Today we are taking look at crowdfunded watch, the Pancor P01-Heritage. The company got funded on crowd service called Kickstarter. They got backed for 42, 038€. The Pancor company got quite an exposure. They had stylish, yet appealing watches to horology people and the watches were cheap and of course, the quality is really good! As the owner Marc says:

As you can probably relate, high quality watches are extremely expensive and affordable watches lack the comfort, style and functionality, leaving consumers with a lack of options if you want a high quality watch at the right price. That is why I have created “Pancor” and now anyone can get a watch to match their style with a price tag they can handle.

The companies founder is Marc Schutten. The company is based in Enschede, The Netherlands. The model that they launched on Kickstarter is PO1. It has three variations: Classic, Heritage and Nighthawk. They all are the same watch, but with different straps and colour combinations. Today we are gonna take a look at the Heritage version. They also have some future plans of making automatic movement watch called PO2, but right now it’s only a prototype. 

The inspiration for the Pancor P01 comes from the instrument panel of aeroplane. But especially from the new generation cockpits of fighter jets. As you can see from the pictures below.

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The watch arrived in about 1 week. It didn’t come in a box, it came in watch roll made from canvas. A very nice one actually. I always wanted to try out watch roll, and never got to do that. First impressions of the watch were very good, I was surprised by the quality of watch such cheap. Overall first impressions were positive, not like with other so cheap watches.

While many small watch companies use stock watch cases, Pancor decided to go another way.  Marc and manufacturer designed a custom 44mm case made from 316L stainless steel. Most “pilot” watches are thick and bulky, but not Pancor. The thickness of the watch is no more than 10mm.  For a chronograph watch this big it’s slim and therefore it wears more comfortable on your wrist.  The case is rated at 5 ATM (50m) water resistance. You don’t have to worry when you wash hands or go to the shower with it, but swimming I wouldn’t try with it. The matte black DLC coating on the case is inspired by (stealth) fighter jets like the F-117 Nighthawk. The case back is engraved with specifications and other info about the watch. On the back of mine watch, you see that it is Founders Edition and 148 out of 150. So it is Limited Edition in some way.  The crown is pretty big and it is signed with a fighter jet outline. The pushers for the chrono function are pretty good also, they have mechanical feel because of the VK64 movement.

The dial on the Heritage is really nice. The dial is black with sand orange-color markers. The elongated markers simulate the meters in the cockpit. While keeping the design of the dial clean and simple, applied indices are added to the dial and give it the 3D effect.  Also, the chronographs sub-dials are placed lower than usual so it creates depth to the dial. The dial is made of brass and is enamelled for a black or grey matte finish. Applied with 3D numbers and batons, also the chronograph are lower in the dial to add depth. Also, the hands have applied Swiss superluminova C3 lume. But it isn’t as bright as I thought, it is pretty weak actually, especially on the hands. On the top of a dial sits the sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating for better scratch resistance and visibility.

The heart of the Heritage is Seiko VK64, it’s a hybrid movement. It combines a quartz module for time-keeping and a mechanical module for the chronograph function “meca-quartz”. The quartz provides super accurate time-keeping, low maintenance, and it keeps the cost affordable. The long chronograph sweeps second ticks 5 times per second, providing high precision and a smooth rotation around the dial. The start, stop and reset buttons have a mechanical feel, and they instantly reset the chronograph hands to zero. The strap on the watch is actually pretty nice for the price. The lug width is 24mm so it will be a bit difficult to find any straps, but damn it could look pretty good on those thick leather straps made from old ammo cases.

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Overall I’ve blown away with the quality of the watch that costs only 159 euro. It is almost going into Seiko territory, by that I mean a high-quality watch with good movement and package for such a cheap price. The watch maybe isn’t for small wrists as it is pretty big, but for bigger guys, it will be fine as the watch is masculine. I definitely recommend this one!

Price: €159.00 @ pancorwatch.com

Specifications

• Case / Bezels: 316L Stainless Steel
• Case size: 44mm wide x 53mm long
• Case thickness: 10mm
• Crown: 7 x 4mm (Engraved)
• Weight: 80 Grams
• Dial: Matt effect, Debossed chronograph and 3D implied indices
• Hands: Super luminova
• Crystal: Anti-Reflective Sapphire
• Movement: Seiko VK64 Meca-Quartz
• Strap: 24 mm raw genuine leather
• Water resistant: 50M/5ATM
• Limited edition: Kickstarter founders edition (special case back with serial number)
• Warranty: 2 years