Single-hand wristworn watches have always fascinated me. On the one hand (nice pun!), they hearken back to the tradition of showing an approximation of time as it was deemed good enough for mankind when it started to keep track of it (actually it was mostly due to technical limitations but we will stick to a romantic explanation for the sake of this review’s narrative), first appearing on sun dials, then clock towers and household clocks, and even pocket watches. (The history of timekeeping is a fascinating and complex one.) Knowing that it was 12:30pm ish or close to 7pm sufficed for most folks most of the time, albeit timekeeping devices started to be fitted with a minute hand as early as the end of the 16th century for scientific purposes. On the other hand (!), single-hand watches also go against the raison d’être of wristwatches whose advent was fueled by global conflicts when officers needed precise timekeeping devices for strategic purposes. (As mentioned above, minute hands appeared long before that.) 

For warfare purposes, a single hour hand wasn’t enough, a second one marking the minutes was better, and a third one tallying the seconds was ideal. And that is pretty much how wristwatches have been functioning since the early 20th century with a few exceptions: whilst many watchmaking countries became obsessed with superlative mechanical precision—the Swiss mostly and the Japanese to a great extent as well—which called for a complete set of three hands, German brands Botta and shortly after Meistersinger brought back the art of single-hand wristwatches to propose a different approach to keeping track of our precious time: a looser one, inviting us to chill the fuck down, which is why single-hand wristwatches are a bit of an oxymoron in the 21st century where precision and timeliness are paramount to modern societies. Enter Vario and the new NAVI Voyage collection of single-hand watches launched this past Saturday, which pays homage to maritime navigation which has been an integral part of Singapore’s history. 

The first batch of these watches focus on European countries which have sailed the seas since times immemorial and traded with Singapore, and because I’m French, we’re obviously taking a close look at the France edition. (More on that later.)

Specifications 

This review marks the eight article published about Vario timepieces on Mainspring, which not only means that we are experts of the brand (“we” because Sophie and Anna have authored quite a few of them,) but that I can claim with experience-backed certainty that the brand always offers great value regardless of the genre of timekeeping device it creates. This is one of the two main reasons why Vario has been so successful in the past few years and why it is loved by so many enthusiasts, collectors, and members of the horological media pool. The second reason stems from Vario’s dedication to the history of timekeeping and purpose-driven wristwatches, which explains the 1918 Trench Grey 37mm and 1945 A-11S Raven Black, as well as its penchant for vintage and neo-vintage aesthetics, as seen in the Empire White Tuxedo Tachymètre Chronograph. The NAVI Voyage inscribes itself in both domains and comes with the added bonus of connecting horology to maritime navigation and embodying the idea of slamming on the brake pedal. 

Thus the Vario NAVI Voyage comes with a fascinating story we will touch upon in the next section, but first we need to chat about its specifications because there is quite a bit we need to go over. Being a single-hand watch, your first inquiry will naturally be regarding the movement that powers it (at least I have asked myself this question) as you might believe there must be something special going on with it. Actually, not so much because the NAVI is equipped with the venerable Miyota 82s5 (3Hz/40 hours of power reserve) we have encountered before in the Monogriis Resta R50-001 Ivory Dial and the aforementioned Vario 1918 Trench. It is a good movement which features a small-seconds sub-register which was the right choice to make for Vario in order to maintain the now iconic high-value of its creations. The Miyota is encased in a stainless-steel body which comes with the following great (and average) dimensions: 38mm in diameter, 46mm lug-to-lug, 11mm thick, and comes with a universal 20mm lug width. It weighs 73g.  

Again, regardless of what type of watch Vario makes, it always ensures that it can be worn everyday (its Instagram hashtag is @varioeveryday after all), hence the aforementioned good dimensions which makes the NAVI Voyage comfortable to wear day-in and day-out. And its daily wearing capability is reinforced by a few other specs the Singaporean brand thought through: a very good 100 meters of water resistance made possible by way of a decorated screw-down case-back and a 5.7mm conical push/pull crown, itself equipped with effective knurling. This indicates that Vario is inviting us to wear the NAVI whilst doing a great many adventures and why not step aboard to explore the vast oceans. The brand also imagined that we would need a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal to preserve a clear view of the dial beneath it, even though it only gives us an approximate idea of the time. Lastly, Vario threw the watch onto one of its best straps: an Italian Epsom leather one equipped with quick-release spring-bars and a 20/16mm taper. 

All of this horological goodness can be had for the price of $428 USD which I deem to be a good one.

