Four decades after the Quartz Revolution (or “Quartz Crisis” depending on your state of mind,) quartz-powered watches are once again taking the front seat on the watch market. Not the distant back seat from which we saw tons of soulless fashion watches emerge, but the one where creativity, balance, and delicacy are born. And contrary to what happened 40 years ago, this time good quartz watches don’t cost a fortune. Quite the contrary. Now for a couple hundred bucks we can get a thoughtfully designed, soulful, and well-spec’d timekeeping device which is good news. And ironic news given the constant price hikes of sought-after mechanical models from the Swiss, Japanese, and German giants. New brands which, should they have existed five years ago, would have put an automatic movement inside their designs, now feel comfortable utilizing quartz and mecaquartz calibers. 

Today we are going to turn our attention to RetroVivo, a new brand from Italy which blends vintage horological aesthetics with modern (and inexpensive) technology. The brand’s first model, the RV01, is an everyday and capable watch with average dimensions, good specs, and which will certainly not make you break the bank when it will go live on Kickstarter for the modest sum of 150€. And I bet you will be surprised to hear how much you get for this amount of money—a lot of things that go beyond the movement and the lume, but includes the finishing and design proportions. What many of us appreciate about quartz-powered movements is the fact that they are accurate and hassle-free. And this is even more true when this type of caliber is paired with such a versatile design as the RV01. 

Specifications 

Evidently we know that the RetroVivo RV01 has a mecaquartz caliber. That is a battery-operated movement that has some mechanical parts in it which account for the “sweeping” seconds hand motion in somewhat imitation of that of a mechanical caliber. According to Caliber Corner, with the Seiko VH31 we find within, the seconds hand sweeps at four (4) beats per second (2Hz) whilst basic quartz movements do so at one (1) beat per second (0.5Hz.) So the VH31 creates a pretty faithful illusion of seeing a fully mechanical movement in action which is nice and comes with the benefit of having good accuracy (+/- 15 sec/month) and a decent battery life (2 years.) Though one-beat-per-second quartz calibers tend to come with better battery expectancy of three to five years. Quartz and mecaquartz calibers are also rather inexpensive to acquire which aids in keeping the price of the RetroVivo RV01 low. 

But the good stuff doesn’t stop here. It is barely getting started. The crystal is a flat piece of scratch-resistant sapphire which seems to have been endowed with a few layers of inner anti-reflective coating and, having a flat profile, does not generate any distortions which helps in making it easy to read the time. The small crown and case-back screw down for 100 meters of good everyday water resistance, and the hands and applied hour markers welcome rather modest quantities of Old Radium C3 SuperLuminova. The markers are indeed applied which I find to be surprising at this price point as I would have respectfully and non-judgmentally expected raised markers as we often find on entry-level Seiko’s and other models from many micro and independent brands. This fact denotes a willingness of the brand to offer a quality watch for a reasonable amount of money. 

In other words, democratizing good and honest horology. 

As we will see a little later on, the case of the RetroVivo RV01 also comes with nice finishing, alternating brushed and polished treatments in strategic places to generate interesting light plays which endow this model with a versatile nature. In terms of dimensions, the case measures 39mm in diameter, 46mm lug-to-lug, 9.5mm thick and comes with a 20mm lug width. (These dimensions are regarded by many as being universal and, therefore, versatile.) The RV01 fits my 6..50”/16.5cm wrist superbly especially thanks to having such a thin case. The RV01 ships on a black suede leather strap that has a vintage look—to me the discreet appearance of stitching towards the springbars gives it an old school look but that might be just me. Overall, the RetroVivo is well-spec’d and you will get a lot of watch for your money. 

Design

So what makes the RetroVivo RV01 thoughtfully designed and soulful? It mostly has to do with the dial and the way it is laid out. More specifically, how the brand managed to create a perfect equilibrium between legibility (usability) and elegance. For example, the alternation of Arabic numerals for the even hours and batons for the odd ones give the RV01 a sporty look, akin to that found on iconic German and French tool watches (e.g. Glashütte Origial and Airain) in addition to making it legible. It’s the perfect middle point between having a full stack of Arabic numerals, which would have given the RV01 too much of a military look, and using none which would have decreased the ease with which one can read the time. Moreover, although the hands and markers are fully polished, they’re set against a matte and textured dial which makes them relatively easy to see. (Fully polished flat elements are highly reflective and difficult to see when looked at straight-on and appear black seen at an angle.) 

