Today we take a close-up look at a brand we haven’t covered before on our site: Torgoen. The company, founded 10 years ago, offers aviation-inspired watches that are functional and are a great value proposition. When E. Gluck Corporation bought the brand last year, it examined the collection and its audience of adventure-seeking individuals and relaunched with the tagline “Where the Earth Meets the Sky.” This past month, I borrowed the Automatic Torgoen T42 watch with vintage styling to determine what I really think of the brand. It didn’t disappoint.
Essentially, the Torgoen T42 recalls airplane cockpits with its clean, straightforward look. The version I wore has a rich cream-colored dial with black markers and bold black numerals (12,3,6,9) and with luminescent coating on the markers and the hands. There is also a highly readable date aperture at 4:00. The seconds hand is red. It looks like it is straight off of the cockpit dash.
The Looks Of the Torgoen T42
The 41mm Torgoen T42 is crafted in matte-finished stainless steel, the watch features a slightly raised box-like anti-glare sapphire crystal and a sapphire case lens for viewing the movement. Swiss made, the watch is water resistant to 100 meters thanks to a screw-down back. It is finished with a vintage-inspired Italian-made brown leather strap with some hand stitching. The strap is interchangeable, and other options are available on the Torgoen website, but I love the strap and wouldn’t change it.
Attention is paid to every detail of the watch. The rugged stainless steel buckle has a great shape to it and the lugs of the watch add to the ergonomics of the piece. There are four different versions of the watch, including ones with a blue, gray or black dial. But to me — usually a lover of black or blue — this cream dial gives the watch a true vintage throwback look. The watch recently launched on the Torgoen website, where you can check out all of the versions.
The Performance of the Torgoen T42
The luminescence at night is great. I had the watch on the nightstand next to my bed and could easily read the time. In addition to the detailing in the watch aesthetics, it is powered with a tried-and-true Swiss-made 25-jeweled ETA automatic movement, ETA 2824, which is known for its accuracy and workhorse abilities.
I loved the quick-date set feature that made it super easy to set the date when I did pick the watch back up after a few days off. Perhaps the only thing I was disappointed in with the watch is that 42 hours of power reserve is just a bit low — but you can’t have everything – especially since this watch is highly affordable at $790 (although I hear there is a Memorial Day sale going on right now — making it even more approachable).
In short, this is a great watch with a nice profile and a cool straight-on look. the attention to detail and the fact that it is Swiss made make it rank higher, as well. Kudos to Torgoen.
Technical Specifications of the Torgoen T42
MOVEMENT: Swiss Automatic ETA 2824
WATER RESISTANCE:10ATM/100M/330FT
CASE MATERIAL: Solid high-grade (316L) Stainless steel, 41mm
Crystal: Sapphire
Case back: Screw down with mineral lens
Strap: Vintage leather
Luminescence: Non-radioactive long-lasting Luminescent indexes and hands, date aperture
Price: $790.