Flux Quadras
The brainchild of interventional pain management doctor (and watch obsessive) Albert Lai and watch designer Jayson de Castro, the Flux Quadras is all flowing curves and retrofuturism. A collaboration between manufacturers across Switzerland, China, Japan, and the US, the complex, multi-layered case is like a vintage cushion number through the lens of 2001: A Space Odyssey, crowned with a gorgeous flinque enamel dial.
Perhaps the most distinctive part of the Quadras however, isn’t its shape – there are a lot of crazy silhouettes out there – but the bracelet. Not only does it look and feel fantastic, but it’s also a bracelet that you can add and remove links from without tools. Interested? Right now, you can get your hands on the Flux at a substantial early bird discount.
Price and Specs:
More details at Flux.
Nadir Vespera Grey
Forget the usual traveller’s watches aimed squarely at the jet-set; Vespera’s adventurous Nadir is built like a black box and just as likely to survive a crash landing – and with its muscular shoulders it has even more impact. Available in a trio of colours, our pick is the monochromatic silver version, which hammers home the industrial vibes like a rivet into a fuselage, and shows off the kind of dial Micromilspec would be proud of.
The dual time functionality is done compressor-style, with a second crown right on the corner of the cushion-adjacent case. These are, of course, knurled for easier operation and the whole thing is set on a chunky leather strap, channelling cockpit cool for a surprisingly accessible price tag.
Price and Specs:
More details at Nadir.
Monovant Rheon Imperial Jade
Forget malachite; if you’re after a gorgeous green stone dial, imperial jade has you covered. Or it would if the evocative Chinese stone wasn’t incredibly hard to get hold of. And yet the lozenge-cased Rheon from tech-forward microbrand Monovant uses it well.
It’s not all about the colour and grain of the stone of course; the retro-futuristic case is an easy-wearing stunner, similar in shape to 1970s icons like the Rado Diastar, but with its own personality. Then there are the techy elements. The Rheon comes with an NFC-ready leather strap and is presented in a 3D printed box shaped like a Grecian column, referencing the brand’s home country. Even without all the peripherals however, this is a great-looking watch with a uniquely stunning dial. And hey, if the…
Price and Specs:
More details at Monovant.
Camp Fieldtimer Florida Green
At a glance, the Camp Fieldtimer is just another, if funkily coloured, field watch. It’s not. Yes, it ticks all the same boxes – solid, everyday 100m water resistance, a rugged, streamlined case, large, readable numerals – but the details say so much more. For one, those numerals are ripped from the Royal Prussian Rail Administration from 1905, the colour and name of the watch are taken from one of the BMW 02’s rarest colours, Florida Green, and the crosshairs reference 1970s instrument panels.
Oh, and for once, that ghostly green isn’t full lume; it’s actually made from 15 layers of enamel for a gorgeous depth of colour. Supplied with three different straps – including a funky Bonklip – the more you look at this apparently simple field watch, the more you realise just how complex it is.
Price and Specs:
More details at Camp.
Zeruzzi Faze 1
As atypical, asymmetrical case shapes continue to pick up steam, Daniel Serussi – the designer behind nascent watch brand Zeruzzi – is looking for someone to hold his drink. The entire concept behind the brand is a case designed to look like the profile of a human face. Granted, there’s some artistic license; I hope my face doesn’t look like this. But despite the more avant-garde take, it’s still instantly recognisable – and it’s certainly a statement.
At just 36mm across and 7.1mm thin, the Faze 1’s visual impact belies its dress watch sizing, which thanks to an ETA quartz movement balances slimness and accessibility. It’s not just the impact on the wrist however, as the Faze 1 comes with one of the most mesmerising watch boxes we’ve ever come across, an aluminium cast of a face.
Price and Specs:
More details at Zeruzzi.
AIGI Gruvebus
A tribute to a now-defunct mine in Svalbard, deep inside the Arctic Circle, the AIGI Gruvebus is probably the only coal-inspired watch around. The dial – here in a fitting black but also available in blue, white, and green – has a distinctive pattern taken from Svalbard’s bedrock. It’s not just inspired by either; AIGI used actual coal to press the texture into the lacquer, and the result is awesome.
It’s not just aesthetically tied to the mines. Similar to brands like Protec, the Gruvebus uses self-illuminating gas tubes so that, even if you don’t see the sun for days (a problem in the Arctic Circle, even above ground), it’ll glow enough for you to easily tell the time. It’s tough, practical and like all AIGI watches, it’s eminently affordable at just over £900 on preorder.
Price and Specs:
More details at AIGI.
Minim MN01 Laan4
This might just be the best value-for-money guilloche I’ve ever come across – and these days, that’s a very, very high bar. Founded by Hong Kong-born Londoner Chloe Chan, Minim (meaning autumn in Chinese) is very much inspired by late 20th century dress watches, which comes across in the coin-edge bezel, the diminutive 36.5 sizing, the silvered ring of Roman numerals, and yes, the guilloche.
That finishing’s particularly eye-catching in the Laan4 model, which takes its royal purple colouring from orchids. That purple really helps the different types of guilloche across small seconds subdial, inner dial and outer ring pop in a way I’d expect from the likes of Torsti Laine. Granted, it’s done via CNC rather than an artisan’s painstaking hand, but when it means you can get a watch like this for just under £1,000, it’s still nothing short of spectacular.
Price and Specs:
More details at Minim.
Hilli Sport Chronograph Green Panda
Do you like the old-school high contrast of a racy Panda dial but need a bit more colour in your life? Look no further than Hilli Sport Chronograph. The name says it all. This is a racing-inspired chronograph (read tachymeter) with a microbrand staple movement in the Seiko VK63 mecha-quartz, combining quartz precision with a mechanical chronograph. But then there’s the colour.
‘Green’ doesn’t really do it justice. In fact, it’s pretty close – along with the racing link – to the Mercedes-AMG Petronas livery that IWC love so much, here contrasting with plenty of black across subdials, bezel and pushers. It’s a punchy watch with a price tag that’s aimed squarely at the kind of motoring-obsessed impulse buyers that (like me) will instantly adore this dial. Not a bad start for a brand only founded this year.
Price and Specs:
More details at Hilli.
