Why do we choose minimalist watches?
Today we compare Briston, Mondaine, Junghansand Meistersinger, to find out what makes these watches so special.
Read the transcript of the video below:
What makes them special and why do minimalist watches exist?
Hello, welcome to a new review that we are doing on our Iguana Sell channel today with watchmaking and a topic that is quite common in watchmaking offices, which is minimalist watches. Today we are going to present you four watches, which we are going to see different brands, different watches, consequently different sizes and different characteristics that make them very special watches and very deserving of being the protagonists of this review. What is a minimalist watch??
Fundamentally, a minimalist watch is a watch that is very focused on its essential function, that has no decorations, that does not have superfluous themes, let's say, that does not distract you from the main function that it aspires to fulfill or have that clock: know what time it is.
In fact, today for this review I am actually wearing a Mondaine which we are going to talk about today about a little brother of his, but which is a very minimalist watch, very simple and very focused on its main function as we were commenting.
So, without further ado, let's start with the first of the watches in this review, which is our 24mm Briston, a Briston that is a women's watch or aimed primarily at a female audience. What makes this minimalist watch something special? Well, first of all, it is a very evocative design, let's say, of elegance and a certain vintage and classic touch that is very marked. It is a watch that has one of the classic Briston boxes, which are these boxes that have this more or less square shape or are closely linked, let's say, with that classic design from the 70s, and where it has a completely black dial where it The only thing we see are two golden hands, or in fact rose gold, which are the ones that tell us the time. This is a watch that will never go out of style but will always be a beautiful watch. The strap is obviously a very long strap because it winds up on itself, which makes this watch something halfway between a classic watch and a much more accessory or much more fashionable accessory.
Along with that, we move on to the next little brother, let's say or partner in this review, which is the Mondaine Classic. Mondaine is the official brand of Swiss train stations. Why is it a minimalist watch? Because it is exclusively focused on knowing what time it is, which is obviously a critical aspect for train stations. We see a white dial, tremendously marked, completely rectilinear indices that clearly indicate where the hours are, and what we have are two very marked black hands, also rectangular, that contrast with the red dial and seconds hand. It also has the detail of the circle that is the same red detail on the second hand, which we also find on the crown of the watch. When we turn around, the straps that are black also have this red background behind them in that same game of blacks and reds that are the two colors, let's say, flag, of Mondaine as a brand. We don't have complications, we don't have derivations, we don't have strange or lesser-known shapes, but rather it's a game between pure geometric shapes. But it is a watch in my opinion that focuses a lot on that timeless design. And also when we are in Switzerland and we see it at the train stations, it is always a very nice wink.
Along with that, we are going to the next partner in this review, which is a Junghans Max Bill. It is a German watch brand and has in the Max Bill series the main series of minimalist watches. Max Bill was one of the greatest exponents of the Bauhaus, which occurred during the Weimar Republic. This particular watch is part of the Max collection, which are the watches designed by Max Bill. In fact, it pays homage to the Bauhaus because it is presented on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of the Bauhaus or of this movement, let's say in design. This watch, as we already saw in the Mondaine, are pure geometric shapes. We have all the indices are absolutely perfect fine lines that go around the dial, the three fundamental hands of the watch are very stylized, very linear, in line with what we were seeing about the indices. And they also have a red highlight inside . That makes it contribute a lot to the readability of the time and the readability of the watch within this sphere. This watch has a single complication that is the day, but with those designs that it has with that number and the way it is placed, it does not detract at all. We found the box that as you can see we have a domed glass. That makes the design a completely neutral design where the protagonist, let's say, is this sphere itself, which is the one that gets all the wide attention. And in that sense, even the crown is a perfect circular crown that integrates perfectly with the case to create a very linear effect, let's say, around that design. And it is a spectacular watch in my opinion.
Along with this we come to the last companion of this review, which is the Meistersinger Pangaea, Meistersinger, which is also a German watch brand and which presents the Pangea 365. This is a watch that, as we saw before in the Max Bill, we see that it also has a very clean sphere, a very clear sphere, but here we already find some more details. It is a slightly larger case, it is already 40 millimeters, we have a crown that is also much more massive in that sense that we see in comparison and it is really much larger, and what is especially particular about this watch, like all Meistersinger watches. , is the theme of the monkey needle. This sphere is a sphere of that ivory color which is the quintessential color with which Meistersinger began. It's a very vintage dial , it's a very clean dial, we find the numbers along the length of the dial, which also have a very vintage touch and don't exactly distract us from the beauty of the whole. And they will also contrast with the hour indices that are marked in blue. That makes reading it now, even though it's a mono-needle, very simple and very easy and doesn't confuse us at all. It is also very interesting that the needle, or the mono needle in this case, is very long let's say it balances a lot out there in the design and is a main feature of the Meistersinger Pangea series. And what makes this watch especially interesting together with its own aesthetic that it has, let's say so marked, is that we also find here on the back that it has elita movements with a more oscillating one of its own with Meistersinger. But we have also marked the 1 of 200, together with it, it incorporates a leather strap, with stitching, marked very classic in Meistersinger and of that very dark brown that with the ivory color of the sphere generates a beautiful effect.
In my opinion, they are very beautiful watches, they are watches that will always be in style, that will always fit well, that in the end of what it is about in watchmaking that we like is to keep it over time, even bequeathing it to the following generations and a minimalist watch, in that sense, responds very well to that goal.
Well, nothing, I hope you liked it, comments, opinions, we will be happy to read and receive them. And as we always say, you can subscribe to our channel and you will have many more reviews that you can see. Thank you very much and greetings. Bye.
