It has been written here many times before: micro/indy watch brands are much more creative than the long-established Swiss and Japanese powerhouses many enthusiasts revere. That and the fact that they are unique in giving us a different horological experience for a (comparatively) affordable amount of cash. About a year ago I wrote an article for Fratello in which I declared that the price sweet spot for independent watches is between $1,000 and $2,000; where we find the perfect balance between design, specs, and price. Now I would say that things have changed dramatically and my sweet spot is up to and below $1,000. I find that the more time passes, the better things become for less money. 

Today’s protagonist is that horological sweet spot. We’re going to take a look at the Richard-Harvey Attitude Blackout Edition, a bespoke pilot watch which offers tremendous value for the asking price of $699 (currently discounted for $579.) Richard-Harvey is a young brand based in Virginia, USA, created by Mathew White, a watch enthusiast whose day job—a Surgical Assistant—and personal life—as a father—didn’t seem to be enough to keep him busy during the pandemic. That is when he started taking apart and rebuilding the watches of his personal collection and eventually created a unique watch for his father. Not long after that, Mathew decided to create his own brand and to design unique watches. 

Spoiler alert: he succeeded. 

Specifications 

By their very own nature, pilot watches tend to occupy a large amount of space on someone’s wrist as they are meant to be legible in a rocky cockpit in all conditions—whether during the day or at night, cruising at high altitude or avoiding rock formations during a dog fight. (Do I watch many war movies? Absolutely.) So a larger case means larger dials which leads to larger hands to make reading the time something of an easy and natural process. To that end, Mathew preserved the traditional inflated dimensions of pilot watches by endowing the Attitude with the following measurements: 42.5mm in diameter, 13.1mm thick, 47mm lug-to-lug, however with a reasonable 20mm lug width. Paired to a supple leather strap, the Attitude is comfortable to wear on my 6.50”/16.5cm wrist—something that I imagine is important for actual pilots (as well as the regular watch enthusiast.) 

When one thinks pilot watches, one thinks durability and robustness. Otherwise what is the point of making tool watches if they can’t handle even the smallest of beatings? And these two attributes can be found through the how and with what watches are made of. For example, Mathew opted to equip the Attitude with a Swiss Made Ronda R-150 caliber (4Hz/40 hours of power reserve,) a relatively new and uncommon caliber which is nevertheless solid in my own experience. Plus a flat piece of sapphire crystal with inner anti-reflective coating, copious amounts of C3 lume on the hands/hour markers and BGW9 on the minute markers, 100 meters of water resistance (screw-down crown and case-back,) and a bead-blasted PVD-coated stainless steel case that comes with its own, robust visual DNA. Note the propeller-shaped integrated crown-guards which will never fail to indeed guard the crown. 

To round up the spec sheet, in addition to the black leather strap, the Attitude Blackout Edition is also shipped with an extra black/gray NATO-style nylon strap which increases this model’s purpose-driven nature two folds. Furthermore, a second version of the Attitude exits which is more colorful as it is adorned with accents of white, blue, and red which pay homage to the colors of the American flag. 

Design

In the introduction I mentioned that Mathew had set out to create bespoke watches and he has already succeeded in doing so. In either version, the Attitude looks new and interesting, tough and refined, and its high level of originality in design is matched by high levels of manufacturing and finishing. If you know me then you are already aware of the fact that I am obsessed with monochromatic watches. Therefore it shouldn’t come to you as a surprise that I asked Mathew to let me borrow the Blackout Edition which comes with a superb four-color scheme: mostly black on the case and minute track, gray on the dial, off-white/yellow on the hands and minute hash-marks, as well as touches of white on the reproduction of the attitude meter. (Note: the C3 paint on the hour markers was mixed in with black pigment to make them appear grey.) 

Totally my thing. 

While I know it is nearly impossible to claim that a watch comes with a design that is 100% original—I mean, how many shapes of hour markers or hands can we come up with?—more often than not watches which I describe as being “original” and “bespoke”, as it is the case here with the Richard-Harvey Attitude, are endowed with a high level or originality. Most visual elements on this model are new to me (which doesn’t mean that they never existed before) and I appreciate the efforts Mathew put into designing the case, the dial, and the hands. In particular, the raised minute track which has a sandwich construction as most hour markers are shapes which are CNC machined inside of it. (Boy, I hope my description makes any kind of sense, if not, just look at the photos.) Also note the three screws holding the minute track in place on the dial. A neat detail. 

Speaking of the outer region of the dial, I will point out the second and fully graduated minute track which sits at the highest point on the dial, where we see the 5-minute increments indicated with Arabic numerals. Given the raised tracks and the screws, the Richard-Harvey Attitude is full of dimensionality which makes it even more interesting to look at and wear. While it might appear so, the attitude meter does not move (as you’re less likely to be wearing this watch in a cockpit than at the office) but remains just as visually interesting to me as it is superbly executed. What Mathew did very well here too is leaving the central section of the dial plain to balance the visual intensity of the two minute tracks. Which is why we only see the brand’s logo and a 4:30 date aperture with a black date wheel. 

Subtle and functional. Just like I like them. 

The Heart of the Matter

At the heart of the matter is the fact that Mathew succeeded in creating a bespoke pilot watch whose visual character is deeply imbedded in his own professional career—which I will speak of in 20 seconds—and in that of his two grandfathers who he named the brand after, without using any of this to justify charging us watch enthusiasts an exorbitant price on account of the Attitude being “original.” This to me says a lot about who Mathew is and what Richard-Harvey stands for: honest and quality horology made for those who appreciate what is well made and fairly priced, and designed by someone who has a deep sense of duty. Indeed, before working as Surgical Assistant in the civilian world, Mathew was a Navy Corpsman and Surgical Technologist with the Navy, and was imbedded with a NATO Multinational Surgical Unit in Afghanistan. 

Furthermore, in addition to having a novel dial layout, the Attitude is further endowed with a case architecture which leaves me equally and positively shocked. The main section of the case has a blocky and tactical appearance which is emphasized by the prominent chamfers which run all around it. I love how the fixed bezel + crystal + dial ensemble appears to be recessed within the massive body of PVD-coated 316L stainless steel akin to a modern war machine. And the massive crown-guards further emphasize the durable and action-driven nature of the Attitude, whether you would use it to pilot a fighter jet or assist in an open-heart surgery. All of which is coherent. All of which is superbly executed here.  

Conclusion 

As it has also been written here many times before: there are hundreds of micro/indy brands on the market which offer thousands upon thousands of options for tool watches. And a fraction of these brands do create timekeeping devices which look original, novel, and also are attainable for a majority of watch enthusiasts. And this is true whether you’re looking at the RZE Urbanist, the Beaucroft Seeker 37, and of course the Richard-Harvey Attitude. Brands such as the one Mathew created motivate me to do what I do as they keep my enthusiasm for independent creativity and belief in the importance of authenticity alive and strong. So thank you Mathew for making Richard-Harvey and for offering us a great pilot watch. 

To know more about the brand and this model, I suggest taking a look at this link to learn more about both. 

Thanks for reading.