Several weeks ago, I was asked to drive out to Frederick , Maryland to check out the new Kronaby watch. Always up for an adventure I headed to Colonial Jewelers in beautiful downtown Frederick to see this new timepiece. Designed by a company out of Sweden, this new connected watch is only available in two stores near the Washington area so naturally I was intrigued.
Over the past few months I’ve checked out a few smartwatches but always found myself gravitating back to my more traditional watches. I just like the beauty of a traditional timepiece so when I receved the opportunity to check out the Kronaby connected watched I jumped at the opportunity. I was instantly drawn to the design of the watch.
Notice I didn’t call the watch a smartwatch. That is because if you go to the company’s website they avoid using that term. But to help understand the nature of this new watch consider it a hybrid smartwatch. Compatible with both IOS and Android phones, the Kronby is one the newer brands entering the connected watch space. The watch has the look and feel of a traditional timepiece but with smartwatch features or “complications” also built into the watch.
I was struck by the word complication which I thought was an odd way to name the features of the watch. What I didn’t know was that the term complication in horology which is the art and/or science of measuring time, means any feature in a mechanical timepiece beyond the simple display of hours and minutes. With that nugget of information in my head, I was ready to explore the complications of the Kronaby watch.
One of the things I loved about this watch was the unobtrusiveness of the features. In other smartwatches, it’s blatantly obvious that someone is on their smartwatch. Since the majority of the time I have my phone with me, I don’t need to check my email or messages or take calls from my watch. I prefer the notification with a little vibration I can always check my phone when ready. Plus while I wouldn’t want to talk from my watch, I can easily decline a call with just a tap. This helps me to be more “present”.
That being said there are a number of features that can be had right at your figure tips. One of my favorites is Activity which the watch will track for you. The Kronaby syncs with both Apple Health and Google Fit. For the record, this is one of the features I have been using more. Yesterday, I failed, only reaching 15% of my 10,000 steps. Now I have a reminder to get up and get moving if I have been inactive too long.
The complications on the Kronaby (I love using that word), are controlled by the “Pushers” on the right of the dial. You can set them to do such things as control your music, act as a camera remote, find your phone and set a geo-tag to remember your spot. You can also use them to send a signal to a friend which will enable them to respond and follow your movements. In addition you can also set up IFTTT (If this then that) functionality. I’m currently using the find your phone setting because I’m always misplacing mine. It’s already been used several times along with the camera remote option. I do love to take a good selfie!
After a few weeks with this watch, I have to say I’ve been quite the fan. I love the technology and its style which is right up my alley. Although I opted for the black leather band I’ll probably add a steel band. I want to still wear the watch when I wear browns and tans. It will definitely be in heavy rotation.
If you missed my Instastory, check out my Frederick excursion.
Shop for watches
I am wearing the dark grey steel with black leather strap. This is part of the Kronaby Sekel collection which comes in 43mm and 38mm styles.
