Kickstarter can be a mixed bag, but every now and then you?ll find an inventive and well-thought-out watch worth a mention. Case in point: The Optik Instruments Horizon. What looks at first glance to be something incomprehensible is actually extremely simple?essentially, what we have here is a 24-hour single-hander (think old-school Luch).Nearly the entirety of the main dial works as a giant disk hand, split at first into day and night halves, and then marked further all the way down to 15-minute intervals. The red lines at 12 and six are your current time indicators as the dial surface rotates. It takes a moment to adjust to this perspective, but it?s elegant and simple once you do.
There?s an impressive array of colorways and options for a first-time effort, with the yellow and gray Flagship, the two-tone gray Billet, the blue and red Technik, the black and blue Navigator with its pops of yellow, and the more delicate white and gray Solis.
All of these share the same 40 millimeter lugless case?a rounded, futuristic pebble that sends off serious Marc Newson/Ikepod vibes. Like the dials, each model offers its own unique case treatment, with polishing, sandblasting, brushing, black DLC, and rose gold plating. Once again, it?s a very strong start from a newcomer on the variety front.

With all this quality and variety on offer on the outside, the presence of a Ronda 515.24 quartz movement within offers a bit of a letdown. That said, reliable 24-hour, single-hand...