The problem with smartwatches is that unless you’re prepared to wear them on both wrists, they get in the way of a real watch. An added problem with smartwatches for watch enthusiasts is that they lack soul, which is a poetic way of lamenting their digital innards. As you can imagine, this only gets worse as you own more watches. Rotating your smartwatch means that you inevitably don’t get the full benefit of the smartwatch’s features. How can brands strike a balance here and satisfy watch enthusiasts who want something more from their smartwatch? Not alerts, apps, or cellular connectivity, but a smartwatch that can be rotated or a standalone watch that satisfies enthusiasts. That’s what the Sequent smartwatch set out to do, with a traditional dial layout and, here’s the beauty of it, a proper rotor that powers the watch with kinetic energy. But now, Sequent has partnered with one of the most in-demand designers, Romaric André aka seconde/seconde/, to take an interesting approach to the whole smartwatch genre.
The brand started out by making replacement hands for vintage Rolexes in the shapes of 8-bit swords, clouds, hourglasses, and more. But in the past year or two, Andre has been approached by and collaborated with several brands, including Louis Erard and H. Moser & Cie. This partnership, however, is a bit different. Rather than ironic hands or tongue-in-cheek redesigns, the designer has in effect taken his pen to the dial of a white-faced Sequent Electron watch, playing the role of both commentator and personal trainer. Featuring 3D-applied Superluminova markers and luminous hands, the dial is scrawled with cheeky “notes to self” that encourage the wearer to try harder, no matter how well they’re doing. Functionally, the dial is similar to the displays of other analog smartwatches. The tracking scale can show multiple types of information. Goal progress and SpO2 are displayed as a percentage up to 100, while heart rate can be displayed up to 160 (above which you’ll be tachycardiac or die). You may notice a small dot at the 12, which is an LED aperture that blinks when the watch is syncing or taking a reading from a sensor. Most smartwatches are used as fitness trackers by the people who wear them at least some of the time, if not all the time. Our collaboration with seconde/seconde/ has brought us something that most of these devices are missing: motivation (grins).
The Sequent Smart(ass) features a case/dial configuration that is unique to smartwatch brands. Typically, dials with markers only come with fully brushed titanium cases. The Sequent Smart(ass) case is polished steel with a black anodized aluminum caseband. In my opinion, the Sequent case is more attractive (though, to be honest, the perfect option of titanium and black caseband doesn’t exist). The case dimensions are 42.1mm wide, 14.3mm thick, and 45.5mm lug-to-lug, which doesn’t seem very manageable on paper, but the short, sloping lugs that drop below the caseback make it comfortable on your wrist, no matter how tall you are. The crown has a rubber grip and is used to sync the watch with the partner app. Depending on how many times you press the crown, the watch will display various daily goal percentages, your heart rate, and your blood oxygen level expressed as SpO2. The 22mm white strap is made in partnership with #tide, a company that has recently started using recycled plastic to make straps for many brands. It’s a little stiff out of the box, but breaks in with use. The quick release pins make it easy to replace. I found the pass-through too long, but I found the rubber strap more comfortable.
Aside from the limited number of second/second hands, the in-house Sequent SC 2.2 movement is the real star from a watch enthusiast’s perspective. It uses a traditional rotor made of tungsten (similar to Seiko’s Kinetic movement) that generates power from your wrist movement and turns it into a power storage device for the watch. Of course, the sensor is in the middle, and it protrudes from the watch, but it doesn’t feel tall when you’re wearing it on your wrist. The watch is accurate to -/+ 0.3 seconds per day and can last up to 18 months in standby mode, but it will last up to 30 days even if you’re tracking your heart rate every 30 minutes. If the battery drops below 10%, it goes into time-only mode. This is a great power-saving feature that ensures the watch doesn’t die completely before you put it back on the included charging stand. The watch syncs with the companion app, Oxygo, which shows you all your data over time and can sync with Apple’s Health app. On the watch, the app tracks your sleep (if you wear it all night, of course), the aforementioned health metrics, and workouts (using GPS). The app is easy to understand, but I wish it had a proper user manual (I have to admit that I never tried the workout feature, even though I work out all the time).
These days, there are so many options for smartwatches and fitness trackers that it’s almost overwhelming. From super-thin bracelets to smartwatches with all the features, including calling, there’s something for everyone. There have been a few brands that have tried to make analog smartwatches, but they’ve managed to give the look of a mechanical watch, but never got the essence of it. Sequent has been working hard to fill that gap in the smartwatch market with its Kinetic Rotor. It’s still tough. To get the most out of it, you have to wear it all the time, but this watch targets people who want a rotor, and those people are usually people who own multiple watches and can’t imagine wearing one all the time. But the Smart(ass) model goes a step further and does so with a tongue-in-cheek dial that not only fills the gap, but pokes fun at the whole concept of a fitness tracking smartwatch. A little light-hearted fun never hurts, right? The Sequent Smart(ass) Watch is limited to 160 pieces and is priced at $549. For more information, visit the Sequent website.
