Devon
Devon Works was founded in California by Scott Devon around a radical departure from Swiss tradition: rather than gears and a mainspring, the brand's watches tell time on thin belts, driven by micro-step motors, using technology adapted directly from aerospace instrumentation. 'This technology is adapted directly out of the cockpits of modern airliners like the Boeing 747, where these same belts were used in avionics packages to indicate vital measurements, such as airspeed and fluid levels,' Devon has explained, framing the brand's California-based supplier network and aerospace borrowings as a deliberate statement of American manufacturing pride.
The debut Tread 1, unveiled around 2010, set the template: a substantial 53.3mm by 47mm by 19mm steel case with a DLC-coated back and a curved, scratch-resistant polycarbonate crystal — the same material used in bulletproof glass — housing four fibreglass-reinforced nylon belts, just two-thousandths of an inch thick, for the hour, minutes, and seconds. The micro-step motors driving them were originally designed for medical devices; a temperature-compensated crystal and a proprietary optical recognition system keep the belts accurate, and a lithium-polymer battery runs for roughly two weeks between inductive charges, with a 'quiet mode' that silences the mechanism while it keeps time invisibly in the background. Priced at 15,000 USD, the Tread 1 went on to become the first watch by an American manufacturer ever nominated for the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève, shortlisted in the Design and Concept Watch category in 2010.
The Tread 1 architecture spawned a run of striking limited editions: the Group 63, a 63-piece, automotive-inspired run with carbotech lug construction — sheets of carbon fibre compressed at alternating angles, so no two pieces look alike — red-anodised crown and motor covers, and a red Alcantara-lined strap, priced at 25,000 USD; the bronze-and-oxidised-steel Tread 1 Steampunk; the transparent-belted Tread 1 Exoskeleton, introduced at Baselworld 2013; a made-to-order Devon 1G in yellow gold and black DLC; and a Star Wars-branded edition built on the same base.
The Tread 2, launched in 2015, reworked the concept into a genuine skeleton watch and a far more wearable one: a tonneau-shaped 42mm by 44mm case, just 14.5mm thick and 90 grams, milled from a single block of 316L steel, with the belt count reduced from four to two — one for the hour, one that switches between minutes and running seconds — and a chronograph function hidden behind an articulating crown-lever, engaged only when the wearer wants it. Its belts, sourced from the same aviation-instrumentation supply chain, run to roughly half a second of accuracy per day. The polished 'Shining' variant was priced at just under 11,000 USD, alongside a full 18k gold 2G edition and a novelty Godiva chocolate-themed run.
Devon markets itself simply as 'American Made Timepieces,' with current production centred on the Tread 1 E and Tread 1 F, priced at 18,450 and 19,950 USD respectively. Reviewers across the watch press have consistently struggled to categorise Devon by conventional standards — aBlogtoWatch called the original Tread 1 the epitome of 'California cool,' and Monochrome concluded that despite the drawbacks of a battery-powered watch, 'the watches from Devon Works remain some of the coolest battery powered watches out there' — landing on the same verdict: loud, unapologetically large, and unlike anything else built into a wristwatch.