Introducing Horage, a micro-brand doing things differently than the rest, with an in house movement and a titanium case this certainly stands out from the crowd.
Something that also stands out is the price, the Autark comes in at an eye-watering 3,500 Swiss francs. A sum of money that is sure to turn a few people off, that being said let’s have a closer look at this beautiful piece and explore the many wonders.
Case
The titanium brushed case measures in at a nice 39mm, the sweet spot for me and an excellent 9mm thick, perfect to slid under any cuff. The side profile of this watch is rugged and strong, it looks fierce and angry, with sharp turns and ridges used excellently to compliment the watch. It features a brushed finished and the case bevels sharply into the short lugs giving this a compact feel on the wrist. The other side of the case features the same details and is accompanied by a nicely sized and finished signed crown. No screw-down crown here but the watch does have 100m of water resistance. Pull the crown out to the first position and you have the quick-set date position, pull it out to the second position and you have a hacking seconds hand and the position to change the hour and minute hands. Have a look at the Vacheron Constantin 222 then come back here, the bezel takes heavy influence from that, and why not? It’s absolutely beautiful. It helps with the overall bold image this watch is portraying. The whole bezel is evenly and excellently finished the whole way round and sits atop the case very nicely.
Dial
The rhodium dial is when things start to heat up for me, it’s a busy dial with a lot going on, but in no way feels cluttered. It features applied indices from 1-12 in a deep black colour to contrast the rhodium dial. At the 3 o’clock position, but not at the expense of the 3 numeral is the date window. Anyone who has ever read a review from me knows that I love a colour matched date window and that fact that this isn’t bugs me slightly, but overall the window is clear and the numerals inside it read beautifully. One last thing on the date window, I would have preferred the 3 to have been removed and the date window to take its place.
Down at the 6 o’clock position it reads rather unusually ‘Hand made’ and just above the numeral, we have the multi-coloured power reserve indicator. In my opinion, this provides some much needed colour to the dial and it really pops against the dial. Winding the crown and you get to watch this indicator slide towards the deepest blue on the indicator, a beautiful addition on an already beautiful dial. Over at the 9 o’clock position but again, not at the expense on the 9 is the stainless steel sub-second dial that balances the dial wonderfully.
The dial is complete with 2 diamond cut hands with a slither of lume on the tips. I’m a bit of a lume junkie and the lume on the hands is rather disappointing but not really necessary on this watch. All of this visible behind sapphire crystal with 5 layers of anti reflective coating.
Movement
The development of the in-house K1 movement was a long and hard road for Horage that took 7 years of sweat and some tears I’m sure. The K1 beats away at 25,200 vibrations per hour and there’s a reason for this slightly slower rate, that is so this watch can be complimented with a mammoth 65 hour power reserve in this watch, meaning you can happily set this watch on the stand over the weekend, wear your beater, then pick this back up on Monday morning and it’s still ticking away for you.
Not only do you get an in-house movement with this watch, but you also get a COSC accuracy movement, a standard that only 3% of mechanical watches reach, pretty exclusive company to be it. The efficiency of the movement is also increased thanks to the teams tireless efforts in creating their own silicon escapement technology that creates an almost frictionless movement and ensures a lifetime of reliability with the movement. The movement is finished with a high standard and features a tungsten rotor that is laser etched with the company logo.
I must say, I’ve seen prettier looking movements than this, but the hard work that has gone into it means that it has to be admired.
Bracelet
The whole package is complete with a fantastic titanium 3 link bracelet, making this whole package feel extremely lightweight whilst still feeling excellently made and finished. This is my first time handling a titanium watch and I couldn’t believe how light the watch was when I first lifted it up. On the wrist there were times when I genuinely forgot I was wearing anything. The bracelet is magnificently done and features the same level and style of finishing used in the case. The bracelet features an extremely secure U-flex, single fold clasp that feels nice and snug when on the wrist. The only issue I have with the bracelet is that it doesn’t taper at all, it’s stays the same width the whole way round the wrist making it look kind of clunky and large.
Final thoughts
Producing an in-house movement is no easy feat, the team have worked extremely hard to get to this point so I feel that that needs to be recognised. The level on finishing and work that has gone into this watch is special and I feel that Horage are making moves in the watch world, especially with their imminent Tourbillon release. At the start of this review I questioned the cost of this watch, but, looking deeper into the finer details I can happily say that the fee commanded is justified.
Specs;
- Case: Brushed titanium
- Diameter: 39mm
- Movement: K1 automatic 65h power reserve
- Functions: Big date , Power reserve indication , Small second
- Rotor: Tungsten laser etched with Horage logo
- Dial: Unidirectional Carbon or Rhodium
- Hands: Diamond cut with luminous
- Crystal: 5 layer anti-reflection sapphire crystal
- Case Back: Sapphire crystal
- Crown: Titanium
- Strap: Titanium 3 links bracelet
- Buckle: Titanium, U-flex, single fold (pat.pend)
- Water resistance: 100m
