Many moons have come and gone since I first reviewed the Formex Essence 39. A model I described as being a grail I yearned to add to my then small collection, a milestone I ended up reaching by some miracle. But something strange often happens when a watch lands on my desk once to be reviewed and then comes back again as my own—the initial excitement dies down once I realize it is mine to keep and my perspective of it has ever so slightly been altered because the hope to have it has vanished and the chase has run its course. You know the feeling—you educated yourself about a watch you strive to acquire, paid it a visit at your local dealer (whenever that is possible) once or twice, and finally pressed the “Add to cart” button after that you’ve dotted the i’s and crossed all the t’s of your in-depth research. But then again it is here, on your desk, majestically sitting in its watch box waiting for you to pick it up, size the bracelet, and strap it on. But something has changed. You’ve changed. It has changed. 

But it is the watches that truly are made for us that do not change and don’t change us, quite the opposite as it happens. From being a dream they become a reality that is far better than what you have imagined owning the watch would be. And that is what happened to me being the proud owner of an Essence 39 which turned out just as Formex intended: an elegant sports watch for the everything of life—a wedding, GHPG award ceremony, working an 8-to-11 on Wall Street, mowing the lawn, taking out the trash, climbing Mount Everest for the fifth time, strolling the boardwalks of the French Riviera—the stuff the most iconic of Swiss luxurious versatile timepieces were made out of back in the day when…things were frankly better. Back when I first reviewed the Essence, I thought there was but one thing I would want to change about it, swapping the push/pull crown for a screw-down one, as everything else was just about perfect. A seemingly minute alteration Formex added to a secret list of upgrades for the next generation. 

While my desire for that change never impacted my view of the Essence 39, little did I know Formex would find ways to improve upon what was objectively the best in horology. This is what we’re about to discover through an analysis of the refined Essence 39 in Radiant Bronze. 

Specifications 

I know—my review of the Formex a few years back contained an obscene amount of positivity about the watch, more so than I typically unload into my lengthy articles, even though I’m quite generally an enthusiastic fella when it comes to horology. If you were put off by my extreme enthusiasm before, you might be sick of it this time around because I know for sure, and for a fact, that Formex has created the proverbial ultimate everyday sports watch (or go-anywhere-do-anything/GADA or everyday-all-occasions-watch/EAOW as I described the Laco Pro Flieger Stuttgart 37mm to be) on the market today across categories and price brackets. For there is a shit a load of technical and design goodness the brand wrapped into this $1,980 USD timepiece (that is for the Essence 39 on the stainless steel bracelet. More on that later) when every single element has been objectively considered. As we’re about to see, more than adding a screw-down crown, which was perhaps the easiest of the upgrades to realize, Formex went to town with its betterment. 

So yes, Formex added a screw-down crown which I wished they had equipped the previous generation Essence 39 with, which does not however alter this model’s water resistance—it was and remains 100 meters—which means they did so for our subjective piece of mind and to make this collection even more attractive to the most fervent of watch nerds amongst us*. The absence of the screw-down crown on mine never prevented me from treating the Essence 39 as if it had one—because a 100 meter depth-rating is a 100 meter depth-rating and is more than enough for 99.99% of activities I realistically embark on including recreational diving. (Come on guys, really?) But it is here, it’s awesome, and it perfectly goes hand-in-hand with the additional upgrades: the new Sellita SW200-2 caliber (4Hz) whose power reserve was upped from 41 to 65 hours, still COSC-certified to run between -4/+6 seconds per day. As well as a new on-the-fly micro-adjustment mechanism fitted within the bracelet’s double-pusher butterfly clasp. That is quite aaa lot already. 

*You know who you are and you know them: those who would look down on a Rolex Ultra Deep because its crown isn’t lumed. 

But circling back to that darn screw-down crown we must: it might not have changed the Essence 39’s depth rating but it didn’t alter its dimensions either: it still measures 39mm in diameter, 45.5mm lug-to-lug and 10mm thick. Actually, in my previous review I indicated that the L2L distance of the previous generation Essence 39 was 45mm, but who counts and who would realistically have the balls to say Oh yeah I feel that .5mm difference on the wrist! No one worth of our attention would say so. Thus, the refined Essence 39 wears as superbly now as it did before on my 6.50”/16.5cm wrist, clocking in at 130 on the stainless steel bracelet sized to my average French flesh-and-bone apparatus. And the bracelet remains one of the best in the game after all of these years and even after that I have reviewed quite a few outstanding specimens from other brands: quick-release spring-bars, screwed links, a well-machined butterfly clasp, and of course the new quick-adjustment mechanism giving 3mm of adjustment on each side, so 6mm in total. 

The mechanism is of the push/pull variety and can be operated wearing the watch on the wrist by either tugging on the bracelet away from the clasp or pushing it in towards it. It actually works and offers a more refined, and more sexy I would even add, micro-adjustment solution compared to the previous one, for the new system is better integrated within the bracelet’s overall design. Besides all of this technical goodness, the Essence 39 Radiant Bronze comes with the same bells and whistles as its predecessor did: Formex’s patented case suspension system which is anything but gimmicky for it has come in handy on many occasions; a sandwich sapphire construction where both the front and back of the watch are equipped with clear-coated flat pieces of sapphire crystals; excellent applications of BGW9 SuperLuminova on the hour and minute hands as well as all applied hour markers; and the option for quality leather, rubber, or fabric straps equipped with Formex’s patented micro-adjustable carbon-fiber clasps. That’s aaa lot indeed. 

