While people who appreciate watches gravitate towards mechanicals, there are some exceptions like your G-Shocks et al that many consider to be must haves for any watch enthusiast. And then there are novelty watches that are just too darn cool that it’s so hard to pass up. The Bradley is one of them.
Bradley Snyder
The Bradley was conceived through Kickstarter and was meant to be a watch that had a real purpose for it’s “novelty” – it was really made for the visually impaired. It was inspired by and named after Lt. Brad Snyder.
Brad lost his sight completely from an IED explosion while serving in Afghanistan as a bomb defuser. Resolved to continue his active lifestyle, Brad competed in and won two gold and one silver medals in swimming at the 2012 Paralympics in London.
Impressions
It comes in a box with some sort of outer sheath embossed with braille 1 Which to this day, I never bothered to find out what it says Overall, the packaging was impeccable and elegant.
The watch case is bead-blasted titanium as was its caseback. 2 I believe the caseback option was exclusively for Kickstarter backers Then we had the stainless steel milanese strap, which you could possibly swap out with a regular 20mm strap.
Telling Time
The outer bearing tells the hour, and the minutes are on the front. This may seem counter intuitive visually, but it makes sense to have the minutes more accessible to “touch” for those who are visually impaired. At least that’s what they say. That said, I’ve had novelty watches that told time in even more complicated ways, so adjusting to this watch is easy peasy.
Conclusion
The only issue I see with this watch is the choice of bead-blasted instead of stonewashed for the finish. While the metal will last a lifetime, scratches on it will likely be noticeable. I feel this is a missed opportunity with the material. The reason people like sapphire is to avoid scratches as much as possible, and here we have a watch that doesn’t have a glass at all, is meant for physical contact, and they chose the second to the worst finish you as far as being a scratch magnet goes 😛
For what it’s worth, they have models now that seem to be PVD coated – so that might be a better option if you’re looking to buy one.
Other than that little gripe, it’s a beautiful watch that never fails to grab attention. It’s a great conversation piece and looks great both dressed up or down.
Specifications
- Diameter: 40 mm
- Height: 11.5 mm
- Material: titanium (stainless steel strap)
- Movement: Ronda Powertech 502
- Water-proof: 50 m
You can buy The Bradley Watch from their website