Owners of Oak & Oscar timepieces received a surprise email in their inbox last Friday. Chase Fancher, the founder of the Chicago-based microbrand, was writing to his network of collectors to announce a highly-limited collection called Batch Nº1 that would be available to ship starting on Monday, August 6. The name is a reference, no doubt, to the brand’s well-known passion for dark spirits.
The Oak & Oscar Batch Nº1 comes in either stainless steel (left) or charcoal PVD (right).
Longtime WatchTime readers are well aware that Oak & Oscar has represented the upper echelon of the American watch brand indie-sphere since the release of its first timepiece, the Burnham, in 2015. What the small company has been able to accomplish in just three years (and three watches) has earned it a substantial national following with each limited release being a masterclass in both watch design and self-marketing. However, the release of Batch Nº1 is a slight change in approach for Fancher and his team. The two new watches, both limited to 25 total pieces, are only available to owners of the Burnham Date, 2016’s Sanford GMT, or last year’s Jackson Flyback Chronograph and any friends or collectors their base happen to invite. It’s a refreshing take on the traditional word-of-mouth approach and, over the past few days, it was not uncommon to see Oak & Oscar fans and owners posting links to the invite-only site in their Instagram bios.
Out of respect for ...