When I first saw the John Robert Archetype, it was literally just a sketch. A case-side sketch, at that. But the lines we crisp and clean and caught my interest. As more was revealed—the dial, the second hand—my intrigue only increased. But it only took the initial sketch for me to reach out to John Robert Wristwatches about getting my hands on the Archetype for review. The eponymous John was happy to oblige and sent both an automatic and high-accuracy quartz model over.
The John Robert Archetype is a classic dress watch (while it’s billed as a dressy tool watch, I quite disagree, for reasons which will become clear). The case is slim for both the quartz and automatic version: 11.4mm and 12.4mm, respectively. At 38mm and just 43mm lug-to-lug, the watch sits effortlessly on the wrist. While the lugs are certainly short, they slope down quite a bit to allow for a better fit. That said, I wouldn’t expect to put a NATO on the Archetype—nor should you, as it would be aesthetically abhorrent.
The case features a brushed top side, a long polished chamfer that runs from lug to lug, and vertically brushed sides. Most brands smooth out the line on their chamfers so that there are no angles as the beveled edge follows the case from lug to lug. The Archetype does something a little different, as the chamfer is angled when it hits the case. I like it.
The John Robert Archetype also features a screw-down crown, which I find unnecessary but not a bad thing. As I mentioned, this is a dress watch, and adding a screw-down crown may increase its marketability and appeal, but it does not make it a tool watch. The screw-down crown features a shallow etching of the “JR” logo and is easy to grip, being neither too big nor too small for the watch.
Let’s get to the dial, which is really fantastic. Underneath the box sapphire crystal, we see a dial that was was hand-drawn and tweaked ad nauseum. That’s right. Every mark and bit of texture is planned and intentional.
There’s an argument that this cheapens it, that the lack of natural and random texture is somehow a detriment to the watch and one’s ability to enjoy it. I’d say that’s nonsense, though. The dial captures light beautifully. It can play nearly flat at times, and a second later blast you with light from its various lines and bumps.
At 12 o’clock, we have an applied logo, adding further texter, with a simple serif font showing the John Robert name. down at 6 o’clock is the movement designation. On the quartz, it reads HAQ (high accuracy quartz) and is unobtrusive. On the automatic version, however, it reads just that, in all caps. In my opinion, the font here should’ve been sized down just slightly, and certainly so it takes up less space than the brand name up top. A polished frame surrounds the date window at 3 o’clock.
The Archetype’s indices are uniform, spear-shaped, and lack lume, which is appropriate for a dress watch. The alpha hands have laughably thin slivers of lume that are best ignored. This is another instance where it’s no-harm-done but leaves me wondering “Why bother?” Fully polished, unlumed hands would’ve been a bit more elegant here. However, I do love the custom second hand, which features the “JR” logo as a counterbalance and reminds me of the Ball railroad logo (not entirely a coincidence). Bravo on that.
Rolling the watches over, we see two different screwback casebacks. The automatic puts the Swiss Sellita SW200 on display through a sapphire crystal; this is a ‘top’ finished SW200, which is near-COSC without the certification. The HAQ model features a solid caseback with the “JR” logo.
I prefer this caseback as the SW200 movement isn’t anything phenomenal to look at if you’re used to seeing movements. And I love that logo. Underneath that solid caseback is the ETA E64.111, high-end quartz with 8 jewels and delivering +/- 10spd accuracy and a 5-year battery life.
The Archetype will be available with the option of an embossed leather strap (black or brown) or a jubilee-style bracelet. Both feature quick-release spring bars, and the bracelet has fitted end links and a butterfly clasp appropriate to the dress watch style.
As always, I advise you to get the bracelet—this one is comfortable, tapering from 20mm to 16mm (and you can always buy leather straps). Further, these leather straps are nothing special, feeling a bit too thin and generic for my tastes. I secured both models to different leather options and loved the results.
While retail will be $489 for the HAQ and $979 for the automatic, The Archetype will launch on Kickstarter on January 30th and will be priced at $389 and $789, respectively. Buying through the campaign will also get you both the leather strap and the bracelet, normally $65 and $90, respectively.
It’s the bold brand that introduces itself with a 38mm dress watch. And the bolder brand that offers it in a quartz option. The Archetype is a dress watch, despite the copy on the site that says it’s a “dressy tool watch” (some brushing and a screw-down crown do not a tool watch make). What the John Robert Archetype is, is a beautiful dress watch with excellent finishing and a gorgeous dial. Head over to the site to sign up for updates so you can be sure to snag yours at the lower price.⬩
