It is so special and clandestine, yet so spectacular and fantastic.
The independent spirit in the world of horology led us to witness the mushrooming industry of watchmaking over the last 10 years, with microbrands and start-ups sprouting from every corner of the Swiss valleys and even from around the world over. Resulting in a win for the consumers as it gives birth to a first-hand experience of the second renaissance of mechanical watches to many young enthusiasts.
One of the newest watch companies, which also happens to be the best-kept secret until recently, MicroMilspec was established in Oslo Norway in 2019 and is helmed by Henrik Rye, the CEO of Micromilspec. The young brand does not have many watches in its collection, but they are still in their early days. They are a made-to-order kind of watch company as well. If you haven’t worked out the meaning of the company’s name yet, here are more obvious hints, their main clients are usually from the military and air force sectors. The company is committed to producing professional watches for military purposes with a Scandinavian flare and a touch of modernity and applying Swiss craftsmanship. Ok, if you still don’t know what the name company means, it’s short for Micro Military Specifications, which consists of the first three letters of the second and third words.
Milgraph is their latest timepiece and it is a watch designed with a specific segment in mind, the aviation division of the military. And pays homage to 30 custom military projects, which inspired this watch. It has GMT and Chronograph functions which as we all know is a perfect combination for the pilot to time their path and their route as they cross the different time zones, as we know these days, they are all over the world participating in the action on the ground and air for international security sake, to keep them in tune with the home time.
The watch has a matte anthracite grey dial, decorated with SuperLuminova-filled indexes, 24-hours markers, skeleton hours, minutes and chrono second hands. The same treatment is seen on the Chrono sub-dials. The chrono hours totaliser is at 12 o’clock, the chrono minutes totaliser is at six o’clock and an unusual location for the continuous seconds is at three o’clock. The contrast between the grey and the white is immense and vital for reading the time of the dial easily, with minimal or zero confusion. Utterly clean and minimal yet functional without fuss.
Beneath the stoic but attractive dial lies the powerhouse that churned the mechanism of the calibre with precision, and its s calibre sourced from La Joux Perret, the L121 with 60 hours of power reserve. It’s not your run-of-the-mill manufacturer but from a renowned and yet exclusive movement specialist from the Swiss Alpine Valleys. The sophisticated and alluring dial with the movement is housed in a grade 5 matte polished 42mm titanium case, with a 120 clicks unidirectional bezel with engraved minute scale. With a crown position specially at nine o’clock, yes, a left hooker, and that is because it doesn’t want to be in the way of the pilot’s wrist when they want to make quick and extreme manoeuvres when wearing their flight suits.
The Milgraph is shall we say, every inch what you would expect from a Norwegian company, adroit, stoic, and serious, with a sizeable dose of dry humour. Simply powerful, without breaking a sweat. If you are convinced and find the Milgraph attractive and irresistible, you have better rush down to their local sole retailer and get one or put your name down for one as there are only 50 pieces made per annum.
