Defakto Akkord – A First Impression

You never get a second chance to make a first impression”, and although there still is a discussion going on wither it was Oscar Wilde or Mark Twain who said these words, they do apply to nearly everything including watches. Last week I had the pleasure of receiving Defakto’s new watch: the Akkord. This watch we will feature in a 2 month test review for watchmatchmaker.com that will bring it to the cold, winter scenery of one of the United States larger cities.

The Akkord is Defakto’s second model and for this review we have the PVD coated version with black dial. Upon opening the box I was pleased to see that Defakto spend its money where it counts: on the watch itself. The packaging is very basic and when a watch costs €498,- that is most certainly the way I prefer it. Boxes spend their lives in closets while watches spend it on the wrist. Also no money has been wasted on instruction booklets of some sort. That would have been an insult to its customers intelligence in the first place because the two handed automatic watch can be operated almost intuitively.

We currently see a large trend in matted black performance cars and this Defakto fits right in! The case has a luscious, satin black coating. Although an object of beauty by itself, its stealth look directs all your attention straight toward the dial. This dial is so intense black, that it looks like you strapped a black hole on your wrist. No surprise that the white numerals are extremely legible on this background and that reading time can be done in a split second.

Before receiving the watch I had my doubt about its diameter; 42mm is a lot of real estate for a watch with such a rudimentary look. However, on the wrist is all comes together in a clean, organized look. Doubts where there also shortly about the strap. Although made from soft calfskin it seemed rather thick. On the wrist it proofed to be able to keep the watch nicely in place with a comfort that made you almost forget that you where wearing a watch. Slight disappointment is the buckle. It is well designed, providing good looks with easy yet secure operation, but with a PVD coated watch one would also expect a PVD coated buckle, yet at the same time the watch is way too though-through for this to be an accident. A quick e-mail to Defakto confirms this; they considered a PVD buckle but decided against it. Buckles usually have more wear then the watch itself and they wanted to provide a watch that looks good for a long period of time without the need for replacement parts. A most commendable train of thought!

The back of the watch provides an unobstructed view of the ETA 2824-2 that powers the Akkord. The movement is its basic self, with no decorations or even a personalized rotor. In most watches this would be less then desirable; in the Akkord you wouldn’t want it any other way. It is a pure and simple watch that desires a movement that is just that. The screw down back is very nicely made. All around the glass back is writing in a titanium-colored font. Of course it’s in German, because despite its Swiss heart, this is this watch made in Pforzheim, and in that matter every bit as German as most of those matted black performance cars we referred to earlier.

Soon more about the Defakto Akkord at watchmatchmaker.com!