It has been 3 years since I first put on my precious FraternalTies 357 Acacia watch. I have worn in almost every day since. It has served as my faithful timekeeper with all sorts of activities from lodge night to anything that I enjoy with my family from kayaking, to skateboarding, to hiking, to gardening, and even boxing!
The FraternalTies automatic is equipped with a 21-Jewel Japanese precision movement. It cannot do anything on its own but once charged with my own kinetic energy, I know I can count on its sharp timekeeping. The movement can keep accurate time between 24-48 hours. If I wear it once everyday, it will keep on running forever no batteries required.
I can't lie. I have a love-hate relationship with the straps. I love it because after 3 years of rugged use, it has developed a beautiful patina. I hate it because it tends to stain my white dress shirt especially during humid nights at lodge. I researched how to prevent leather from staining my clothes and I find that in my case, it is completely unavoidable- basically you have to keep it dry all the time. To avoid dye transfer to clothes is to stay dry and keep your leather surface from getting rained on, wet, or sweaty.
I probably won't wear it while scuba diving but it survived rainy seasons and swimming in the lake with me. The leather straps now looks seasoned (very handsome) because of the water abuse but the watch itself is impeccable and shows no signs of moisture buildup on the inside.
Designer bias aside, I am very happy and very satisfied with this watch. I continue to receive many compliments about it. People love the way the natural acacia face looks and how its color seems to shift depending on how the light is hitting the grain. We made only a hundred of these and they're long sold-out but one day we will make another acacia watch with the same automatic mechanism that we trust but with a different dial design.
