Isn’t it funny how things come and go, circle back, and cycle through endless trends? About five years ago we were elated because we finally got quality microbrand tool watches made with Seiko NH35 calibers, sapphire crystals, and good lume. We were happy with what arguably was “enough” for everyday wear. Who gave a Wombat’s furry buttock about lumed crowns? Carbon fiber cases? Ceramic bezel inserts (which make no sense on tool watches, by the way)? But now the Watch Wisdom dictates that micro and independent brands should give us more for less and jettison their own principles to meet our unrealistic expectations. We don’t need get-shit-done watches with meteorite dials, mirror-polished cases, and on-the-fly micro-adjustment systems. No, what we need are affordable, robust, and straightforward get-shit-done tool watches. They are tools, not flex accessories. Where is the (watch) world going? You wonder, I wonder, we wonder. 

But look no further for your next pragmatic diver because we got one for you and we’re going to tell you all about it today. Heralding from Eugene, Oregon, in the United States, the Foster Watch Co. was created by two friends, Everett Meadows and Christian Amondson, the former a microbrand enthusiast, the latter a watch person with an expertise in running online businesses. Their goal was to create the enthusiast’s skin diver which we can all afford, throw in the water for a turtle-gazing scuba trip, and then proudly sport for an evening out in the city without being yelled at for spending too much dough on a “useless accessory.” Their first and unique creation to date is the 11 Atmos Skin Diver which has everything you need for $400 USD: a good movement, good bezel, good crystal, good case, good bracelet. It is deprived of the superfluous and choke-full of the necessary. 

Specifications 

Let’s assume, and hopefully rightfully so, that you know the difference between a skin diver and a “diver.” So as you know, the former is a thinner, easier to wear version of the latter, typically with less but enough water resistance for all regular urban and outdoorsy activities. Here 11 Atmos which is 110 meters which is indeed sufficient for all of you recreational divers and wannabes saturation divers who spend more time desk diving than diving all together. 100 meters of water resistance is a realistic sweet spot for a lot of folks—even though they aren’t aware of it—as it makes it possible to keep the watch thin, here 12.1mm including the domed acrylic crystal. Don’t hate on the latter because you would love it should you actually try it. Acrylic crystals are (to me) clearer than sapphire, as well as more shock resistant, warmer in tones, and in my experience really easy to make anew with a tube of Polywatch. 

I’ve scratched and deep-scratched a few acrylic crystals in the recent past and with a dash of elbow grease and patience, any scratch and gashes can be polished out. 

And the Foster 11 Atmos wears superbly on my 6.50”/16.5cm wrist thanks to having a case measuring 39mm in diameter, 48mm lug-to-lug, and having a 20mm lug with. These are the perfect proportions for a modern skin diver which typically come with a Manta Ray-shaped stainless steel body characterized by prominent lugs and a thin mid case. These superb dimensions, as showcased in the photos inhabiting this article, are complemented by a robust caliber perfect for all of your adventures, the Miyota 90S5 (4Hz/42 hours of power reserve,) a bi-directional and black PVD-coated 48-click bezel—the clicks are precise in a Sinn-like manner—, generous applications of blue-glowing SuperLuminova on the hands and painted hour markers, and a small screw-down crown paired to a recessed screw-down case-back. Lastly, the 11 Atmos is shipped on an all-brushed flat link bracelet equipped with quick-release spring-bars and push-pins. 

Exactly all we were asking for a few years back. 

Design 

The Foster Watch Co. and the 11 Atmos came out in 2022, that’s therefore three years through which yours truly had to be tremendously patient as this model sparked my interest at first digital sight. The monochromatic aesthetic of this version (there are six in total) immediately appealed to my boring French self as it provides the most toned-down look whilst being the most legible. Though looking at the brand’s website, all versions of the 11 Atmos are legible as Foster did a great job making tiny adaptations of the design to work with each dial color. (i.e. they circled the hour markers with black paint on the orange, grey, and white versions.) But the black 11 Atmos is not just a white-on-black diver, instead it is an exercise in functional design—which I would also define as being supremely timeless—whilst being its own thing. And you see, there lies the contradictory beauty of this model: it's resolutely straightforward and different. 

