Kruger V2 – Part 2

In the last post about the Kruger V2, I talked about the dimensions, the materials, and the bezel.

Thanks to everyone who provided feedback. There is clearly a lot of love for the Kruger.

I’ve come to a few decisions on those topics. For the dimensions, it seems like most of you love the size of the Kruger as it is. The 44mm diameter didn’t bother most of you, so we’re going to stick with that. We may be able to get the thickness under 14mm, but it will depend on the movement as we’ll discuss below. I’ve decided to not do a smaller fixed bezel version, at least not this time round. I do like that idea, but it might have to wait for a separate release.

There was a good amount of interest for DLC to make a return, so a portion of the cases will be black DLC coated.

I’m keen to do grade 2 titanium again as that was a big draw for the original version. We’ll do the 1200HV coating for added scratch resistance. At this stage we’re planning to do the bezel in titanium too, but we’ll do some extra testing to make sure the action is crisp and clear.

On that note, we are going to do a 60-click bi-directional bezel this time. I was thinking of offering a 5-55 and 1-11 marked bezel insert, but a few of you expressed interest in a countdown bezel with 55-5 markings which could be the go too.

Movement

The original Kruger used the Seiko VK mechaquartz movement. There are a couple of things I like about the VK movement, in particular, the VK63. The symmetry of the sub dials made it like a bit like a bicompax layout, but with a subtle running seconds located at 6. The mechanical chronograph module is great too, giving you an almost instant reset.

We’re going to bring back the VK67 version as a mainstay of the lineup. The asymmetrical layout with an offset date was popular, and it offers a 12h chronograph register for those who are timing long events.

Automatic

I’m still investigating the options, but I can confirm that the Kruger Auto will be similar to the Kruger LE with its assymetrical dial layout. We could either use an ETA 7750, the Sellita SW500a, or the La Joux-Perret L100. All three are interchangeable, based off the renowned Valjoux 7750 which has been around since the 70’s.
I have an Oris Big Crown Pro Pilot Chrono with the SW500b and it is a joy to use. You get a really strong click when you start the chrono.
If you are interested in learning more about the virtues of the Valjoux 7750, check out this video.

Visually, the big difference between the mechaquartz and the auto version is:

  • Day complication
  • 12h counter and running seconds are swapped
  • The chrono register at 12h is up to 30min, vs 60min on the mechaquartz. This makes it easier to get a precise reading from the chronograph.

Being automatic means you wont have to worry about battery changes, and with the 7750 blueprint, you can be sure you are getting an extremely robust and reliable chronograph movement.
One notable downside of however, is they tend to be quite thick. This is another reason why we’re making the dials thinner across all versions. I’m hoping to get the height under 14mm, but we may have to reduce the water resistance to achieve that (the mechaquartz version has 300m water resistance).
Automatic chronographs are not something many people own, and especially a Swiss-made automatic chronograph that has such a remarkable history. I’m hoping that for those of you who do get on board for the Kruger Automatic, it will hold a very special place in your collection, and on your wrist.

Dial

As I mentioned before, we are reducing the height of the dial to free up some space on the automatic version. The dial on the Kruger V1 was actually a sandwich dial, with the sub dials cut out. This was how we were able to create the luminous panda version, as the black paint was first printed on the lower layer, then attached to the luminous upper layer. The running seconds hand sat above these two layers. We ran into some QC issues because of this, as there wasn’t enough clearance between dial and hand. This is another reason why we’re dropping the panda version from the line up. Since we are only doing one layer, we cant seperate the full-lume paint from the sub dial paint like before. Also to note, there wont be any texture on the sub-dials of theKruger V2 full-lume versions as that detail gets lost due to the thick lume application.
On the bright side, we are introducing a full lume version of the VK67 Kruger. This will be in C3(X1) Super-LumiNova compared to the BGW9 of the Kruger original, so it will glow bright green at night!

A couple variations I’m considering:

For the auto version, we could use a mint coloured luminous paint called C5. It’s not as bright as C3 (or BGW for that matter) but it does look great.
I did also mockup a sand-coloured dial for the VK67 version like so. There isn’t a ceramic available in this colour, so the insert would have to be aluminium. Let me know in the comments if this is a colourway you’d be interested in.
That’s it for now. Keen to get your thoughts on the above. Please let me know what you think with a comment below.
I should have some more renders and a few more details for the Kruger in a few weeks, so stay tuned.
Kia kaha.
Mike

30 comments

  1. Robert jones

    Can’t wait. But.. a big but. Not fussed on lume colour put please please make it as bright as possible..

    Also get better delivery to the uk?.

  2. Hey Mike! Exciting to see this coming together! I have had a V1 SE for two years now and it’s been a great daily driver. The only suggestion I have would be to do something with the 12o clock mark to differentiate it. Once the bezel lume dies down, and you are not wearing the watch (think late at night in a dark tent) it takes some effort to determine the correct orientation to read the time correctly. Also, I love the look of the sand color but I would be worried about the aluminum insert scratching over time.

