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, semi-transparent, or dark dials with limited texture and character. Islander decided to reject this compromise.
The Saltaire is based 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 circumference of the dial. Light is collected by the bezel, not the dial's substrate. The result is a fully opaque, solid metal dial with an embossed texture and smooth recesses under the applied indices. A surface that would be impossible to use with a conventional solar movement. Silver indices and hands with black accent details on the seconds hand and dial complete the picture of a clean, optically strong whole.
When fully charged, the movement runs for approximately four months without further light input, with an accuracy of ±20 seconds per month. The low battery indicator is elegantly mechanical: once the voltage drops below a threshold, the seconds hand switches from one-second jumps to two-second jumps, providing an instantly readable 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. Screw links allow for shortening without special tools. The clasp is equipped with micro-adjustment.
