located at 4, which lines up neatly with the crown. The wheel is subtly merged into the dial due to the colour match and simple white border.
Swiss SuperLuminova BGW9 & C3 lume has been applied liberally on the Boldr Expedition; on a multitude of elements – it’s a feast for the eyes in the dark.
The strap
The strap on the Boldr Expedition is constructed from custom moulded natural rubber. There’s no doubt it looks great and feels excellent quality, but it does provide my only gripe about this watch.
The strap is extremely thick and grippy; which makes it a pain to put on and off – specifically using the keeper loops. Watch the video review to see what I mean, but it takes some real effort to put the strap on. This shouldn’t be too much cause for concern, as in reality it only means you’re talking about an extra minute of your life to put your watch on, but it’s something that needed to be raised.
The design of the strap is simple yet eye-catching – the Boldr logo accurately embossed at the top, with contour-esque map lines along the main lengths.
The buckle complements the case; utilising the same angular approach and blasted finish. The Boldr logo is neatly engraved on one side of the top bar.
I feel the green of the strap is the perfect colour for the Expedition; it screams exploring / hiking / walking and is a splendid offset to the dial colour.
The movement
The movement powering the Boldr Expedition is the excellent Sellita SW200-1. Basically an ETA 2824-2 clone with an additional jewel, it’s a more readily available movement which is an excellent choice.
Specs include 38-hour power reserve, 26 jewels, high-beat frequency of 28.8k bph (ticks at 8 ticks per second), hand and automatic winding, and date complication.
It’s a pretty nice looking movement, but you can’t tell due to the closed caseback.
Final comments
The Boldr Expedition, in my eyes, does exactly as it has laid out to do – being an “ultra-tough companion for adventure and designed to be worn, used and abused every day”.
Yes, the price point is a little high in my opinion at $599 / £460, but the design and quality of manufacture is superb.
I fell in love with the simple, bold, functional, yet eye-catching design from the moment I saw it. It’s unique yet so obvious, which is a sign of excellent design.
It’s worth noting the difficulty of putting on / taking off the strap, but don’t let that deter you in checking out a sensational field watch.
