Titanium for a tool watch is a good combination. The dull gray of a blasted titanium finish offers the ruggedness and no-nonsense sobriety that a tool watch cries for, while the lightness of the material allows a sizable and chunky device to be worn effortlessly. At this point in 2021 it?s no surprise to see another integrated bracelet being thrown into the mix too. With the debut watch from Arken ticking all of these boxes, what is going to set it apart"

On first glance the Instrumentum looks every bit a hefty tool watch, but at 40mm in diameter this debut offering is actually pretty compact. The specs stack up pretty well too; its dive watch appearance is backed up by 300m of water resistance, a screw-down crown and a ratcheting clasp. The grade 2 Titanium has also been treated to bump the harness up to 600 Vickers. The brawny styling borders on the excessive, though this is probably reigned in somewhat by the very reasonable case size. The 40mm diameter is the measurement across the bezel so does not include the ?wings? which extend beyond the case on the left hand side and form the crown guard on the right.
Exactly how a watch looks on the wrist owes a lot to the balance between bezel and dial too, and there?s a lot of bezel on show. The fully graduated bezel is a single piece of titanium (rather than markings printed on an insert of a different material) with thick-cut teeth, and the heavily tapering bracelet continues the aggressive styling with the sa...