A Revolution or Evolution: Hands-on with the SevenFriday ME-Series

Ten years ago, SevenFriday launched its very first M-series As many watches from the brand did, the model made quite a statement, with its 47mm large, well-rounded yet square case, telling time through discs. It was this disc reading system that gave SevenFriday all the freedom it needed to make this model an evolving artistic statement. The watch world loved it, as a decade later, the M-series has become a staple in the SevenFriday collection. This probably made the brand a bit uncomfortable, as their forward-thinking nature doesn’t like to dwell on the past, so head designer Arnaud Duval could start with a near-clean sheet of paper to pen down the 10th-anniversary model in the new ME-Series.

Duval did something tricky with the latest edition, as he took direct inspiration from one of his childhood heroes, the designer Raymond Loewy. If you don’t know him, you have good designers, great designers, and legendary designers, and Loewy is on the stratosphere of the last category. As the godfather of industrial design, he was the king of streamlining, and as such, he penned down the future. What made him so successful was that he always won the hearts of the people with his progressive designs. He pioneered the ‘MAYA” method, which had nothing to do with the ancient civilization in Central America, but stood for ‘Most Advanced Yet Acceptable.’ Indeed, it’s precisely the credo of SevenFriday since they first launched.

The new ME-Series is just that, but it also has a bit more Loewy in it, as it is exceptionally streamlined. Arnaud learned well because he applied what Loewy taught, yet didn’t turn this SevenFriday into a Loewy design. It is, first and foremost, a SevenFriday. The design is exceptional when put on the wrist. It looks progressive, but indeed to the extent that it is acceptable. At the same time, if this watch was worn in any of the Star Wars movies, or on the wrist of crew members of the USS Enterprise, it would look so much at home that it might even go unnoticed.

One of the first aspects that make it so acceptable looking, and comfortable to wear, is the diameter, which is reduced to 44.5 mm. It is also a bit more rounded which makes it look very organic. The sapphire crystal is now divided into three separate pieces and placed in a dome of the stainless steel front of the watch. This is not only a nod to Loewy, but also to the M-Series Spaceship. SevenFriday further plays with texture, finish, and color but keeps it all nicely restrained. The sides of the case are polished with a blue lacquered outline separating it from the horizontally brushed front of the watch. The hours are visible in the window on the left, with big numerals for the whole hours, but also smaller ones indicating half hours. The disc for the minutes occupies the top window with the bottom one being completely dedicated to decorative purposes. The watch is relatively easy to read once you get used to it, but this has never been the focus of the concept anyway.

The case is relatively thick, with a height of 14.56mm, but most of that will be hidden in your wrist, as it has quite a ‘bubble back,’ similar to that certain Omega’s had in the 1960s and 1970s. It makes the watch look slimmer on the wrist while the wearing comfort is not compromised. Inside ticks the skeleton version of caliber TMI NH70, a product of Seiko. This movement can be wound by hand and has a hacking seconds function, which is not of added value to this SevenFriday, as it does not have a running seconds function. It is a sturdy and dependable movement, and the only thing that I could complain about is the relatively low power reserve of 41 hours. You will also not get a glimpse of the movement either, as the ME-Series has a solid caseback. Kudos to SevenFriday for doing that, as the exhibition trend of always showing a movement is getting a bit tiresome, and the movement is not the reason you are buying this SevenFriday in the first place. Instead, we find there the NFC chip embedded that SevenFriday uses to authenticate and register the watch, with both services available through their app.

The leather strap that the ME-Series is equipped with is made from very comfortable leather and secures with its new folding clasp. I am not the biggest fan of butterfly clasps as they tend to become bulky, but this one works actually nice, is not too thick, and quite easy to secure. The wearing comfort is also on par, as are its looks. Overall it makes this new ME-Series indeed progressive yet acceptable, a hommage to Loewy’s legacy yet not the creation of a fan-boy. Instead, it is the evolution of a revolution, very much a SevenFriday, so a bit familiar but also nice and new.

The ME-Series will be available in stainless steel with blue accents, but also in stainless steel with 3N gold PVD highlights and green accents. The price of both models is $1,470.

For more info, visit SevenFriday, here.