Wednesday 17 July 2019 
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Melbourne Watch Company’s Avalon Gets a Makeover
Joe Cutcliffe
The Avalon from Melbourne Watch Company, when it first came out, was a distinctly antipodean take on the classic aviation timepiece. Legible, elegant and robust, the obviously-named Avalon (because Tullamarine would be a silly name, of course) became a hit amongst fans of MWC and those who prefer a pilot’s watch combined.
The newest incarnation of the much-loved design goes even further in terms of classic, old-school aesthetics.
With a more restrained colour scheme, the new Avalon eschews the ultra-elongated markers at three, six, nine and twelve o’clock (nine is gone completely to make room for a date window, while the rest are more restrained), as well as the bright yellow hands offset against the matte black PVD coating of its predecessor.
The dial itself is multi-layered, and has an impressively intricate “shuriken” (read: ninja throwing stars, pretty cool, huh?) pattern at its centre. The silver-toned case is bead-blasted 316L stainless steel, and the domed sapphire crystal in combination with the brown Nappa calfskin strap make for an aviator’s timepiece of yesteryear, with a couple of subtle modern enhancements to underscore the restrained stylings of a horological favourite.
In particular, the thin red tip of the second-hand makes the Avalon MK2 look as though it is at home in a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk’s cockpit as it is in a boardroom.
The already kick-ass Miyota movement of the previous model has also been replaced with the famed 26-jewel Sellita Calibre SW200-1 self-winding mechanical movement (quite proudly on display through the sapphire crystal case back). The Sellita SW200-1 features a higher 28,800bph beat rate, for an ultra-smooth sweeping second hand, as well as an impressive 38-hour power reserve.
Melbourne style all the way through with a Swiss movement at its heart is a formidable combination indeed, and, having seen the new Avalon from the guys at MWC in the flesh, we can attest to its well-executed balance between ruggedness and elegance.
