Worn & Wound
Astor+Banks Launches the New Terra Scout, a Contemporary Take on the Classic Field Watch
It’s hard to believe, but Astor+Banks has been around since 2012. That means the brand has seen the incredibly rapid growth of the microbrand watch scene from the inside, and has also been around for some of the bumps in the road that naturally occur as any community expands and changes. Their longevity in the industry is easy to understand when you zoom out and look at how brand founder Andrew Perez has positioned his brand over these last several years, with a series of thoughtful, consistent releases that build on each other gradually. The latest, the Terra Scout, is a new take on the classic field watch as seen through A+B’s perspective, which increasingly involves heavy doses of lume and a more unapologetically contemporary vibe. New takes on the field watch are always a bit of a gamble. It’s such a durable and simple platform, if you make too many changes or adjustments, you begin to bury the very nature of what it’s supposed to be. But it’s also kind of boring to simply recreate the same format over and over again. Recently, I’ve appreciated Aera’s bizarro take on the genre in their M-1 Blackbird, and the Terra Scout reminds me of that watch somewhat. Not in its aesthetic (it’s clearly completely different) but in approach. That’s very intentional on Perez’s part. “I like to get feedback at shows like WindUp and wear the watch for a while before I decide to bring it to market,” he told me over email. “In this case, it took longer than expec...
