We are supposed to only get a real feeling for a watch by handling it in person. That’s true 99.99% of the time. But sometimes a good photo or a well produced video can instantly tell us whether or not we’re going to connect with a watch. Whether it’s our kind of watch and whether we’re going to love it despite its potential imperfections. And some other times, but even more rarely, what we see online is just as good as what we will experience in the metal. I’ve been into watches since 2014 (so for more than a decade) and rarely has this happened to me. And what makes a first good digital impression is the brand’s capacity to tell an authentic story. Anything less than authentic and we feel—and we know—we’re just being sold a fairytale. (And copious amounts of BS.) 

I first came across Palmos on Instagram, then by way of a press kit, and then by perusing through the brand’s website. Upon exploring all three elements I was immediately charmed by the brand’s moody and soft, indie movie-like and thoughtful imagery. Charming and poetic images and videos telling a perfect story without words, of course showing nice interiors and well-dressed models, but places and events I could somewhat relate to. I could feel the brand founder’s personality and honesty (which was later confirmed by a rare in-person meeting) and so I was even more enthusiastic writing about his first collection, the One. This model is more than a watch, at least it is so to me, as it bridges the worlds of timekeeping and industrial design perhaps better than any other watch I’ve reviewed thus far. 

Specifications

Before we begin, know that the model I borrowed is a prototype and as such it isn’t perfect, especially when looking at the end-links of the bracelet which don’t match the case. I wanted to put it out there because I don’t want to give you any reasons to doubt my enthusiasm regarding the Palmos One, because I truly like it. And you can see images of the final product on the brand’s website just in case you don’t believe me. (But I know you always do.) So, the One is mostly an exercise in industrial design and three dimensional and geometric poetry. It commands a strong wrist presence and its aesthetic is magnetizing, perhaps making you feel both hugely attracted to it and curious—and maybe surprised by its singularity. The One is a beautiful object and I know you will agree even if this isn’t your type of watch. Don’t you already feel there is a little something unique about it? 

What you’re feeling at a distance and through a digital experience is the combination of meticulous design and great specifications. Because the Palmos One is indeed a well manufactured and exquisitely finished watch in addition to being a gorgeous symphony of shapes and color. (Actually, the One is the horological equivalent of a Naboo Royal Starship from the Star Wars franchise.) So, first let’s talk about dimensions: 40mm in diameter, 45.8mm lug-to-lug, 9.2mm thick, and coming with a 20mm lug with. Note that the bracelet flares out past the lugs for having the appearance, but not the construction of, an integrated bracelet watch. The bracelet has a single-link construction a la 1970s Seiko which tapers dramatically from 24.5mm right outside the lugs to 17.8mm at the double-button butterfly clasp. To keep the links thin, Palmos opted for push-pins instead of screws. 

In terms of movement the Palmos One will be equipped with a Soprod M100 which beats at 4Hz and has 42 hours of power reserve. The movement will be regulated in house to run at COSC-levels of accuracy, +/- 7 seconds per day. That’s pretty good if you ask me. Moreover, the One is indeed built to higher standards that you could have perhaps imagined at first glance, for it has a sandwich sapphire construction, a hardness coating on the case and bracelet of 1,200 Hv, a decent 50 meters of water resistance, and galvanized steel dials. Galvanizing something means adding a protective layer of zinc on the steel for increased resistance to tarnishing, wear, and tear. So, if the Palmos One was a building then it would be a well-built one. (This metaphor will make sense later on.) At this point in the review, you should know the One will retail for £782 / 899 CHF / 935 EUR/ $1,010 USD. 

Design

Now that we’ve got the healthy spec list out of the way, let us focus on the design of the Palmos One. On the architectural, minimalist, and elegant design I should add. The One was created to perfectly bridge the gap between the classic and the minimalist, the vintage and the modern, the everyday and the elegant. I can already tell you I believe the brand has succeeded. And whichever version of the One you’re looking at—the Olive Green we’re reviewing today, the Jet Black, the Steel Gray or the Classic Blue—they all come with a distinct monochromatic appearance which is a strange thing to say since green and blue, for example, aren’t typically colors we assimilate with a monochromatic aesthetic. However, a bright orange with darker orange accents would also make for a monochromatic design as there is in fact just one color to look at. 

