Today we have a stylish watch, as this watch was one of the first non-mainstream small brand watches that caught my eye when I was just starting this blog and since then I really wanted to take a look at it. And about a couple of weeks ago Eone reached out to me and I immediately said yes!

So today we have the Eone (as I just recently learned, pronounced as the letter “e” and the number 1) Bradley in for reviews. Let’s talk about the company and backstory. The Eone Bradley timepiece lets you feel the time with your fingers and also eyes. It was offered and successfully funded as a Kickstarter project in 2013. It was named in honor of U.S. Navy lieutenant Bradley Snyder, a veteran of the Afghanistan war who was severely injured while diffusing a bomb, losing his sight. That didn’t stop this guy, though. In 2012 and 2016, he won a total of five gold and two silver medals in the Paralympic Games and broke a world record. Eone honors Lieutenant Bradley’s perseverance in speaking out for those who are blind, emphasizing that the stigma of blindness in our society is often more difficult to overcome than the disability itself. Since the Bradley doesn’t require eyesight to tell time, Eone likes to call it a timepiece and not a watch – but no matter what we call it, the Eone Bradley is a great alternative for those looking for something that goes beyond your run-of-the-mill fashion watch.

The watch came in a nice box. Inside the box, you will find instructions (which are also in braille) and the Bradley watch. The first impressions were good. I really like the watch and the size is just perfect for any wrist. Also, I didn’t knew that it has articulating lugs which really help the comfort on the wrist. It looks very hipstery and I’m surprised that not so many people know this brand, as this is much cooler than those Daniel Wellington, Cluse, The Horse, and other fashion, overpriced watches.

So let’s start differently with this as I think most of you want to know how to read this watch and how it works? The Eone Bradley uses an open dial. Kind of the whole case and the dial is one piece of stainless steel. To tell the minutes and hours, two small metallic ball bearing balls function as the hands of the watch, with the minute ball situated on the top of the watch, while the hour indicator is a ball in a groove cut into the profile of the titanium case. This allows those with visual impairments to reach to the timepiece and determine the location of the metallic balls by touch, and hence tell the time with relative ease. As a sighted person, it’s fascinating for me to close my eyes and try to read time by each of these ball bearings. Sometimes the ball bearings lose their grip to the underlying magnets, but a quick flick of the wrist rolls them back into the proper position. Wearing the watch I also learned a lot about tactile sensation, as well as about myself and how much I depend on sight at the expense of touch. The only downside to this system is that the ball bearing balls scratch the surface of the dial.

So the case is made of 316L stainless steel with a very nice machine work. Every line is sharp and precise. I really can see that they put a lot of design work into this case. The finishing of the whole case is done in bead blasting and it has that dark grey color look, almost looks like titanium. The dial is aluminum and has this light grey finishing. The raised hour markers are in dark blue color. The push-pull crown is at 3 o’clock and is rather small, but easy to manipulate, even with bug fingers due to how the case is made and shaped. Case diameter is 40mm and the thickness is 11,5mm so it is a very nice sized watch and wears on your wrist nicely. The lugs as you know ar articulating to make the watch experience more comfortable. I’ve been wearing it for a couple of days and I barely noticed it was on the wrist. The lug width is 20mm, and I have to add that this watch looks good on almost any strap I put it on. The lugs are held on the case with small flathead screws. The case back is held on with four little screws. On the case back you will find some engraving like the Eone logo, specifications, and other stuff. The watch has no water resistance, but the Bradley watch will easily withstand brief contact with water, like getting caught in the rain or washing hands. It is not intended for submersion in water or high-intensity sports.

So as we know the watch is meant for everyone. For sighted people, the watch works, but it isn’t easy as you can read time from only certain angles. It is hard to read time when you look at it straight, you need to look at it from a certain angle to read the time. But this can be overcome, by using your fingers. I actually noticed after the first day of wearing it, that I wasn’t even looking at the watch, but was just using my fingers to tell time.

For people who can’t see, it is a find! I know that there are many watches that can tell the time or like the apple watch where you can use it to do stuff on your phone. But I only know a couple of watches with which you can tell time physically. I know that Raketa (which is a Russian watch company) in the 70s and 80s made a watch where you can lift up the top of the case with crystal and read time by touching the dial. But that is the only example I know. And the Bradley watch fills the gap nicely, and the ability to help yourself to such ordinary information as the time of day while wearing a stylish watch like this is bound to be an uplifting experience.

Inside the Eone Bradley is a Ronda Swiss quartz movement that has been modified in a way so that it comprises two small but rather powerful magnets that carry the two balls around their course. The movement is very precise and very robust. The battery life is around 2-3 years. The strap that came with the watch suits it really well. It looks nice with those salt and pepper tones and the white leather underlining makes the strap very comfortable to wear. At first, the strap will be very stiff, but after some wearing time, it will get supple. The tang-style buckle is signed with the Eone logo and is also finished in that bead blasted finish.

Overall the watch is really cool and it was everything I hoped it to be. The design and idea of the watch is really something for the price. This watch also made me understand how people with no eyesight read time and how much I depend on sight at the expense of touch. If you liked the watch, go check them out at eone-time.com

Price: €265 @ eone-time.com

MATERIALS

• Case: stainless steel
• Face: aluminum
• Strap: dyed canvas with Italian leather reverse

QUARTZ

• Ronda quartz movement with Swiss parts

DIMENSIONS

• 40 mm diameter / 11.5 mm thickness

FIT

• adjustable buckle with holes fits wrists 6 ¼ – 8 ½ inches (159 – 215 mm) in circumference, 20 mm strap width

WATER & SHOCK-RESISTANCE

• The Bradley will easily withstand brief contact with water, like getting caught in the rain or washing hands. It is not intended for submersion in water or high-intensity sports.

BATTERY

• Renata 371 button cell

WARRANTY

• 2 year full warranty