I came across this watch brand quite by accident actually. I was reading a post on what watches have the best lume, and someone posted a pic of
PyroLume. And I was hooked. As you can probably tell from the name, PyroLume, the one thing that they do really well is the… lume!
After doing a bit of research thanks to the convenience of Google, I decided to plunge in and get myself a PyroLume. Sure, I like the lume and all that, but what really really sold me was the fact that this was a very inexpensive way to get into an “independent” watchmaker’s watch, made by .New Jersey anesthesiologist Pejman Foroush.
Here you have something that is entirely unique, with generously applied luminescent compound (or “lume”) in a custom made CNC machined dial, fitted to a proven, reliable workhorse movement and a solid watch case.
A close up of the custom made CNC machined dial
For those of you who are movement snobs you can pretty much stop reading here. The movement used is a skeletonised Chinese Seagull manual wind mechanical movement, which is entirely based on the Unitas 6497/98 movements. However, the advantage of this movement is its simplicity and robustness in design and that with some regulation, you could easily have the watch running to well within COSC specifications of -4 seconds to +6 seconds a day.
The Chinese have come a long way and the quality of their movements has improved dramatically over the past 5 or so years. So much so that I’m sure the Swiss are sweating in their little ateliers. I predict that once they start designing their own movements, (and not just with a pencil and some tracing paper) it will be the advent of the next watch-related crisis for the Swiss. (The first being the quartz crisis brought on by the Japanese).
