If you missed out on J&G's Exciton II -- the one I reviewed as the best value-for-money dive watch at the $300 range -- you might want to take a look at their next upcoming Kickstarter campaign for the Academic.

Kickstarter Campaign Link: The J&G Watches Academic by Gary Williams — Kickstarter

Out of all the categories of watches, dress watches are my favorite. Perhaps it’s because I like pretty things that class up an outfit, rather than a field watch or a dive watch that tend to be more casual in nature. From what I've observed, most watch enthusiasts get more excited over dive watches with all the specs and bezel action, and then here I am wanting things to be pretty.

So when J&G said they were coming out with a dress watch, it was something I looked forward to. When they asked if I'd be interested to borrow one of the prototypes for review, I gladly accepted.

For transparency's sake: 

  • Initially, the arrangement is for me to borrow the watch. I paid for the shipping from UK to the Philippines for convenience and for privacy reasons. However, I might be able to keep the watch, I'm not sure. Either way, I aim to be as fair as I can be with my reviews.
  • Note that this is a prototype and there may be some changes in the final version.

The Academic arrived about 2 weeks ago and it came in a brown single leather watch roll with the J&G branding, which I think is a great idea because it's a nice, classy way of presenting a watch. Plus, it's useful for travels to keep your spare watch cushioned in your luggage. I'm not sure what kind of leather it is but it feels like the average genuine leather, not top grain or full grain.

Speaking of leather, J&G collaborated with Vario to provide vintage Italian leather straps in full grain, which is the best kind of leather you can get (in the cow leather category). Vario sells these for US$42-46 alone and you’re already getting this as part of the whole package.

As for the Kickstarter price, it will be 300 GBP (or 365 USD) for the matte dials in black, white, pink; and 320 GBP (or 390 USD) for the sunburst colors in Champagne, Salmon, Red, Green, Exciton Blue, Silver, Ice Blue. The watches are going to be shipped out of the factory in China via Fedex, so take note of your local customs fees in your computation.

Dimensions:

  • Case diameter: 38mm
  • Lug to lug: 46mm
  • Case thickness: 10mm
  • Lug width: 20mm

The stainless steel case has a mix of brushed finish with polished chamfered edges on the lugs. It also features a polished fixed bezel. 

The J&G logo, the name Academic, and the railroad minute track are printed in white (while other dial colors are printed in black). The hour markers are applied with the 3 6 9 12 in roman numerals and everything else as rectangular bars. The dauphine hands are flat on top but with angled edges.

With how all of the polished hour markers being flat and facing up, along with the polished bezel, it catches the light simultaneously which pops out at you, especially with the contrasting black dial.

The mix of these classic features with the modern details (font and case) make it look retro-futuristic. Kind of like how it would fit in a steampunk genre sort of way, but without the exposed gears, if that makes sense.

Every little component to get this desired effect was specifically designed from scratch. The hour markers, the dauphine hands, the case, all have to be specifically made for the Academic.

It’s powered by the Miyota 9039, which beats at 28,800 beats per hour. This results in a smoother sweep of that seconds hand vs. the cheaper movements that sweep at 21600 bph. It hacks and it hand winds. It’s also a no-date movement so there’s ghost date position for this. I’ve read that the 9039 has a lower hand stack height than its with-date counterpart the 9015, which allows them to design for a thinner case and allows them to use a flat sapphire crystal, to give it an overall slim feel.

Since this is a dress watch, it only has a water resistance rating of 30 meters so don’t bring it swimming! It only has a push/pull crown so it’s splash-proof, at most.

Note the planned changes between this prototype and final release:

  • The J&G logo on the watch roll will be smaller.
  • The "By" on the case back will be changed to "by".
  • The "000 of 000" will be be updated according to how many of each color gets ordered.
  • The lug holes will not be drilled. There will just be 2 sets of regular lug holes.


