Farer is giving us a new take on the formal genre this week with the release of a new collection called the Lissom. Rather than a trio of new watches, Farer is launching this collection with no less than five references, and in true Farer fashion, each named for a renowned British botanist, allowing each colorway to tell its own story. The Lissom is a beautifully proportioned watch, but make no mistake, there’s still plenty of Farer personality on display, challenging any preconception you may have about what it means to be a formal watch.
The word Lissom was chosen for its meaning, which is slim or graceful, and the watches at hand are most certainly that. Farer is using a manually winding La Joux-Perret D100 within the Lissom, allowing for a total case thickness of just 7.95mm. The caseback is kept as flat as possible here, but still manages to keep an exhibition window for good measure. The steel case measures 38mm in diameter, and 42.8mm from lug to lug, which should allow for an all around transcendent experience on the wrist.
When I think of a formal watch, that ultra trim presence on the wrist is what immediately comes to mind, even more so than a minimal dial design or the use of precious metals. It’s about capturing a feeling more than anything else. It would seem that Farer agrees, as the rest of the design doesn’t exactly follow suit with the formal watch design tropes. There’s a big personality on display here, and the brand doesn’t exactly shy away from the use of color.
The Lissom is being introduced in five colorways, each taking the name of a British botanist. Farer is of course a British brand, and often find ways to weave the history of their country into their releases. The first is the Arber, named for Agnes Arber, and featuring a deep red and pink contrasting dial with an orange seconds hand. Next is the Balfour, named for Isaac Bayley Balfour, showcasing a clean white dial with contrasting blue elements. From here we find the Forrest, named for Scottish botanist George Forrest. This watch gets a grained teal dial with a khaki colored sub-dial and an orange seconds hand. Next is the Lindley, named for English botanist John Lindley, and this example gets a deep purple dial with a dark blue sub dial. Finally, we find the monotone Solander, named for Swedish naturalist Daniel Solander.
Each watch has its own personality, and all share the same base design. The dial uses applied Arabic numerals at each hour, with no date window in sight. A large sub-dial for the running seconds is placed at six o’clock. At a glance, these watches have a strong field watch vibe, but are set into unexpected svelte packages. Most importantly, that distinct Farer personality remains intact, which transcends anything demanded by a certain genre.
The Farer Lissom is priced at $1,295, and can be had on a wide range of strap choices. The watch is currently in pre-order with deliveries expected to commence by mid-June. Farer
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