I think it’s Jaeger-LeCoultre that’s dubbed “the watchmaker’s watchmaker” because they do things no other brand can. From a technical standpoint that is. From a design standpoint though? Meh. Not my thing at all as you probably already know. Though I’m a straightforward type of tool watch person—monochromatic dials, brushed all over, tough as nails—I’ve been on the quest for something more elegant but just as capable. The micro/indy brand equivalent of a Rolex Explorer 1, with a bracelet, a legible dial (of course) and a robust build. So that I can look a little more spiffy in my day-to-day life or when pretending to do something cool like hiking or exploring a nearby forest. So a watch tough as nails and elegant like an Explorer 1 but not for the price of one. So, what do we have here today? 

We have the VPC 37HW Dove Grey. VPC, or Venustas Per Constantiam which loosely translates to “charm or beauty through restraint,” is a new brand created by Thomas Van Straaten who, amongst other things, is a journalist at Fratello. He partnered with industrial designer Max Resnick and typography designer Samuel Baker to create an elegant, proper tool watch that is its own thing and is such in so many ways. I can already tell you that the team at VPC went into the most insane minutia to design the 37HW, thinking through every square micron of the case, dial, and bracelet. The VPC 37HW is quite something and I hope to show you how much it is in this review. Note: I got my hands on the Dove Grey variant but the Delft Blue and Forest Green look just as outstanding. 

Specifications

Putting looks aside for a moment, the VPC 37HW is a tough tool watch of the GADA (“Go Anywhere, Do Anything”) variant as the brand underlined multiple times on its website. For a good reason. And strapping it to my wrist I can feel that it is indeed a proper GADA watch, in other words, one which can properly function in any environment you could put it in, whether it is attending never-ending office meetings, playing ball on the weekend, diving a shipwreck off the coast of Sicily, or rocketing down the longest and most challenging ski slopes in the Alps. Yes, on paper it can do it all and I’m sure I could easily attest to its GADA nature should I be able to put it through its paces. So, what do we have here? First things first, a well-proportioned case to make it sit comfortably and solidly on the wrist: 37.5mm in diameter, 44.3mm lug-to-lug, 9.8mm thick (including the crystal,) and coming with a 20mm lug width. 

Inside we find a COSC-certified Sellita SW216-1caliber (4Hz/45 hours of power reserve), so already you can tell VPC did not spare any expenses by just looking at what’s ticking under the hood. The SW216-1 has a small seconds register at the six and is a hand-wind caliber. It is paired with a screw-down crown and case-back so that we have 120 meters of water resistance which is plenty for the aforementioned activities. Yes, a hand-wind mechanical movement with a screw-down crown isn’t something some of you fancy because you’re afraid of wearing out the crown thread having to pop it every two days to juice up the movement. But no, don’t worry. In my experience this is a non-issue. The crown, by the way, has a diameter of 6mm and it's excellent: it is easy to grab and operate and the winding of the SW216-1 comes with a subtle vintage-like ratcheting feeling I adore. 

The case and bracelet are made of 316L stainless steel and the latter is particularly well designed and constructed. Screwed-links, quick-release spring-bars, a Glidelock-type of micro-adjustment mechanism which made it possible to keep the clasp extremely short and physically nimble. As you can see from the pictures, the clasp is really neat. And the bracelet links are also well made as they come with a buttery smooth finish. (In other words, they have no sharp edges.) Last but not least, the crystal is a domed piece of sapphire with inner anti-reflective coating, and nighttime legibility is guaranteed thanks to applied blocks of SuperLuminova BGW9 for the hour markers as well as generous applications of this compound on the three hands. 

Design

There’s lots to talk about here and I’m unusually going to start with the bracelet as it is a work of art in its own right. One which shows again the minutia the team at VPC went through to design the 37HW. As we know, the links are smooth as they do indeed come with a fine vertical brushing and that each link is rounded off on all sides. The brushing is complemented here by mirror-like polished accents on the sides of the outer links and in the form of subtle polished chamfers on the center links. That and the short clasp (which shows a similar alternation of finishes) mean the bracelet is extremely comfortable to wear as well as being discreetly elegant. In particular, the tiny polished chamfers on the center links add a little extra of visual play which is quite nice. Moreover, the end-links were designed to perfectly match the lugs and shape of the case, something we rarely see at this price point or at any price point for that matter. 

