Mainspring is all about rehashing a few topics over and over again, through which we tell, and retell, stories about the fascinating world of microbrands. Topics which include: the impossible task of putting a price tag on creativity and design; how value, which is a highly subjective matter, morphs each year into something new (if not each month;) the actual non-necessity of certain specifications for daily life even though the Watch Wisdom presses us to believe we need them; the negative impact massively manufactured AliExpress specials have on the relevance of genuine mom-and-pop brands; the importance of the singular personal stories brand owners convey through their collections; and how special it feels to be able to tag along brands’ evolution by studying as many of their watches as possible throughout a long period of time. The latter is something I am privileged to have experienced with brands such as Marathon, RZE, MKII, Beaucroft, Draken, Fears, Formex, Laco, and Lorier amongst a few others. 

And the latter—Lorier—is a brand that speaks to my horological heart with great intensity for it deals with a blend of tool watches I am particularly fond of, that of vintage-inspired classics of watchmaking: field, GMT, diver, and pilot watches whose designs transparently pay homage to iconic references in each category, equipped with below modern-average dimensions, healthy specifications, timeless aesthetics, and sold at competitive prices given what the rest of the market offers each year excluding AliExpress specials no authentic microbrand could ever compete with. (Otherwise it would be akin to demanding Apple to manufacture iPhones in the U.S. of A without charging American prices for them.) And Lorier recently unleashed new versions of all of its core collections including the Falcon, my favorite of the excellent bunch, now in its fourth iteration and known under the reference 325080 which preserves the third generation’s styling but comes with a few noticeable visual and technical upgrades. 

And to get the price out of the way: it retails for $699 USD and is currently on pre-order. 

Specifications 

The aforementioned privilege of being able to tag along brands’ evolution comes with a few perks: to observe how they fine-tune or revamp their designs over several years of making the same collections; how they preserve or change the value of their models; the things they get rid of and those which they add; and whether or not their horological creations improve in terms of manufacturing and finishing as these domains relate to specifications, design, and price. In other words, should a brand double the price of a model from Y generation to X generation, the latter should be packed with value-add features (however subjective they might be) to justify the price hike. In terms of Lorier and the Falcon, the new generation retails for $699 USD whilst the previous generation could be had for $499 USD—so, according to my ultra-scientific calculations, the Falcon’s price increased by $200 USD over a period of three years which is when the third generation came out. Already there we have some things to discuss and a perspective to set. 

Even though value is indeed a highly subjective topic, its meaning has changed in the past few years because of the massively produced Chinese watches a la San Martin, Seastern, Militado, Baltany and many others (which I have no problem writing about by the way) since they are produced in enormous quantities in the same factories and sold at below-normal prices on AliExpress or now directly through the brands’ own websites. Even though many Western microbrand models are also manufactured in China and other Asian countries, anything that is visually a bit more bespoke than your run-of-the-mill straight-up homage is slapped with higher manufacturing costs which makes it more challenging for microbrands to eventually produce at scale insofar they desire to raise their prices by the smallest percentage possible. Thus, a Falcon retailing for $699 USD in today’s watch world seems to me to be reasonable given what you get—as we’re about to see—and the fact that the brand has been making small batches of it, by necessity, not by design.

Picture this: a mom-and-pop furniture store asks Ikea to manufacture a collection of dining tables for them. Evidently, these tables will cost more purchased from the micro shop than they would at Ikea because it is specifically made for them. I hope this analogy makes some kind of sense. 

But first things first, at last, let’s talk about what you get for your money from a technical point of view. Lorier launched the first generation Falcon in 2018 and it was back then, and remains today, one of the smallest tool/everyday sports watches one could/can find on the market. Back then indeed it was hard to imagine any microbrand making such a small timepiece and it was an extraordinary and bold feat for Lorier to release the Falcon in a 36mm diameter while a 2017 Baltic HMS01’s 38mm diameter was considered by many discerning enthusiasts to be as petite as a watch should ever be. Throughout the years and the generations the Falcon has maintained its Vincent—perfect dimensions of 36 x 44 x 10.4mm (more or less a couple of millimeters here and there of course) as it places it within the sought-after and dreamed-of Rolex Explorer Ref. 1016 territory. (Let’s be clear: Lorier has always been transparent as to where the inspiration for its collections came from and did so before any other brand as far as my little brain remembers.) 