Pros of the J&G Academic Watch:

  1. Original Design: With J&G, we're getting an original design. The case, hands, and hour markers -- they're not off the shelf components that were slapped on together, which means it's more expensive to produce. Apparently, it took a year of designing to get to this, as everything needs to be to get the proper balance and proportion. You can see that in the way the length of the hour markers are perfect for the 38mm case size, the way the hour hand reaches exactly the tip of the hour marker bars, and the way the minute hand is exactly on the railroad minute track. Coincidentally, the dial diameter is 31mm while the inner space between the hour markers is 19mm, which closely follows the golden ratio (a.k.a. "the divine proportion"). The seconds hand is original to J&G, with its arrowhead and circle counterbalance. I know some commenters will say "I can get an homage dress watch cheaper on Aliexpress." but I believe you have to reward people for their originality, creativity, and attention to detail.
  2. How it catches the light: When I saw the mock-up illustration of the Academic on Instagram, I thought it was underwhelming (Sorry, James). However, seeing it in person and wearing it on my wrist, it leaves an impression. I love the way the polished bezel, the hour markers (with its slightly curved edges), the mirror-finish hands, they all simultaneously catch the light as if you're looking at mirror shards. The whole effect just pops out, especially with the black dial. I'm trying my best to capture the magic on camera, I'm not sure if I'm succeeding.
  3. Use of Miyota 9039: It's rare to get a Miyota 9000-series movement on a watch in this price range. Usually, watches priced at $300-400 use a Miyota 8000-series movement or a Seiko NH35 which only beats at 21600 bph. On top of that, there's no date wheel on this movement, so there's no ghost date position -- which was one of the feedback from the Exciton II release.
  4. Full Grain Leather Strap: There are different kinds of leather and they're not all equal. The best kind is the full-grain leather, which is the outer layer of the hide. The outermost layer goes through minimal sanding and so it's the most durable. There's a higher standard when it comes to the texture and uniformity when it comes to the selection process. Usually, with affordable dress watches, we just get the "Genuine Leather", which is sanded to remove the imperfections and treated to look smooth and shiny or stamped to give that grain texture. Because the Vario Italian Leather strap is made with full-grain leather, you're getting the best kind of leather for the Academic as part of the watch.
  5. 2 Lug Holes: With the modern elements of the Academic design, J&G went the extra mile and made 2 lug holes on a dress watch. They recognized that watch enthusiasts would want to wear this on a nylon strap. They could've just stuck with the 1 lug hole position for the leather straps but no, they wanted us to be able to be adventurous with our choices.



Cons of the Academic Watch: (Remember that I'm reviewing a prototype)

  1. Fingerprint magnet: Since I've been taking watch pics and videos of the Academic throughout the past 2 weeks, I needed to wipe the sapphire crystal so many times. With the nature of sapphire crystal and with the black dial, the oil left behind is really visible. I wish they'd add anti-fingerprint coating on it for the final production.
  2. Crown is Tough to Pull Out: I'm not sure if it's just for this particular unit, but I initially had a hard time pulling out the crown to the point that I felt like I could break my nails if I wasn't careful. It became slightly easier to pull it out later on.
  3. Caseback View is Unnecessary: I know the use of the Miyota 9039 is a big deal for a watch at this price point and so they'd want to show it off. However, with the rotor undecorated and with the movement having some brownish stains, it's not really much to look at to be frank. The Academic might be better off with a full stainless steel case back.
  4. Spinning Rotor is Loud: This one isn't too much of a problem, but at times if I shake it in a certain way, it's like you have a fidget spinner on your wrist. I can hear it and I could feel it. It's amusing for me (some have said "it's a feature, not a bug") but I can imagine it would be a problem for others who get annoyed with that sort of thing.
  5. J&G Logo not Dressy: Some say the J&G logo doesn’t suit a dress watch. This one is very subjective, as it boils down to people's taste. I'm okay with the logo and I think it's consistent with the science-y, scholarly aesthetic of J&G. I mean, the names of their watches are Exciton and Academic. However, there were some who said that it doesn't go with the dress watch aesthetic, I felt this needed to be mentioned.
  6. The seconds hand is rough: As I was editing the video for this, I noticed in some close-up shots that the outline of the seconds hand is rough. I wasn't able to include this point in the video. Hopefully, this is something they address in the final production.

As of now, the Kickstarter campaign has not been launched yet. I'll be updating this entry with the links when it's launched. For now, what do you think of the Academic?