So let’s analyze what makes the Foster 11 Atmos a watch you should seriously consider buying—should you be cool enough to sport one, of course. First, there are the polished and faceted baton hour and minute hands, with space for lume in their middle, highly legible at all angles and most lighting conditions because they are faceted. In other words, natural and artificial light is refracted by each facet at various angles which almost certainly guarantee that they are always visible. The seconds hand, which is a bit less crucial, is also fully polished but flat, though decorated at its tip with an oblong element inhabited by two lumed sections. In a classic and good utilitarian manner, the hour hand reaches the hour markers, the minute hand the minute hash-marks, and the seconds hand almost touches the vertical rehaut. The handset is delightfully simple and efficient at indicating the time and pairs oh so well with the dial. 

The latter is matte and showcases a paradise-like super fine sandy texture which absorbs light and highlights the hands, and welcomes large printed hour markers of different shapes: inverted triangle at the twelve, rounded batons at the 3, 6, and 9, and circles everywhere else. The dial layout is rather classic but I appreciate the proportions and shape of all markers and the addition of simple text: the brand logo above the pinion and the model name below it. An element which aids in making the dial so legible is the addition of thin white borders around each hour marker, which defines them even more so strongly. Lastly, the particular shape of the acrylic crystal makes it appear as though the dial slopes down, it doesn’t, but the effect is still here and is still cool. With the 11 Atmos it is clear that Everett and Christian wanted to create an ultra legible tool watch and they have succeeded. 

But before we move onto the thought-provoking section of the review, let’s gush over the case and bezel for a while. As mentioned above, the case has a rather typical skin diver profile and proportions, with a twist. Looking at the watch head as a whole, it has a domed profile starting from the top of the crystal to the base of the lugs. And between the bezel and lugs, it curves down and then flattens which is something I’ve never seen on a skin diver. The effect in the metal is outstanding and on the wrist, it aids in making a thin watch even thinner. The 11 Atmos is a delight to wear, as the narrow mid-case arches over the wrist and the small crown (5.6mm in diameter) is anchored to the upper section of the former making the latter steer clear of the skin. And that bezel! Clean, multi-functional, animated by 48 crisp ball-bearing clicks. A delight. 

The Heart of the Matter

I kidded you not when I said I waited three years to get hands-on with the Foster 11 Atmos. Why it took so long is of no interest to discuss here as it would require another 1,500 words to describe a mish-mash of odd and beautiful life occurrences. But here we are and here we rejoice. The 11 Atmos is cool, old school micro cool, and what we’ve been missing for a while. It reminds me of what I wanted to see in a tool watch when I first seriously got into the hobby more than ten years ago. I wanted a diver with a clean dial, good specs, and a reasonable price tag. That’s it. No superfluous dial texture, chronometer-grade calibers, lumed crown, ceramic bezel insert, top-hat sapphire crystal with dozens of layers of inner anti-reflective coating. I wanted (but I didn’t need) a straightforward tool watch because that’s what I am into and what I know is enough for me. 

But I’m not you and you are not me. 

Though I have the feeling that you wouldn’t read more than 1,500 words about a watch if a small part of you didn’t agree with what has been said here. Although Foster has been around for three years only, its creators have been in the hobby for much longer than that. So we can look at the 11 Atmos as a watch that should have been made a long time ago, and it surely has been in their mind for a while. And so instead of being born five years too late, it came to be exactly when it needed to—when we needed it to. You see, the world of horology is going through another crisis. Folks say they want fancy things, different things, and brands say “why not?” There is nothing timeless about what most brands create today and that’s a shame because most of what we see are fads and what will follow is a deep need to return to what is classic and indeed timeless. 

And the Foster Watch Co. is here and waiting for you. 

Conclusion 

Today, $400 USD isn’t a lot of money to spend on a watch. Today, we spend more to get less and that’s a real shame. Luckily, there are a few brands like Foster which are here to remind us that there are places where we can get good tool watches for the price we should have to pay for a good tool watch. Not more, not less. And of course with the 11 Atmos you get a lot for your hard-earned digital money: a premium Miyota 90S5 caliber, a domed acrylic crystal, 100 meters of water resistance, a well-proportioned case of 39 x 48 x 12.1mm, complemented by a universal 20mm lug width, as well as a legible dial and great lume. That’s cool and that’s what we have been missing for a while. So why don’t you click here to check out the full line up? 

Thanks for reading.