The sandblasted buckle matches the case, it is very chunky and well designed. The strap also features the quick release spring bars which should be on all straps in my opinion, but some companies just don’t do that. The leather bottom ensures the strap is comfortable on the wrist and won’t irritate your skin. The cream/sand colour works great with the sand theme the watch has. The strap is canvas and suits the watch style perfectly. The entire movement is rotated 30 degrees to offset the date, move the main crown to 2, allowing the additional crown at 4 for the internal rotating bezel. The movement has a central axis power reserve indicator, and date as a hand at 6 o’clock. It is an automatic- hand winding movement with 41-hour power reserve, 29 jewels, 21.6k bph (6 ticks per second), and a hacking second hand. They were actually one of the first brands to use this relatively new movement from Seiko. The movement powering the Kalahari is the Seiko NE57. On the dial, you have a lot of lume too as you can see from the photos! Definitely, one of the most interesting lume-shots as you need to take pictures from three sides of the watch to catch it all. Rather than cram it on the dial somewhere else, they’ve opted to go for legibility and overall aesthetics rather than obvious brand awareness. I find it honourable that Draken has decided to leave it off. It’s interesting that there is no logo on the dial, usually, small brands put logo or name as they want people to recognize the brand, but I think Draken wants people to recognize the watch by the unique design. The second’s hand is a simple straight red point which adds a bit of colour to the dial. The dial has a lot of depth and it looks pretty cool! The hands are interesting bold and yet the skeletonised aspect allows them not to be too overbearing. These are completely flanked by an inner rotating GMT bezel. Kalahari dial is multilayered, with an upper central disc which is also the power reserve, a lower surround containing the date and inset hour markers. The dial on mine Kalahari is black with some sand and orange coloured accents. There is one thing that is a bit strange about the crowns, at least for me, as the top one usually controls the inner rotating bezel on these compressor style watches, but on this one, it is for winding and the bottom one is for the inner rotating bezel. I really like the signed lume ends, on the one you have the Draken logo and on the other one you have the circle which stands for the inner bezel, basically, you can say that they are labelled. The crowns are big and due to the knurling very easy to operate. At 2 and 4 o’clock you have two very nice screw down crowns. The diameter of the case is 44mm, the thickness is 15mm and from lug to lug it measures at 51mm. The case has a bead blasted finish all over the case, I really like how it looks. Not only does it make the case more interesting than a standard case shape, but it also makes the watch wear smaller than 44mm, on the wrist, the watch feels like 42mm. Like other Draken watches, the case is wider at the bezel than the base. The machine work is exceptional with nice lines and angles. The case of the Kalahari is made of 316L stainless steel. They got 126 backers on the board who pledged more than 53000$ The Kalahari got funded on Kickstarter last year. The Kalahari is actually a Kickstarter project, just like other watches they produce. Each function of the watch is usable and isn’t a gimmick. They make very original and interesting designs. I really like that they don’t make homage watches or something similar to other designs. They have three designs in their collection, but the one we have here is called Kalahari. It is one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world, and a place that is serene and ancient, and beckons for adventure. The Drakensberg extends almost the entire length of South Africa, creating a central plateau with the highest peaks in the east. The word Draken actually comes from the name Drakensberg, meaning ‘mountain of dragons’. Founder and designer Michael Blythe considers his home South Africa, so that’s why the designs and names of the watches and company influences from that. Draken is based in New Zealand, Auckland and is a small microbrand. Which is named after the biggest desert of Southern Africa, and using an altimeter for inspiration. The company is called Draken and the watch we have in for the review today is called Kalahari. Today we are taking a look at a watch and company overall that I wanted to get my hands for some time now.
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