    1. Good point re the 12h marker. I’ll have a think about it.

  3. Have you considered using the Seiko NE88?

    1. Yes. I actually did design with that movement in mind. But I have heard that there are reliability issues with the NE88 that I would rather avoid.

  4. Darrel King

    I like the symmetry on the auto dial with mint lume pictured. Grouping Draken with the date on the right almost reads like a 4th dial. It’s a cleaner better aesthetic. The offset date is a far second and I’ve never liked the date at the 6 o’clock.

    Luke warm on the sand dial.

    I’ve a Certina with a Valjoux 7750 and it’s built like a tank!

    1. Cheers Darrel. Appreciate the feedback.

  5. I am really looking forward to V2!
    I am fine with titanium but please make it having a bit darker appearance. V1 (especially the bracelet) had a little bit of „plasticy“ appearance imho.
    I would prefer arabic numerals on the dial. I love the (Valjoux 7750-) dials of the Fortis B-42 Cosmonauts Chronograph and Novonaut!
    What do you think about the chronograph minute hand being in neon orange (like on the Fortis)? If not I would make it white (and not red) for contrast and legibility (like on the Sinn 757).
    But these are only details. I am sure the final product will be really awesome!

  6. Awesome! Sent you an email with lots of thoughts.

  7. Mike Surdoval

    I have three of your watches sir the bangula the tugula but my favorite is the special edition kruger I get so many compliments on it. They always ask what is is I always send them to your website. Love what you are doing giving back to the people of South Africa. Would love to see auto version of the special edition Kruger. Also love the brushed look on all your watches.

  8. Chris Simos

    I am very interested in the sand dial. It captures the stark beauty and color of the African bush, and would further distinguish the Kruger from a highly competitive and repetitive field.
    As noted above, please make the lume as bright as possible, with multi-layered application. Even the best lume, C3 Super-LumiNova for example, can rapidly fade if not thickly applied.

    Thank you for the opportunity to participate at the development stage. Mike, I highly commend you for embracing the watch community !

  9. Movement – Like the vk67 layout and 60 counter.
    Case – Titanium with hardening treatment great. DLC not interested.
    Crown – Offset crown is good.
    Bezel – bi directional great idea which lends itself to the 1-11 markings for gmt use. I’ve turned away a Damasko dc80 v1 because the dial and bezel clutter is distracting , reduces legibility and cheapens the look and aesthetic. Cheap watches try to impress with useless ridiculous makings
    Dial – please please no Arabic’s. Clutters and crowds dial. Asym like the LE perfect
    Date – don’t want Has no place on a tool watch imo, but if it has to be there 4.5 position ok. Currently don’t have a 7750 chrono and would like to have but if it means having the day indicator I’m out. It crowds the dial and if you don’t know the day of the week you have bigger problems than current time.
    Dial colour/lume – all in for a full lume dial I missed the white dial LE which is what I really wanted. I have a Tugela 2 super blue. If it were ti with applied markers and longer lasting lume 10/10. Printed dials just can’t compete with lume to a heavily layered potted marker application. More expensive, I know. Super blue V 2? Yes please!
    Bracelet – excellent and if clasp could be micro adjust super bonus. I’d pay extra for it.
    Case thickness – it’s a tool watch. It takes what it takes to pack the mechanics inside and get pressure ratings.

    Future releases – I’m a center seconds aka mission timer chrono counter junky. Have the sinn ezm1.1 and rather rare A13a pilots watch which has a custom quartz central seconds module. If you could partner with Paulo or source same or similar movement and put it in a v2 package. Wow off the charts!

  10. Of course everyone wants something a little different…

    Can’t stand the “angled” date on the new proposed mechaquartz dial (if the date could be made upright then OK, but I also don’t like when the date window has a “border” and would rather have it blend – I do like having a date, but discreet.

    Even though I like either quartz or autos, in this case – much, much prefer the 7750 dial. As most watch enthusiasts are into mechanical movements, maybe you should just lose the quartz option on this V2 version?

    Full lume dial with lumed day/date wheel would be lit.

    DLC a must, with DLC bracelet (titanium or steel wouldn’t matter to me, but willing to pay more for titanium).

    I agree with differentiating the 12-o’clock marker, but don’t like Arabics for hour markers.

