The world of horology has been vastly overtaken by short-lived trends over the past few years. Mostly hyped releases offering something too new to stick or too rare to make for a good story in and of itself. The latest collaboration between this famed YouTuber and this popular brand, or the newest rarest material to make a case out of. It seems that the more time passes, the less interested we are—us globally taken, the brands and consumers—in what is classic or timeless or a bit boring even. It’s as if we reject doing something standard or normal because we’ve been told in the past several years that only what is buzzing and out-of-the-ordinary deserves our attention. But this is quite sad because we feed ourselves on what is temporary and mostly out of our reach instead of finding pleasure and contentment in what is indeed standard and classic and which probably better fits our own preferences and daily routines more so than what initiates conversations with strangers or raises our Instagram profile. 

For I find there is a beauty in what is commonplace, affordable, simple, and replaceable. Not that I encourage anyone to live opulent lives and waste a ton of stuff, not at all. But the idea that we would feel alright damaging or losing a watch, for example, since it didn’t cost our retirement fund to acquire, is appealing for we apply this mindset to most other things we own—dishes, clothes, earbuds, home decor—as long as we pick them mindfully and live with them through a certain healthy detachment. In other words, one could be a watch enthusiast, nerd, collector, and derive immense pleasure from wearing affordable and simple watches and not what is trendy and hyped. And these are the thoughts which got randomly whipped together wearing the HTD Phantom LE, an already sold-out limited release invented by a watch brand you probably don’t hear about often enough and an online magazine you’ve never heard of, specializing in everything engine-powered from cars and motorcycles to airplanes and boats.

There is a connection between all of this I promise. 

Specifications 

There doesn’t seem to be any point in reviewing a sold-out limited-release watch and I would normally agree with you. But what is interesting about this particular piece is not who made it and why but what it is and what it means for our niche world of horology as it stands today. On the one hand, the HTD Phantom LE is a solid tool watch which comes with a distinct look and makes for a great everyday wear at a relatively attainable price point—$810 USD. On the other hand, it perpetuates a dying tradition of making simple watches whose interests are self-contained. By that I mean that it is the combination of its thoughtful design, good specifications, and overall confident character which give life to this watch and not the profile of the brands which created it, even though they evidently were essential in making the Phantom. HTD has been around for a decade but doesn’t make the front page of GQ; and Rolling Steel is an independent and too niche of online publication for you to most likely know about it.  

This is a tricky segue to force into a watch review but bear with me for a second.

So what the Phantom LE is circles back to what we love to talk about on Mainspring: honest horology, fully-fledged and healthily packaged utilitarian timepieces, which offer a refreshed interpretation of a classic style of watches. For this review to remain a review we thus need to talk about what this watch is made out of and what it looks like before returning to our philosophical jamming of just earlier. First, HTD knows how to make excellent cases which come with ultra slender profiles. The Phantom is equipped with a DLC-coated stainless steel chassis measuring a meager 37mm in diameter, 44mm lug-to-lug, 9mm thick (including the crystal,) and comes with a 20mm lug width. It is complemented by a screw-down crown and case-back for a healthy 100 meters of water resistance which is sufficient, as HTD puts it, to plunge 333 feet below the surface and to hover 33,000 feet above mean sea level (AMSL.) Thus the Phantom LE doubles as a dive-capable watch and pilot’s one and everything else in-between. 

Since you are a connoisseur of all things horology, you might have guessed who is ticking inside the super thin case of the HTD: a Japanese made Miyota 9039 caliber which is one of the thinnest in its category (3.90mm in height compared to a Sellita SW200-1’s 4.6mm or a Seiko NH35’s 5.32mm) which beats at 4Hz and comes with a standard 42 hours of power reserve. (Which I would say is enough of it. I don’t get the recent hype for 68+ hours of juice as if this was something we actually needed. But I digress.) Moreover, the HTD Phantom LE comes with a flat piece of sapphire crystal with multiple layers of inner anti-reflective coating, which the brand doesn’t list but I can tell exists. Generous applications of blue-glowing SuperLuminova on the hands and hour markers. And it ships on a black and light grey adjustable nylon strap I didn’t bother to adjust and instead slapped on a grey ribbed nylon NATO-style fastening system which visually pairs very well with the DLC coated case. All of this for $810 USD. 

Design 

And I do darnly like the way the Phantom LE looks as it looks like what good tool watches should always look like: purpose-driven and to the point. I’ve gushed over HTD’s case design and construction multiple times before when I reviewed the Hesagraph MKII Variante B and Aquàtic MKII SpaceBoy.The cases are indeed slender and thin even though they come with good water resistance, a solid construction, and a unique juxtaposition of concave and twisted lines. Starting from the farthest point we find lugs equipped with inner chamfers and straight-cut ends, a certain slab-sided profile which morph into slightly rounded case flanks which pinch down then flare out giving the case a thin and gently narrow arched side profile. A relatively small (5.8mm) yet ultra grippy crown contributes to the slenderness of the case whilst being highly functional. And the element which makes the Phantom look so majestic is the concave fixed bezel which flattens the case and naturally frames the dial whilst visually balancing the whole. 

The dial is very well done too and presents a classic interpretation of a pilot’s watch face. As HTD often does, and which we observed through the reviews of the Hesagraph and Aquàtic, is that the brand excels at doing classic and timeless which endow all of its collections with a familiar appearance. And I’ve been getting hands-on with more and more pilot watches recently and thus can appreciate the following: a large set of Alpha hands made of generous real estates for lume at their center and finished in a matte white paint. A white needle-shaped seconds hand, all three combined to large and clean Arabic numerals marking the hours 1 through 11 and the classic triangle + dots at the twelve which helps with orientation. Then quite a bit of dial text and imagery with the brand’s logo above the pinion and the unique mention of its depth rating below it. Finally, a simple minute track printed in white like the hour markers on a matte black background for superlative legibility. Therefore, a classic pilot’s watch. 

The Heart of the Matter

I know that this article is strange. I’m letting my mind meander through many typical and atypical thoughts which I do whenever reviewing watches which speak to me with great intensity and this is what it has come up with today: random but perhaps not so random thoughts about horology, hype, limited editions, and collaborations, since the HTD x Rolling Steel Phantom LE was limited to 150 pieces and sold out already. On the one hand, this watch is an excellent one—well designed, legible and clean, and well manufactured and finished, with a DLC case, good water resistance, and solid movement. On the other hand, it is a compelling creation for a limited edition though one which didn’t wow us by having some unique technical part to it or a very strange design, things we often do not find in thoughtfully created limited edition collaboration pieces. The Phantom LE is therefore not a hype watch as it wasn’t created by hyped brands in a hyped way, rather it is a simple and honest tool watch invented by two brands which are quietly living through the things they are passionate about: good machines with effective designs. 

That’s pretty much it folks. The only caveat this model comes with is to have been limited to 150 pieces as it would have acquired a legitimate spot in any enthusiast’ watch box. 

Conclusion

At the end of the day, what all of this might have taught us is to keep an eye out for what HTD is doing as each year it is working through various interesting releases which I love to analyze and dissect for Mainspring. All of its collections thus far have been attainable and solid, endowed with unique visual characters which do come across however as being familiar. And the Italian brand does strive to do unique collaborations with brands and companies you have most likely never heard of because they keep a low profile and focus on doing their own thing. So the Phantom LE was a quiet release though one the brands put a lot of energy into and I bet we’re going to see more of these in the near future. So keep an eye on HTD is what I’ve been trying to  say. 

Thanks for reading.