One does not generally list Utah among the world’s centers of watch design, but a growing number of microbrands have sprung from the Beehive State. That list includes Swiss Watch Company, Sheffield, Greg Stevens Design, Markwell, and, soon, Mount West, whose debut model, the Summit V1, has crossed my desk for review. The samples were prototypes, so I’ll note the planned production updates as we go along.
The Summit is a rugged tool watch intended to handle terrain aboth above and below sea level. As such, it carries a 300m water resistance rating (up from the prototypes’ 200m), screw-down crown, domed sapphire crystal, abundant lume, and a unique two-stage timing bezel. A reliable Swiss Sellita SW200 automatic (28.8k bph, 26 jewels) runs the show.
Dive watch aficionados should feel at ease with the Summit’s clear dial layout and buff 39mm-wide, 44.3mm-long case. Its cleanly finished stainless steel is predominantly brushed, with crisp angles accentuated by polished bevels along the upper edges of the case and crown guards, as well as the inner facet of the lugs. That last detail really pops to life when the bracelet is fitted, and its own contrasting facets align with those on the lugs, creating a delightful interplay. Overall thickness is a reasonable 11.8mm.
The Summit’s dial will likely grab your attention first. They offer it in Snowfall full-lume and Treeline green (both shown here), Obsidian black, and Abyss blue. The color dials feature a shimmering sun-brushed effect, and lume everywhere except the framed, 6 o’clock date and the water resistance rating. The Snowfall is the negative of this, of course.
It is a clean and uncluttered face with tall, blocky markers, including the Mount West “MW” logo at 12 o’clock. Note that the prototype uses a slim-line iteration; the finished product will have the newer, thicker logo design. You can see this (along with other planned changes) in photos on the Mount West website.
Before you balk at the pacuity of minute markers on the dial, be aware that they are on the bezel and note that each of those hour blocks is three “minutes” wide. Take a good look at the second hand. Yes, the arrowhead is nice, but the counterweight is even more impressive as it represents the negative space in the Mount West logo – a clever touch! Production second hands may geta dab of lume as well.
A 24-hour index is printed near the center of the dial, its numbers framed by cutouts in the broad post-shaped hands. It’s a clever touch, although you might reasonably wonder why the minute hand has an hour window. The Mount West designers asked themselves the same question and have eliminated it. Each hand is tipped with a small triangle of lume at its tip, except for the full-lume Snowfall dial, whose hands have hollows instead, an effect best appreciated in the dark.
Sadly, legibility on the green dial was poor. The brushed black hands disappeared against the dark surface as soon as it was out of direct light, leaving me hunting for the tiny lume tips.
Things did not improve at night, which is crazy because there is so much lume! Even on the color dial, the markers, bezel, and 24-hour index were clearly visible. The hands? Not so much. Mount West is aware of the problem and is taking steps to remedy it before production by chamfering the hands to catch daylight and increasing the lume area on the minute hand. You will also notice that the hand lume is a darker blue than the markers. This will be fixed before production, further improving the nighttime view.
My last dial observation is minor. The hour window design requires that the 24-hour index be printed near the center of the dial. This creates a wide band of space between it and the short hour markers. The logo and text do a good job of closing the vertical gap, but the blank space on the sides is readily apparent. I’m nitpicking here, but I’d like to see a version with less dial text and a reticle design that clears out the center stack while tying the inner and outer indexes together.
Perhaps the most remarkable element of the Summit is its Dual Uni-Directional bezel, and no, that is not a contradictory name. The bezel is split between an inner 12-hour ring and an outer 60-minute ring, each of which moves independently. Grip that aggressive gear-toothed edge, twist clockwise to align the inner bezel, then counter-clockwise for the outer. The inner will remain in place, and the outer cannot slip backwards. It’s brilliant. You want to track a second time zone and elapsed time? No problem. Then try three time zones or comparative tracking. It is one of those rare ideas that is equally fun and practical.
It looks pretty cool, too, with its contrasting polished and radially brushed rings, engraved and lumed markers, and color-blocked quarter-hour bands. Don’t get bent out of shape about the misalignment in the photos. I was playing with the bezel during the photoshoot, and again, this is a prototype. I fully expect the finished product to line up perfectly.
I tried the Summit on a leather strap and a 20-18mm bracelet, both of which wore well on my 6.75″ wrist. The strap was from Barton and excellent, although I might chalk that up to the fact that it was already well broken in, so I’ll reserve judgment on that until I see the actual finished product. I will say that the vibrant green dial looked great against the medium brown leather.
As much as I like tool watches on leather (don’t hate me, bro), I preferred the more complete look of the bracelet, mostly for its aforementioned pairing of the faceted end links with the inner angles of the lugs. I also liked the polished chamfers on the inside of each link and the useful expanding clasp. For the production version, Mount West promises more articulation in the links, additional removable links, and quick-release spring bars.
Finally, on the back side, you will find an engraved image of the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor constellations. It is also lumed, which seems insane until you realize you can use the map to identify the North Star’s position, so yes, there is some function to that form.
Mount West ships the Summit in a waterproof Pelican-style case with a handy rechargeable lume torch for good measure. A deep lining of foam padding ensures safe transport.
The Mount West Summit is a promising debut from this new watchmaker. It incorporates some novel design elements, and the bezel is an absolute genius move. Once the pre-production quirks are ironed out, I expect it to be a new favorite in the microbrand community. The Summit sells for $1,675 at mountwestwatchco.com, and you will be able to try one in person at the upcoming District Time watch show in Washington, D.C.
