Solar watches traditionally have one compromise: for the solar cell behind the dial to work, light must pass through it. This forces manufacturers to use transparent, translucent, or dark dials with limited texture and character. Islander decided to reject this compromise.
The Saltaire is built on the Miyota 2070 Ring Solar movement, a technical solution where the solar collector is not located behind the dial, but directly in the rehaut, i.e., in the minute ring around the perimeter of the dial. The bezel collects the light, not the dial's base. The result is a fully opaque, solid metal dial with an embossed texture and smooth depressions under the applied indices. A surface that would not be possible to use with conventional solar power. Silver indices and hands with red accent details on the second hand and dial complete the image of a clean, optically strong whole.
When fully charged, the movement lasts approximately four months without further light input, with an accuracy of ±20 seconds per month. The low charge indicator is elegantly mechanical: once the voltage drops below the threshold, the second hand switches from one-second jumps to two-second jumps, providing an instantly legible signal without any additional display or indicator.
The steel bracelet with solid links and solid end links tapers from 20mm at the case to 18mm at the clasp. The link screws allow for shortening without special tools. The clasp is equipped with micro-adjustment.
