Purchasing a watch that can make you feel great about yourself is the end goal of any purchase, be it $100 or $3,000. Nordgreen has a unique approach to this. They enlist the talents of Danish designer, Jacob Wagner, to forge a watch that is simple, open, elegant, and unique. And then they pull together a team with the initiative to produce these watches responsibly, ethically, and responsibly. This watch will not only plant trees with your purchase, but will also accent your character during your next business meeting.
Nordgreen is a relatively new business (they got their start on Kickstarter), but their business model has them firmly secured within the realm of responsible management and production. Which is where we come in. We want to see great companies like this succeed, and it sure makes it easy when their product is just as viable and exciting as the model that built them.
Introducing the Nordgreen Pioneer Chronograph.
Notice the clean open space within the multiple dials. Take note of the subtle and classic logo, the thin markers, the wind turbine-inspired arms with an elegant touch of red strategically placed on the tips. It takes skill to create a complex watch design, but it takes even more skill to hold back a design until its simplicity and quiet innovation become its true signature.
Laying across your wrist at only 42mm and 11.9mm in thickness, the Pioneer makes a bold statement through design rather than size. In fact, we would say that it catches some extra attention on your wrist thanks to the clever use of all that clean space. And sometimes in a cleverly designed watch under $300, once your attention is grabbed, that is when the flaws begin to take over. But not in the Pioneer.
The dial layout on the Pioneer is put together with attention to detail and craftsmanship. The date window is centered where it should be, the arms tick each marker with precision, and the resetting of the chronograph happens with the grace of a ballet dancer. And we did say under $500, so we are talking about a Japanese Quartz, but it is a damn fine quartz movement.
And you get a lot of other nice touches, including 316L stainless steel, domed sapphire crystal, and just enough options to make you happy while not overwhelming you. Starting with the 316L case which can be forged in your choice of silver, gunmetal, or gold. Next comes the dial color, which we are quite happy with either white, blue, or black. The band is where things get a bit crazier with the options of 3-link 316L steel, stainless mesh, nylon, leather, vegan leather, and rubber.
We had a hard time deciding which band we wanted to see the Pioneer with but finally settled on the Dove Grey vegan, which we couldn’t be happier with. The leather is incredibly soft, and not in a delicate way. You can bend, twist, and pull this band, and it holds its shape and texture as it should. The back of the strap has been combed to produce a warm suede softness that reminds us of why a leather strap is still king of the chronograph.
The straps on the Pioneer are also made for a quick change in color and styles There is a small lever built into the strap that allows you to pull it off with one tug and replaces it with a different strap just as easily. The back features the Nordgreen logo and a snapback for easy battery replacement, but with this movement and well-balanced arms we suspect its longevity will be longer than average for a chronograph.
We had more to say about this fine watch, but the Pioneer had a few things it wanted to say for itself. And so we rolled our cameras and this is what happened next:
We highly recommend the Nordgreen brand. You may want to slip plenty of hints as gift ideas for your girlfriend… or just buy one for yourself!
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About Pamela Causfield
I'm a digital nomad and story teller that writes for Urbasm and a few other websites on men's interests, style, relationships and whatever tickles my fancy. In my spare time I like to play the field in search of my prince, travel, and consider myself an artisan of sarcasm at times.