Chinese watch brands can sometimes carry stigma with them in the west due to questionable quality. However, Hong Kong based microbrand Selten is in a completely different ballpark, inspired by the artistry and tradition of European watchmaking to create some impressive watches. Case in point, the new Selten Grand Feu Enamel Series Spiral Sunbird Blue, which we have here for a hands-on review.
I must admit that on first taking the watch out of the packaging my initial impression was that it is a very nice dress watch but not terribly original. The combination of elongated Roman numerals and a railway minute track in silver against a blue backdrop is about as classic as they come. Then I moved it into some better light and realised my mistake.
The dial is hand engraved with a spiral pattern consisting of 700 individually engraved lines produced by Selten’s master artisan Qin (there’s also a straight line version called Flair rather than Spiral). On top of that engraved base is then a layer of grand feu enamel, itself consisting of eight layers of enamel to create a rich colour and baked at 800°C. The enamel surface is then polished by hand to give it a high shine finish that stands out in comparison to the many matte enamel finishes you see.
That level of attention and detail forces me to totally re-evaluate my initial impression. Like the metaphor of the swan, while on the surface the watch appears calm and serene with those classical dress watch elements, the amount of effort that has gone into producing that appearance is impressive. Certain colourways also have thermally blued hands as an extra touch of refinement, though that would clash with the Spiral Sunbird Blue’s dial so they’ve wisely kept them silver here. The other colours are Rustique Red, Prism Violet, Moonstone Blue and Golden Fall.
On the wrist, it wears very comfortably too with a 39mm diameter and 10.9mm thickness. At those proportions it feels more like an everyday beater or casual sports watch than a super slim dress watch but I don’t hate that. It gives it a nice amount of heft creating a reassuring presence. Plus, the lugs have a nice curving arc down to the H-link steel bracelet with leaf spring butterfly clasp.
Powering the Selten Grand Feu Enamel Series Spiral Sunbird Blue is the Swiss Soprod M100 adjusted in five positions with a +/- 6 seconds per day accuracy. The 42-hour power reserve is perfectly reasonable, supplied by a rotor that’s available in two styles of finishing. There’s the standard version with Selten’s logo or, as we have here, an upgraded version with a floral pattern engraving.
As for pricing and availability, the Selten Grand Feu Enamel Series is available from today in an initial production run of 100 pieces. Within that 100, it’s limited to 10 of each of the five colours in the two styles of dial finish. For the Spiral models that initial run has a price of £1,658 and the Flair is £1,432 with the upgraded rotor adding an additional £100. Once the initial run is completed, they will be available strictly made to order at prices of £2,186 and £1,959 with the least popular colours set to be discontinued in time.
Price and Specs:
More details at Selten.
What a beautiful dial! I think the finishing is exceptional, especially at this price point. The extra rotor finishing for just £100 seems a bargain too. The price really is a stand out, considering you also get a respectable movement adjusted to +-6s.
Without considering the price though, I’d personally prefer a different bracelet, which feels too sporty for the dial. It’s like the Sinn bracelets, just with different finishing. There’s no need for the second hand, either, which looks like a small syringe needle in the closeups.
I think it would also benefit from different indices between the quarter hour marks. It’s almost like the hours go 1, 1, 3, 1, 1, 6 etc.
Overall though, I think is an excellent value proposition, it just has a little identity crisis going on too.
I agree with Paul. Beautiful dial, lovely case and crown, the only things that (slightly) let’s it down is the bracelet. That seems to be quite common on many bracelet watches, they appear to concentrate on the watch “head” and then delve into the parts bin of bracelets that spoil the overall effect.