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Introducing The Oak & Oscar Olmsted Matte

A stealthy steel field watch with matte ceramic coating and a legible luminous dial.

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Quick Take

Oak & Oscar, the Chicago-based maker of affordably priced mechanical watches, has something new up its sleeve. For the company's latest release, it's offering a mid-size, stealthy, matte-black ceramic-coated version of its classically styled automatic Olmsted field watch. Underneath the ceramic coating is a case made from 316L steel.

The movement powering the Olmsted Matte is one that we know well, the Swiss ETA 2892-A2, but Oak & Oscar says it has modified it in order to remove the date function. This means that not only is the dial clean and uninterrupted by a date window, but there isn't any phantom date-setting function or extra click of the crown and keyless works when you set the Olmsted Matte. 

While the movement is sourced externally, a lot of the work in creating the new watches takes place here in the States. The steel cases undergo the ceramic coating process at Oak & Oscar's coating partner here in the USA. That process involves protecting all of the sensitive parts of the case with dummy covers, beadblasting the case, coating the case with ceramic material, and then heating the material to high temperatures to cure and harden the ceramic, resulting in an even, matte surface that Oak & Oscar describes as having a satisfying tactile feel. Thereafter, the watches are hand-assembled, tested, and regulated in Chicago by Oak & Oscar's in-house watchmaker and director of watchmaking. 

Oak & Oscar's latest comes with two straps, one in Horween leather manufactured in the USA, and a nylon textile strap with custom orange stitching (not pictured). Each is outfitted with matching ceramic-coated hardware, so you get two seamless looks for your watch. You also get a strap changing tool and watch wallet to store your watch in and protect it while traveling. Each Olmsted Matte comes with a limited two-year warranty. Honestly, for $1,475 at launch, it feels like an exceptional value proposition.

Initial Thoughts

According to Oak & Oscar, the Olmsted Matte's ceramic-coated case "is more durable than regular stainless steel, but because the case itself is not entirely made of ceramic the coating may end up developing some patina through heavy wear." The company's founder, Chase Fancher, said he's been wearing the prototype for several months, and it's shown hardly any wear marks. 

The Olmsted Matte is a sharp-looking watch that's been built and supplied with plenty of added value. While the pristine case in these pictures looks great to me, I can definitely see how a scratch here or there might even add a bit of extra character to an otherwise clean design. In terms of size and wearability, it's in a sweet spot. The Olmsted Matte is 38mm in diameter, 10.8mm thick, and comes in at 44.9mm lug-to-lug. And while you get two straps – the nice-looking Horween leather one pictured here and a second olive drab nylon strap – the Olmsted Matte takes 20mm-width straps for those who want to put their own spin on the blacked-out case and dial design. It also has fully drilled through lugs, which makes changing straps even easier while lending the watch a vintage-leaning vibe.

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The Basics

Brand: Oak & Oscar
Model: Olmsted Matte

Diameter: 38mm
Thickness: 10.8mm
Case Material: Ceramic-coated stainless steel, domed sapphire crystal with multiple layers of anti-reflective coating
Dial Color: Black sandwich dial with Super-LumiNova base.
Lume: Super-LumiNova
Water Resistance: 10 ATM (100 meters)
Strap/Bracelet: Horween leather strap with matching ceramic coated hardware; olive drab nylon strap with ceramic-coated hardware


The Movement

Caliber: Modified ETA 2892-A2
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
Power Reserve: 42
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 28,800 vph
Jewels: 21


Pricing & Availability

Price: Available to purchase for a limited time at $1,475 ($1,550 MSRP)
Availability: Expected to ship winter 2020/2021
Limited Edition: Limited production. The first batch of watches will consist of 100 pieces.
Additional Details: A portion of all Oak & Oscar profits are donated to the Chicago dog rescue One Tail at a Time.

For more, click here.