Farer's Integra Viridis is the brand's first integrated-bracelet sports watch, and they've staked the whole proposition on a slab of green stone you've probably never considered putting on your wrist.
The Verdict
A genuinely interesting integrated sports watch at $1,765, undermined slightly by the same thing that makes it interesting: a 1mm malachite dial is a strong commitment to make at this price.
The Make
The case is 316L marine-grade steel, 38.5mm across and 10.3mm thick, with a 42mm lug-to-lug that will sit on almost any wrist. The dial is the obvious story. Real malachite, milled to 1mm, with the banded green figuring you can't fake or print. No two are identical, which is the point and also the risk: you're buying a specific stone, sight unseen, and you don't know which one you'll get.
Movement is a Sellita SW300-1 in Top Grade spec, adjusted in five positions, 28,800vph, 56 hours of reserve. Farer has fitted a custom full-circular rotor finished in green vapor coating to match the dial, visible through a sapphire case back. The crown is bronze-capped and screws down. Water resistance is rated to 100m, which is more than the integrated-bracelet category usually bothers with.
The bracelet tapers properly, 24mm at the case down to 16mm at a butterfly clasp, with brushed outer links and polished, screw-secured center links. On-the-fly micro-adjustment gives 3mm on either side, which is the single most useful feature on any steel bracelet and still missing from watches twice this price. Quick-release spring bars on both the bracelet and the included rubber strap. Built in Bienne by Roventa-Henex.
The Fit
38.5mm is the right size for this kind of watch, and the 10.3mm thickness means it slides under a shirt cuff without negotiation. Lug-to-lug of 42mm with a 24mm inter-lug means it wears compact. Works on wrists from roughly 6.5 to 7.5 inches without looking under or oversized. True to size in the sense that watches can be: try it, adjust the micro-clasp, done.
The Context
The integrated-bracelet sports watch at this price is a crowded room. Tissot PRX Powermatic at a third the cost, Christopher Ward's Twelve in the same neighborhood, Baltic Hermétique around $900 on bracelet. What Farer is selling at $1,765 is the stone dial, the Top Grade movement, the green rotor, and the willingness to do something the others won't. If you want a quiet steel sports watch, buy the CW. If you want the one with the malachite, this is the only one with the malachite.
The Personal Note
I haven't owned this one. I've handled enough Farers to trust the case finishing, and I've worn enough integrated bracelets to know the micro-adjust matters more than almost anything else on the spec sheet. Whether the malachite holds up over years of desk diving is the open question. Stone dials chip. That's the deal you sign.
