Design
Quality of Materials
Value for Money 
Craftsmanship 
Customer Service The British have invented at least two great things:
James Bond.
And the word, “squidgy.”
To be honest, when I look at those two side by side, James can’t even compete.
Like an artist that created his masterpiece in his youth, the Brits must carry on despite the fact that they’ve already reached perfection with squidgy.
And that leads me to Pompeak Watches: a young British-designed watch company founded by two brothers.
I’ve had two timepieces from their Gentlemen’s Collection for the past few weeks and I can’t contain the truth any longer. This must be said.
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What Is Pompeak Watches?
Pompeak Watches is a British-designed watch brand that launched after months of designs, redesigns, and a successful Kickstarter campaign.
Founded by brothers Dave and Noah, Pompeak started with a passion for design. Their first watch: The Debut Collection, is a minimal quartz timepiece. But their newest watches—the Gentlemen’s Collection—is their pride and joy, at the time of writing (who knows what they’ll design next).
Pompeak launched in 2017 and has seen slow and steady growth to today. They’re still a young brand, with only two models. That said, I prefer a watch brand that knows itself and grows gradually, improving with each new release.
Things to Consider Before Buying an Automatic Watch from Pompeak
Pompeak is based in the UK, and they’ll ship your timepiece anywhere in the world for free. For other US-based brands, UK folks have to pay hefty shipping and import duties for their watches. But because Pompeak is a homegrown brand, the Brits get a nice deal.
For US-based folks, there is an import duty, so budget a bit extra for that.
When buying any automatic watch, it’s worth considering whether you’ll get a watch winder. Winders are nice if you have a few different automatics and you don’t get to wearing them at least every other day.
But if this is your first automatic, just note that you’ll want to reset the time fairly often (maybe every other day) as automatics can lose or gain time much more than watches with quartz movements.
A rising star in the British watchmaking scene, Pompeak has two models---a minimalist quartz piece and their new Gentlemen's Collection with an open heart automatic Miyota movement at its core.
Pompeak Watches Review: Gentlemen’s Collection
Packaging & First Impression
Pompeak has put a lot of care and attention into their packaging. And to be honest, my solid first impression started before my watches even arrived—Pompeak kept me updated on the shipping, which took about a week from the UK.
I’ve never been one to begrudge a company for not teleporting their products to me a la Amazon, but having consistent updates every other day is nice for peace of mind.
The Gentlemen’s Collection model arrives in a matte black padded box in a display setting. I picked up two editions: the navy dial with a stainless steel link bracelet and another with a black dial and black leather band.
Case & Caseback
The case is 40mm in diameter, 10.4 mm thick, and made with 316L stainless steel. It’s a nice masculine size without tipping over into “oversized” territory. The design of the case is very simple, with all polished silver tones and comfortable curved lugs.
The star of the show in this design is the open-heart movement (which I’ll discuss more later), so I’m fine with the no-frills case.
But the caseback is a different story. With a viewing window back, you can look into the inner-workings of the Japanese 21-jewel movement. This is the kind of thing that turns people into watch nerds.
Dial & Crystal
The main feature of the dial is the open-heart movement window. Just look at how mesmerizing it is:
The skeleton viewing window is positioned between six and eight, with an overlapping second-hand subdial.
Besides that, the dial is pretty minimal—the batons are uniform silver bars and the hands are a lume-coated sword and dagger.
There’s an interesting radial pattern on the dial which adds a little depth and intrigue to the watch. I’ve seen a few other watchmakers with similar looking dials, albeit not for this price.
The crystal is pure sapphire, which is excellent for scratch resistance and reduced glare. I didn’t have any issues reading the face, even at midday.
Movement & Crown
The Gentlemen’s Collection runs on the Miyota 82S5 movement, which is a 21-jewel Japanese automatic. It has a decent reliability at plus/minus 20 seconds a day. In the world of automatics, that rating is good, considering the lower price tag.
It couldn’t be more simple to operate this bad boy—the crown is a simple three-position piece. Wind your watch by cracking 40 counter-clockwise turns, set it at the third position, and click the crown into place and let your timepiece take it from there.
As I mentioned earlier, the movement is the star of the show here, and being able to watch it run in real time, either from the dial or the caseback is a pleasure.
I’ve also noticed that Miyota automatics seem to take a little better to your standard arm jostling—the last auto I picked up had a Seiko engine, and I’ve had issues getting it to stay wound on my wrist. That’s not the case at all here.
Strap & Wearability
My two watches from the Gentlemen’s Collection have different straps: one a leather band, and the other a stainless link bracelet.
With all stainless link bracelets, a little adjusting is necessary right out of the box. This can be really difficult if you don’t have the right tool. But a few months back, I got a tool from Vario watch straps that helps me adjust my bands much more easily.
Both the leather band and the link bracelet feature a deployant clasp. I really like the clasp for the stainless links, though I’m a bit divided on the clasp for the leather band. I think it adds more bulk to the band than necessary.
The Gentlemen's Classic has a striking open heart dial with a distinguished textured face. You can pick this timepiece up with either a steel link bracelet or leather, though we lean toward the steel link. What kind of gentleman are you?
What do Other Reviewers Say About Pompeak Watches?
Pompeak is a young brand, so they don’t have a ton of crowdsourced reviews online. But at the time of writing, 99% of their reviews are 5-stars.
What’s interesting though is that they’re fairly well reviewed in the professional blog world. Something tells me a lot of folks expect good things from Pompeak in the future.
My Thoughts Overall On Pompeak Watches
What I Like
I’m a fan of the open-heart movement and the classy dial.
The link bracelet is comfortable and the clasp is sturdy, so the watch has a hefty, masculine feel to it.
The Miyota 82S5 is accurate to 20 seconds per day and is a workhorse that will last many, many years.
Shipping is free, and the brand offers a 2-year warranty.
What I Don’t Like
I’ve seen other brands with similar dials, though it is a handsome design.
Who is Pompeak Watches for?
Pompeak offers up something for the guy who doesn’t make hard distinctions between his personal and professional life (i.e. the hustlers out there—you know who you are). The Gentlemen’s Collection is a bit of business class, a bit of weekend lake trip, and a lot of handsome style.
The Verdict
For such a young brand, Pompeak Watches has done a nice job with their first automatic timepiece.
The Gentlemen’s Collection is distinctive with its open-heart movement and textured dial. The design, including the 40mm diameter, makes this a good choice if you’re a guy who wants a single, versatile watch that can move effortlessly from the office to Saturday night drinks.
I recommend the stainless link version over the leather band. I think the quality of the leather doesn’t live up to the price, whereas the stainless link bracelet definitely does.
Pompeak is especially worth a closer look if you’re one of our mates from the UK—their free shipping and 2-year warranty are a big bonus, and it can be hard to find good watches in the UK that don’t require a hefty import tax.
So, are you ready to take a Pom-peek?
And with that: we’re done.
A rising star in the British watchmaking scene, Pompeak has two models---a minimalist quartz piece and their new Gentlemen's Collection with an open heart automatic Miyota movement at its core.
For a closer visual on the Pompeak Gentleman’s Collection, check out my in-depth video review:
FAQs
Are open heart watches tacky?
Some open heart watches can look tacky, but it’s all in the execution. If there’s a small window into the movement, that can add a lot of intrigue to the timepiece. If the watch is cheaply built and has a completely open face, it might look more like a steampunk cosplay item than a nice timepiece.
What are the watches called when you can see the gears?
Watches that show the gears and movement are called either a skeleton watch or an open heart watch.
