Introducing: The Yema Urban Rallygraf, Flygraf, And Yachtingraf Models — Members Of The New Urban Sport Collection
Here in the Netherlands, we had a fun, long-running TV show called Te land, ter zee, en in de lucht (On land, at sea and in the air). In it, people tried to get as far as they could on land, in the water, or through the air in their homemade vehicles. Most participants crashed right when they hit the bottom of the ramp. Some made it a little further, and only a few made it to the bell to stop the time. This TV show was the first thing that came to my mind when I looked at Yema’s new Urban Sport collection. It consists of three new versions of the Rallygraf, Yachtingraf, and Flygraf — one watch each for the land, sea, and air.
The ’80s-inspired watch case and bracelet for these three new watches aren’t completely new. Last year, Yema introduced a limited-edition Rallygraf in collaboration with the French Alpine Endurance Team. The watches we’re looking at today have a lot in common with the Alpine Rallygraf, but they also have unique design features. Let’s take a look and see whether they make it all the way to the bell.
The Urban Sport collection
Yema’s Urban collection consists of the Traveller, Field, and now Sport sub-categories. The first two of these consist of purpose-built watches that tell you the hours, minutes, and seconds — nothing more, nothing less. But while they are indeed sporty, the new Urban Sport collection is the most racing-like one of them all. As mentioned in the introduction, there’s a model for the land, sea, and air enthusiasts — named the Urban Rallygraf, Urban Yachtingraf, and Urban Flygraf, respectively.
All three watches share the same 39mm vertically brushed and polished angular case design inspired by one of Yema’s heritage models. The case is 11.7mm thick, spans 47mm from lug to lug, and features a bidirectional bezel. The male end links stick out a bit, but they also angle down, so the bracelet still wraps around the wrist nicely. That bracelet is stainless steel, with each link consisting of nine rows. Three of these have a polished finish, while the other six match the brushed finish on the top of the case.
The clasp is made out of a folded piece of metal and features a safety latch and a dive extension. The latter is probably there so that you can wear the watch over your racing suit of choice. It’s not the best-looking clasp in the world, but it does feel sturdy.
A Yema in-house caliber inside
Powering all three Urban Sport models is the brand’s in-house YEMA2000 caliber. This movement runs at a 28,800vph frequency and features 29 jewels. It’s regulated to run between ±10 seconds a day and holds a power reserve of 42 hours. You operate it through the push-pull crown at 3 o’clock, which features Yema’s elegant “Y” logo in relief. You’ll also find the logo on the screw-in case back. Together with the flat sapphire crystal on the front, this helps ensure water resistance to 10 bar (100 meters).
The Urban Rallygraf
All right, let’s address the differentiating factors between these three models — the designs of the dials and aluminum bezel inserts. I’ll start with the Rallygraf, which is closest to the Alpine limited edition from last year. On the bezel, it features a kilometer scale, which you can use in conjunction with the inner temps ecoule (“time elapsed”) rehaut to find your average speed in kilometers per hour. Simply use the bezel to align your kilometers traveled with the time spent traveling (for example, “110” means “one hour and 10 minutes”), and the triangle at 9 o’clock will point to your average speed on the bezel. Just like the bezel and the rehaut, the fairly flat dial is all black. The only touch of color comes from the fiery red seconds hand. This Rallygraf is the most pragmatic watch of the three, for sure.
The Urban Yachtingraf
On the other hand, the Yachtingraf has a more intriguing design. The black bezel insert features a red, silver, and blue regatta countdown timer. The angled rehaut is bright white, and the stepped matte blue dial has a very slight gradient. It’s a little lighter up top and becomes darker towards the bottom. It’s hardly noticeable, but in the right light, it’s quite a nice detail. The hour markers have been applied, and the arrow on the white seconds hand is skeletonized. I would’ve loved the bezel also to be blue, but the black isn’t a mismatch at all.
The Urban Flygraf
If you’re into a little more color, though, perhaps the Flygraf with its deep yellow rehaut and seconds hand is more for you. Together, the scales on the rehaut and the bezel allow for various in-flight calculations, such as average speed and fuel consumption. But you can also use them to convert nautical miles to land miles and miles to kilometers. The lower part of the stepped black dial is inspired by airplane fuselages and, therefore, has a brushed finish. On the black ring surrounding it, we find applied hour markers, which look a bit more modern than the vintage-inspired ones on the Yachtingraf.
All of the indices as well as the hour and minute hands on all three versions have received a layer of Super-LumiNova, which makes the dials easier to read in the dark.
The same but different and competitive
It’s funny how the specific bezel and dial designs can give each of these three watches such a different character. I find myself more drawn to the Yachingraf and Flygraf due to their stepped dials and use of color. The Rallygraf is simply a little more flat and conventional. Overall, the designs are well done, and for the price of €890 on the bracelet, they’re well-constructed and well-finished watches. They can certainly compete with the watches Jorg mentioned in our list of the top five current microbrand watches under €1,000.
The Yema Urban Sport collection is available now. You can also choose to get the Urban Rallygraf, Flygraf, or Yachtingraf on a leather strap. That’ll save you €61, but I recommend you get them on the bracelet because it goes so well with the angular case. For more information, please check out Yema’s official website.
What do you think of the Yema Urban Sport collection? Which of the three watches is your favorite — the Flygraf, Rallygraf, or Yachtingraf? Let me know in the comments below.