Moving closer to the dial we should now take a look at the case. My eyes were immediately drawn to the long and flat lugs which, seen from the side, appear like claws which rest confidently on the wrist. (Trimmed claws that is.) The lugs’ visual presence is reinforced by the massive polished chamfers which narrow down towards the middle of the case and coordinate well with the polished accents on the upper section of the fixed bezel. The lower part of the latter is endowed with a horizontal finish which contrasts with the vertical brushing found on the upper sections of the lugs. So the alternation of finishes in itself creates stark contrasts between the various parts of the case which generate various points of visual interest. But my favorite part is the curved and polished sections between the lugs for which VPC had to get matching end-links manufactured. 

By the way, I don’t think I’ve ever spent so much time talking about the various finishes on a case! 

And there is a tiny extra point I want to make about the case design and construction before we move on to the dial. If you set your eyes to the bottom of the case and work your way up to the crystal, you’ll see a step-like construction which converges into an ultra domed sapphire crystal which, by its very own design, narrows down, visually, the diameter of the dial. I’m at a loss of good words here to explain exactly how I’m feeling when looking at this, but I do love the progression of alternative dimensions between the case, the bezel, and the crystal as I have the feeling of getting my eyes gently directed towards the centerpiece of the 37HW—the dial. As if, in a photography dialect, my eyeballs were mounted on a rail that was gently sliding towards the dial. Am I making sense or have I lost my mind? You’ll be the judge. (By the way, the effect of whatever I was just trying to describe is enhanced by the design of the bracelet links and end-links.) 

So, let’s now talk about the dial. You probably didn’t know this but I have a healthy obsession/admiration for Dauphine hands and I’m so glad to see them on the 37HW. They have multiple facets—polished chamfers and brushed upper sections—so that they are easy to see when looking at the dial at various (and any) angles, so is the small-seconds hand. The latter, literally, has the exact same design as the hour and minute hands which I believe looks outstanding. The hands contrast, a bit in an odd way, with the frosted Dove Gray dial (a very fine sandy texture) as well with the frosted dark gray sub-register. But both have visually matching white markers though the hour markers on the main part of the dial are applied blocks of lume. Regardless of how this combination came to be, it works. 

Bonus point for those of you who spotted that the minute track sits on a part of the dial that curves down to offset the parallax effect created by the domed crystal. 

The Heart of the Matter

At the heart of the matter is the fact that VPC did indeed create an elegant toolwatch that is visually and mechanically coherent and which looks unique as well as being well-built. Hence the “watch enthusiast’s tool watch” subtitle as only someone who has had extensive experience handling many watches could have worked in the numerous design details of the case, bracelet, and dial, making them come together harmoniously. Rather, actually, I could say that the VPC 37HW is a “professional watch journalist’s tool watch” as one needs to have a keen eye for the smallest and largest of details which were listed in the entirety of this review. So we find ourselves with a watch that comes with an instant “cool” factor, one made for the most discerning (read: obsessive) of watch enthusiasts. I for one find that the VPC 37HW is a super piece of horology that comes with the following—and highly appropriate—price tag: $2,673 USD excluding VAT. 

Conclusion 

The VPC 37HW is a breath of fresh air for those of us who are very much into independent horology, tool watches, and GADA-style timepieces. The micro/indy market is chock-full of options for these types of watches are various prices, and while things are getting better each day, in the sense that we see more and more brands doing creative stuff and fewer of them doing lazy designs, it is quite neat to have a solid option for a great design, good specifications, and superb construction at a price which is half of what we would pay for from an established, luxury Swiss brand. (Fun fact: VPC watches are made in Switzerland.) 

If you like what you saw here today, then I recommend taking a look at the full range for the 37HW here. 

Thanks for reading.