CIGA Design Time Cipher, $899 (approx. £675)
Riffing on the aesthetics of the legendary Ulysse Nardin Freak, CIGA Design’s latest proves that the Chinese brand can hold their own against the biggest players. Dark and dramatic with a black dial that absorbs 99.3% of light, a wandering hours arm doubles as the minute hand for a visual representation of time on the move. Housed in a pebble-round case that measures in a substantial 45mm of stainless steel, this is a watch with serious impact on the wrist – and despite the novel complication and automatic movement is temptingly affordable.
Price and Specs:
More details at CIGA Design.
Ferro & Co Paramount Pistachio, £725
We all love a nutty microbrand watch and the latest colourful number from Ferro takes that literally. The Paramount has draped it’s Art Deco good looks in a summer-ready (and Oris-adjacent) mix of pistachio green and deep pink handset. There are no seconds here, instead opting for a calmer, more collected look that looks fantastic on the hand-matched pink strap. Powered by a classic hand-wound Sellita movement and solid lume numerals, it’s the Roaring Twenties via the Italian Riviera – gelato included.
Price and Specs:
More details at Ferro & Co.
UWO Nixie Tube Watch
Nothing stirs up nostalgia like the warm glow of a 1950s Nixie tube, and UWO’s rose-tinted debut is equal parts steampunk weirdness and ’50s archival comfort. Built from a pair of old, rescued computing Z5900M tubes, the oversized, retrofuturistic digital display is set into a rectangular titanium case measuring 45mm by 36mm and secured with a sapphire crystal. Given nobody still makes Nixie tubes (for good reason), UWO are giving a new lease of life to what otherwise would be considered obsolete. Let’s hope we all get so lucky when we’re getting on a bit.
As of writing the UWO Nixie Tube Watch is still on Kickstarter but has already reached its funding goal.
Price and Specs:
More details at UWO on Kickstarter.
De Rijke & Co. X Guy Allen Amazon, €4,595 (approx. £4,000)
Driving watch brand De Rijke are reprising their ongoing collaboration with Norfolk-based artist Guy Allen for a trio of metiers d’art watches – of which the jungle green Amazon is the most adventurous. I mean that literally, as the gorgeous Champlevé enamel dial combines shimmering leaves with a Land Rover Defender ploughing through the terrain. Housed in a 38.2mm ceramic case, it’s cool, vibrant and evocative. Sure, it’s a bit pricier than most microbrand watches, but what you’re getting is a genuine piece of art.
Price and Specs:
More details at De Rijke & Co.
Xalt Axiom Fire Opal, £820
With a case like a chiselled H. Moser & Cie Streamliner and a dial literally chiselled from Australian opal, this edition of the Xalt Axiom is part sleek, ultra-modern machining and part rainbow-hued ostentation. With sharp indexes and a railway minutes track, it lets the natural charms of the opal do the hard work, keeping perfect time with an accessible, Swiss quartz movement. Thanks to the movement, it’s also an incredibly slim watch at just 5.6mm high. If it weren’t quartz, this could well be a pricey piece; as it is, it’ll set you back under £900. If that’s not impulse buy material, nothing is.
