Case, Bezel & Crystal

The case is of a clean and elegant design that sits well with a series that put itself squarely in the dress watch category. Coming in at 40 mm with a thickness of 12 mm, it is not of a size that would have classically be considered a dress watch, but with the continuing shift to larger watch sizes – part-driven by industry and current fashion – it does not look out of place on the wrist (A Blog To Watch has a nice article on the increase of watch sizes if you are interested). I personally consider it a good size for a dress watch, with large enough real estate to show off its design and have room for its complications without feeling cluttered. If I was to be picky I would say I would prefer it to be slightly thinner maybe at 10 mm, but I am not going to quibble over 2 mm.

The crystal on the Duo Timezone is domed sapphire, the doming in very slight but effective and has no appreciable distortion effect. I am not sure if it has an anti-reflective coating, but either way very little reflection can be seen in day-to-day use indicating a high quality of sapphire was used. Sapphire would be expected in a watch at this price point and it is always pleasing to have the added scratch protection this brings.

The case itself is made of stainless steel and is polished to a high quality mirror finish throughout, the bezel is plainly finished and curves downwards at a soft angle away from the crystal. Just as it meets the case there is a light chamfered edge that gives a defined distinction between case and bezel and it sits about 1 mm short of the case on all sides. The same effect is found where the case meets the caseback. This combined with the case being softly curved backwards towards the back, reduces in profile the look of how thick the case is. This is effective and does make the watch feel thinner than its form. The watch lugs arch downwards from the case just under the bevel and smooth to a rounded end, they extend far enough to support a straight edged strap but are sufficiently understated to not make the watch feel oversized.

The crown is set at the 3 o'clock position, it is signed with the Dreyfuss & Co logo in silver set into a deep black surround, the crown is coin cut and has two adjustment positions and does not screw down. At the 4 o'clock position there is a subtle recessed pusher that is operated by the supplied tool, somewhat akin to a metal stylus with a plastic nib (One could imagine that you could use a small screwdriver or plastic pusher should you not have the tool on you but I would advise against this lest you damage the watch). This is the slightly eccentric method by which you set the secondary time zone, I admit when used with the tool it is easy to operate (with the watch off the wrist). It does have a marked improvement in the aesthetics of the watch as there is no need for a visible pusher (it is a dress watch after all) but it does limit the practicality of changing the secondary timezone if you are on the road (or unless you carry the tool with you). For me it is not a deal-breaking problem and I like the quirkiness of it, plus this is a dress watch, not a pilot or sports watch so in this respect I can take a little form over function.

The caseback is a solid polished stainless steel construction, it is held in place by four screws that overreach into the lugs and sit beyond the natural curve of the watch. Engraved in the centre of the caseback we again see the Dreyfuss & Co logo, set around this is engraved Handmade Switzerland, Sapphire and Seafarer. Also engraved is the individual issue number of the watch. Most of the engravings are self-explanatory however the Seafarer requires a little more explanation. The Seafarer Standard is Dreyfuss & Co's inhouse waterproofing process, this appears to closely mirror Rotary's Dolphin Standard, which is their moniker for what is ostensibly the same standard.

The Dreyfuss & Co Seafarer standard, gives reassurance that the wearer can enjoy a range of water sports without fear of damaging the watch. From swimming and diving, to snorkeling, wind surfing and water-skiing.

From this and what would be accepted standards for water resistance I can surmise that this would have a rating of from 10 to 15 Bar (100 / 150 meters). So as long as you are not scuba diving you will be fine. For a dress watch this is an excellent level of water resistance and most commendable when they could have opted for far less.

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