There are so many aircraft inspired watches around, but none that have a piece of the world’s fastest commercial aircraft (Concorde) on the dial – until now!

Founded in 2020, Strond are a young microbrand, who (like many) have been using KickStarter to generate traction into a very crowded marketplace.  

Headed up by Terrence Ray Flores, an experienced watch designer responsible for the design of the Aston Martin tourbillon (released in celebration of the Aston Martin Valkyrie), he also had knowledge of the benefits of using KickStarter to fund projects.

This latest project was a design based on one of the most iconic aircraft in the world, Concorde 101 (G-AXDN being its official registration number), which now no longer flies, but Terrence managed to get his hands on a piece of the underwing from Duxford Aviation Society.

Terrence explains his inspiration behind the G-AXDN 24 Hours:

Having been a lover of vintage aircraft for years, I wanted to be able to let others share in the remarkable history behind this most iconic aircraft.  Concorde 101 (officially G-AXDN) is the fastest concord ever.  As Concorde airplanes no longer fly, at least people will be able to share in the history, as the dial tag is made from a piece of the under-wing from a Concorde 101.

Strond G-AXDN 24h Automatic

Face & case

The 41mm case is made from stainless steel and features straight brushed surfaces.  6 miniature screws hold down the relatively thin, angular polished bezel, which drops into the dial at right angles into a deep, polished rehaut.

A choice of 2 dials are available in the Strond G-AXDN, a very dark navy blue, but we will concentrate on the white version in this review, as shown in the images. 

Under the flat sapphire crystal, the dial is made from white enamel, mainly with black printed detail.  Straight line minute markers circle the edge of the dial, all of which can also be seen reflected in the rehaut.  All of the hours are identified around the dial with a heavier line and their own modern numerals, other than 12, which has been replaced by a triangle and 4, which has been replaced by a screwed down brushed tag with G-AXDN engraved on it – this tag has been taken from the underside of the wing of a Concorde 101.

At 6 o’clock, there is a date window and at 9 o’clock there is a 24 hour subdial, whose centre has what looks like an aircraft horizon gauge on it.  Small  numbers in 4 hourly intervals are indicated up to 24 within this dial.

There is a lot of other information on the dial.  On the left side of the triangle at 12, there is 1,450 with W below it and on the right, MPH with R below.  This indicates the fastest air speed record which is still held by the Concorde 101.  Moving in towards the centre of the dial, there are small 5 minute indications just inside the hour numerals. The brand’s name is nestled quite prominently at the top of the dial and there is a line sketch of the Concorde’s profile next to the date window.

All of the dial detail is printed in black, other than a tiny hint of red and blue just above 6 o’clock with the word AUTOMATIC above it – the red and blue looks like the configuration of the bottom of the UK flag, but there is no other indication of what it may be for.

Hands have been made from steel, with the sword shaped hour and minute hands having filled centres which glow blue lume in the dark.  The seconds hand is also steel, but has a painted red tip and black overhanging base, with 2 red stripes on it.  The subdial has a single red hand, with black stripes on its base.

The diamond shaped crown is relatively large, with very thinly spaced grips, leading to a polished end featuring an engraved line logo of the same Concorde image shown on the dial.

Flip the watch over and the central window of sapphire crystal shows off the automatic movement in the centre of a screw off polished steel case back.  There is a small amount of thin Geneva style stripes in the centre and a few sandblasted areas.  

There are a few things engraved around the case back in CAPS, including brand, model, number of the watch in the series and water resistance, which is 5ATM (50m).

Strond G-AXDN 24h Automatic Case Back

Movement

An automatic Miyota 8217 movement powers the G-AXDN.  It has 21 jewels, runs at 21,600 bph and can also be hand wound.  It also features hacking seconds.

Owners should expect around 40 hours power reserve once fully wound.

Strond G-AXDN 24h Automatic Side & Crown

Strap

The stainless steel bracelet is that of an integrated sports style; similar to an Oyster style bracelet, it has brushed outer links and polished inner links.

It is fastened with a folding clasp; the clasp is in brushed steel and has STROND engraved into it.

Strond G-AXDN 24h Automatic Strap & Buckle

Other stuff

Strond G-AXDN 24h Automatic On the Wrist

Our verdict

This is definitely a less expensive watch than we usually feature these days, but there is a bit of a story behind it – I first met Terrence about 4 years ago, which was when About Timepieces was just a “hobby blog”.  He was about to launch the Astbury & Kent Stellaris Flying Tourbillon on Kickstarter.  He sent me a watch up to Edinburgh to review back then and we’ve kept in touch ever since.

Terrence has since launched the Strond brand and has completed a number of KickStarter campaigns under the Strond brand, all of which have been a success. 

When I first received the G-AXDN, I was pleasantly surprised by the packaging, as it appeared that a lot of thought had gone into it, with different layers to open and a limited edition certificate. 

I have clearly been spoiled by spending a lot of time with hand made and finished masterpieces though, as I have to say that when I first saw the actual watch, I was a bit underwhelmed.  However, having brought myself back down to earth and reminded myself that there are 2 very different worlds, the G-AXDN is actually what one might expect from a sub £500 watch – it doesn’t have the flair or pzazz of what we usually have our hands on, but it is a well composed and executed watch.

Whilst quite busy, the layout of the dial has been thoughtfully designed, is easily legible and does what it needs to.  I’m not really a history or aircraft buff, but it’s a nice touch having a piece of the Concorde 101 on the dial.  

As could be expected for a lower budget watch, there are a few things that I would have done differently, but that no doubt would increase manufacture costs and therefor the sale price would be less attractive to Strond’s core customers.  Two things specifically on aesthetics to mention, are that I would have definitely given the enamel dial more vibrancy (and shine) and the 24h subdial would have been a second time zone, as the 24h subdial can only be set to the same time as the main dial.

At 41mm, it’s the ideal size for my taste and on the wrist, it is comfortable and feels lighter in weight than it looks.  The polished bezel and soft, smooth lines, mean the height of 12.5mm allows it to easily slide under a cuff.

A price of 385 GBP (including UK VAT @ 20%) means it is likely going to be affordable to almost every wallet and having a white dial, could quite easily turn into a daily beater, without having to think about colour matching to clothes.  A total of 1971 pieces will be made – the number being the year of the Concorde’s first flight. 

Strond have another KickStarter campaign for their new DC-4 going right now; in a similar price range and also limited edition in their Vintage Series.  I expect it will be next in the line-up of many more, affordable, aircraft inspired watch releases from Strond, so wishing Terrence the best of luck!

https://www.stronduk.com/