Calgari is an Amsterdam-based watch design studio founded in 2019. They specialise in combining vintage inspired aesthetics with street cool design, which essentially means a retro watch with casebacks that in some cases literally depict the streets of Amsterdam. Well, the bridges of Amsterdam. Their signature models are the Dimora Panda and Nero Reverse Panda chronographs, which I’ve been hands on with to learn more.
Both versions of the watch measure 40mm in diameter with an 11.6mm thickness, which is a great size for a sporty chronograph because it doesn’t weigh you down while you’re out at the track day while staying legible. It also provides plenty of space to house the polished, square chronograph pushers that control the 60-second and 60-minute counters. On the caseband opposite the crown is a commemorative plate marking the limited-edition number.
The dials are where the vintage inspiration really comes to the fore. Recessed subdials with azurage finishing (a fancy term for concentric circles) sit in smooth dials on top of which sit raised diamond-cut indexes. The Dimora Panda edition features the classic white dial and black subdials colour scheme popularised in the 1960s and the Nero Reverse Panda is unsurprisingly the opposite. When it comes to vintage inspired design, you’re generally not judging a watch on creativity, you’re judging on execution, and I think the dials look really smart. The prominent layering of the features is enough to give the watches a distinctive character.
When you do press the chronograph start pusher, which is firm but not stiff, the central chrono seconds hand jumps into action with a smooth sweep motion. That’s because the movement inside is the Seiko VK64 meca-quartz, a hybrid calibre that uses a quartz regulator for the core timekeeping functions but a mechanical chronograph complication. That’s how you get the continuous chronograph motion rather than the deadbeat seen on pure quartz examples.
Turning over the watches, the Calgari Dimora Panda has that aforementioned Amsterdam caseback with a depiction of the city’s bridges. The Nero Reverse Panda instead has a rendition of the brand’s spade logo, which is also found on the crown of both models. Perhaps it’s a little fanciful but my brain makes the association between spades and cards and then also between Nero and Caeser to make me think of Las Vegas casinos, which is kind of cool too. Though in reality Nero just means black in Italian.
Both watches are priced at €469.95 (approx. £412) and presented on tactical sailcloth straps with rubber hole reinforcement. The Dimora has a sand-coloured strap while the Nero’s is black. Of the two I find myself favouring the Dimora Panda though that’s purely personal preference as the Nero Reverse Panda is solid too.
Price and Specs:
More details at Calgari.