Design 

Now that we know that, once again, Vario has created a solid everyday timepiece, it is time for us to delve back into the genesis of this collection. It debuted in 2024 as the brand’s first maritime-inspired offering, not because sailors and captains historically used single-hand timekeeping devices to navigate the waters and stay on track with their journey, but because the medium thanks to which they sailed across the globe for thousands of years naturally invites us to slow down. Romantically, water (sea and ocean) is a slow-paced natural creation which we go to in order to relax on vacation, on which we transport ourselves at the equivalent of a snail pace (except when taking into consideration modern powerboats,) and which we love to gaze at for hours-on-end to meander about life or try to secure a second date with that special person. Scientifically, moving bodies of water generate negative ions which help us regulate our moods and improve our respiratory track, thus making us chill. However, there is more. 

As mentioned at the tail-end of the introduction, Singapore has a long-standing tradition of being a maritime hub for the world and of being symbiotically connected with the sea since its early history. From its humble beginnings as a fishing village and early trading hub starting in the 14th century as part of the maritime Silk Road, it became a free port for the globe under British Rule at the beginning of the 19th century and boomed until the onset of World War II during the Japanese occupation. It recovered through intense modernization starting in the 1970s and has become a global economic and political power ever since. And now you might be wondering what on earth has any of this to do with the NAVI Voyage and its design? That is a fair question, to which I will answer: first, by making a single-hand watch, Vario invites us to slow down and get a loose grip on life. Second, because of Singapore’s maritime history which I assume you were not familiar with (I wasn’t) which gives us a context for this collection. 

Through this new batch of NAVI single-hand watches, Vario wanted to pay homage to the seafaring heritage of many nations whose histories have long been intertwined with the sea and Singapore itself, starting with five European ones: the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain and Italy. All versions of the NAVI Voyage are thus demarcated from one another by the infusion of the countries flag colours into the dials’ color schemes, which is why the French version has a dark navy blue dial, a red chapter ring, a white hand and white as the main color accent for the running seconds sub-register. The center section of the dial comes with a discreet wave-like pattern while the sub-register is composed of two sets of concentric grooved circles, and is perfected by a compass—like dual-colored hand. The hour/minute hand was designed to be  legible and thus is made of a large hollowed circle and tapering tip to make reading the approximate time rather easy, pointing at the minute track and the hour ring printed on the rehaut.

More specifically, the hours are indicated by the fully-spelled out French words for One, Two, Three, etc., and the 15, 30, and 45-minute marks by single dashes printed on the minute track. (Vario wasn’t sure how to spell “One” as in some instances it is written in the masculine form “Un” as an hour numeral on a dial, read from 1 to 12, and other times in the feminine form “Une” as when reading the time out loud to someone else. I concurred it made more sense to go for “Un”.) All of this dial goodness is then paired with a classically-styled stainless steel case which Vario knows very well how to design, whose aesthetic gem is the ultra-vintage fixed fluted bezel which instantly places the NAVI Voyage into the neo-vintage category I adore. To the latter the brand added twisted lugs which showcase fine polishing work on their inner-facing side, slab-sided case flanks, a concave, button-like crown east of it (subtly decorated with Vario’s “V” logo,) and a decorated case-back displaying a star-shaped compass and specs.

The Heart of the Matter

Vario is many things and does many things: he started out by selling quality straps which forged its initial reputation around the world with watch enthusiasts, then it added watches through which it built a second reputation, again with enthusiasts but also collectors and the journalistic community. Many people on either side of the horological isle—consumers and content creators—revere Vario for the quality and high-value of its timepieces, their predominantly vintage aesthetics and soul, as well as for the brand’s co-founders Ivan and Judy authenticity and good nature. Vario’s catalog is also full of well-made and delicately-designed collections which each tell a particular story, each we can make our own or partake in thanks to Vario’s fairly priced offerings. The story the NAVI Voyage tells is that of maritime exploration which constituted one of mankind’s bravest and most lethal adventures, of Singapore’s history and deep connection to the sea and global trade—as well of its resilience and adaption—, and lastly, of our need to take things slow, to be more mindful of time and how we spend it, and more importantly, that we do indeed need to chill the fuck out. 

This is a lot of stories and meanings to infuse into a collection of timepieces, and not all of that the NAVI Voyage stands for might resonate with you. You might be simply looking for a good single-hand watch, or the next Vario to add to your growing watch box, or an object through which you can learn a bit of history, and why not an effective conversation-starter for your next watch gathering. Whatever reason you might have to be interested in the NAVI Voyage—and especially the French version, obviously—is a good one for you to pull the trigger on Vario’s latest release. 

Conclusion 

The Vario NAVY Voyage collection of five timepieces is now available to purchase on the brands’ website with immediate shipping for the price of $428 USD. These five versions will only be produced once before the brand opens the next chapter of this collection by paying homage to other sea-faring nations. And not all five received the same allotments: the United Kingdom version will have 240 units, the German and France versions 100, and the Spain and Italy ones 80. Do go check them out, they are quite something!  

Thanks for reading.