Please allow me introduce to you the North.er GMT from Towson Watch Company, a brand from right here in America, Baltimore Maryland to be exact. For those of you unfamiliar with TWC, they got their start back in 1998 when Commander Thiele, an astronaut wanted a bespoke American made watch. TWC’s Mission STS-99 chronograph was the watch made for Commander Thiele’s space mission and it became the first mechanical watch of the 2000’s worn in outer space, and even the last worn on a solo NASA spacecraft mission.

I’ve been a fan of TWC’s watches for a while. They have a familiar feeling for me that drew me in and when I saw the North.er watch….well it was love at first sight. It wasn’t the case or the crown this time, it was the magnificent dial. I like that there isn’t much of a bezel, the most of the circumference of this watch is made up of the dial. A large, matte black dial is the perfect backdrop for all of the lovely color to pop their way off of this dial. There’s a lot to love on this dial that I don’t even know where to start. The yellow, blue and red colors work so incredibly well together. These colors allow for such a quick glance readability which is so ideal for a tool watch geared for adventures. “Wrist compasses were developed for the military for ages, but they didn’t tell the time. These vintage relics of American history inspired Towson’s watchmakers to create the NORTH.er.”

I took the North.er deep into the forest, three days in a row to get acquainted with the watch as I began to delve into the review. This watch performed perfectly as I would have expected. For all my pics, I like to reset the time to 10:10 just for the balance of the dial and so that you can see all of the lovely details on the dial. This crown is a push/pull style which is something that I don’t typically gravitate towards. I have to say that the clicks of pulling/pushing on this crown are some of the strongest I have ever felt. It feels so incredibly sturdy. I hate when a crown has the wobbly feel like it can snap off with one wrong jostle. The shape and design of this crown is ideal for easy access to pushing/pulling, winding and for setting the date/time. It’s exactly how I want my crown to be on a watch, precise, aesthetically pleasing and with that ease of functionality when out & about.

I also want that ease when it comes to the reading the dial on a watch. The North.er dial has some great legibility, not only because of the colors TWC used, but also because of the hands. When I was shooting this watch from some good distance, I could still easily read the time, even the GMT hand too. These hands are sized so appropriately in terms of length and width, and are proportionately ideal for this dial. It’s so disappointing when a watch has disproportionally sized hands. It ruins the dial completely, from both a aesthetics standpoint and from a functional standpoint. The functional standpoint is more important because a watch of this nature should be extremely easy to read at a quick glance. What I mean by “of this nature” is this watch was designed with the idea of being an adventurers watch. I have unique dial watches that aren’t easy to read at quick glance, but it’s all a case of using the right tool for the right job.

Their watches take me back to my collecting begins 2 decades ago when I bought my first real watch, the Chronoswiss Timemaster. TWC has that same majestic magic of the watchmakers of old. It’s hard to put into words but Towson Watch Company definitely has it! The deliberate design and precision of craftsmanship just flows throughout this watch in both aesthetics and function. In terms of function, the North.er not only can assist you on your adventures with utilizing the GMT function on this watch, but this watch can also be used as a compass. With the 12 hour – and 24 hour hands in the same time zone, for example 10.– am on the
12 hour scale and 10.– am on the 24 hour scale, direct the hour hand (vellow) towards to the sun, the 24hour hand (green) then will always point NORTH. See the pic below:

This watch is truly special because of the compass feature. Why do I think it’s so special?!? It’s special because of the use of old school mechanics in a era of modern electronic technology. As convenient as it is to have a phone that can literally do everything, there’s a lost magic that is revitalized here with this watch that is a throwback to the military wrist compasses of yesteryear. My adventures with the Towson North.er continues week after week of hiking and nature fun. It’s Pretty damn cool tool to have on your wrist, not only functionally but also from a rugged durability standpoint.

All of the hands, including the GMT hand can be manually adjusted via the crown. The beautiful oversized crown. The way that TWC machined this hand makes for gripping and operating it so incredibly easy. The finish on this crown catches the light so brilliantly. While I am speaking of finish, the case itself is a lovely combination of polished and satin finishes. The majority of this case is satin, leaving the top of the lugs and the fixed bezel with the polished finish.

As for the caseback, it’s an exhibition case back that allows you to peak at the 24 jewel Caliber 2893-2 automatic GMT movement. TWC adjusted the movement in 5 Positions. The reliable workhorse movement has a 46hr power reserve and for any ASA you apply to this watch there’s the Incabloc shock absorption to add some reassurance. TWC finished the movement in accordance with ETA Decor Code #6 N/D/R.

TWC get their movements from their proprietary partner in Switzerland. They don’t just slam them right into their cases either. Towson reassembles the movements, modifies & decorates them and finally they adjust the movement using their own watchmakers in Baltimore, MD.

I honestly can’t say enough good things about this watch. It’s a watch and brand that came out of nowhere. What I mean by this is TWC one day just randomly showed up as I was scrolling through the gram. I clicked to check out their bio and came across this watch. It was one of those watch love at first sight kind of moments. I’m sure some of you fellow watch nerds know what I am talking about. But pictures and actual handling the watch can equate to a completely different love affair.

I’ve fallen in love with a watch via pictures before. I’ve even fallen in love with the idea of owning a watch I saw in pictures only to be completely repulsed by the watch once I got to hold it in my hand. There’s nothing more disappointing than that experience in the watch loving world.

Let me just say that this wasn’t the case with the North.er. In fact, it actually surprised the hell out of me even more than anticipated. I had the watch for a matter of minutes before taking it out for pictures, but it wasn’t until I got into my outdoor adventures is when the North.er really impressed me as a tool watch and not just a pretty face.

This watch handled itself better than I expected it to. You never know what a watch’s strengths or weaknesses are until you put the watch through the paces. I absolutely love how well this watch has kept up with me during my outdoor adventures, at work, during my workouts and during my weekend “play” doing yard work. Towson did a great job designing and executing this watch. The colors on the dial are definitely a highlight for me. I appreciate the crown design from both an aesthetic perspective and a functional perspective. The ability to use this watch as a wrist compass is a cool added bonus.

This is a great example of a grab and go adventuring kind of watch. I didn’t have any hesitation or worry about this watch once it was strapped to my wrist. It’s definitely going to be a watch I reach for on my next camping trip. If the North.er is a watch that interests you, check ‘em out on their website:

https://www.towsonwatchcompany.com

Thanks so much for reading this review. I also want to thank Towson Watch Company.