Over the generations, the Falcon got better bracelets, better movements, better manufacturing and finishing, but remained equipped with a vintage-inspired heavily domed hesalite crystal Lorier’s co-founders and husband-and-wife team Lauren and Lorenzo stood by for as long as they could. Some moaned the hesalite and demanded sapphire and now the Falcon, as are all Lorier’s collections, proudly sports a domed sapphire crystal which, for once, doesn’t come with the milky-like-ring and distortions domed crystals normally have which says, to someone like me who’s not privy to how watch parts get made, it must have been a pain in the arse to get properly done. The sapphire is further equipped with seven (7) layers of clear inner anti-reflective coating (whilst brands normally put 3 to 5 layers of it) so that it is indeed crystal clear. (Ah ah.) Inside the small case there is a Miyota (4Hz/42 hours of power reserve,) and the metal chassis is equipped with a screw-down crown and screw-down case-back for 100 meters of good water resistance. 

But there is more: the Lorier Ref. 325080 from 2026 is the first generation of this collection to display applied hour markers and thus it benefits from more generous applications of BGW9 SuperLuminova on all three hands and all applied markers compared to the MKIII as far as my memory serves me. In terms of the bracelet, I have never held it against any brand to offer double-pusher deployant clasps with old-school holes of micro-adjustments for it makes the clasps smaller, shorter, and lighter, thus aid in making the bracelets (and the watch) wear more comfortably on the wrist. (In addition to preserving the watch’s vintage inspiration which hugely drove the design of the Falcon in the first place.) However, to meet enthusiasts half-way, Lorier replaced the regular spring-bar that holds the bracelet inside the clasp with a quick-release version so that it is possible to adjust the length of the bracelet without the need of a tool. And in terms of finishing: the fourth generation Falcon blows the previous three out of the water. 

Design 

As always, and this is another moment where I sound like a broken record stuck in a Groundhog Day scene, it is the design of a watch that drives me to want to add together many words to tell its story and which makes my little French heart flutter with little butterflies. And between you and me, the first generation Falcon didn’t do anything to yours truly from a visual perspective and I was more interested in the Neptune (diver) and Astra (everyday sports watch) when I first came across Lorier. It is with the second generation I heavily photographed in 2020 for my previous Instagram account (which was deleted sans reason fuck you very much) and reviewed for The Calibrated Wrist that my passion for the collection started, where the dial showcased a waffle texture, brushed hands, and printed hour markers shaped like arrows and circles. Then, in 2023, Lauren and Lorenzo released the perfect iteration of the Falcon whose dial displayed silver brushed hands, silver markers with an Explorer 1 3-6-9 layout, and a finer waffle texture. 

To make a long story short, I fell in love with the Falcon II and III for their designs and proportions, and most importantly, for the story they both told through their designs and  proportions, which were inspired by yesteryear’s timepieces worn by debonair explorers. Think of the vintage Rolex Explorer 1 1016 worn by Ian Fleming, the WWII British Navy Intelligence Officer turned prolific fiction writer, or one of the following models which inspired the collection in 2018: the Omega Railmaster 2914, the Rolex Oyster Perpetual 6580, and the Rolex Explorer 6350. So, the 2026 Falcon Ref. 325080 is a natural evolution of the previous three generations in terms of specifications (read above) as well as from a design perspective: printed hour markers were replaced by applied polished ones, the hands showcase a more refined mirror-like polishing, and the waffle texture of the generations II and III made way for a black lacquered dial that is endowed with an elegant sheen. Yes, it follows more along the steps of the modern Explorer 1. 

