A
AMERICAN BRANDS
By Michael Thompson
WEARING DIEFENDORFF’S REVOLUTIONARY SPIRIT
T
oo few watch designers take advantage of the real estate Captain Diefendorff was killed during an ambush in upstate New York
found on the bezel. As a frame for the dial, the bezel is typi- on August 6, 1777, exactly two hundred years earlier to the day on
cally where designers place the watch’s numerals or mark- which James Reeves was born.
ers, perhaps with some color, in pursuit of basic watch functionality.
Not long after I first strapped on the Diefendorff Cornelius 1776
THE DIAL
it became clear that James Reeves, founder of the new, Brooklyn- But interesting history is only part of the reason for wearing any
based Diefendorff watch company, took full advantage of the bezel watch. Another determining aspect is, of course, the dial. While Dief-
by utilizing it much like a painter’s palette for this first model in the endorff offers the 1776 with Forest Green Sunray, Charcoal Sunray
Cornelius collection. and particularly rich Woven Carbon Fiber dials, I chose the 1776 with
This is exactly why on the 1776 bezel and case Reeves has
a Federal Blue sunray dial to test. My choice was made simple from
etched an appropriate seventeen large lines and seventy-six thin lines. the moment I first eyed the watch because the its fiery Swiss red
The lines (Reeves has applied for an international design patent for seconds hand and red logo seem to jump directly from the dial.
these) represent his brand’s Revolutionary War-era inspiration. It turns
It’s always a pleasure to wear a watch with carefully considered
out that Reeves is the sixth great-grandson of Captain Henry Diefen- design details, and the Diefendorff Cornelius 1776 is one of those
dorff, who fought in that war. watches. The logo is Reeves’ interpretation of a modern U.S Army
And this bit of ancestral connection was just the start of the new
captain’s logo, again in honor of Captain Diefendorff. Reeves has
brand’s origin story. It quickly became clear that Diefendorff should curved the original insignia so that its contours align with the 1776
be the company namesake for several reasons, Reeves says. case and lugs, specifically with the two horizontal large and small
First, the Captain was an immigrant from Switzerland, home
line patterns that so distinctively cross the bezel. In another touch of
of modern watchmaking, and also home to Sellita, which makes detail, the two bars at the top of the dial echo the two crossbars in
the automatic movements Reeves uses in this collection. Second, the logo.
56 | AboutTime Magazine