Introducing the Stunning 02Series Field Watch from Studio Underd0g

There have been rumours of a new Studio Underd0g watch for a while, well, it’s finally here and I’m happy to announce, it’s well worth the wait. It’s the 02Series Field Watch, based on a hypothetical brief by the British ministry of defence in 1945 for a watch suited to the battlefield – although some of the colourways available don’t exactly scream military surplus. Ultimately, the resulting watch combines the legibility and ruggedness needed for a field watch with lashings of fun and innovation, as we’ve come to expect from Richard and his team at Studio Underd0g.

I’m honestly really in love with this thing and the passion and attention to detail really shines through. The case is 37mm x 12mm of 316L stainless steel with a signed crown and a closed case-back. Inside you have the updated Sellita Manual Winding SW210-1 with a 42-hour power reserve, hacking seconds and a frequency of 4 Hz. An upgrade from the Chinese Seagull ST-1901 movement you’ll find in their previous models like the Watermel0n & Co.

Fitted on either Epsom Calfskin or suede straps provided by UK company The Strap Tailor, they come with quick release spring bars making it easy to swap out for something a little more daring. Continuing the partnership with home-grown British talent they’re also partnered with Horologium who inspect the watches and offer a 2-year warranty.

Now we have the stats out of the way, we can move onto the most interesting element of this watch. The dials. Relying on a two-tiered construction, there’s a base layer applied with seven layers of custom Super-LumiNova and on top of that a 1mm thick clear sapphire disc on which the Arabic numerals and minute track are printed.

The two dials are fixed together with two visible pins either side of the central hand stack – I can see people moaning about this but personally I think it adds to the slight militaristic vibes, although I do agree it would be super clean sans pins. The result of the double layer is to create numerals that appear to float and cast a shadow on the bottom dial layer. It’s a super dynamic dial that changes with the light and also looks spooky in the dark, appropriate for the time of year.

There are four colour variations for the 02Series Field Watch. There’s the Steffany Blue (02BLB), the Pink Lem0nade (02FSBE), the Full Mo0n (02BEBR) and the Midnight (02BKG). My favourites are the Pink Lem0nade and the Steffany Blue, The Pink Lem0nade dial has a pink-to-yellow luminous gradient, which SU are communicating as an industry first and are keeping the process used to achieve it under lock and key. The effect is pretty dope, and it’s making me thirsty just looking at it.

The Steffany Blue plays on the ubiquitous use of the tiffany or aqua blue across the watch industry over the past few years and the hands are coated in contrasting orange. The remaining two are far subtler in the images and will appeal more to people who like a traditional field watch. Both have generous lashings of lume also.

Price wise, this is where they really shine, and they come up £800.00 / €850.00 / $900.00 (with free worldwide shipping). It’s certainly nothing to be scoffed at and a notable step up from the £500 Gen2 Big Eye variants, but personally I think it’s some incredibly good value for watches with some genuine heart and soul. Not to mention the serious investment in terms of research and development the 02Series Field Watch represents for Studio Underd0g.