Fleming Series 1 Mark II: A Sophomore Release That Gets the Hardest Thing Right

The modern watch landscape has been catching a lot of flak lately. I won’t go so far as to say we’re in a negative rut, but change is constant, and as markets shift, prices fluctuate, and tastes cycle, it can sometimes feel difficult to find a clear sense of optimism.

The reality is, even after removing the rose-colored glasses, there is still a lot of good being done in the watch world, by, let’s just say, not your average Joes.

You’ll always have your factions. The big players. Conglomerates and historic brands with 200 plus years of heritage, deep catalogs to mine, and even deeper pockets backing them. Then there’s the romantic archetype of the lone watchmaker, quietly laboring over a single screw for a week, producing a handful of watches a year. You have microbrands too, sourcing reliable Miyota or Sellita movements and working within familiar formulas. A dive watch here, a GMT there, a dress watch with a stone dial, maybe a world timer for good measure, all of it dressed up under some avant-garde, Art Deco, or Brutalist design moniker.

And then you have the Flemings of the world.

They occupy a rarified space within high-end independent watchmaking, not driven solely by a single watchmaker, but by the vision of a collector. One who has managed to bring together some of the brightest minds in the industry to execute that vision with intention and cohesion. And now, Fleming returns with its second act, the Series 1 Mark II.

Two years ago, I had the privilege of interviewing Thomas Fleming following his debut release. A collector who seemingly came out of nowhere had assembled a team including Kari Voutilainen and Francis Mojon of Chronode, names that demand attention. Add James Kong, known to many as “Waitlisted,” as a partner in the endeavor, and it was clear this was not going to be a quiet arrival.

It’s also worth noting that Fleming is part of the Alternative Horological Alliance alongside Ming and J.N. Shapiro, an initiative aimed at supporting independent watchmaking “outside of conventional structures.” That context matters, because it frames Fleming not just as a brand, but as part of a broader shift in how independent watchmaking is being conceived, funded, and brought to market.

With all that said, I wanted to let the initial release cycle clear before taking a proper look at Fleming’s sophomore effort, a measured evolution of the original design. Part of that is simply avoiding the usual hype that follows any release. Not that this will be entirely objective, as Jack has pointed out, no one really wants that. And given I haven’t handled the watch personally, I’ll keep certain judgments in reserve.

The Watches

At a high level, the Series 1 Mark II is offered in two variants. The Pacific is housed in tantalum, while the Redwood is executed in 18k 5N rose gold.

The use of tantalum is worth calling out, because it is not a material brands arrive at casually. It is notoriously difficult to machine. It wears down cutting tools quickly, conducts heat poorly, and has a tendency to gall, behaving in many ways more like platinum than steel. Rather than cutting cleanly and shedding material in chips, it often sticks to the cutting surface, which makes precision work significantly more challenging.

From a production standpoint, that translates directly to time and cost. A gold case might allow for dozens, even close to a hundred, pieces before tooling needs to be replaced. With tantalum, you are much closer to platinum, where tooling may only last a handful of cases before needing to be swapped out. Everything takes longer, tolerances are harder to maintain, and the margin for error shrinks. The payoff is a material with a distinct presence, heavier than steel, more subdued than titanium, and with a natural blue-grey tone that suits the watch well. (To Note: Tantalum is also hypoallergenic, and resistant enough to corrosion that you can use it in medical implants).

Both variants share the same core case architecture. The watch measures 38.5mm in diameter and just 8mm thick, placing it firmly in dress watch territory, though the design leans more contemporary than traditional. The case is constructed as a three-part midcase, with brushed upper and lower surfaces and a polished central band that runs continuously through the case and into the lugs. Those lugs are skeletonized, allowing light to pass through, a detail that becomes more apparent up close than at a glance. (And we all know how I feel about lugs).

For the Mark II, the case geometry has been refined rather than fully redesigned. Edges are sharper, and transitions between finishes are more defined. Despite the complexity, the proportions remain wearable, with the curvature of the lugs designed to pull the case toward the wrist.

The dial introduces a few key updates. Most notably, a black-polished ring cuts through the outer sector. Hour markers are set at two-hour intervals and are applied and faceted, while the hands have been refined with additional facets and black polishing. Directional brushing across the dial creates subtle tonal shifts as the watch moves, and the sub-seconds register mirrors the architecture of the main dial.

Inside is the hand-wound Calibre FM.02, developed in collaboration with Jean-François Mojon, founder of movement specialist company Chronode. The movement measures under 4mm thick and delivers a seven-day power reserve via twin barrels. It has been designed to integrate visually with the rest of the watch rather than exist as a separate element, with reshaped bridges and custom components, including the wheels and ratchet, that echo the case and lug architecture.

The finishing is where things become more serious. Fleming notes 189 interior angles throughout the movement, with 28 of them finished by hand, including areas not visible to the wearer. That’s the kind of detail that tends to separate the truly high-end from everything else.

That attention carries across the entire movement, which features a mix of brushing, frosting, graining, and polishing. There are also two distinct finishing executions depending on the model, with cooler anthracite tones for the Pacific and warmer, gold-toned components for the Redwood.

My Take

Founder Thomas Fleming was quoted in the initial press release stating, “A watch dial is not a static surface. It shifts, darkening in shade, brightening in sun, revealing and concealing its architecture as light moves across it. The Series 1 Mark II is designed entirely around this principle: that finishing is not decoration, but behavior. A watch worn daily should reward every glance with something new.”

With that as the guiding idea, I think the team at Fleming largely delivers. The dial does exactly what he describes. It changes, it plays with light, and it gives you something different throughout the day. While the sector layout wouldn’t have been my first choice for the Series 1, it works here. It feels intentional rather than ornamental.

Fleming goes on to say, “The Series 1 Mark II is designed around a simple idea: the watch should change as you wear it. We treat finishing as something active. Surfaces respond, shift, and reward attention. And we design the case, dial, and movement as one continuous whole.”

This is where I think a lot of modern brands miss the mark. Too often, watches feel assembled rather than considered. Design cues are pulled from the same playbook and layered on top of one another without a clear unifying idea.

You see it especially with younger, incredibly talented watchmakers. There’s a tendency to take every element they admire, a bit of this, a bit of that, and try to bring it all into one watch. On paper, it sounds compelling. In practice, it can feel more like a transformer than a timepiece. Lots of individually impressive parts, but not always a cohesive whole.

It reminds me of the Brooklyn bar starter pack. You know the one. Subway tiles, Edison bulbs, exposed brick, dim lighting, deep house in the background, a $35 beet and goat cheese salad, and somehow fennel in everything. Individually, none of it is bad. Together, it becomes predictable.

Watchmaking has its own version of that formula. A nod to Breguet, heavy hand-finishing, a balance on the dial side, offset time display, sculptural lugs, maybe a rubber strap to “modernize” it. You’ve seen it before, even if the execution is good.

That formula isn’t what’s happening here.

Fleming feels more cohesive. The case, dial, and movement are clearly in conversation with each other, not competing for attention. It’s not just a collection of high-end ingredients. It’s a fully considered watch, and that’s a much harder thing to pull off.

Each variant is limited to 25 pieces. Pricing is set at 55,500 CHF for the tantalum Pacific and 53,500 CHF for the rose gold Redwood. For more information visit fleming.watch