Neo-retro done right

It's no secret that my preference for watch leans toward retro. I find that the 70's "lost decade" is a fascinating era and the watches designed during this period have a certain "flair" that is both unique and very appealing.

However the problem with these watches is that the manufacturing capabilities of the 70's often lagged behind the designer's aspirations, and in some cases it's harder to find them in good condition than watches from previous decades. This is where neo-retro, or the art of re-creating a 70's looking watch using 21st century technology comes to the rescue, because it enabled me to enjoy a very 70's looking watch without suffering from the hassle associated with wearing a real 70's watch as a daily. Such is the Yema Wristmaster.

There's plenty of clues in its design that hints that it's a watch from the 70's and the case design is the most obvious of them all. Interestingly it's not a re-creation of any of Yema's models from this era, and behind the case back is a very modern YEMA2000 movement.

The style of the dial with its cream color, crosshair, and unusual looking indices is what drew in me to support Yema's Kickstarter campaign, however I have to admit that the font used for the name on the dial is bringing in the nostalgia in a big way, because this is exactly the cursive style that I was taught to use when I was a kid in France and had to master the art of using a nib pen and ink cassette.

The acrylic used in forming the crystal is also very period correct, although the transition to glass was well underway during the 70's, many watches still used acrylic and it's also quite impossible to get the tall box shape done with glass.

I can't claim that the Wristmaster wears like an authentic watch from the 70's because it doesn't. It wears like a modern watch and can be used as such. Unfortunately yema shifted their focus away from the Wristmaster Adventurer variant and placed it on the Traveler, which is more of a pity because the Adventurer is so much more unique and interesting IMO.