The Schofield Obscura is a 40-piece mechanical watch introduced in 2024, built around a forged Damascus stainless-steel case with a cellular pattern, a grooved luminous dial and three smoked-sapphire windows in its case back. Its unusual look is matched by a hand-wound Unitas/ETA 6498-2 movement. The specifications and launch prices below were reported by Fratello on May 30, 2024; they are historical details, not confirmation of current availability or pricing.
A case made to look discovered, not manufactured
The Obscura’s defining feature is its forged Damascus stainless-steel case. Fratello describes a cellular surface pattern with acid-etched texture, made from material forged by Vegas Forge in the United States and hand-finished by Schofield in Sussex. The result is a case whose irregular pattern is integral to its visual identity rather than a conventional polished or brushed finish.
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Schofield founder Giles Ellis framed the design in deliberately mysterious terms: “Something (when housed in its canister) that if discovered in the undergrowth should probably be left alone or handed in. This is a watch of suspicious origins, perhaps military, perhaps alien.”
Layered dial and three-window case back
The dial is a multi-level rhodium-gray construction. Machined grooves are filled with Super-LumiNova, adding luminous detail to the sculpted surface. The display is time-only: hours, minutes and small seconds.
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Rather than a single broad exhibition window, the case back has three gray PVD-smoked sapphire windows set into a DLC-coated brushed stainless-steel back. Fratello also lists a box-style sapphire crystal with Swiss anti-reflective coatings in green or red. The source does not specify which coating corresponds to a particular configuration.
Movement and reported specifications
Fratello identifies a hand-wound Unitas/ETA 6498-2 caliber, running at 18,000 vibrations per hour, with 17 jewels and a reported 46-hour power reserve. The article lists water resistance as 20 ATM (200 m); that is a published specification, not a result of an independent water-resistance test.
| Specification | Fratello-reported detail, May 30, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Case material and finish | Forged Damascus stainless steel; cellular pattern and acid-etched texture |
| Case dimensions | 44 mm at the case base; 42 mm at the bezel; 52.7 mm lug-to-lug; 15 mm thick without lugs |
| Crystal | Box-style sapphire with Swiss anti-reflective coating, described as green or red |
| Case back | DLC-coated brushed stainless steel with three gray PVD-smoked sapphire windows |
| Movement | Hand-wound Unitas/ETA 6498-2; 17 jewels; 18,000 vph; 46-hour power reserve |
| Functions | Hours, minutes and small seconds |
| Water resistance | 20 ATM (200 m), as listed by Fratello |
| Strap | Gray Cloud leather, 24/22 mm, with calf lining |
These are specifications as reported at launch, not independently rechecked official specifications. The 44 mm measurement is taken at the case base, while the bezel measures 42 mm; those figures describe different parts of the case and should not be read as contradictory. The 52.7 mm lug-to-lug span and 15 mm thickness are useful additional context when considering fit, but they do not establish how the Obscura wears on a particular wrist.
Size and wear: what the published dimensions can—and cannot—tell you
The combination of a 44 mm case base, 52.7 mm lug-to-lug length and 15 mm thickness makes the dimensions worth checking carefully before purchase. The source author, Thor Svaboe, explicitly said he had not worn the Obscura when he wrote about it. He discussed likely ergonomics by reference to a Schofield Signalman he had owned, but that is not a firsthand comfort assessment of this watch. No claim about its actual wrist comfort, durability or timekeeping follows from the launch article.
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Production quantity and 2024 launch prices
Fratello reported a limited run of 40 pieces and these launch figures in its May 30, 2024 article:
| Market terms reported in 2024 | Launch price |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom, including VAT | £9,558 |
| United States, Canada, Europe and rest of world, excluding VAT; shipping extra | £7,965 |
These are historical launch prices, not a current quote. Current stock, price, shipping charges and authorized sales channels are not established by the cited article.
Design intent and the maker’s description
Ellis called the Obscura “my best work” and described it as “unfettered by expense, detail, materials, and craftsmanship.” Fratello’s quotation continues: “[It is] a watch that could only ever be made now, with the experience, team, and makers accumulated over the last 15 years.” The statement conveys the maker’s ambition for the project; it is not an independent assessment of the watch’s value or workmanship.
For the product details, production quantity and dated pricing, see Thor Svaboe’s May 30, 2024 Fratello article about the Schofield Obscura.
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