Chase Fancher isn’t messing around.
The founder of Chicago-based Oak & Oscar has just finished showing off the independent watch brand at a series of fairs. I?m sitting next to him and his collaborator, a designer named John Hatherly, in a small coffee shop in the Flatiron district of Manhattan two weeks after the duo showed for the first time at our very own WatchTime New York.
The two could pass for brothers: both have strong beards only a few shades of red apart from each other, and can speak eloquently on the brand?s ambitions and intentions at a moment?s notice. They also might be related at some point in the future ? Hatherly is dating Fancher?s sister-in-law.
While they should be exhausted after a hectic few weeks, both men seem at ease: it?s been a little over a month since the launch of their latest watch ? the Jackson Flyback Chronograph ? that marks the independent brand?s most complicated timepiece yet. It all started with the Burnham in 2015, a time-and-date only watch that grabbed attention thanks to its trademark sandwich dial and gunmetal gray and orange aesthetic. In 2016, Fancher continued with the Sandford, an attractive GMT model that sold out almost instantly. This year?s Jackson Flyback Chronograph marks the culmination of Fancher and his team?s work so far, their watch development an ever-continuing process that shows no sign of slowing down. Chase Fancher of Oak & Oscar
?I think it?s Oak & Oscar stepping up our game and really show...