Vario Futurist Review: 1970s Bullhead Design Meets Modern Sapphire

by Tyler Frederick

Comfort

There are many things in life that bring a certain level of comfort: the feeling of home, or that one object that seems to make the world go quiet for a bit while you bask in its small details and the reasons they bring you that comfort. Most of the objects in my life are connected to a person, a memory, or bring value to my life in some way, and I wasn’t expecting the watch on my wrist, the Vario Futurist, to bring reflection or emotion. Red is the colour of love, passion, intensity, energy, and strength, and while I’ve experienced it, it’s caused me to reflect on every word I just used. Since Valentine’s just passed, I felt this was the perfect time to talk about my experience with the Futurist.

The Vario Futurist in hand with a reflection of the crystal — ^{Vario Futurist @horologyobsessed}

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Craving for candy apples

I’ve had this on my wrist on and off for well over a month now, and I apologize that it’s taken so long to get this review posted. There have been a lot of beautiful things happening in life that have taken priority, some of which I can’t get into right now, but I can’t wait to see where each door goes. From the day I got the Futurist, I felt this connection almost immediately, and what got me was the depth and hue of the red dial and the almost candy apple-like colour. It brought me to a place of sweetness and childhood and had me reflecting on how much the colour red had impacted me throughout my life; when I was racing my first go-kart, it was a red Birel AR-4, my favourite team was Ferrari, and I had pictures and posters of Michael Schumacher on my walls. The longer I looked at the dial, the more I could taste cherry, specifically from Tootsie Pops, and I was brought back to when I was little, walking into the parts trailer in the pits at the Mosport oval for a sucker, walking over with my mom and nan to the pit wall on the back straight, and watching my dad sail around the track in his open-wheel modified. It brought this lightness, these feelings of naïve enjoyment, and the craving for candy apples and cherry Tootsie Pops.

Close up of the bullhead crown and faceted crystal — ^{Faceted crystal @horologyobsessed}

Key Features of the Vario Futurist

70s flair

Let’s take a quick step out of my head and talk more nitty-gritty about the Futurist. It’s a watch that harkens back to designs from the 1970s—an era when design was flourishing, the future was in the eye of the creator, and people had no one to dictate what beauty was or how things should be designed. As I’ve mentioned before, the world of design is in this odd monochromatic landscape using flat greys, beiges, and other colours that seem cold and uninviting, and that’s not mentioning the square “minimalist” bore that modern design has become in some instances. There are examples of artists and designers stepping WAY outside the box, and I love it, but the common trends are kind of…yikes. The Futurist is a modern take on the ’70s “let’s just make something beautiful” attitude—an era where every industry focused on beauty, the unknown, and not the end result, but the journey. That’s what watch collecting is all about, right?

Daily wear

The Futurist measures 39mm in diameter, with a 48mm lug-to-lug and a thickness of 10mm; in other words, it’s pretty good regarding my preference in sizing. The lugs are a bit tall, but overall, it’s such a great watch on the wrist, and when paired with the Vario Elastic Metal Bracelet, it’s unbelievable. The supplied leather strap is great, but the elastic metal bracelet is phenomenal and adds a whole different level to the wearing experience, also changing the overall vibe of the watch. The leather strap makes it feel more formal and dressy, which is perfect for the colder months or if you’re someone like me who mainly wears black and wants a pop of color. However, if you can, get the elastic metal bracelet; it maintains the formal or dressy look while also making it look a bit more sporty, adding a casual element and making it an easier option for daily wear.

Faceted crystal

What makes my jaw drop the most is the faceted crystal. This is another design from the ’70s brought back, but with a twist. Many brands implemented a faceted crystal, but the two most notable ones were Seiko and Rado, which did this to their acrylic or mineral crystals to create beautiful reflections and an almost jewel-like effect. Vario goes a step further by bringing back the faceted crystal, but implementing it with sapphire. The crystal plays with the light beautifully, making the dial look different at every angle, and is a nice added detail that brings even more attention to that rich red fume. Unlike acrylic or mineral crystal, sapphire doesn’t scratch, or it’s extremely difficult to scratch, meaning the clarity and angles of the crystal will look spectacular for years or generations to come.

The comfortable stretchy metal bracelet of the Vario Futurist — ^{Metal “elastic” bracelet @horologyobsessed}

SPECS

Case	316L Stainless Steel 49mm Diameter 48mm Lug to Lug 10mm Thick 20mm Lug Width Screw Down Caseback 100m Water Resistance
Dial & Crystal	Faceted Sapphire Sunburst Fume Dial Baton Handset C3/BGW9 Super-LumiNova
Movement	Miyota 9039 Automatic 24 Jewels 28 800 vph/3hz 40-Hour Power Reserve
Strap	Veg Tan Italian Embossed Leather

Vario Futurist

Quibbles

My experience with the Futurist has been a blast, and every part of the wearing experience has been fantastic. Apart from the aforementioned lug-to-lug feeling a tad tall, it really depends on which strap or bracelet you have on. With the leather strap, it feels slightly too tall, but it sits perfectly on the wrist with the elastic metal bracelet. There’s also an included NATO strap, which I didn’t photograph at all due to one simple issue: because the Futurist is a bullhead watch and the crown is at 12:00, the NATO doesn’t allow enough clearance to completely pull the crown out. If you do manage to get it out, you really have to pull to get the fabric to move enough to release the crown. I didn’t bother putting it back on for that reason. That’s my only “quibble.”

Vario Futurist engraved caseback — ^{Vario Futurist @horologyobsessed}

Final Thoughts & Pricing

The Vario Futurist brought me to a space of reflection throughout various stages of my life and a place of gratitude. Watches always surprise me in terms of where they’ll take me or what adventures follow once they hit my wrist, and I’m happy with the experience I’ve had with the Futurist. It’s a watch from the ’70s built for the modern-contemporary watch enthusiast that can also be appreciated as something deeper—a reflection of a design era where all that mattered was creating something beautifully functional. Do I recommend the Futurist? With so much confidence, I say hell yeah. It’s a gorgeous watch that feels fantastic on the wrist, and every second has been such a great experience.

The Futurist retails for $665 ($900 CAD) and is available through the Vario website. As always, thank you so so much for taking the time to check out my review and thoughts on the Vario Futurist. See you in the next one!

About the author

Born into a family obsessed with motorsport, Tyler Frederick became enamoured with speed and beautiful cars at a young age. His love of Formula 1–and all things mechanical–eventually lead him to horology. You can follow him on Instagram.

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