A Look Back At The Latest Mr Jones Watches Releases

Mr Jones Watches is on a roll this year. The perennial fun-watch favorite for many of us here at Fratello, the brand is diving deeper into the realm of mechanical watches for 2023. Not that long ago, we saw the release of “A perfectly useless afternoon” with an STP1-11 Swiss automatic movement inside. Now, at the end of the summer and beginning of autumn, Mr Jones is giving us many more with “The Accurate,” Beam me up!”, and “Enjoy the ride” in mechanical form. In addition, a new quartz art piece named “Short Fuse” makes its debut. Finally, for those that missed out on the limited release earlier this year, “Berry Late!” makes a comeback in a larger run aptly named “Berry Late Again!”

For those of us watch enthusiasts who love what Mr Jones Watches does, it seemed the brand’s last hurdle to jump to achieve a resounding win was to release mechanically powered versions of its popular quartz watches. Known for affordable and cheeky timepieces that openly defy conventional time-telling methods (and even time itself in some cases), until recently, at least half of the MJW catalog consisted of quartz pieces. That’s all fine and good, and it was a movement platform that Mr Jones Watches built its business and enthusiastic following upon. In fact, the use of quartz could be interpreted as yet another rude gesture towards the stodgy traditions of watchmaking. But for watch nerds such as myself, mechanically powered offerings of the brand’s most popular models make Mr Jones Watches perfect for what it is and is trying to achieve.

Bringing mechanical movements into fan-favorite models

Arguably Mr Jones Watches most popular design, “A perfectly useless afternoon” appropriately received the mechanical upgrade first. Now, over the last couple of months, the morbid “The Accurate” and extraterrestrial “Beam me up!” have been released in mechanical formats. And new to the catalog and debuting as a mechanical watch is “Enjoy the ride,” featuring a colorful Ferris-wheel-inspired design and a positive message about how we might spend the time we have.

“The Accurate” mechanical

Like all of the new mechanical versions of previously quartz-only models, “The Accurate” comes in a 40mm-diameter 316L stainless steel case. It frames a simple, radially brushed dial with a minimal train track marking the hour positions. Mr Jones Watches’ trademark quirk manifests in the watch’s hands. With text that appears to rest upon the line-thin arrow minute and hour hands, the watch spells out a very true and stark message — “remember you will die.”

That’s not necessarily a comforting thought to be reminded of every time you check your wrist for the time, but there’s no denying the relation of time, understanding and measuring it, and our very own mortal journeys. To add insult to injury, the seconds hand is bright red, sweeping around the dial in mortal urgency.

But maybe an impending death is not such a terrible thing to be reminded of either. With that awareness comes the wherewithal and agency to make choices about how we spend what time we might have before meeting that inevitable fate. The looming of death may be all each of us needs to live a good life, a full life, our best life. A life full of joy and laughter earns the sorrow and tears that accompany death. Maybe it’s harder than I thought to impart the joy inherent in a statement as somber as “remember you will die,” but I’m sure it’s there.

Specifications for the new mechanical models

“The Accurate” with a mechanical movement and all of the recently released mechanical models share the same basic specs. As stated above, they have a 40mm diameter, as well as a 50mm length, 11mm thickness, and 18mm lug spacing. Water resistance is rated at 5 bar, partially thanks to the sapphire top crystal. The exhibition case back has a mineral crystal to allow a view of the STP1-11 movement. The STP1-11 is an automatic-winding mechanical caliber with a 44-hour power reserve and a 28,800vph beat rate. All of the watches presented here come on a strap. “The Accurate,” specifically, comes with a Hirsch black leather strap with white stitching.

“Beam me up!” mechanical

Mr Jones Watches’ mechanical “Beam me up!” is another variation on a previous design. Matching the original dial of the quartz “Beam me up!” model, the watch face depicts a nighttime farm scene. There’s a cow, a pig, some birds, a barn, and an old fence. It’s very peaceful if rural landscapes are your thing…except for the alien floating in his flying saucer at dead center on the dial. As is more typical for Mr Jones Watches, there are no apparent hands for telling time. In this case, the UFO’s illuminating tractor beam indicates the minutes as it rotates around the dial once per hour. The pig, incidentally, is the watch’s hour hand, slowly meandering around the field.

