MADE IN THE USA

During the past couple decades Southern California has become a hotbed of advanced design. The area is home to some of the world's preeminent design schools and a countless group of companies have spent billions of dollars building advanced design studios here. Given such an environment, it's really no wonder that design lab Devon Works places so much emphasis on innovation.

DEVON displayed their much-anticipated Tread 2 timepiece last year at the 2012 Baselworld International Watch and Jewelry Fair. The response was overwhelmingly positive and orders began to pour in. The company's founder, Scott Devon, should have been a happy man, but he wasn't. He lost sleep agonizing over whether the Tread 2 was really ready for prime time. And so last summer, at the risk of making some unpleasant waves with the company's sizable network of 100 retailers and countless customers around the world, he marched his design team back to the drawing board. I felt the original Tread 2 design was in danger of being considered derivative of the Tread 1, sort of like when the successful rock band plays it safe with their second album, said the hard-charging Devon from the company's headquarters in Los Angeles. I'm glad we took our time and revisited the design. To me, it now has the emotive power people have come to expect from us. With Tread 2 I think we again achieved our goal of making sure every product that comes out our door is something truly special and segment-defining.

What resulted can fairly be called a watch that stands up squarely next to the Tread 1 in the growing DEVON collection. Gone is the complex bracket system that had previously held the bezel onto the case and in its place the team placed a collection of eight fasteners that provide instant visual interest to the face of the watch. And while the Tread 2's crown retains its innovative articulating arm, it now closely resembles the business end of a hunting knife. Even the master link system has been changed in order to provide a more integrated transition from case to strap.

The enhancements continue inside the case according to DEVON's chief engineer, Jeff Stephenson, We've incorporated various enhancements to the programming of the movement in order to make it more refined and user-friendly. DEVON Tread 1 owners will notice a more mature functionality that perfectly suits the flavor of the Tread 2. In addition, Stephenson and his team have incorporated a chronograph feature, which is a treat to behold. Actuated by pushing down on the crown, the chronograph ticks off seconds on the minutes belt and minutes on the hours belt and can be reset at the touch of a cleverly designed button situated in the middle of the crown.