You might ask yourself what have in common a pilot, Austin Texas, war heroes, history and watches. The answer is simple: a watch passionate and collector, Steven Lee decided to fulfil his hobby and a dream. His dream was kept safe from the outside world in a notebook. All of his drawings and notes were not intended to become a real watch. Till one day… in this way the Bergstrom watch was born.
DuFrane Bergstrom watch is dedicated to a WWII hero, Captain John August Earl Bergstrom – the first native Austinite killed during the war. He was stationed in the Philippines at Clark Field during WWII. Captain Bergstrom was killed by the simultaneous bombings of Pearl Harbour and other military areas in the Philippines in December 1941.
There are four variations of the Bergstrom watch: two case materials and two dial versions. The 41.5mm diameter case comes in a matte 316L stainless steel or in matte bronze. The bronze case will gain in time a special patina, according to the wearer’s habits.
The satin matte finish case has a lovely patterned bezel which gives the watch a vintage look, proper for a timepiece inspired by the war pilots watches. The crown’s dimensions are perfectly balanced for the watch’s size, shape and finish. Being manufactured in the same material of the watch, the crown has a pleasant look and an excellent grip. Plus, it is decorated with the DuFrane logo.
The 50mm water resistant case is covered on top with an anti-reflexive coated domed crystal and on the back with a see-through screwed case back.
The dial is simple, following the case lines – with a matte finish. The indexes and the Arabic hour numerals are painted in a charming font with C3 Superluminova. The dial variations come from the colour of the luminescent and the small seconds sub-dial. The simple variant with orange hands on a black background has a greenish glow. The watch with horizon line instrumentation-like sub-dial has the luminescent glowing blue. Both dials have cathedral hour and minutes hands with green Superluminova. The low light view is spectacular for both dials.
The Bergstrom watches are powered by the Swiss ETA 6498-1 movement. This movement demonstrated the robustness over time, is one of the movements used by Tissot, Meistersinger, Bell&Ross or Steinhart. Even Montblanc uses a variation of this calibre for their 1858 collection.
The movement has a rather slow 2.5Hz balance wheel; it reaches a power reserve of 46 hours and uses 17 jewels. The movement is decorated with the same frost finish present on the case and dial. More than that, the calibre is decorated, on one of the wheels, with the name of the brand.
Each watch of the 300-limited series comes with a custom Chromexcel leather strap and an additional blue suede leather strap. For a comfortable strap change, the accessories list includes two screw bar tools. For travelling, Bergstrom watch is supplied with a custom Noah Marion leather watch wallet and polishing cloth.
The watches are available for order on the DuFrane Watches Online Shop. The matte steel version costs $875.00, regardless the dial type, and the bronze version has a price tag of $950.00.
For more information, please visit the DuFrane Watches Website.