    Hope you can get it thinner. If it’s a genuine 200m water resist rating I don’t personally think anyone needs more, even 100m is good. If the only thing you can’t do with the watch is scuba dive then it’s fine for 99.9% of the people 99.9% of the time. There’s enough “divers” and “dive watches” out there… pursue the “tool chronograph” and “tough pilot” aspects and keep it thinner and it’s better for everyone I think…

  11. Gareth Robertson

    I have the V1 which I adore and I’m looking forward to the V2 automatic just hoping with that movement I can afford it. Loving the new designs

  12. As aprevious owner of a Fortis B42 Chrono and current owner of a IWC Chrono i am a great fan of lumed numerals and a day/date complication. An automatic movement sounds great but now-a-days its all up to the prices of watches – especially now bevause we have here in Germany a slumbering economy. I would choose a black dial with lumed numerals & day/date complication in non DLC Titan. I do not care about the water resistance because i do not use a chrono in wet environments ;-). For those conditions i can use a Sinn 857 or a Mühle Glashütte SAR.

  13. Stefan schindler

    When will the watches be available in 2025?
    Preferred is an automatic chrono (7750)with bicompax and the black dial and black bezel.
    Titanium would be great and the chronograph Pointer for seconds in red.

    1. Thanks for the feedback Stefan. Looking to release this mid 2025.

  14. Mark Hetherington

    I like it a lot, but the one thing that stands out for me (and not in a good way) is the minute markers. I don’t think it needs them on the dial and on the bezel, it looks far too busy and serves no purpose.

    I like the one with the blue second hand, would look good with blue lume at night, and I really like the one with the day-date at 3 oclock with the branding, not sure about the mint lume but then at night you wouldn’t be looking at it in conjunction with the rest of the markers on the dial. Overall I woul prefer a more subtle look, lose one of the minute marker rings and maybe do the markers on the sub dials in a toned down colour (grey?). Just my opinion, but just looks a bit too busy for me.

    1. Thanks for the feedback Mark.

      Personally I think it is essential that there are minute markers on the dial so that it makes reading the elapsed chronograph time easier. You could argue that there should be 4 markers between each min marker since the chrono ticks at 1/5 per second. Regarding the bezel minute ticks, I find it easier to count the elapsed time if there are minute ticks there, especially if it is a 120-click bezel (this wont be, but it is important to note). For example, the minute hand is between two ticks on the dial (half a min eg) and you set the bezel to align with the min hand. If you wanted to check the elapsed time between 5-10mins and there were no min marks on the bezel, you would have to make a guess. Is it 7 mins, or is it 8? Maybe it’s 7.5mins.

  15. Marinus Snijder

    I like the designs with the daydate complication.
    The tan version has my eye.
    Would it be beter with skeletton hands?

    Further more I am a great fan of powerreserve and you had one of the best indicators with the Dragon, I like to see it back some day

  16. Gday Mike from Aussie.

    I really like the sand colour and I personally love the blue colour second hand… I think it sets off your watches and gives them a slightly different look than the normal red that is ever present.

  17. I’m new to your company
    But not new to your watches
    I have a Kruger V1 panda
    And a green Benguela

    I am so impressed with the titanium and the fit of the Kruger. I’m a huge fan of the lighter (Ti) watches and thank you for making the bracelet swap easy!

    Would look forward to an auto (not Sellita). black/titanium/matte black bezel version without any blue highlights. IMHO

    I love the company’s vibe and mission and your designs are tight. NATO options are also awesome

  18. I am so excited for the full lume (or all white) dial automatic in all titanium!!!

    How do we “follow” this so we get notified on release?

    1. Cheers for the comments John. Glad you are excited! At this stage the auto version is only coming with a black dial. As we are only making 50pcs, and the MOQ on dial is actually 100pcs.

    2. Oh, just sign up to our regular newsletter at this stage.

  19. “…we are introducing a full lume version of the VK67 Kruger.”
    Yes please!
    ETA 7750 is a great movement, but will push the cost of the watch to 4 figures. Quartz is more accurate anyway.
    I do really like that the bezel has minute markers all around it.
    Cheers from NYC

    1. Cheers Tom. Appreciate the comment and support!

  20. Really interested in this new release and the “sand” dial you have mocked up.
    Would love to see a photo of that dial with a black bezel.

    I think I would be a buyer of the sand dial with a mechaquartz movement, black ceramic bezel insert combo in the excellent titanium case/bracelet you had with the V1 model.
    My preference would be a 1-12 bezel insert but if the decision was to go with a 5-55 that wouldn’t be a deal breaker.
    The Kruger is such a great watch and excited to see what this year’s releases will be!
    Cheers and all the best to you in 2025!

    1. Hi Todd. Thanks for the great feedback. Unfortunately we won’t be doing the sand version. It was going to be too expansive adding another variation to the lineup, which is already at 8 versions. What I am excited about is making the Kruger Good news though, we will be offering 3 bezel configurations 5-55 55-5 and 1-12. The Kruger is going to be very customisable. You’ll be able to choose you dial design, case finish, strap type, and movement.

  21. Finally somebody is designing the perfect practical chronograph. Looking forward to it, and definitely will get one when available.
    I’m very impressed with the Tugela, but there is still place for Kruger and Peregrine in the future.

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