Introducing: The Oak & Oscar Atwood Hand-Wound Chronograph

Chicago-based Oak & Oscar has been in business since 2015. Over the last nine years, the brand has assembled a back catalog of attractive, ruggedly built watches that pay tribute to the Windy City. Furthermore, the timepieces display a design consistency normally reserved for larger, historic brands. Today’s Oak & Oscar Atwood chronograph continues this trend with increased functionality.

It’s hard to believe we’re approaching the 10-year mark since Chase Fancher founded Oak & Oscar. I still recall meeting him in London that year at SalonQP when he brought his first watch, the Burnham. Since then, we’ve covered almost all of the brand’s models, and I purchased one of them, the Olmsted 38. So any time there’s a new release, we’re happy to share it. Today’s Atwood is especially exciting because it comes in the form of one of my favorite genres, the chronograph.

Some history, the Jackson Chronograph

Oak & Oscar’s first chronograph, the Jackson, debuted in 2017. It was a 40mm stainless steel limited edition with a manual-winding Eterna flyback movement inside. The Jackson was a somewhat audacious offering for the then-young brand. At $2,650, it was also the most expensive model Oak & Oscar had ever created. Since then, aside from another limited series of “Big Eye” Jackson models in 2021, the chronograph slot has been empty in the Oak & Oscar lineup. Now, with the new Atwood, the gap has been filled.

The Atwood chronograph

The new Oak & Oscar Atwood is a 39mm × 46mm stainless steel chronograph and takes its name from the Chicago-based architect Charles Atwood. He codesigned the Museum of Science and Industry for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. This building is one of only two original structures remaining from the fair (and it’s a marvelous museum!). Three different matte sandwich dials are available for the Atwood chronograph, including a white panda, gray with white sub-dials, and navy blue with white sub-dials. The watches can be ordered with a stainless steel three-row bracelet with a quick-adjust clasp or a brown Horween leather strap. The bracelet is 20mm wide at the ends and tapers to 16mm at the clasp. Each watch also comes with a nylon strap, strap-changing tool, and waxed canvas watch wallet.

An intriguing movement choice for the Atwood

The previous Oak & Oscar Jackson chronograph used an uncommon hand-wound Eterna caliber. The new Atwood also utilizes an unusual choice with the Sellita AMT5100M, a hand-wound chronograph with a column wheel. Sellita’s AMT Manufacture division houses the company’s innovation and development works. Frankly, this is the first I’ve heard about it, but I applaud the unorthodox movement choice. In addition to 58 hours of power reserve, it offers a flyback function. The caliber is visible via the screw-in display case back, and while it’s not a vintage-style movement with multiple bridges, there is striping and the Oak & Oscar signature.

A classic three-register layout

The new Atwood employs a sandwich dial instantly recognizable as an Oak & Oscar creation. Whereas the Jackson had two sub-dials and a date window, this new model has a three-register design. The rightmost register is a 30-minute counter, the left shows running seconds, and the lower register is a 12-hour counter. Another change is that the dials contain sandwich-layered Super-LumiNova indices instead of applied metal ones. Note the use of radial numerals on all of the recessed sub-dials. The central hands are also presented in the style of other Oak & Oscar watches. This means lume-filled hour and minute hands and a central chronograph with its signature barrel-shaped counterweight. A white tachymeter forms an outer ring around the dial.

A clean and slim case design

The new Atwood utilizes a brushed case with a large, tactile crown and pump pushers. While it is only a millimeter smaller in diameter than its predecessor, the thickness marks a dramatic shift. The Jackson was a relatively stout watch with a 14.5mm thickness. Fans of thinner watches will applaud the Atwood for measuring just 12.9mm thick, including its domed sapphire crystal. The water resistance rating is reasonable at 5 ATM.

A fine-looking addition to the lineup

I recall the challenges Chase had during the development of the Jackson. It was the brand’s most expensive watch by far, and let’s just say that Eterna wasn’t always the easiest of partners. Therefore, I’m happy to see Oak & Oscar take another shot at a chronograph. I still like the Jackson, but the Atwood is a more evolved design. I also like that one of the brand’s fantastic bracelets is an option. The case size should make it appealing to a wide range of audiences too.

Then there’s the issue of pricing. Oak & Oscar’s watches have never been on the cheaper end for a small, independent watch company (some say “microbrand”). My rebuttal is that the finishing and quality control can compete with anything double the price. That said, in this time of eye-popping watch prices, the Atwood will sell for US$2,450 on the leather strap and US$2,650 on a steel bracelet. I think that’s more than reasonable for a well-designed chronograph using an atypical hand-wound movement. Hats off to the brand on this one. It’s a refreshing release.

The Atwood chronograph will begin shipping this fall. For more information, visit the official Oak & Oscar website.