So far this year, subtle iteration has been the name of the game when it comes to new watches. Most of the notable new watches we’ve seen from brands of all sizes haven’t really been new at all, but variants based on ideas that have come before. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course. It’s good to provide your customers with options, and sometimes a new color or texture can genuinely breathe life into a collection. But let’s be real: we want to see new watches that see brands experimenting, pushing themselves, and expanding their design vocabulary. So it’s exciting to see Fears announce the Arnos today, an entirely new family of watches based on watches from the brand’s historic archives.
Named for Arnos Vale, the neighborhood in Bristol where you’ll find Fears headquarters, the Arnos collection was conceived as the family of watches that would be home to case shapes with an angular profile. The first watch out of the gate, the Arnos Pewter Blue, brings back a traditional rectangular platform to the Fears catalog. The case has been designed with a pronounced curve to the caseback and crystal, an effort to make the four sided watch a bit more ergonomic. It’s crafted from steel and measures 33.5mm across with a 40mm lug to lug measurement. Case height is a tidy 8.4mm.
The blue dial at the center of the Arnos is surrounded by what Fears refers to as an “outer dial” and features a distinctive hobnail pattern cut by a CNC machine that is then Rhodium plated. The inner dial is sunken and has been given a galvanic blue coating. Time is read via Roman numerals, which Fears tells us they’re using for the first time here in a core model during the modern era of the brand. The strongest design language link from the Arnos to other Fears watches is likely the pipette shaped hands, seen here in what is likely their most diminutive form to date.
The Arnos Pewter Blue ships with two straps, both made to spec for Fears by Delugs. One is in Barenia leather, and is frankly just about what you’d expect for a watch like this, and is likely very nice quality given that it’s been made by Delugs. But the other strap is quite a bit more interesting, and recontextualizes the Arnos immediately. This one is made from rubber, with a smooth finish in dark blue. It makes a watch that, on paper, reads as a dress piece, feel quite a bit more sporty. It’s interesting that Fears is launching the Arnos family in this way, as if it remove it from the “dress watch” conversation almost entirely. And while I don’t think it would be fair to label the Arnos a sports watch (it only has 30 meters of water resistance) it strikes me that it’s very much in line with other “casual elegant” watches that use dress watch motifs (a slim rectangular case, in this instance) in a more “everyday” context.
The Arnos Pewter Blue is powered by a Sellita SW100 automatic movement with 46 hours of power reserve. Delivery is expected in July of this year, with the retail price sitting at roughly $4,700 (after currency conversion and removal of VAT). Fears
