While we’re used to seeing brands pop up in every corner of the globe, it’s not often you come across a brand from New Zealand. Founded by Auckland native Robert Kwok, Beaufort’s mission statement is to offer exciting vintage designs at affordable prices. Earlier this year, the brand released the Beaufort Pulsatimer, an old-school doctor’s watch with a pulsometer scale and a case and dial inspired by Brutalist architecture.
While studying for a degree in technology, Robert Kwok couldn’t find a watch that fit his budget and, in 2018, decided to put his university studies on hold and find a solution. His brand Beaufort launched in 2019 on Kickstarter and is named after the Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber used by the New Zealand Air Force in the early 1940s.
At just 20 years old, Kwok’s first watch, the 1940s-inspired Aerotimer Automatic 40mm encapsulates Kwok’s desire to produce old designs reimagined for modern needs with strong specifications. The watch, retailing for NZD 539, went viral, as they say.
After a rebranding exercise in late 2023, Beaufort has adopted a more industrial, brutalist architectural direction. Inspired by the spiral concrete Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of La Laguna in Spain and the university campus of UTEC in Lima, Peru, the latest Pulsatimer features an industrial-looking case and dial.
The case has a diameter of 39 mm and a thickness of 13.8 mm, including the double-domed sapphire crystal. The model we have pictured is the black PVD steel version. The piston-style chronograph pushers underscore a vintage aesthetic, while the dynamic, layered brushed and sandblasted finishes evoke the bold lines and rough concrete finishes of Brutalist architecture. Polished surfaces are used sparingly, and the thin, polished bevels and stepped inner ring of the bezel catch the light and highlight the case’s more industrial brushed finishes. The case back is sealed and the case has a water resistance rating of 50 meters.
Where the Brutalist vibe really shines through is in the number. Following the Brutalist movement’s fascination with monolithic forms and the play of light and shadow, the applied indices are interconnected. Shaped like open rectangles or tuning forks with a double rectangular pointer at noon, the indexes are attached to a polished metal ring.
Perhaps not the most practical feature today, the perimeter of the dial features a black pulsometer scale with white markings. Used by doctors in the pre-digital age, heart rate scales measure your heart rate per minute on a 15- or 30-beat basis. By activating the chronograph, the wearer counts the beats corresponding to the calibrated pulses—in this case, 30—and consults the position of the central chronograph seconds hand on the outer scale to determine heart beats per minute. Here the seconds hand of the central chronograph has the form of indices with a rectangular and luminous tip. The subdial at 9 o’clock is for the small seconds and the one at 3 o’clock is for the 30 minute counter. The hour and minute hands are also treated with Super-LumiNova.
Underneath the sealed case is a Sellita SW510M, an integrated manual-winding chambered chronograph movement with a frequency of 28,800 vph, hack seconds and a power reserve of 63 hours.
The Pulsatimer is available in three other iterations, in stainless steel cases with salmon, silver or black dials.
Availability & Price
The Beaufort Pulsatimer Jet Black DLC is fitted with an Italian leather strap, although other strap options are available on the website for a moderate price of EUR 33.95. Pre-orders can be placed directly on the brand’s website and shipping will begin in September 2024. The price is 1214.95 euros (tax included), but please check the price in your region to calculate shipping charges, if applicable. For more details, please visit www.beaufort-watches.com.
Sponsored Post: This article is sponsored by Beaufort Watches. However, it reflects the opinion of the writer and is written according to MONOCHROME’s editorial policy.
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