Does that make sense? I hope so because I’m trying to make a first important point about the design of the Palmos One: it is the way the brand designed the hands, hour markers, and case which endow any of the four versions of this model with a monochromatic aesthetic. For example, the applied markers are pieces of steel which are brushed on top and polished on the sides and where lume is a forgotten concept, so that the raised portions of the dials which help in reading the time perfectly integrate with their background—the galvanized plates of steel making up the dials and their fine sunburst effect. The hands are polished and the hour and minute ones have a semi-skeletonized construction so that we can, at any time, admire the dials. The hands, in fact, semi-float above the dial and it is the part where we generally find lume which was removed. 

It’s subtle and bloody clever. 

But I’m more interested in telling you about the case of the Palmos One as it “makes” the watch. And in particular its side profile which is royal. The mid-case is thin but elongated and straight, where polished undercuts located towards the lugs make it appear as rising upward, creating a delicate and elegant profile reminiscent of a beautiful bird of prey having its wings fully extended whilst surfing the wind currents. And the sides at the lugs end abruptly with an angled cut which is of the exact same height as the first links of the bracelet. The thin mid-case is also interrupted at the three o’clock by a 6.7mm fully polished crown adorned by large raised elements separated from one another by deep cuts. Moreover, notice the flatness of the lugs and their angular profile and how they contrast with the wide bezel and its radial brushed upper section. 

There is actually too much to say about the case but I must stop here. Alas. 

The Heart of the Matter

In the past I’ve reviewed watches designed by architects, either for Mainspring or for other magazines, but I’ve never really felt the actual architectural background behind these creations. Or not in the way I would expect, meaning where it is easy to see that a lot of thoughts were put into designing the case and dial to create something symmetrical, bold, and classic but different. Typically, architects who design watches come up with strange designs and concepts, for example crooked hands or the absence of hands all together, justifying the oddity or absence of something as being creative concepts, making watches that don’t look like watches and which are better categorized as being abstract art. (What you would normally see in a modern art museum.) But that’s not what the Palmos One is. The Palmos is something unique, orbiting between the worlds of fine horology and of sensical (pragmatic) industrial design. 

As mentioned in the introduction, I fell for the Palmos One as soon as I saw images and videos of it. I was moved not only by the great imagery but also by the watch’s perfect case profile, its bold appearance, as well as its simplicity. The brand’s founder, Thanos Repanas, showcased immense talent in matching his vision for horology in such a precise and cohesive way in the watch he designed and in the imagery he created to present it. To a point I’ve never seen before to be quite frank. But I’m at a loss for words here my friends because I’ve never encountered something like the One and that is a first for me. (Oh wow what a pun!) It’s true. But the last thing I will say about this watch is that it’s not what you think it is—one that exists just to show something different; a souped up fashion watch; yet another integrated bracelet timepiece—but something singular and which we will probably never see elsewhere and again. 

Thanos, whatever your goal was by creating Palmos and the One, you left me in awe. 

Conclusion 

Well, let’s focus for a few more seconds on this review and try to summarize what I said above. First, Palmos is a new brand and the One its first collection. It comes in four colors and will set you back £782 / 899 CHF / 935 EUR/ $1,010 USD. It looks like nothing else and it is well buit—good movement, great finishing, hardened case and bracelet, sandwich sapphire construction etc. It will launch on pre-order somewhere in June of 2025 and so I invite you to visit the brand’s website to sign-up to receive some news. Again, micro/independent brands are crucial to our niche world of horology for they bring novelty to watch design, do things boldly whilst taking huge risks in order to advance creativity and to make analog machines more relevant today than they were a decade ago. We’re lucky to be alive today to witness the burgeoning of independent horology and watchmaking and Palmos will certainly occupy an important place in it. 

Thanks for reading.