It’s human and stupid to dislike and reject what we don’t know. I know that for a fact because I’ve done it many times with regular life stuff and of course when it comes to watches. More often than I would like to admit, a watch friend asked whether or not I’ll ever add a chronograph to my collection and the answer always was “no.” I thought—I was convinced—that chronos weren’t for me because…because…well, honestly I don’t remember why. Maybe their bizarre three sub-registers layout? Their inherent thickness? The fact that I could never afford the iconic Omega Speedmaster? None or all of these reasons could be valid and it was most likely the jealousy of not being able to pay for a good one. But things have changed thanks to micro/indie brands because now we can get a “real” chronograph for much less than a Speedmaster.

Not long ago I raved about the HTD Hesagraph MkII Variante B, a full-fledged manual-wind mechanical chronograph which costs $1,630 USD. I love its design, spec sheet, and coolness factor. I was wooed by the idea of being able to time an intercontinental trip of 8 hours or my latest session of sitting with an empty mind in my favorite chair. Jokes aside, even though most of us will never use a chronograph to its full potential, I can see many real use-cases for them in our regular human life. And today we are stepping things up a notch by taking a look at another mechanical chronograph but this time with a flyback functionality and a more sporty design—the Oak & Oscar Atwood Chronograph. I first took a sneak peak of this model two years ago (October 2023) and so it was about time I tell you about it. 

Specifications

The commonly agreed upon watch wisdom is that specs are not everything and certainly don’t make a watch. I wholeheartedly agree as I’ve said so many times on Mainspring. But sometimes…it’s ok to only want to rave about a spec sheet regardless of design when it’s as good as the one which is forthcoming. And let us begin with dimensions as they are often the main culprit in making someone hate mechanical chronographs (like I’ve been guilty of doing.) The Oak & Oscar Atwood comes with a handsome 39mm case diameter, a 46mm lug-to-lug, a total thickness of 12.9mm. and a lug width of 20mm. That’s compact for a mechanical chronograph even for the manual-wind kind. The Atwood feels and appears compact on the wrist which is glorious and its design, which we will get back to later, highly contributes to that impression. In reality, the Atwood wears more like a 38mm field watch. It’s indeed quite something. 

One factor which contributes to making this watch wear so well is the manual-wind nature of the mechanical chronograph movement we find within. A Sellita AMT5100M column wheel flyback caliber (4Hz/58 hours of power reserve) which not only makes it possible to time many things but which also comes with a semi-soft, semi-tactical action of the pushers. Since I don’t often get to play with this type of watch I cannot tell you with great certainty that the pusher action on the Atwood it’s X times better or worse than that of a Speedmaster. But I can certainly tell you it’s much more satisfying than the action found on the best mecaquartz calibers. (And the latter can be really good.) I guess that’s what you get when you pay extra for a proper Swiss made chronograph caliber though I was surprised to know that I would only have to dish out $2,500 for an Atwood. That’s arguably a lot of money to spend on a watch and not at the same time. 

Following along on the spec sheet we get a double-dome sapphire crystal with several layers of inner anti-reflective coating, a screw-down see-through case-back made of sapphire, noticeable presence of BGW9 on the hour and minute hands and in the form of a ring surrounding the dial, a push-pull crown, 50 meters of water resistance, and the option of a thicker leather strap or three-link stainless steel bracelet complete with an on-the-fly micro-adjustment mechanism. For once a brand provides thick spring-bars for the most adventurous of us watch nerds. So I do believe that the spec sheet is worthy material to write home about and to type a little over 450 words about it. 

Design

The thing with the Oak & Oscar Atwood Chronograph is that its design is also noteworthy and, selfishly, 100% up my alley. Looking at any model from the brand it is clear there is a theme going on here: classical dial layouts and case shapes paired with contemporary, contrasting, and subtle color schemes. All models from the brand appear modern and bold, without ever overdoing it. The magic of Oak & Oscar is, for example, to swap timeless fonts for the hour markers with bespoke ones, to sandwich all of their dials, pushing the prominence of the hour markers behind the dial to air it out, making all of their models look (again) classic and not, modern and sporty, legible and subtle. I know I’m saying a lot of contradictory things and I do not apologize for it. I’m simply reacting to what I’m currently seeing on my wrist and what I note to be consistent within the brand’s catalog. 

