May the fourth be with you: Two Star Wars watches at opposite ends of the pricing spectrum
Zach BlassThe force is strong today. We can all get in touch with our inner Midi-chlorians as we say to each other “May the fourth be with you.” If you’ve seen my video review of the Grand Seiko SBGW264, than you probably know I am a bit of a Star Wars nerd. The Skywalker saga means so much to people all over the world, and the licensed merchandising opportunities are apparently endless. But we’re about the watches here at Time+Tide, so I wanted to showcase two Star Wars watches at opposite sides of the pricing spectrum that are both capable of bringing the force to your wrist.
Kross Death Star Tourbillon Limited Edition Ultimate Collector Set
While the planet-destroying Death Star was conquered twice by the Rebel alliance, Kross has brought the Death Star back in a highly limited and complicated fashion. The watch is quite large at 45mm in diameter, but its size is fitting considering the planetary size of the evil space station. In all fairness, the round design is lug-less so it’s presence across the wrist won’t stretch too far beyond its diameter. The grade five titanium is black DLC-coated to really drive home the Death Star aesthetic as well as give an added layer of scratch resistance to its case.
The watch is 20mm thick, but 12.5mm thick if you exclude the domed sapphire crystal. The extra height hosts the incredibly complex central tourbillon framed within the centre of the dial. The Death Star serves as the tourbillon cage and orbits around the middle of the dial with one revolution per minute. The Kyber Crystal powered laser cannon of the Death Star is signalled by a small green disc that evokes the destructive weapon being primed to fire. Affixed to a peripheral display that circles 360 degrees around the tourbillon are the orbital hours and minutes hands. Kross explains: “The hour hand embodies an Imperial-Class Star Destroyer, the bane of the rebellion, while the minute hand appears as a Super-Class Star Destroyer, one of the most powerful Empire vessels.” The outer-most ring is stepped and displays the necessary hash marks and numerals to decipher the minutes. All of the gears and bridges visible on the dial side have been blackened for an added Death Star effect.
Inside the watch is the in-house Kross caliber MKS7000, a manual winding tourbillon movement with five days of power reserve. The 203 component movement is wound and set via a caseback “D-Ring” lever. While worn the D-Ring embeds itself into the exhibition caseback, but when you need to set or wind the watch the “D-Ring” lever can be raised via a push button covered in Aurebesh Script (one of the most widely used languages in the Star Wars galaxy) at the 3′ side of the case.
There are also three interchangeable straps bundled with the Kross Death Star Tourbillon Limited Edition Watch: a black rubber strap with black stitching and an embossed pattern inspired by the Death Star, a grey calf leather strap with black stitching that also has a Death Star pattern, and a more playful red rubber strap with red stitching and a black rubber inlay for durability and comfort. Two Aurebesh Script push buttons on the 12′ and 6′ sides of the caseback are used to quickly detach and attach one of the three bundled straps.
The watch is part of an Ultimate Collectors Set, packaged throughout the Kyber Crystal capsules. One capsule houses the other two bundled interchangeable straps, another serving as a case of the watch. But one of the capsules actually contains a screen-used Kyber Crystal from the movie Rogue One. To the uninitiated, Kyber Crystals not only power the destructive Death Star Cannon, but also act as an energy source for lightsabers. The set will really appeal to the intersection of Star Wars and watch collectors, but with only 10 pieces to be made this is a highly limited item. Price: $150,000 USD, Limited Edition of 10 pcs.
Citizen Rebel Pilot & Trench Run
Now, understandably, we don’t all necessarily have $150,ooo to drop on a watch. And if you’re looking to get a Star Wars themed watch for younger individuals as a gift you’re probably looking for something with half as many numbers in the price tag. Luckily, Citizen has introduced a duo of battery-powered watches that are designed to evoke Rebel Alliance and Empire fighters.
The 30 metre splash-resistant stainless steel case of the Rebel Pilot variant is 33mm in diameter and 37mm across the wrist. The integrated bracelet is composed of many narrow rectangular links, affixed to hidden lugs on the underside of the case. The dial and case are covered with Star Wars themed symbols and accents and host a good bit of battery-powered complication. Beneath the mineral crystal are two topside sub dials that host analog displays for the time – the left dial representing time zone one and the right dial time zone two. The bottom half hosts a squared display on the left and two rectangular displays on the right. On the left square you’ll find the mode indication that displays which complication you are engaging with, whether setting the time, alarm, or even activating the stopwatch. On the right, the top rectangular display conveys the day-date complication and the rectangle beneath it displays the reading of the built-in temperature sensor.
The Trench Run variant is more for fans of the Empire, but it shares the same dimensions and complications as the Rebel Pilot. The same four buttons surround the case, with the start/stop and reset pushers for the stopwatch on the right. On the left, the top mode pusher adjusts which of the aforementioned modes you are engaging with or setting, and the bottom left side pusher activates the L.E.D light feature to illuminate the displays.
The Rebel Pilot, without the black coating is slightly less expensive, but the two watches share all of the same functionality. Price: $350 USD for the Rebel Pilot, $375 USD for the Trench Run.