British watch design is known for its bright use of colour. Which can sometimes be a double edged sword as it can result in beautiful, fun timepieces but can also leave some watches feeling garish and uncoordinated if executed poorly. One brand who always judge their colourful designs incredibly well is Farer, who are releasing a follow up series to the 2022 Cushion Case collection. The new additions for 2024 are the Benham, Mansfield Midnight, Lethbridge Gold and the Durham Pullman Eastern Arabic Limited Edition.
Structurally, all four of the new designs are identical with 38.5mm diameter cases in retro cushion shapes made from steel. The slight exception is the Lethbridge Gold which has an additional yellow gold PVD coating, which adds an extra layer of luxury and is a first for the collection. They all have 50m water resistance ratings and house the Sellita SW216-1 elaboré movement with manual winding and 45-hour power reserve.
Getting into the individual designs of the references. Benham has a red dial with sporty horizontal engravings akin to something like the Patek Philippe Nautilus with baton hour markers. That’s surrounded by a cream minute track and a dot of colour in the centre courtesy of a baby blue seconds hand on the subdial. Second is Mansfield Midnight, a navy blue interpretation of 2022’s standard Mansfield with an added luxurious element from the rose gold PVD accents.
Third of the designs is the Lethbridge Gold with its golden case, champagne dial and golden accents. It’s certainly the most dressy in the collection and indeed is the most classically dress styled watch I think I’ve ever seen Farer produce. Last up is the the Durham Pullman Eastern Arabic Limited Edition in rich green with Eastern Arabic numerals. It’s limited to 100 pieces.
All four watches are priced at £925 on leather strap with a steel bracelet available for an additional £150. Benham, which is my favourite of the four, and Mansfield Midnight will ship from 15th August while Lethbridge Gold will ship slightly later around 3rd October and Durham Pullman even later around 5th December. I really like the Cushion Case by Farer and more choices is never a bad thing.
Price and Specs:
More details at Farer.
