The Ongoing Quest to Find the Perfect Red Dial - New Formex Essence Gamaret

I have zero shame in admitting I love a red dial. Whether it is the Coral OP, AnOrdain Post Office Red, or countless G-Shocks, if I see a well-done red dial, it immediately ends up on the list. This watch never ended up on a list. Once I discovered the release, it was an instant buy (Thanks for the team at Long Island Watch for the deal).

Why this watch? That is an interesting and unexpected journey. It started in March of 2020. Omega released the green Aqua Terra.

I loved the dial, the etched horizonal lines, the shade of green, matching date wheel but when I tried it on, I was quickly reminded Omega's bracelet on this (and several other lines) was not great. For the price, this bracelet should be better than watches 1/2 it's price. As a result, I quickly forgot about it and lost all desire to own it. For shame, it is still a very cool watch, especially at the current market price.

Then last May, Omega decided it wanted in on the colorful dial trend; A new AT, with an improved bracelet, and in red. Gone is the teak pattern dial, swapped for a sunburst, but damn, it is gorgeous.

I had every intention of adding this to the collection (I still may), but while not quite CyberTruck level of vaporware, the production and release of this watch still has not happened, almost a year after the announcement. The most recent word is late Q2? Ugh.

That leads me to the Formex. At a recent Windup, I had the chance to play with some of their watches. I was always interested in the Reef Diver, which is a cool watch, but after handling the Essence 39, that had my newfound attention, specifically the green one. I added it to a couple of watchlists like we do, but honestly forgot about it. Then they dropped the red one, or I should say Garamet. It is an awesome shade of red and the dial cannot help but be compared to the previous gen AT. As I mentioned earlier, immediate buy.

At 39mm, 10mm thick, and 45mm L2L, the watch wears perfectly on my wrist. The addition of the shock absorption is neat, and initially, I thought it was gimmicky, but it actually helps add flex when wearing the watch. An unanticipated perk. Throw in COSC certification of an SW200 movement it is hard to complain at this price point. The quality is steps above most micro brands as the CEO also happens to serve as Head of Product and Development at Dexel, which makes cases, bracelets, clasps, etc for many high-end watches. Full disclosure, I have zero point zero insight that Dexel makes any components for this watch, but most of the parts of the watch feel more refined than many other micro brands in its price range and it would not surprise me if there were some synergies. At the very least, he knows his stuff, more so than many micro founders, and what makes a quality component.

So, did this end my quest for the perfect red dial? No. What kind of watch nerd would I be if I gave up, even after picking up a great watch like this? But it is pretty darn awesome and will get a lot of wrist time. Mel's (@ChronoGuy) red Tag Carrera as well as the red IWC Portugieser remain on my list of watches.

Hope this was helpful to fans of red watches, but more so to those considering Formex. It is another brand offering a value rivaling brands that cost much more.