Review: Sequent Smartwatch

I’ll acknowledge that Tempus Fugit probably isn’t the first place you come for news and reviews about smartwatches. That’s ok. Smartwatches aren’t our bread and butter. To be sure, when I got an email connecting me to Sequent co-founder and designer Adrian Buchmann, I had my doubts: what interested did I have with a smartwatch? Then I visited the Sequent site and started learning about the watch. A hybrid smart watch with an in-house movement, an 18-month standby life, and a proper rotor? Count me in.

As the brainchild of Buchmann—a watch designer with an impressive resume—and the head of Czapek & Cie., I was expecting a lot from the Sequent models I had for review. The first thing that pops out for me is the applied lume hour markers and, of course, the tracking scale. The blue dial, of course, stands out all on its own.

The Case

The Sequent smartwatch comes in two versions: the Elektron and the SuperCharger. While they both feature the same movement and case form, the Elektron has a brushed titanium case, while the SuperCharger has a steel case, is polished, and features a black anodized aluminum caseband. The crown (seen in the above photo and elsewhere) has a rubber band to aid in grip and is used for many functions. It syncs the watch to the partner app, and depending on how many times it’s pushed, will allow the watch to display percentage of various daily goals, heart rate, and blood oxygen level expressed as SpO2. (The recessed pins on the left are the connectors for the included charging base.)

The case features short, curved lugs that drop below the caseback and feature rounded termina. While the case sits tall on the wrist, the sloped lugs allow a slightly better wear than the dimensions might suggest, as do the contours of the case sides. I also found the watch to wear better on the rubber strap, likely due to its flexibility and how it thickens towards the lugs. The sapphire crystal features a noticeable though not pronounced dome and it causes no issues with readability.

The Dial

The dials of the Sequent models are all exceptionally legible, though the modesl do have differences aside from just their colors (and keep in mind, there are a slew of variants within the two model types, including see-thru dials and a NASA version). They both have applied markers, lumed hands, and the tracking scale in the lower half. The tracking scale, as mentioned, can display multiple types of information; while goal progress and SpO2 is displayed as a percentage with a max of 100, heart rate can be displayed as high as 160, above which you are tachycardic or dead.

You can see some of the differences in the above and below photos. The Elektron above has applied indices and black hands. The SuperCharger below has polished markers and hands and features raised minute hashes. I do wisht eh minute hashes featured on all models, as they aid in precise reading.

Of note, after 24 hours, the watch will go into sleep mode, but when you pick it up again, it automatically sets itself to the correct time. It’s quite fun to watch the hands swing around.

Here are the lovely applied lume markers. Their design is consistent with the overall simplicity of the watch’s design, and I found them oddly pleasing. The small dot above the name at 12 is the aperture for the LED that flashes when the watch is syncing or taking a reading from its sensor.

Frankly, I think every dial option should have the lumed indices, as it creates a fuller low-light experience of the watch. The tracking hand is arguably the dimmest of the lot, but still visible enough to read once your eyes adjust to a low-light situation.

The Rest

Here is the in-house Sequent SC 2.2 movement. It uses a traditional rotor made of tungsten to harvest energy from the movement of the wrist and turns it into stored electricity for the watch. In the center, of course, is the sensor, which protrudes from the watch but nestles into the wrist without adding apparent height. The watch is accurate to -/+ .3 seconds per day. While the watch can be in standby mode for up to 18 months, it can last up to 30 days even when it’s tracking your heartrate every 30 minutes. If it drops below 10% it will go into time-only mode.

The Sequent comes on either a black rubber strap or one of a number of upcycled #tide straps which use recovered ocean plastic. The #tide strap takes some breaking in and I prefer the rubber as mentioned earlier. But I want to talk about the app. The watch syncs easily to the companion Oxygo app, which displays all your data over time and can sync with Apple’s Health app. With the watch, the app tracks sleep (if you wear it overnight, obviously), the aforementioned health metrics, and workouts (with GPS). I found the app easy enough to use, though I would’ve liked a proper user manual included in the app (and I have to admit that due to my sedentary lifestyle I did not experiment with the workout feature).

The movement of the Sequent smartwatches is arguably the selling point. There are plenty of other smart watches with analog displays and more common “movements,” but none offer a rotor and what is essentially automatic powering of the watch. This is a watch made by watch people, for watch people. Even then, it’s still a tough sell. This watch could be absolutely flawless and wear better than any other watch, and most people probably still wouldn’t buy it. People seem to want a full watch, or a full smartwatch, not something in between. If they’re buying a smartwatch, they want an unlimited experience that a dedicated device with a digital screen provides. Like any smartwatch, the greatest value is gained from wearing it all the time, something impossible for a watch lover who rotates constantly amongst mechanical watches. That’s where I fall, so while I won’t be wearing a Sequent any time soon, if I were to slim down my collection and look for a watch to get some health tracking, the Sequent would be my choice.

You can learn more and order directly from Sequent.