“Things were better back in my day” do elderly people say, stereotypically, when contemplating, with tremor and horror, the state of the world in 2025. Things always appear to have been better and simpler before and maybe they were. Before we were less concerned with the latest trend, with what people—whom we have never met—could theoretically think of us, or that wearing this or that particular watch would signal something specific. The internet, social media, and the inundation of information put more options in front of our eyes, distract our attention from the watch we’re wearing at this very moment, make us believe that meteorite dials and carbon fiber cases are the answer to our boredom or to the overproduction of dive watches. But before—40, 50, and even 60 years ago—brands were genuinely creative and gave us some of the most iconic designs. 

While we may believe that there are many great and unique watches being made each year in our contemporary span of existence, actually there aren’t that many. Most of the time, we see reinterpretations of older designs, the borrowing of specific design elements again and again and again, and yours truly believes that putting pizza slices on a dial or offering a weird rusty orange fumé dial is just the sign of either laziness or creative burnout. So, if someone is into watches but doesn’t want to add yet another version of a Submariner or Aqua Terra, why not revive a brand that was iconic back in the day and which made interesting designs? That’s what we’re going to talk about today by looking at the Trematic Archivio Uno 502 in Blue. Trematic was a 1950s Swiss brand that marked its time by its super technology and bespoke design. 

Specifications

Let’s first look at the Trematic 502 as a watch that comes with specifications you want to know about. The 502 is an elegant everyday timepiece, a type of watch that was widespread “back in the day” when watch collectors probably didn’t exist and that folks’s relationship to watches was mostly one of necessity. (I wonder when we humans started collecting watches.) Though the case comes with modern proportions as we find a diameter of 38mm, a lug-to-lug of 45.5mm, and a thickness of 10.8mm (including the domed sapphire crystal.) The lug width is 20mm and the provided vegan leather strap tapers to a glorious 15.6mm at the clasp. The latter is a solid piece of 316L stainless steel which displays a predominance of polished surfaces. The entirety of the watch is also made of the same material and is decorated with mirror-like polished treatments. 

The 502 has a screw-down case-back and a small (5.2mm in diameter) push/pull crown together adding 50 meters of water resistance. Inside the fully polished case we find a Swiss made Sellita SW200-1 ebaloré caliber, beating at 28,800 BPH (4Hz) and coming with a power reserve of 41 hours. Although the crown is small, it has the shape of a flower where the grippy part flares out and at an angle which means it's quite easy to grab and operate. This particular design also guarantees that it is easy to pull the crown to hack the movement and adjust the time. Another technical feature which makes the Trematic 502 a good piece of everyday horology is the double-sided anti-reflective coating which guarantees a clear view of the dial and, therefore, of the time. (Some folks complain that outer AR coating scratches but I haven’t had this experience.) 

Design

The whole reason the Trematic 502 was worth being brought back from the ashes is its design. The latter looks SO 1950s/60s for having fully polished applied elements, no lume, and Dauphine-esque hands. It’s superb to look at on photos and even better in real life. The alternation of Arabic numerals for the even hours and flint-like triangles for the odd hours endows this dial with an elegant dynamism which borders that of sportiness, a visual character I find to be delightful. The polishing is flawless (even on this prototype) and creates intense light plays when moving the watch at various angles. Of particular note with the hour markers is the rounded and old-school character of the typeface used for the numerals and, particularly, the zero for the ten o’clock. The latter is a triangle instead of being a circle which is visually striking and makes sense to reduce the footprint of this marker. 

Things were really better back in the day.

Moreover, the hands are perfect for this type of watch and match the design of the markers. The hour hand just about reaches the inner and fully graduated minute track which sits right in-between the hour hand and the applied markers, while the minute hand crosses over it to reach a  second and invisible track. The latter also separates the two sections of the dial each coming with a different shade of blue. The center portion is lighter which makes the white printed minute track easier to see while the outer section is darker which aids in making the fully polished hour markers pop. This is a subtle yet effective way to both add dynamism to the dial and to guarantee good legibility. On the same point, the branding and text were printed in a lighter shade of white so that it’s visible but doesn’t get in the way of reading the time. 

Don’t you agree things were better back in the day? 

Lastly, the case. As much as I find the dial to have been meticulously designed and executed, I’ve fallen in love with the case profile. Seen from the side, the small crown almost disappears as its domed outer section is fully polished—as is the entirety of the case—making it blend in with its background. The mid section is very narrow and rounded, with a more pronounced angular cut at its base which naturally flows onto the case-back. The fixed and two-step bezel sits flush atop the mid-case and accounts for about a third of the watch’s total thickness. Again seen from the side, the Tremtic 502 appears to be levitating above the wrist as only the slightly raised case-back makes contact with the skin. (It might not be your thing but it’s totally mine.) And the lugs, man these are quite something. They look like claws soldered to the case and their inner section curves down inward to perfectly espouse the contours of the wrist. 

Alright, let’s say it together: “Things were better back in the day!” 

The Heart of the Matter

At the heart of the matter is the fact that Trematic revived a model which encapsulates what was best about watch design more than half a century ago. Although it doesn’t look like a watch which could have been designed in the 21st century, because its case profile and dial layout are not what we typically see being invented in today’s horological world, both have a certain timeless quality to them that make the Trematic 502 look comfortably at home on the wrist of a contemporary watch enthusiast. After all, there are but a few old school Swiss brands which produce elegant everyday timepieces the design of which has not changed for the entirety of their existence. In other words, the 502 appears to me to be the type of iconic design, a staple of a long-standing Swiss brand, which would have never ceased to be produced should the brand had not closed shop. 

This to me goes to show how thoughtful the folks at the helm of the modern Trematic are.

More than its design, however beautiful it is, what makes Trematic (the brand) interesting to me is the fact that the 502 retails for $930 which is a good price for what you get. Generally, those who revive a brand believe it’s ok to overcharge us for buying a watch whose design was codified at the time of their grandparents, because it is rare and unique. However, Trematic charges a fair price for their models. Remember what this watch is made out of—a Sellita SW200-1 elaboré, a domed sapphire crystal, and a fully polished case–and what it must have taken to buy the rights to the name and to get all parts custom-made, a fact we tend to forget seeing that a majority of watches today come with the same off-the-shelf parts. Recreating a brand like Trematic is a sort of luxury as it takes time and costs money. 

Conclusion 

I do not claim to be a specialist of this type of watch (since I’m a hardcore toolwatch collector) and so I won’t be typing the letters of the sentence which begins  with “I would be hard-pressed to find...” But I will tell you this: $930 is a good price for what you get and the Trematic Archivio Uno 502 is both visually striking and mechanically sound. Again, the new brand owners didn’t simply Xero’d an old design and found whatever parts to make a watch with. Instead, they went above and beyond to make a good product which pays an honest and loyal tribute to the original from the 1950s. So go check out the brand’s website to learn more about the 502 and its color options.

Thanks for reading.