Hands-On With The Excelsior Park EP 884-SI
Handling a time-only watch that bears the name Excelsior Park is odd. We are used to seeing that elongated bottom “E” stroke on chronographs almost exclusively. Yes, Excelsior Park had some time-only pieces in the past, but the bread and butter for the brand has always been chronos. Since its resurrection a few years ago, the new EP brand has only had chronographs in its collection. That changes now with the Excelsior Park EP 884-SI having finally arrived.
The new EP 884-SI has been available on the Excelsior Park website since early July, with six different variants each starting at US$845 before taxes. I managed to get my hands on one. Here’s what I think of it.
The brand
Excelsior Park was founded in 1866 by Jules-Frédéric Jeanneret in Saint-Imier, Switzerland. Unfortunately, though, it succumbed to the Quartz Crisis by the early 1980s. Then, roughly three years ago, EP got a new lease on life at the hands of the guys who revived Nivada Grenchen. The brand’s first order of business was to release a selection of chronographs to the market. Vintage EP timepieces inspired these models. I was lucky enough to be among the select few to have one of the first hands-on articles at the time. Since then, Excelsior Park has tried to follow in Nivada’s footsteps by creating a buzz around the brand. Most notably, EP collaborated with industry-favorite artist seconde/seconde/, and while the result looked great, unfortunately, it did not prove too memorable. Thus, it was time to show something else and go beyond the obvious chronograph offerings. Finally, under revamped management, Excelsior Park is focusing on expanding its product line. The first step in this direction is the new EP 884-SI.
EP 884-SI
Before closely examining the watch itself, let’s dissect the model name. While the “EP” abbreviation is obvious, “884” was a mystery until I talked with someone from Excelsior Park’s management who explained that the village of Saint-Imier was founded in 884 CE. Hence, the three digits followed by “SI” are a tribute to the hometown of Excelsior Park, Saint-Imier. Contrary to popular belief, Excelsior Park produced time-only watches in the 1950s. However, as the brand was famous for chronographs, these simple time-only pieces didn’t earn nearly as much recognition.
Measurements
That’s enough about the name. Let’s move on to the watch. The EP 884-SI measures 38mm wide, 9.45mm thick, and 46.2mm from lug tip to lug tip. As you can tell, even with the smaller diameter, this watch is not particularly small; I’d say it is comfortably sized by modern standards. Due to the thin bezel and the bright dial, this EP 884-SI looks larger than 38mm. It may feel different if you choose the anthracite or dark blue dials. Thanks to the hand-winding movement inside, the thickness and wearability under a cuff should not be an issue. Overall, the EP 884-SI is a great time-only watch that can be a perfect everyday option for those who love simplicity. As Excelsior Park offers the watch in several variations, the options to choose from should satisfy anyone who fancies the look and dimensions.
A lot to choose from
The new Excelsior Park EP 884-SI is only available in a 316L stainless steel case. It has a screw-in display case back that lets us see the hand-wound movement, and the crystal is sapphire, which is standard nowadays on most watches. Future EP 884-SI owners can choose from four dial colors — light ivory with an enamel finish, dark anthracite sunray, dark blue sunray, or silver sunray. The ivory and dark anthracite dials also come in two versions. Ivory offers high-polished and applied nickel indexes with blued steel hands or yellow gold PVD indexes and matching hands. Black offers the same options but pairs the nickel indexes with matching (non-blued) hands. All other dial colors are only available with the nickel indexes and hands. And these were only the dials.
Once you select your favorite watch face from the six options, you can decide if you fancy the watch on a leather strap or a steel bracelet. As I mentioned above, the price comes to US$845 for the watch on a strap. Should you choose the steel beads-of-rice bracelet, the price is a tad higher at US$995. I think this is still fair for what you are getting. My review watch arrived on a leather strap, so sadly, I can’t comment on the bracelet. However, I saw an earlier version, which was more than adequate. Please don’t quote me on this, but I’m sure the quality is there. At the same time, the black leather strap is sturdy but soft enough for instant wear. You have many options for a simple three-hander if you ask me.
Wrist presence
If you listen to the Fratello On Air podcast, you know that Mike and I both have a thing for simple, time-only watches from the ’40s to the ’60s. This re-edition, if you will, is right up my alley, so I was excited to see how the EP 884-SI felt on the wrist. Would it look too classy with a T-shirt? Would it be too large? Most importantly, how would the wearability be? While every watch review is subjective to its writer, this is a lovely timepiece that, thanks to its design, works well in a formal and casual setup. On my 19cm (7.5″) wrist, it feels great, even if the over-46mm tip-to-tip dimension may look long on paper. The EP 884-SI’s large crown makes it easy to wind the watch and set the time, and the legibility is excellent even if there’s no lume on the dial.
What’s left to say?
Inside the EP 884-SI beats Landeron’s L21 caliber. This hand-wound movement has 40 hours of power reserve, 17 jewels, and a 28,800vph frequency. Though it originally came with a date feature, this has been removed for Excelsior Park. The case construction makes the watch water resistant to 10 ATM (100 meters), meaning it’s sturdy enough to be your vacation watch on the bracelet. For those who appreciate vintage design features in a modern execution, the Excelsior Park EP 884-SI is a watch to consider. It perfectly blends the charm of a bygone era with modern size and usability. The price is competitive, and the presentation is lovely. Check out all of the options on Excelsior Park’s website.
