Feynman One “Classic” review – A unique micro-brand from Singapore

Today we are looking at something a little different from what I normally review. This is a watch from a micro brand in Singapore called Feynman Timekeepers. While I do look around at micro brands, Feynman particularly stands out to me for its unique designs and relatively limited quantities. In fact it was my Dad who first told me about the brand as he particularly liked this watch that I am reviewing today, the Feynman One “Classic”.

Unfortunately for him however, this particular Feynman One “Classic” colour way was among their first generation of designs which is already completely sold out with no future reproduction intended. I am told however that some of the other colour ways from this series are still available for sale, but given the very limited quantities they were originally produced in you’ll have to be quick if you want one. 

Thanks to Stitches and Buckles and Feynman Timekeepers themselves though, I was able to get one in for review so big shoutout to them.

Specs
Case size: 39.2mm
Lug to lug: 47.0mm
Lug width: 20mm
Thickness: 12.5mm
Case material: Stainless Steel
Glass: AR-Coated Sapphire Crystal
Caseback: Screwed Down Sapphire Display Caseback
Movement: ETA 7001 (Manual wind)
Complications: Seconds, Minutes, Hours
Power Reserve: 42 hours
VPH: 21,600
Jewels: 17
Water Resistance: 50m
RRP: S$1388
Reference: YK-02

Overview
Feynman Timekeepers is a micro-brand from Singapore founded by Singaporean, Lim Yong Keong. Their pieces are truly unique, taking design cues and inspiration from both urban and natural environments. Their watches are far from being cookie cutter factory templates and thus made in relatively low quantities. It is really quite hard to explain their aesthetic to you so I’ll just show you what I am talking about here.

The Feynman One line is their first ever line of dress watches. It comes in five difference colour variants, each being given a different name. For example the blue dial is called the “Eclipse” while the red dial is called the “Wine”. They also have a white dial “One Eye Panda”, a grey dial “Classic” and a green dial “Founder’s Edition” as green is Lim’s favourite colour.

To date they have also released several more lines including very artistic field and diver ranges which I hope to be able to bring in for review some day. For today we will be focusing on the grey dial Feynman One “Classic”.

Packaging
While I normally don’t talk about the packaging, it would be quite an injustice not to highlight the amount of effort that has gone into the Feynman One packaging. Immediately we are presented with a wrapped wooden box and inside it we have a lovely matching leather pouch that is lined with microfibre and features the Feynman Timekeepers logo. 

Along with that is a very nicely done spec sheet which also includes the quality control certification for both the watch and the leather strap as well as an instruction sheet for operation and care. Judging from the quality of the leather pouch alone, I’d say you’re getting quite a bargain for the price already.

Case
So at 39mm, the case fits my 6.25” wrist very well. It isn’t the most discrete though, especially not for a dress watch at 12.5mm thick, but that’s really not the point of this watch. Although you would traditionally classify this as a dress watch, it quickly becomes apparent that it was made to be seen and admired rather than stay hidden under a cuff. That is not to say it shouts out for attention like an Invicta or Richard Mille as it is far more soft-spoken than that. It sits there with a quiet confidence and gives an acknowledging wink to those who recognise its brilliance.

The case is a circular stainless steel body that is mirror polished all round apart from the top face of the bezel with a well defined coin edge on its side. Chunky angled lugs break away from the smooth aesthetic of the case which somehow reminds me of Aztec ruins. Now I’m not an expert on the Aztecs so this may actually be an inaccurate description but that is the general vibe that I am getting from this case. The lugs curve down very nicely onto my wrist.

At the 4 o’clock we have an onion-like signed crown. This is a push-pull crown and not a screw down crown. I really like this sort of crown as they are very tactile to operate and hence typically found on flieger or pilot watches. Now although this IS a dress watch, it is a manual wind which means you’ll be using the crown very regularly so it’s nice to see a tactile crown here. One interesting quirk to note is that the crown is offset from the centre of the case, very likely due to how deep the movement actually sits inside it.

On the back we have a screwed down exhibition caseback that shows off the decorated movement in all its glory without a rotor to obstruct the view. I honestly like to see a rotor spinning around but that’s personal preference. To top off the case, we have a nicely domed sapphire crystal sitting above a brushed top bezel. With a 50m water resistance rating, I would avoid going near anything wetter than the kitchen sink with this watch.

Dial
The dial is where things really start to get interesting. Everything from the face to the small seconds hand to the chapter rings all appear to be custom designed with only the exception of the main minute and hour hands. This dial comprises of several layers, the lowest being a honeycomb textured face on the main inner dial. I’m normally not the biggest fan of honeycomb but this one is really well done.

A small seconds dial overlaps into the main inner dial with radial grooves adorning the protrusion. While the hour and minute hands are pretty conventional polished leaf hands, the small seconds hand is crafted to represent a lizard’s tail which happens to be Lim’s lucky animal. This hand runs over a sub dial ring while a larger raised main dial ring runs over it, just beneath the main hands like a highway flyover. 

The remainder of the surrounding dial is a radially brushed grey face which plays very nicely with the light. A highly angled chapter ring is laid around the rehaut. Feynman specifically chose to use three different languages for the three different rings with the chapter ring featuring Roman numerals, the main inner ring featuring Arabic numerals and the small seconds rings featuring Chinese characters which translate to “30” and “60” respectively. These Chinese characters are actually one of the features that my Dad particularly loves about this watch which is ironic because he actually failed his mandarin back in school.

Finishing off the dial is a Feynman Timekeepers nameplate which also appears to be painstakingly angled and crafted into a lizard motif.

Movement
In terms of movement selection, they could hardly do much better than their choice of an ETA 7001. This is a proven movement from one of the best third party Swiss movement manufacturers around and there’s really not much more I even need to say about it. This is a hand winding movement only and instructions have been included in the box on how not to overwind it. 

Strap
The provided leather strap is another standout here to me. This strap appears to have been specially commissioned and made for this range of watches by Yi Leather which is a leather craft business also based in Singapore. It is made of genuine lizard skin with a calf-leather backing. The quality of this strap to me really adds even more value to the whole package.

It is actually very stiff when brand new but breaks in nicely with some time on the wrist. If you prefer to save this strap, aftermarket options are plenty as this is a 20mm lug width. The custom signed buckle is also congruent in design as the case featuring similarly angled edges. 

The only complaint I would have about it is that the pin is quite hard to fit into the holes when brand new. Otherwise I think this is a lovely pairing complementing the entire design philosophy of the watch.

Final thoughts
So final thoughts on this watch, without sounding like a fanboy, this really is a work of art. It really is its own design and when you consider that this was Feynman’s first design, you can’t help but be excited about what they’re going to produce further down the line. 

As it stands I believe they are already into their fourth line of watches, all of which have so far been made in very limited quantities so you’ve got to be quick if you happen to see one that you like.

The Feynman One itself though is definitely not for everyone as it is the kind of piece that was made to be a talking point. This grey one is probably already the most subtle of the lot and is yet still bound to attract some attention but will do so in a subtle and classy way.

Shop for Feynman Timekeepers on:
Feynman Timekeepers
Stitches and Buckles