A beautiful delicacy- Halcyon Journey

The main function of all watch is to tell time but, in our hobby there are a few that can do much more than that, they can be art. Watches are usually aesthetically pleasing; round, curvy and symmetrical which means that with just little extra detail, they can become legendary.

Today we are lucky to have something unique, made from an special material and from very far away (at least from us in the west), we have the new Journey from Halcyon Watches, a porcelain beauty with origins from Jingdezhen, China. 

First we have to do a bit of house keeping, in watchmaking porcelain and enamel techniques are often mixed up, enamel is (usually) a shiny coating  in vague terms, that can be applied on to a surface, unless we are talking about grand feu enamel which is another topic. Porcelain is made by using clays containing kaolinite fired at very high temperatures creating a material that resist water, direct sunlight and some chemicals, it is beautiful to look at and has been used in decoration for eons. 

Porcelain is called fine china by many because of its origins and surely, when you hear the word you will immediately think about a tea cup or a plate, but when it comes to watchmaking , porcelain is more complex than larger objects. It is a material that it is difficult to work with, it can shatter not only when assembling the watch but also with shocks and bumps we come across everyday. So the question is : ''why Halcyon watches took the challenge to make something so distinct?..'' Well join me to find out, let’s begin.

The specifications 

The Journey is a dress watch and there is no escape from it, its elegant lines together with the large surface dial feel great on my 6.25 inch wrist. With 40mm in diameter I was scared that the watch might be too big but the stainless-steel double step case and large heated (not painted) blued hands keep everything in proportion, the lug to lug distance of 45mm also makes the wearing experience enjoyable.

Coming to the star of the show, the Journey comes with a milky white porcelain dial and shines like no other white dial I’ve seen before. There is no comparison with normal paint or even enamel, the subtle look contrasted with the painted SuZhou numerals is something that hypnotises the wearer, it brings a certain feeling of calm, hopefully the pictures can represent that. 

We enjoyed that the watch surface is clean, no date and symmetrical, in short, nothing on the dial detracts the watch telling the time, it is a watch where you really say less is more.

The push pull crown is small and this is a good thing, keeps the Journey elegant and sleek. The watch can be equipped with a Miyota calibre 9039 or a Sellita SW200-1 , personally I would enjoy this watch with manual movement to make it fell more old school but out of the 2 choices the Miyota 9039 would be mine, we are here for the craftsmanship and not the mechanical prowess. That said the Journey also offers 50 meters of water resistance which is enough for your peace of mind.

On the wrist

Aided by the slim profile of 10.3mm, the Halcyon Journey feels planted and balanced, I have to say that this watch has opened my mind on larger dress watches. When I started the hobby I was obsessed with the IWC Portugieser which is around the same diameter of our watch today, but at some point I’ve decided that 36mm was the way to go but, I can say that I am back, not wanting the IWC but this time a Chinese marvel piece. The watch comes in a very soft black leather strap, it is comfortable but nothing to write homework about, I believe that a chestnut or even dark blue leather strap with the original supplied buckle (it is wonderful), the watch would bring even more class to any event you might participate.

I wore the Journey mostly on office environments, and it raise a lot of looks, usually people don’t look at a watch but this white stopper captivate the looks of my colleagues when they came to talk; “ that’s a nice watch…” , “ where did you get that?… It was hit.

Legibility is something that the Journey also offers, the contrast between the hands, numerals and dials is outstanding. In these cases I am more of a monochrome scheme, black and silver, white and black but the blued hands bring something different to the composition and also helps to read the time at a glance. That said, when I tried to look at the time on the Journey, I forgot and a stayed watching at the seconds hand which by the way has lume, a small detail but a lovable one.

Conclusions 

This watch has been more than a companion to me, it has been an escape. When I am wearing the Journey I feel that I to stare at it to find quirks and potential imperfections because at the end the manual element on this watch is very high which to me it’s true luxury, it’s unique and has kept me away from my phone or other distractions, makes me happy.

Did you know that the fail rate of producing porcelain can be as high as 90%, when I get my head around this fact (from a simple google search) I keep thinking that people are on waiting lists for mass produced objects and here we have it in black and white, an affordable alternative of a everlasting watch, I really think we are all mad? I really do think so.

The Journey is a great attempt to make something traditional that can be worn everyday, Halcyon has done a great job translating traditional crafts into watchmaking and wearing this watch has been one of the greatest pleasures from this year, it brought me back to loving an object as a whole and not just as a watch.

The Journey starts at 819 USD for the Miyota version and 1099 USD for the Selitta version, a bargain if you ask me.

For more information visit www.halcyonwatch.com

Technical specifications 

• Case Diameter: 40 mm

• Thickness: 10.3 mm

• Lug-to-Lug Size: 20 mm (Width) 

• Case Finish: 316L stainless steel

• Glass：Sapphire Crystal Curved Glass

• Movement: Miyota 9039 or SW 200 - 1

• Water Resistance: 50 m

• Hands: Heat-blued engraved hands

• Dial: Genuine Porcelain

• Strap: Original leather strap