This Handsome Automatic Dress Watch Offers a Subtle, Uncommon Dial for an Affordable Price

A well-made, affordable, timeless dress watch is a good way to make a name for yourself.

By Brad Lanphear

Published July 23, 2025

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Updated 24 hours ago

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Dutch watchmaker Van Speyk is a small operation, even by microbrand standards.

The 12-year-old company is a model of concentrated refinement and creative discipline. It offers only two models right now, but one great watch is all you need to build a reputation.

a black Van Speyk dress watch — The Courage is a moonphase with an unorthodox dial arrangement.

The Courage has a remarkably clean, classic dress watch dial, despite containing a moonphase, small seconds and a power reserve indicator.

Simple textures carry the design with a sunray brushed dial, a mirror-polished case and an embossed leather strap with a center-folding clasp.

The dial has minimal markings, with applied Arabic numerals at three, nine and twelve o’clock, and applied pointed hour markers filling out the track, save for a blank space at six o’clock. A tiny printed seconds track lines the outer rim of the dial.

a blue Van Speyk watch with a moon phase — The Courage is available with a white, black or blue dial.

Van Speyk makes the most of its elegantly reserved design by offering the Courage with a white, black or blue dial. The 41mm steel case is available with a polished finish, a yellow gold coating or a rose gold coating.

What sets this Holland-made watch apart is a dial arrangement that is simultaneously familiar and unusual.

A Moonphase-ograph?

All three complications appear on the dial in a chronograph-like arrangement. Where it feels like a totalizer should be on a three-sub-dial setup, we find a massive power reserve indicator.

a white Van Speyk dress watch with a moon phase — The white dial removes the red segment of the power reserve indicator track.

I find most power reserve indicators to be an eyesore because they usually disturb the geometric balance of dials. The Courage would certainly look better without one, but after spending some digital time with the watch, it almost melts into the minimalist background.

The symmetry between the small seconds at nine o’clock and the moonphase at three o’clock, with a classical crescent moon window and fine outline, claims all the attention.

Perhaps because the power reserve indicator is placed in a sub-dial, creating a familiar chronograph arrangement, it feels tucked away and not obtrusive.

A Fossil automatic movement?

Van Speyk proudly proclaims that the Courage uses a Swiss movement, which it does, but the manufacturer is one of the most interesting companies in the industry.

the back of a Van Speyk dress watch — The custom STP caliber 2-12-63 automatic movement is visible through an exhibition caseback.

STP, which stands for Swiss Technology Production, was founded by the Fossil Group in 2008. The same company that makes the cheap quartz watches you, or at least some of your friends, probably owned in high school low-key runs one of the most underrated movement manufactures in Switzerland.

I can personally attest to STP’s quality because one of my favorite watches is my Zodiac Super Sea Wolf powered by an STP caliber 3-13. Zodiac is owned by the Fossil Group, meaning that it technically uses manufacture movements.

Most of STP’s movements are based on expired ETA patents, and the production quality seeks to be on par with that of the Swatch Group-owned manufacturer.

a rose gold Van Speyk dress watch — The Courage is available with rose gold plating.

STP also supplies movements to brands outside of the Fossil Group, like Van Speyk. While it isn’t nearly as prestigious or popular as fellow Swiss movement brand Sellita, it offers a similar quality product for a cheaper price.

Along with the moonphase, small seconds and power reserve indicator, the STP caliber 2-12-63 has a 42-hour power reserve and a Nivaflex non-magnetic hairspring. A custom-finished and signed rotor is visible through an exhibition caseback.

Availability and Pricing

Van Speyk offers the Courage for a remarkably affordable €999.00 (~$1,174), and the yellow or rose gold-plated references are only €100 more.

The small Dutch watchmaker can only make an automatic moonphase with an uncommon dial arrangement this affordable because STP offers such a bargain on its movements.

In addition to the three dial colors and three case finishes, the Courage comes on a croc-embossed leather strap with a center-folding clasp available in black, dark brown, light brown and blue.

Van Speyk Courage

Specs

Case Size	41mm
Movement	STP caliber 2-12-63 automatic
Water Resistance	50m

$1,174 at Van Speyk

About the Author: Brad Lanphear is an associate editor at Gear Patrol covering watches and style. Before joining the publication, he previously wrote for Heddels and Men’s Health. Now, he’s on a never-ending quest to find the perfect pair of Japanese denim.