Design

I suspect you might have arrived to this review for one of many reasons: (1) you own a previous generation Essence 39 and you’re curious to know what the new stuff is all about; (2) you’re on the hunt for your next best watch; (3) you own other Formex models and feel the time is ripe for you to add an Essence to your collection; (4) its gorgeous, semi-elegant, semi-sporty aesthetic seduced you; (5) it’s past-dinner time and you happen to have stumbled upon this review and realized the following: you didn’t have an Essence and now is the time for you to have one; hot damn this watch is super sexy; and how lucky are you to have come across this article because you just happened to be looking for your next best timepiece. Now you already know that the refined Essence 39 is technically up-to-snuff with the best Swiss horology has to offer, for even if $1,980 USD seems like a lot of cash to dish out, you get better specs, superior manufacturing and finishing, and more in-house creativity and engineering than you would elsewhere.  

And unless you have never handled a Formex in the metal, but if you did you know because you do, trust me (and the pretty pictures) when I say that the manufacturing and finishing is excellent. It is so good in fact that it is an integral part of the watch’s design and beauty itself, for it highlights its perfect metal chassis: the compact format of the Essence 39 equals a fantastic wearing experience, and a lovely one to boot for its angular and sharp character is emphasized by fine juxtapositions of horizontal and vertical satin-brushed touches on the case flanks and upper case sections, and mirror-polished accents on the ultra-thin chamfers running from one lug to the other, as well as the angled outer portion of the fixed bezel. Formex’s patented and unique case suspension system is seamlessly integrated within the chassis and only shows itself through the screws located at each of its corners, as is the screw-down crown recessed within it. And the bracelet is a perfect match on account of its equally refined aesthetics. 

And the dial—it was a remarkable piece of horological design way back when Formex first introduced the Essence in 43mm with the old logo, which it refined throughout the years that followed, and made pretty much perfect for when I got mine. I am as charmed by the Radiant Bronze dial as I have been with the Blue variant, for the CNC-machined horizontal grooves, combined with the vertical brushed finishes plays with the light as two experienced dancers would tango, appearing darker or brighter depending on the light source and the angle at which you glance at the dial. In most viewing conditions, a discreet pearlescent finish emanates from the dial main and delicately plays with the gun metal finish of the oblong faceted applied hour markers and the Formex-style hands (for the lack of a more judicious naming convention) also finished in a gun metal paint, however showcasing a fine alternation of polished bevels and brushed upper sections. The whole is complemented by the beveled trapezoidal date aperture I’m still fond of today. 

The Heart of the Matter

Formex rendered my job pretty easy with this one: it jeujed a collection I deemed to be as close to being perfect as any watch could be, despite the absence of the screw-down crown on my Essence 39 Blue which, as you know, didn’t prevent me from using the darn thing as I deemed safe and sound to do so. According to my old review, the Essence 39 in question retailed for $1,450 USD on the bracelet and the new one—the refined Essence 39—will set you back $1,980 USD on the bracelet as well. According to my ultra-complex scientific mind, Formex is therefore asking us to dish out an extra $530 USD for the upgraded version and its many essential, high-end, nerd-satisfying and watch-snob-silencing superb upgrades: the screw-down crown, a better movement with a higher power reserve (for the Sellita SW200-2 also comes with better shock resistance,) and a new proprietary built-in on-the-fly micro-adjustment mechanism. You know what? That’s half the amount Doxa asks for the SUB 250 GMT compared to the SUB 200 for a fourth hand and redesigned dial. Oh My Genta! 

Yes, everything keeps getting more and more expensive in this world—gas, eggs, movements, cases, hands, dials, electricity, fuel, and a Starbucks black coffee—without taking into account the overall increase of everybody’s cost of living each year. However, and given all of this, I find that the extra dineros Formex is asking for these three major upgrades is more than reasonable when all things are carefully considered. There are many brands out there which are milking us—the enthusiasts and collectors—dry for one subjective reason or another stupid one, but rare are the well-established independent houses of watchmaking which can offer such good horology for such a relatively affordable amount of cash. Thus, Formex though the refined Essence 39 and any of its other collections, proves once again that it is the master of this segment of horology for it is one of the few rare brands which concocted a recipe to improve upon what was best already. I told you I’d be obscenely positive, didn’t I? 

Conclusion 

I know what you’re doing right now: you’ve reached for your credit card and opened www.formexwatch.com to select which of the refined Essence 39 you’re about to add to your cart and patiently wait for it to be delivered in October. And you have four dial options for this marvel of sportive horology: Radiant Bronze as we saw today, Blue with silver accents (my all-time favorite,) White with blue accents, and Black Pearl with rose-gold accents (the latter costs an extra $80 USD and is currently marked as sold out.) And you also have the option between 14 fastening systems including the stainless bracelet for $1,980 USD total, several fitted leather, fabric and rubber straps equipped with the brand’s micro-adjustable carbon-fiber clasp and quick-release system for $1,850 USD total. So much to choose from albeit do get the bracelet, trust me. 

Thanks for reading.