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 […]
Yep, sometimes we do follow market trends, and the popularity of the Tugela Super Blue LE could not be ignored. We’ve had so many requests for the Super Blue LE since the limited 120 pieces sold out, that we had to find a way to bring that colour combo back. So, please let me introduce […]
It’s been a while since I shared some info on the Kruger, so in this post, I would like to share a bit about the final dial design, and a few tweaks we’ve made along the way. So, for starters here is the line up! We wanted to keep it simple and utilitarian for this […]
When I started Draken 5 years ago, I set out to create a brand of watches that would be durable, reliable and unique. Our first watch – the Tugela – drew inspiration from the rugged terrain of the Drakensberg mountains of South Africa. Since then the brand has continuously pushed the envelope with unique designs and features, most […]
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been working hard on the design of the Kruger pilot chronograph. Design is a part of this job I absolutely love, so it wasn’t that hard to find the motivation to work till 12AM most nights. Chronograph design is particularly challenging. Getting all the elements to fit […]
I’ve spent the past few weeks testing out the Benguela prototypes and getting feedback from fellow watch enthusiasts. With three different band options (bracelet, rubber and leather), it was important to get a feel for each and make sure they worked with the watch head. Responses have been extremely positive! At a RedBar get together […]
I really wanted to make a splash (figuratively and literally) with the case back of the Benguela, but being a deep dive watch, it would need to be at least 2.2mm thick. That means solid—no crystal display of the movement within. For our first watch, the Tugela, the case back featured the Drakensberg mountains and […]
To give you the freedom to customise your Benguela for different styles and activities, we’re going to include at least two different band options with your new watch. Bracelet The bead-blasted bracelet on the Tugela 2.0 was popular, so we’ll be using the same 22mm untapered style, but with flat end links to fit the […]
We have some exciting news to share about the movement(s) for the Benguela. (Notice the hint there?) But first, let’s talk movements. If you walk into a watch shop at your local mall, 90 percent of the watches will have quartz movements. This means a battery powers a quartz oscillator, which keeps the movement ticking […]
In ‘Part One’ we talked about the case of the watch, with its original hooded lugs. The dial of the Benguela adds another unique element. Understandably, the dial of a watch is it’s most recognisable feature. Think about some of the most popular dive watch designs – Rolex Submariner, Seiko SKX, Panerai Luminor Marina. All have distinct indices […]