It seems impossible to me that a micro-brand can offer Patek Phillip-esque watches for as little as $125 and not be laughed off the block, yet here I am considering lovely Breguet Arabic numerals vs. standard batons vs. Roman numbers, movements with multiple complications, and dials that combine brushing, frosting, and polishing?all from a Kickstarting micro-brand called Horae.
Reference numbers are another clue that Horae is modeling their brand to some degree after Patek, using ?Ref. 65901? through ?65904? for their initial four models. To start, there are four models: (65901) Two Hander, (65902) Complete Calendar, (65903) Chronograph, and (65904) Automatic.Horae?s cases and dials point even more directly to Patek. At 38mm wide and 44mm lug-to-lug for their whole lineup, Horae has hit Patek?s average size square on. Take a look at classics like the 37mm Patek 5196P Calatrava or even the Grand Complication 41mm 5703P, and the common design language becomes clear: plain bezels atop alternating brushed and polished cases that give way to stout, traditional lugs and unremarkable crowns?classic Patek stuff.
Horae?s dials are similarly Patek-esque; there are varying finishes in concentric circles topped with highly polished appliqué markers and legible-yet-subtle sub-dials and date windows. Now check Horae?s chronograph pushers against a Patek 5170R, their telemeter and pulsometer scale against a Patek 5975, their six o?clock date window against a 5146J, and so on....