Hands-On With The Completely Redesigned Jack Mason Canton
Over the past 5–10 years, we have seen a huge rise in the popularity of American microbrands. It has been interesting to see the success of Monta, Traska, Nodus, Autodromo, and Lorier, to name just a few. Another brand that has been making waves lately is Jack Mason. It began as a fashion brand but repositioned during the COVID pandemic, and with a strong focus on creating higher-quality watches, the Texan brand quickly found success. The Jack Mason Strat-o-timer GMT from 2022 became a fan favorite, followed by the Hydrotimer dive watch and the Ellum dress watch. In the next step, Jack Mason releases its first timepiece to bear the “Swiss Made” label. It’s time to check out the new Jack Mason Canton.
Quite a few watch fans will know the name Jack Mason. I had heard of the brand but never had a chance to check out one of its watches. I knew about Jack Mason because its Strat-o-timer GMT from 2022 was the first microbrand watch powered by Miyota’s 9075 caliber. This movement has become tremendously popular because it was the first widely available flyer-style GMT caliber for affordable watches. As a result, we have seen it powering a plethora of new GMT watches over the last two years. And while that Miyota-powered Strat-o-timer was a nice first for Jack Mason, the brand now introduces another first. The new Canton is the brand’s first Swiss-made watch.
The story of the new Jack Mason Canton
The Jack Mason Canton is not entirely new. The Canton existed in the brand’s previous life but has been completely redesigned. Now, for those unfamiliar with Jack Mason, one of its co-founders is Peter Cho. He worked as a watch designer in Switzerland for many years at different brands, including Movado. However, after two decades, his focus shifted to creating a high-quality American watch brand. With Jack Mason, Cho and the other team members are taking steps to make that happen. And with the Canton, the brand from Dallas combines its Texan roots with Swiss watchmaking, leading to interesting results.
Let’s first go back in history. As mentioned, the Jack Mason Canton isn’t completely new. The previous version was rather different, though. The watch featured a Miyota movement displaying the day and date at 3 o’clock and a dial defined by the large “12” and “6” numerals. For the new Canton, Cho redesigned the watch from the ground up. In all fairness, though, it’s clear that the watch has Rolex vibes. The new design takes influences from the Oyster Perpetual and Datejust, which gives the Canton a much better-balanced presence and adds some seriousness.
The specs of the new Jack Mason Canton
Let’s look at some specs. The new Canton has a 150m-water-resistant 39mm stainless steel case with a 10.8mm thickness and 46mm lug-to-lug. This case’s nice, slim profile makes it super easy to wear. In addition, the stainless steel is treated with a hard coating (1,200 Vickers), ensuring that you can make the Canton your daily wearer without having to worry about scratching it too much. The finishing of the case is quite nice too, including deeply brushed surfaces and polished bevels for contrast.
The case houses a dial with a cross-hatch pattern and a sunray finish. You can choose from four dial colors — black, white, green, and the blue version we received for review. Thanks to the sunray finish, the blue dial looks metallic rather than matte. It features applied markers filled with white Super-LumiNova, and the brand’s applied star logo refers to the flag of the Lone Star state.
The lower half of the dial features the “Canton” name and some text referring to the depth rating and the automatic movement. As you can see, the date window sits at 6 o’clock and features a date disc color-matched to the dial with the numerals in white. The handset fits the overall design nicely. All three hands are filled with white Super-LumiNova that lights up blue in darker conditions. A remarkable detail is the red, white, and blue tail of the seconds hand, which refers to the colors of the Texan flag.
The La Joux-Perret G100 movement
If you turn the watch around, you’ll see the Soigné-grade La Joux-Perret G100 movement. This caliber operates at 28,800vph, offers 68 hours of power reserve, and has an accuracy of ±7 seconds per day. It’s also fitted with a tungsten rotor that proudly features the Texas Lone Star logo. The movement is finished neatly, giving it a rather distinguished presence.
The Canton comes on an Oyster-style bracelet featuring brushed outer links and polished center links. It matches the contrasting finishes of the case and tapers nicely from 20mm at the end links to 16mm at the clasp. The quality is very decent, and the large milled folding clasp adds great comfort. It includes a toolless micro-adjustment system that is super easy to use.
Moreover, it offers great adaptability because you can make the bracelet quite a bit shorter or longer. This ensures that the watch is easy to size to your wrist for greater comfort.
Wearing the Jack Mason Canton
On the wrist, the Jack Mason Canton is a very comfortable daily wearer. Its size and proportions feel right at home on my 19cm (7.5″) wrist. Overall, the watch feels nice and sturdy, and the quality of the case and bracelet finishing is quite good. In terms of design, it’s hard to shake the Rolex vibes, but that doesn’t have to be bad for Jack Mason. Plenty of watch fans love Rolex’s aesthetics but are unwilling to spend the necessary €6.5K for an Oyster Perpetual or even more for a Datejust. Those people have a great, more affordable alternative with the new Canton.
But while the overall silhouette might seem familiar, plenty of details make this watch different. The dial with its cross-hatch pattern and the seconds hand with its hints of color are two good examples. Furthermore, the references to Texas are not too obvious if you don’t know what the colors and the Lone Star logo stand for. But if you do, you will be reminded that Jack Mason is a Texan brand. Whether that’s good or not is highly personal. I imagine it will resonate with a lot of buyers from the US. However, as a European who has visited the United States numerous times, I have yet to experience the Lone Star state. It’s definitely something I am looking forward to, but that’s a different story.
Final thoughts
Overall, Jack Mason did a great job updating the Canton. With a new and more appealing design, a great automatic caliber, and an overall quality and finishing upgrade, this is a great effort from the Dallas-based brand. Additionally, the watch is super easy to wear thanks to its slim profile, spot-on proportions, and great usability of the bracelet and clasp. All these improvements also come with an updated price tag. The new Jack Mason Canton will be available for US$1,499. With the new Swiss-made Canton, Jack Mason hopes to be a great alternative to some of the entry-level Swiss brands.
You can also add some of the American microbrands to that list of competitors. For watch fans who want to buy a watch from an American brand, Jack Mason’s Texan roots could be a deciding factor. Overall, this new Canton is a great update and a solid effort from the brand. Specs-wise, it is quite impressive, and with plenty of watch enthusiasts out there who love this aesthetic, I do not doubt that the new Jack Mason Canton will find its way to fans.
For more information, visit the official Jack Mason website. Let us know what you think of the new Jack Mason Canton in the comments section.
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