Speaking of the hands, I liked the way they look. They have the appearance of what some describe as being “Skyscrapers” as they are tall and crowned by a small, rectangular element resembling the profile of the Empire State building in Manhattan. These hands are wide and flat and of equal width as the applied hour markers, adding a bit of visual balance. On the periphery of the dial we find an old school looking railroad minute track where each minute is indicated by a short hash-mark and the 5-minute increments by slightly thicker ones. The north section of the minute track is outlined by an orange semi-circle and the south part by a light blue one, which reminds me of the way GMT bezels have two distinct colors to differentiate daytime from nighttime. This is the kind of visual detail that doesn’t strike me as being of great use on the RetroVivo but which certainly looks darn good. 

Let’s finish with the case. Both from its dimensions and design, it has a modern-classic appearance. 39mm in diameter x 46mm lug-to-lug is good for average wrists and even better for slightly larger ones than mine. Although I cannot pinpoint exactly where I’ve seen this profile before, it does remind me of many vintage and modern watches from long-established and newer brands. In other words, it has a commonplace design which I find to be adequate for what the RetroVivo RV01 is—a capable, set-and-forget everyday timepiece—so that it makes it look good wherever you take it. That is: a thin mid-case that comes with a horizontally brushed finish, healthy lugs which flare out just a little and turn down towards the wrist, showcasing a vertical brushed finish. There is a polished chamfer which runs all across the case and a fully polished, stepped fixed bezel. 

The Heart of the Matter

What makes the RetroVivo RV01 magnificent and interesting is the fact that it’s a good watch with good dimensions, good specs, and which comes at a better than good price. Although 150€ will be the Kickstarter price, full retail is yet to be determined by the brand but I believe it won’t be too high. I make this assumption (and I hope I’ll be right) because RetroVivo gave a fair price to the RV01 on KS given what you get, which makes me think the folks behind the brand are reasonable people. For 150€ you get a watch that is much more impressive in person than it is in photos, as you have to account for the fit and finish which you can only fully grasp by handling the watch in the metal. And the two latter elements are good whether you’re looking at the dial texture, the polished accents on the applier hour markers, or the finishing on the case. 

Again, for this sum of money I would’ve been happy with half the quality. 

Seeing the RetroVivo RV01 in person and spending quality time with it makes me question, once again, why do so many watch enthusiasts and collectors spend so much money on luxury watches? Objectively speaking, the wearing experience can only be as satisfying as your capacity to fully appreciate what you have and what you can do with it, and I often argue that past a certain price/specs point, your enjoyment of the piece and the value it has plateaus. In other words, spending $2,000 more for a better movement or rare complication actually doesn’t make a difference in your everyday life. Which is why watches such as the RV01 are becoming more and more relevant in today’s market as more people can spend 150€  on an overall good watch than they can spend $10,000 on a luxury one which they have to ensure is “safe” in the safe. Ah ah. 

Conclusion 

I don’t know where RetroVivo will be next year or 10 years from now—I’m not a psyhic—but it seems to be off to a good start. Offering a good product with a style of its own for a small amount of cash is smart and creates the foundation for a potential slow and steady growth. Maybe later we will see an automatic version of the RV01, or a GMT or a chronograph also equipped with mecaquartz calibers as they do make sense financially and technically. For a very long time I was a horological snob and wouldn’t look at quartz movements because they were not as noble as their mechanical cousins. But the more I see outstanding creations such as the RV01, the HZ Watches HZ.02 Chronograph, the Neotype LM02 Type C Chronograph, or the Prevail Onward Field Explorer,, the more I appreciate the potential these movements have for democratizing horology to the masses. And for making our watch enthusiasts lives better and easier. 

The best way to keep track of the release of the RV01 is to sign-up to the brand’s newsletter on their website and to follow their Instagram account. 

Thanks for reading.