But who gives a shit? I certainly don’t. Because it was necessary for Lorier to upgrade the design language and specifications of this collection in order to preserve its relevance in the second quarter of the 21st century, and to meet enthusiasts’ demands for better specs and to offer a modern dial to pair with the new crystal material. However, I find that Lorier managed to preserve, and even restore, what made the Falcon’s first three generations so visually compelling to many by infusing the Ref. 325080 with a dash of elegance through the applied polished markers and lacquered dial, by improving its legibility by bringing back the long minute hash-marks that were a key design feature of the first generation, all the while maintaining the broad-arrow handset, which Lorier paired with elongated teeth-shaped hour markers to indeed guarantee superlative legibility. In other words, the latest iteration of the Falcon is its best as it is the most versatile one from a pure design perspective: it has flair, style, and is legible. 

The other thing Lorier managed to preserve throughout the generations is the case’s signature profile which we should define as being a Lorier Falcon case in the same way we speak about Monnin, Squale, and Doxa chassis as being proper to them. And I have always been a fan of how the Falcon’s wear on the wrist, especially on mine and its 6.50”/16.5cm circumference as the 36 x 44 x 10.4mm dimensions simply are perfect for it, and the latter contributes equal parts to its versatility as does the 2026 dial design. But now is the time for a confession: I bought the third generation Falcon I mentioned multiple times in this review and owned it for a long time—a sentence written in the past tense for I made the mistake of loaning it to a friend of mine whose enthusiast’s heart fluttered for it as much as mine did and I never had it in me to ask for it back. What I remember from it was the excellent case finishing which Lorier has improved once again here: no sharp angles, satin brushed touches, and lovely mirror-like polished chamfers. 

The Heart of the Matter

It appears that this review will be one the longest one I’ve ever written in the past six years. This is so not because I’m trying to make a case for the Lorier Falcon Ref. 325080 but for I am deeply enamored with it, and as you now know, I’ve been following Lorier’s evolution since 2020—that’s six years of reviewing its collections—and so I have had many experiences of the brand and its models to share with you my friends in order to put the 2026 Falcon into perspective. And the perspective is as follows: despite the fact that the Falcon has evolved a lot since 2018 it remains, according to yours truly, one of the best everyday sports/field/exploration watches money can buy in 2026 as it was the case eight years ago. From design, specs, and manufacturing and finishing perspectives, it is still an excellent value proposition and one which hasn’t lost an iota of charm over the years. And if you aren’t into this kind of horology you will never be regardless of the changes the brand could bring to this collection. But if you are into it, then you are golden. 

As you know, I wouldn’t have written about the Lorier Falcon Ref. 325080 should I not find it to be a good watch—visually, technically, and from manufacturing and finishing perspectives—with a good story to tell. And even though the Falcon has morphed into several versions of itself over the past many years, sometimes going through major dial design revampings, it remains the ideal modern interpretation of a genre of timekeeping devices certain people we feel inspired by wore, and could still wear today, and which we can acquire for a reasonable sum of money with all things considered: not only the perpetual increase of the cost of everything in life and in the watch industry of course, but also its improved specifications (sapphire crystal, applied polished hour markers.) In other words, Lauren and Lorenzo managed to preserve the Falcon’s essence and to improve upon it with each new generation, indeed making a good watch (the MKII) into a better one (the MKIII) into its best iteration yet (the 2026 Ref. 325080.) And that is cause for celebration. 

Conclusion 

Let’s facet it, we are each attracted to watches for one of several reasons: either they offer the best value $300 USD can buy, or visually they resonate with us in ways other watches never did, or they make for overall good no-nonsense timepieces—good specs, good design, good value—, or they tell unique stories we feel particularly inspired by. Or, as it is the case for me with the Lorier Falcon Ref. 325080 from 2026, it is all of the above wrapped in a perfect microbrand bow. Lastly, as it is the case with many microbrands, the Falcon is currently on pre-order and is slated to ship in December of 2026 just in time for you to give yourself a fine exploration timepiece. 

Thanks for reading.