More specifically, Oak & Oscar uses the same design of hands on all models, with hour and minute hands I would dare to describe as being the lucky offspring of obelisk and alpha-shaped hands parents—or let’s call them what they are: Oak & Oscar hands—and a bright orange chronograph hand which a counter-balance is in the shape of a flattened “O.” The handset is superb and I appreciate the fact that the brand preserved the utilitarian nature of his model by matting the hands. The hour markers we can see—for those which weren’t omitted to make space for the three sub-registers—are in the shape of batons except for the 12 o’clock marker highlighted with numerals. Though I bow my head to the designer for perfectly sizing the 12 to match the height of the batons. Indeed, the dial of the Atwood is a superb exercise in balance which contributes in making this model so neat to wear and look at. 

Let’s not forget, therefore, that the Atwood is a tool watch and so it is legible. Another bow of the head goes to how the brand’s approached laying out the sub-registers which are oh boy very easy to read at a glance and at a distance. Looking down at my wrist whilst walking, working, or eating I can see each hash-marks of the 3 o’clock 30-minute totalizer and of the 9 o’clock 12-hour totalizer, just as easily I can tell where the running seconds is at in its eternal journey of spinning around that tiny register. This is the mark of exceptional design and attention to detail which grabbed my attention two years ago and has been seducing me each second I’ve had the Atwood on my wrist. The case is also noteworthy although I’m running out of time and words to make an exposé on it. But its key design feature to me is its perfect visual balance created by the wide bezel and short lugs which turn down towards the wrist. 

Holly Molly! 

The Heart of the Matter

For the past 10 years and up until a few weeks ago, I didn’t care much for chronographs. But seeing the HTD Hesagraph MKII and Oak & Oscar Atwood has changed the way I look at them now and that’s what good design and thoughtful horological entrepreneurship will do to you. While I never dreamed of owning an Omega Speedmaster or Rolex Daytona or Zenith El Primero, and though I was told by many collectors and enthusiasts I know that my life as a watch nerd will remain aimless without a chrono, I wouldn’t budge. And today I understand why: it’s because I hadn’t found my chronograph. But now I have. Now I can confidently join the sub-circle of the watch community which rave about the coolness and practicality of full-fledged mechanical chronographs, and I can do so without necessitating that someone bankroll my newly found horological addiction. 

As you already know, I’ve been waiting two years to get personal time with the Oak & Oscar Atwood due to one of many reasons which are not relevant to this review. (But Chase, I’m glad we finally made it happen!) And contrary to what happens when I finally see a movie I’ve heard so much about for the past three months, or when I finally get a table at the latest trendy restaurant which forces people to make a reservation a year in advance, I wasn’t disappointed with the Atwood. Quite the opposite. Because in the past two years I’ve seen and handled many watches which have helped me fine-tune my personal taste for timekeeping devices and my understanding of horological design and what role specifications play or don’t in a watch. And the Atwood has the best of both worlds and is its own thing. 

Conclusion 

Today in March of 2025, $2,500 USD goes a long way in horology. For this amount of money, which isn’t cheap change for most of us, we can get a really good watch. Outstanding manufacturing and finishing, high-end Swiss made calibers, delicately decorated dials, and silky-smooth bracelets, regardless of what the watch looks like. Because while I find the Oak & Oscar to be really beautiful, you may not. (No one is perfect friends.) And on specs alone, the Atwood packs a whole bunch of horological goodness which surpasses many models from many other brands which retail for the same or more money. For example, it is the first column wheel flyback chronograph movement I experienced and I didn’t think I could ever see one in a watch that retails for $2,500. This very fact in itself is worth celebrating (by buying an Atwood of course) and, as we know, there is much more to like: a good case and bracelet, sapphire crystal, and a bespoke design. 

I have the feeling the Atwood is not the first and last model from the Oak & Oscar I will review so do keep an eye out for another write up about this brand. 

Thanks for reading.