Mr Jones Watches achieves this effect by employing stacked transparent disks for hands and clever artistic printing. The UFO printed on the underside of the sapphire crystal hides where the disks mount to the stem. The tractor-beam-shaped minute hand is actually a blue-tinted transparent disk, excluding the tractor beam. This gives the scene its nocturnal quality and creates the illuminating effect of the beam. The pig, too, exists on a separate transparent disk. And the cow? Well, it’s just a cow.

The mechanical “Beam me up!” comes on an 18mm brown nubuck leather strap. The pig, finally captured and floating in the tractor beam, makes an appearance printed on the exhibition case back over the movement.

“Enjoy the ride” mechanical debut

If “The Accurate” makes use of impending doom to inspire better living, “Enjoy the ride” is its thematic antithesis, though the sentiment is similar. Similar to “Beam me up!” and its layered disks, “Enjoy the ride” sets its colorful Ferris wheel to the movement of the seconds so that it spins around every minute. Like “The Accurate,” however, there are two more traditional hands located at the center for telling the minutes and hours.

“Enjoy the ride” is a colorful, joyful watch. It feels very summery — I feel it’s impossible to wear it and feel anything but happy and relaxed. Or rather, one would look very silly indeed wearing “Enjoy the ride” while clearly very much not enjoying the ride. To match its playful style and bright colors, it comes on an 18mm blue nylon strap with orange contrast stitching.

“Short Fuse” — a quartz dynamo

If one wanted to wear a Mr Jones watch while perhaps not enjoying the ride (or at least less outwardly so), I can’t think of a better choice than the recently released “Short Fuse” model. Done in Mr Jones Watches’ usual quartz orientation, it’s 37mm of pure black metal spitfire angst. A small fire demon sits atop an open box of matches, scowling and holding an as-of-yet unlit stick of dynamite. Behind him is a pile of matches, some lit, some looking as though they’re about to catch. The background is black. The 18mm stainless steel strap is black. The mood is…black.

To tell the time, you must look past the scowling demon trapped beneath the sapphire crystal. The two lit matches slowly navigate the dial, the larger flame indicating hours and the smaller one, the minutes. Inside the watch and behind a solid case back is a Swiss quartz movement. This model measures 37mm wide and 46mm from lug to lug. As with the other models, water resistance is rated at 5 bar.

This is the Mr Jones offering for those with a more fiery disposition or of a dower countenance. It is, affectionately, the “resting bitch face” of Mr Jones’ Watches lineup. When carousels and sunshine are less your thing than say, Wednesday Addams and quick tempers, “Short Fuse” is as good a fit as you’ll find in the watch world. Unfortunately, and perhaps fittingly for an already more pessimistic fan base, “Short Fuse” is currently sold out. However, as with “Berry Late!” which is now back as “Berry Late Again!”, you can reasonably expect a re-release soon.

Pricing and availability

Yes, the quartz “Berry Late Again!” model is now available for £195. All of the mechanical watches featured in this article are currently available as well, each for £545. You can order online from Mr Jones Watches’ official website or visit the team at their Covent Garden store.

A fun batch from a fun brand

There’s no hiding my enthusiasm and glee over Mr Jones Watches and all that the brand does. I am fully in my “flippant watch” period of enthusiasm and collecting, and Mr Jones fits the bill perfectly. Of the handful presented here, if I had to choose just one, I’d probably pick “Short Fuse.” Not for myself — I typically exude a vibe that ranges from “Golden Retriever” to contemplative, avoiding spitfire entirely. But I like to think that it could make for an excellent moment when someone dear to me — who’s more fiery than me — is in full rage mode, and I say, “Oh, I have something for you.” It might be funny. I might get hurt. It’s definitely worth the risk.

Which Mr Jones watches are your favorites? What do you think of Mr Jones delving more into mechanical movements? Let us know in the comments below!