The Accessible Pendulum Traveler from Young Dutch Brand Fromanteel

It isn’t the first that we mention Fromanteel on MONOCHROME. Still young but already displaying its own style, this Dutch brand offers several watches, including a couple of automatics with elegant, understated design – such as the classic Pendulum. In a recent interview with Alfredo Silva, Co-Owner/Founder of Fromanteel Watches, we teased you with a new watch in the pipeline. And here it is! Meet the new Pendulum Traveler, a fresh, elegant and rational dual time watch from The Netherlands – but with Swiss roots.

Until now, Fromanteel was more focussed on the design aspect of its watches, which meant various quartz offerings and one automatic model, the Pendulum. We, watch addicts that we are at MONO’ prefer good-old mechanics, which explains why we’re happy to see that this young Dutch brand is now bringing a new automatic watch to the market, still from the Pendulum collection, now with a second-time-zone display. And compared to the early Pendulum Automatic, this isn’t the only evolution.

In our review of Fromanteel’s first automatic watch, we reported “a nice size, a classic look, a very decent finishing and a reliable movement“. However, we were not fully convinced by the design, which lacked a bit of originality to stand out from the crowd. Things have been corrected and the new Fromanteel Pendulum Traveler is more appealing, even though still classic and elegant. The overall design is fresh, contemporary and doesn’t try too hard to mimic iconic vintage watches or desgins from more established brands. This new Fromanteel watch has its own personality and that’s a very good point.

The case has also been improved and shows a nice shape, with sleeker lugs and more angular surfaces. The 42mm diameter is still reasonable and the height of the case, at 10.7mm, will make this watch suitable for a business environment – which is, after all, what a multiple time zone watch is all about. The crown is placed at 4 o’clock and the watch is complemented by a discreet blue leather strap – which has a yellow leather lining, the brand’s signature colour.

As for the dial, clean and legible are the first words that come to mind. Well-differentiated sections for the hours, the minutes and the second time zone make it easy to read the indications. Hours are marked by applied, raised metallic indexes and numerals (at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock), while the GMT indication is displayed by a recessed concentric track and a bright yellow baton hand. Overall, a classic design, well-thought but with small original details to give the watch a twist.

Powering the Fromanteel Pendulum Traveler is a tried-and-tested automatic Swiss made movement by Sellita, the SW 330-1 – the dual time version of the SW 300, a clone of the ETA 2892. This movement, visible through the caseback with a gold-coloured rotor, lets you a second time zone by the crown, in one-hour increments. It also displays the date at 3 o’clock and boasts 42h of power reserve.

Price and Availability

The Fromanteel Pendulum Traveler has just been announced and deliveries are expected in Summer 2019. Its full retail price will be EUR 1,599. However, a pre-order campaign is now running on the brand’s website and the watch is still available for a competitive price of EUR 799 and for a limited amount of time. Pre-orders can be made on this dedicated page.

More details at www.fromanteel-watches.com.