Locke & King
A new Canadian watch brand from Hamilton, ON – the industrial capital of Canada – which was founded in 2020.
As far as I know the „Locke & King” brand name came from a prominent intersection name, where Ryan the founder used to live. Ryan has an idea, that you are living a life full of intersections, you have to choose the directions. Every minute is an intersection and watches are the tools we use to choose where to go!
The name of the first model also comes from a place. The James Street in Hamilton, Ontario is an entry point for newcomers to Canada, and it is like a distribution point, you can go to the main facilities and important buildings from here.
You can check out their website here!
I hope I can visit this street sometime in my life!
The watch came in a simple leather-coated box, which is pretty quality.
The first models are called „The James” as I mentioned earlier, and the new „Ossington” models recently came out!
There are 3 types, the Copper/Midnight Blue, the Matte Black, and the Silver/Cream. I got the silver one and I could say it even looks more desirable in real life than in the pictures.
It has nice and comfortable quick-release leather straps, simple and good quality. In the end, you can find a polished stainless-steel buckle with an engraved Locke & King logo.
The case is also something special. It is 316L stainless steel and nicely polished everywhere. The diameter of the case is 42mm, the lug-to-lug size is 48mm, the lug width is 20mm and the 12.4mm thickness is not an everyday nature of dress watches. The designers combined the heritage of the railroad watches with the design of the old vintage watches because of their connection to the history of the street. Actually, I felt it the moment I put it on my wrist.
On the case back you can find the logo with the motto of the brand, with some other details like the serial number and other things. It is a molded case back and the serial numbers are unique on each watch!
The coin edge and the ridged bezel give some vintage garnish to the dial and the whole watch. It was a bit strange for me for the first time, but I pretty much like it since I start to wear this timekeeper a lot.
It has a screw-down crown with an embossed logo on it. It is pretty strange. It was unexpected for me, but a great surprise. A sapphire crystal is always a great choice I could say.
The James only has 50m water resistance, which is okay for a dress watch, or for a field watch, but with the screw-down crown and with the thick case they should have gone for at least 100m WR. Not a necessary thing, but it would increase the line of the great features.
The case is really smooth everywhere, with no sharp edges anywhere, and great work out there!
The alpha hands are matching to the vintage atmosphere, and they have some Swiss lume on them. It has an outstanding second hand, it is red-tipped referencing the compass needle and indicating „Northern Time”. No lume on the hour markers, which is in my opinion, a great choice, because it would break the harmony of the dial.
The subtle sectored dial is inspired by the classic clock of Hamilton’s old city hall. This dial design completes the whole vintage feeling. The hour markers are mixed with Arabic numerals and sticks. The 3 and 9 should be a little bigger, it would give some more fantasy to the dial. At 12 you can find the logo, at 6 there is a round date window and a „Canada” and an „automatic” sign.
My father suggested that the date window should be bigger. He wears glasses for reading, so I can understand his opinion, which is another point of view. However, it would break the harmony of the dial because the date window is just as big as the numeral hour markers.
Inside of the watch works a 21 jeweled cal.8215 Miyota automatic movement. It has a power reserve of 42 hours; the vibration frequency is 21,000 BPH. It is also windable by hand, and its accuracy of it is -20/+40 seconds per day.
The price is really friendly, 500 Canadian dollars without shipping. In USD it is 388,8 dollars.
One more really important thing is that 10% of every watch sold goes to Right to Play Canada!
It was a great surprise for me, it is good quality and I like the story behind it, the vintage design, and the fact that only 300 pieces were made of each color!
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