Halloween Watches: Be Afraid, Very Afraid This Year! — Ghoulish Wristwear From Bell & Ross, Mr Jones, Scurfa, And More
What better way to celebrate the dark day of Halloween than with some scary wristwear? I’m not talking about electrified watches that’ll zap you in the night, but it could mean some newfound color for your watch box. In fact, some Halloween watches are cool all year round.
This year, I have found great examples, including usual suspects like Mr Jones Watches, full-lume casework, and embroidered grails. And if you’re not a horror fan, why not try a delicious slice of pumpkin pie?
Bell & Ross BR-X5 Blue Lum
From square flight-instrument purity to retro-touched field watches, Bell & Ross has made its mark. And after meeting big dog Carlos Rosillo in London a few weeks back, I get it. With the expansion of the BR-line into titanium-light sports models, this year, the watches are leaning into tech and modernity. And it suits the French, Swiss-manufactured brand well. The BR-X5 Blue Lum is the bigger brother in the range, and it is the first time I’ve ever seen a watch case machined from solid luminous material. I had the pleasure of trying this on for size, and with only a touch of sunlight from a window, it lit up like a Miami nightclub. Invest €13,900 for a high-tech feast for the night.
Mr Jones Watches Night Howl
The cheeky creators of distinctive wristwear at Mr Jones Watches in London never disappoint when October comes along. This year, their inaugural Halloween release, the Night Howl, has been designed by French author and illustrator Xavier Broche. It will be part of the regular collection and features their trademark cool display concept. In an eerily dark forest, a character most likely representing the wearer wields a flashlight to indicate the minutes. This rotates, slowly revealing a fox and her cub, an owl, and just maybe a scary ghost… The owl within the dark tree canopy represents the hours, all set within a very comfortably wearing skeleton-lugged polished 37 × 46.9 × 10.8mm case. With this cheerful Halloween piece powered by a solid Swiss quartz movement, I don’t think you can go wrong for £225.
Scurfa Diver One D1-500 Gloss Orange
Halloween or not, I’m always up for tasty pumpkins like the Scurfa Diver One. This watch belongs to our managing editor Nacho. Like a colorful Seiko “Monster” or Doxa Sub 300 Professional, the combination of a tough-cookie exterior and viscerally legible dial is a great reason to desire a diver’s watch. Big lume indexes and two solid-looking sword hands inhabit a delicious glossy orange backdrop. The 40mm Diver One comes on a smooth rubber strap with a distinctly modern vibe and boasts an ergonomic 47.7mm lug-to-lug length. It’s beefy-thick at 14.4mm, but with the sturdy 500m depth rating, it feels right, and admittedly, I’ve been jealous of Nacho’s pumpkin babe since he posted it on Instagram. It houses a reliable quartz Swiss-made ETA F06.412 with a battery EOL indicator. Currently, the folks at Scurfa are restocking. With patience, though, you’ll find it on their site for around €350.
German Polosin Kopf
There is something new and scary in small-brand land, and the supremely cool Kopf (“head” in German) from independent watchmaker German Polosin came at me like some steampunk android. Priced at £8,000 (excluding VAT), it’s no budget proposition, but even at first sight, I’m getting MB&F, Otsuka Lotec, and Vianney Halter vibes. And I love the simple but efficient idea of using the “eyes” of the skull to show the time. The skull-shaped Kopf concept watch is based on an ETA 2892 movement with an in-house-designed “Big-Eyes” module showing the hours and minutes.
The kicker comes at night when tritium tubes light up like mad without any charging needed. For a closer look at this dive-mesh-braceleted watch, check it out here.
Pre-owned craftsmanship from Hublot
I enjoy being the odd one out at Fratello when it comes to Hublot and the brand’s outré creations. And to be honest, the Big Bang line has become a strong mainstay, no longer shocking us with its brawny excess. It is also popular with artists and designers for collaborations, and some of my favorites have been the Broderie versions. Perfect for Halloween, the various models come with the sartorial touch of hand-embroidered dials and straps. Currently, the Big Bang Broderie is awaiting a reawakening, but pre-owned examples on Chrono24 start around €6K. I love the evocative colors of the Mexican-inspired Sugar Skull version above, and I would happily rock one of these babies all year round.
How about you, my spooky Fratelli? Are you up for some wrist changes in honor of Halloween? Let me know in the comments, especially if you already have a big focus on ghoulish watches in your collection.
