Owner Review: Farer Universal Hudson

There are blue dials, then there are the ones that Farer use amongst their offering of Swiss made watches. Floating between a deep blue to almost sea green depending on the light.

The Hudson is part of Farer’s collection of hand-wound mechanicals. Coming in with a case width 37mm (minus the crown), a short lug-to-lug of 39.5mm, and a thin bezel, the cushion-style case serves an ideal platform for showing off the impeccably designed dials that Farer have become known for. The “Art of the Dial” as they describe it on their website.

A little bit more on the case first. Its made of 316L stainless steel and fully polished making it a bit more on the dressier side. Since the dial presence is so significant and the lugs are for a lack of a better word – stubby, the polishing becomes less prominent. Combined with the right choice, the Hudson is also versatile enough to be casual and sporty.

Now back to that dial and the devil are in the details with this one. You have three layers to contend with. An outer dial with applied rectangular lumed marker at every hour draws the eye into the main dial and the index hands which like the case, are polished stainless steel. Finally, and just below that is the embedded sub-dial with burnt orange accents and seconds hand. While the outer and main dials are sea-blue and finished with a sunray effect, the subdial is a matte deep blue that together with the accent colours provide that extra pop and much needed contrast. The outer track has an alternating pattern with short red rectangles hovering above each hour marker. Overall, the dial elements come together nicely and Farer has again shown that they are experts in using accents colours in fun and exciting ways without being a visual distracting.

Powering the Hudson is the ETA/Peseux 7001 manual movement which is on full display in the back. Elegantly simple with Côtes de Genève finish and stamped with Farer name, its a 17-jewel movement known for its reliability and can be tuned in many different way by everyone from Stowa to Blancpain. At only 2.5mm height, this helps the Hudson along with the rest of the 37mm collection to maintain a svelte 8.3mm thickness (including the slight domed sapphire crystal on top).

You cannot finish a discussion of any Farer watch without mentioning the crown. The completely bronze crowns have been a bit of a signature look for Farer, but with the 37mm watches they’ve offered a slightly different take and gone with a steel crown instead. The twist here is that its topped by a bronze cap with the embossed Farer logo. A nice middle ground between being just all steel or bronze. By the way, that cap will oxidize over time and develop that nice patina this metal is known for.

So, what you have with the Hudson is a timepiece with some vintage cues with modern construction that can be worn during the work week tucked under a cuff or laid back with a t- shirt and short on the weekends. As I’m writing this review in the middle of an extended heat wave, it’s a great easy-to-wear option for the summer. The dial is the obvious star of the show and the colour choices by Farer ensures that this isn’t just another blue-dialed watch.

Share this post

Leave a Reply