Henry Archer Nordsø Malachite - TMS Exclusive Limited Edition (Gemstone Dial)
These limited edition timepieces are exclusive to just The Microbrand Store.
Overview
High Quality Natural Gemstone
The 40mm Henry Archer Nordsø Malachite is a 200 meter rated dive watch featuring a malachite gemstone dial. Each dial will have a unique look stemming from the varying banding lines that naturally occurs in malachite. All of our dials however have been specially selected so that the dial is predominantly a rich green with an eye-catching range of green hues, together with possibly some black or thin cream/white banding mixed in that fits extremely well with our black bezel and white markings. Unlike most other malachite dials, we've opted for thicker slices of malachite so we can give them a semi-gloss polished finish to help bring out the rich coloration, while still making sure that the watch clocks in with a height under 11mm, making it very elegant for formal occasions. We're deliberately rejecting other colors often found with malachite, such as blue azurite, and are only going with colors that fit the aesthetics of this design.
Great Attention to Detail
The differences between a nice watch and a great watch are often found in all the little details that the wearer can appreciate. Here we have a carefully thought out and sophisticated design, from the gnurling on the crown that matches the bezel grip, to the mix of finely brushed finishes with polished chamfered edges that accent the thin profile, to the rounded look of the semi-skeletonized custom handset, all with a carefully thought out color scheme where even the green dots on the bezel are lumed.
Engineering to Match
Henry Archer cut no corners with the Nordsø Malachite, which boasts scratch resistant sapphire crystal on both the front and back of the watch, six layers of anti-reflective coating, a scratch resistant glossy ceramic bezel insert, the ultra-reliable 9039 automatic high beat movement with Parashock protection, and a fully milled clasp with double pushers that features a convenient tool-less micro-adjustment system. The extremely comfortable fully articulated beads-of-rice bracelet comes with female end links for an even better fit, and convenient quick-release tool-less spring bars. Also included is the brighter, longer lasting, and more expensive premium grade version of blue Swiss Super-LumiNova BGW9 lume.
What's With the Name?
Nordsø is Danish for the “North Sea”, which lies between Great Britain and Denmark. A very apt name for a series of dive watches from Henry Archer, which is a Danish microbrand. In English, this can be written as Nordsoe, or sometimes Nordso.
Please note that case back depicted is a prototype. There is a very minor wording improvement on the production watches that we are retailing. The revised wording is fully detailed in our Specifications.Malachite
Malachite Gemstone History
Malachite has been a much sought-after gemstone for over 6,000 years, with ancient Egyptians producing malachite amulets and other jewellery since around 4,000 B.C. There is also evidence of extensive malachite mining over thousands of years in Great Britain using Stone Age bone and stone tools from around 3,800 B.C. to 600 B.C.
Throughout recorded history, malachite has always been worn as a protection against the “evil eye” and bad luck, and it became a popular gemstone with many merchants and travellers in the Middle Ages, who wore it both for protection and to bring success and wealth, and to maintain good health and avert depression. Marbodius of Rennes promoted malachite in the 12th century as a protective talisman and to help with sleep, and by the 17th century, a common Spanish superstition recommended that malachite be worn by children to protect from black magic and witchcraft.
Nowadays we can appreciate malachite for it’s rich green colors, which don’t fade over time, and it’s intrinsic beauty, with each malachite dial having a unique look due to the many variations in the banding patterns. Malachite is also becoming a rarer gemstone, since most of the original mining sources have now been depleted.
Videos
Nordsø Malachite Video Reviews
Pre-Order
Pre-Order Details
The Henry Archer Nordsø Malachite is a new design that is being manufactured for the first time, and is not yet in stock. Henry Archer have estimated that production will be completed in May. To learn more about reserving pre-ordered watches, please visit our pre-orders page. As always, our customers can cancel any pre-order they have with us at any time for a full refund, right up until we have the watches in stock.
Once Henry Archer receive these watches, they'll need a little time to test them before sending them on to us quickly via DHL, a week or two later. We can then start our own testing and shipping to our pre-order customers via a tracked and insured airmail service. Although we'll be able to start shipping within a day or two of receiving these watches, please note that since we thoroughly inspect and test each one, it may take us 2-3 weeks to complete all of our shipments, since we can only process so many watches per day. Our Nordsø Malachite orders will therefore be shipped on a first come, first served basis, and those with earlier reservations will get their watches first.
As we move closer to the shipping date, we'll also be sure to share any updates here.
2024-05-02 Update
The factory received the final parts we were waiting on yesterday, the finished dials, which have all been beautifully polished to a high gloss. We're very happy with the results, and are now reviewing close-up videos of each dial to confirm our selection, and move on to the assembly and testing stage. As such, we're still very much on track for the production to be completed in May, likely in late May, and will have a further update to share towards the end of this month.
Specifications
Watch Specifications
HENRY ARCHER NORDSØ MALACHITE • TMS LIMITED EDITION nnn/500 • 200 METERS • SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL • 316L STEEL • BGW9 LUME • DESIGNED IN DENMARK •