Draken Watches now shipping from SA direct!

We’re excited to announce that Draken Watches will soon have an office in South Africa! This means that South African orders will be packaged and shipped locally, so customers won’t have to deal with import taxes and duty fees. The other big change is that you can now shop and pay in South African Rands. […]

Looking ahead to 2024

Hey folks. I have been giving some thought to what models we will release in 2024, and started a couple of discussions on our social channels about some of our past models. In a previous email, I shared some designs for an updated version of the Peregrine, a pilot-style watch we originally launched in 2017. […]

Peregrine Reimagined

A month ago I talked about possibly bringing back an old model, the Peregrine. This updated version would resolve many of the quirks of the original. It is still in the design stage but I wanted to share with you a few 2D renders to get some feedback. The first thing you’ll probably notice is […]

Watch Movements

Welcome to the first part in our series entitled ‘5 Things to Know Before You Buy a Tool Watch’. Today, I would like to focus on movements. Some call it the heart of a watch because it beats. Others call it the brains of a watch because it moves everything we see. Listen up as this part […]

Case Construction

At Draken, we have always prided ourselves in creating unique, original designs, but first and foremost our watches need to be functional. Easy-to-use bezels, highly legible dials and handsets, and reliable work-horse movements mean that Draken watches will not just be fit for purpose, but excel in outdoor environments. Our case design has become a […]

Luminous Paint

A key aspect of a tool watch is it’s legibility. For daytime use, maximum legibility is achieved by using high-contrast dial designs that incorporate bold and easily discernible shapes and anti-reflective coated crystals. If done well, their effective utility is enhanced during low-light and nighttime situations. The history of luminous painted dials started with the […]

Materials and Finishes

There is more to a watch than just the movement you put in it. Sure, putting a low-quality movement in a great-looking watch is a real shame, but putting an expensive movement into a poorly made case is even worse. A really cheap watch (the ones you might find at a Walmart) is probably made […]

A bit about the Aoraki dial designs

Most of you have now seen the different dial options for the upcoming Aoraki. In this post I’ll talk about the design decisions behind each of those variations. One of the early inspirations for the Aoraki was the Tudor Ranger. With its baton markers, Arabic numerals and a handset that was simple yet distinctive, it […]

Aoraki field watch

It’s time for an update on the next Draken: the Aoraki (“au-ra-kee”).  For a lot of you, this might actually be the first time you’ve heard about it. Being a tool watch company, we’ve tended to produce watches in larger sizes. We’ve done dive watches, a pilot watch, a military-style watch and a chronograph, all […]

September ’22 Update

Hey Team Draken, This is going to be a bit of an update on what’s happening at Draken. It has been a busy couple months with the Kruger production landing, the Kruger SE being announced, and now the Tugela GMT shipping imminently. Tugela GMT On that last point, we are experiencing a slight delay due […]