In May 2015, Chicago-based watch brand Oak & Oscar’s released their first timepiece, the three-hand, sandwich-dialed Burnham, inspired by Chicago architect and urban planner Daniel Burnham. Its run of 300 sold out within a year. Now Oak & Oscar is back at it again, with another limited run of 300 watches — this time, a GMT, the Sandford.
“What’s great about the Sandford is that it carries the Oak & Oscar DNA, but is a completely new and different watch,” said company founder Chase Fancher. The Sandford has a similar sandwich dial, stencil-styled numerals and orange seconds hand as the Burnham, but now houses a Soprod C125 Swiss automatic GMT movement, which, in a nod to Chicago’s flag, features a custom rotor with four six-pointed stars cut out. “I knew a GMT would be my second watch,” said Fancher, who favors the GMT over other complications for its simplicity and practicality.
That GMT movement is housed inside a 40mm case that is available in both a stainless-steel and PVD-coated finish. The watch comes on a Horween leather strap made by Indiana-based Woodnsteel. And while the rest of the watch’s components are imported from overseas, like Fancher’s last watch, this one was designed in the USA and assembled in Ohio by fellow American watch brand Lüm-Tec.
Like Oak & Oscar’s last timepiece, the Sandford will be available in a limited run of 300 — 200 in stainless steel and 100 in PVD, selling for $1,850 and $1,950, respectively (though, if you order early, you get a $100 discount on either). As to why Oak & Oscar’s releases have been limited, Fancher says, “Knowing that you’ve got number X, Y, Z of 300, or even as many as 1,000 pieces, is cool. Even cooler is when you see a guy wearing the same watch in the wild — you’ve got an immediate connection.”