Preview: Hemel Watches

You may have missed it (The Time Bum sure did), but Hemel Watches had a fantastic Kickstarter campaign that raised over $42k towards production. 

Marvin Menke is the man behind Hemel. He is watch enthusiast with over 20 years of design experience, including for high profile brands like Donna Karan, The Gap, Nautica and Remy Martin. Turning his eye to affordable watches, he cooked up the Hemel Military (HM) series, a tidy military inspired watch with a mid-sized case and a Miyota 9015. 

HM series watches draw upon traditional watch designs. All dials are black with white C3 SuperLuminova numbers and minute markers. The 24 has a second ring of markers for military time in the style of an A-17 watch. The Track follows the A-10 dial with a railroad track minute index. Both watches have pointed baton hands. The Arrowhead borrows a 1950's style layout with a combination of Arabic numbers and dart markers. Finally, the Spear adopts the oversize 12/3/6/9 of the Waterproof Wristet Watch. The Arrowhead and Spear have dauphine hands. All are fitted with 20mm, grommeted nylon straps and signed buckles.

The Hemels are rated for 100m water resistance with a screw down crown. Buyers may choose between polished or bead blasted stainless steel finishes. The watch is 40mm wide, 48mm long, and 13mm tall, including the domed sapphire crystal. Behind the screw down, sapphire display case back beats a Miyota 9015, a 24 jewel, hacking, hand winding automatic with a 28.8k bph vibration rate and 42-hour power reserve. The movement us secured by a durable brass retainer. 

I like the fact that Hemel chose a modest size for the HM line. They are not quite as small as the watches that inspired them but are closer to the original's proportions than today's 42-44mm norm. They are also a much better fit for daily wear on smaller wrists like mine. 

Full retail is $399, but you can still get one for 30% off if buy before the end of August and use code PREORDER. That $280 price is a nice deal for a 9015 and sapphire. For more info or to order your own, visit HemelWatches.com.

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