Yema Wristmaster Micro-Rotor Limited Edition
What better way to celebrate an incredible new movement than putting it in a sexy limited edition watch? And the Yema Morteau 20 deserves celebrating, given 80% of the micro-rotor equipped calibre’s components are sourced from France rather than Switzerland.
The Yema Wristmaster is available in a trio of colours – green, blue, and black – and the bridges of the movement are matched to the dial, a seriously cool touch we want to see a lot more of. It’s an impressive next step for the French heritage brand.
Price & Specs
- 39mm stainless steel case with 100m (10 bar) water resistance
- Yema calibre Morteau 20 automatic movement with 70h power reserve
- €1,499 (approx. £1,300), limited to 1,948 pieces, available at Yema and Kickstarter.
Milus Snow Star Dark Matter
We’ve seen plenty of dial variations of Milus’s barter box inspired, vintage- slanted Snow Star (including a gorgeous Boreal green), but now they’re taking their aesthetic tweaks one step further with a full DLC case. The Snow Star Dark Matter has a completely different personality to the standard steel versions, and paired with a black dial, feels like a more modern special forces watch than the original US Navy pieces. For that, we love it.
Price & Specs
- 39mm stainless steel case with 100m (10 bar) water resistance
- ETA calibre 2892A2 automatic movement with 42h power reserve
- CHF 1,890 (approx. £1,675), available at Milus.
Von Doren Il Tempo Gigante Automatisk Kronograf
Following up the superb Uraed was always going to be a difficult task, but Von Doren have risen to it magnificently with the petrol-blooded Il Tempo. Dedicated to the car from Norwegian stop motion film “The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix”, the new watch is a 1970s-flavoured racing chronograph with an impressively proportioned case that, if it came on an integrated bracelet could be described as Genta-esque. Instead, it’s a colourful, quirky take on a retro racing stopwatch pared back for daily wear. Equipped with an engine from La Joux-Perret, you’ll need to keep your engines warm to snag one of the under-600 pieces.
Price & Specs
- 41mm stainless steel case with 50m (5 bar) water resistance
- La Joux-Perret calibre L112 automatic movement with 42h power reserve
- €2,995 (approx. £2,600), limited to 577 pieces, available at Von Doren.
Brellum Pandial LE.3 DD DLC
Chronometer Panda-dialled racing chronographs are innately cool. The first two limited edition versions from microbrand Brellum have proven to be incredibly cool. The third and final however is ice cold. Adding to the high contrast black-and-white look, the entire thing – and there’s a lot of it – has been given a DLC makeover, including the bracelet.
This is emphasised by the white-on-black date window and black markets at the cardinal points of the dial, making the Pandial LE.3not only one of the most striking Brellums, but among the most eye-catching panda dialled chronographs around.
Price & Specs
- 43mm stainless steel case with 100m (10 bar) water resistance
- Brellum calibre BR-750-2 automatic movement with 46h power reserve
- £3,060, available at Brellum.
Millar Scuba Black Dive Watch
Not just the performance of a Submariner without the price tag, Millar’s superbly built Scuba dive watch combines a 1950s-slanted lozenge case with a pared-back dial and bezel combo, and a utilitarian vibe (particularly the grippy crown).
Available in a quartet of colours, the black is, for us, the one most faithful to its diving inspirations. It also helps that, with 300m water resistance, a ceramic bezel and a Swiss movement, it’s got more bang for your buck than fishing with dynamite. Which, incidentally, it would make the perfect partner for.
Price & Specs
- 42mm stainless steel case with 300m (30 bar) water resistance
- Sellita calibre SW200 automatic movement with 42h power reserve
- £499, available at Millar.
Varon Chiri Blazer
The business watch is a hard balance to build, somewhere between a casual, everyday wearer and something you can rock at the bar while dressing to impress. The guys at Varon Chiri evidently do yoga because their balance is impeccable. The Blazer is a svelte 38.5mm across with a Miyota movement underneath. All that adds up to a seriously good looking watch for a seriously good looking price – especially if you go for the early bird discount.
Price & Specs
- 38.5mm stainless steel case with 100m (10 bar) water resistance
- Miyota calibre 9039 automatic movement with 42h power reserve
- Kickstarter $420 (approx. £355) / RRP $590 (approx. £500), available at Indiegogo, more details at Varon Chiri.
Brew Method Chronograph
If finding the perfect watch to time your morning wake up of choice just wasn’t esoteric enough, this time caffeinated microbrand Brew have gone above and beyond for the cause of coffee. A spiral scale around the dial lets you time various brewing methods, from espresso to cold brew, neatly set on this fabulous yellow dial. If you thought there were limits to where Brew Watches can take their gloriously niche concept, think again.
Price & Specs
- 40mm stainless steel case with 100m (10 bar) water resistance
- Sellita calibre SW220-1 automatic movement with 38h power reserve
- $375 (approx. £315), available at Brew Watches.
So Labs Layer 2 Automatic
Sometimes a brand just wants to let loose and have fun – and that’s what Astor & Banks have done with So Labs. The layered design is as vibrant and colourful as an acid-laced sweet shop, with a mix of candy pink and bubble gum blue on a pebble-smooth black case. It’s as gloriously 80s as a vintage Ikepod and as the sub-brand’s first automatic watch, a new draw to some of the most fun microbrand watches around.
Price & Specs
- 40mm stainless steel case with 100m (10 bar) water resistance
- Sellita calibre SW220-1 automatic movement with 38h power reserve
- $1,295 (approx. £1,095), available at So Labs.
