The Vibrant And Accessible Selten Grand Feu Enamel

We frequently search for creativity and originality in watches, whether or not they come from a mainstream title or a microbrand. When that’s blended with a show of expertise, our coronary heart price spikes a bit extra, as you’ll be able to think about. And by chance, creativity, originality and craftsmanship are nonetheless present in abundance! A effective instance of this magical trifecta is the brand new Selten Grand Feu Enamel. Whereas its title leaves little doubt as to what it’s about, it comes with a ton of attention-grabbing little particulars and design parts that elevate it to a really compelling watch on all fronts!

Selten is a microbrand from Hong Kong, based by Leonardo Tsai in 2017, with the intent of making authentic watches that mix heritage and innovation. Whereas heritage is tough to return by, if not not possible, for an upstart model with no historical past to look again on, it may be present in craftsmanship. And that’s precisely what Selten goals to do, by means of all its collections thus far. This newest addition to Selten’s incorporates one of many oldest and most cherished metiers d’artwork methods: Grand Feu Enamel. Within the seek for the proper dial for this new watch, Leonardo met with Qin, a self-taught enamel artist, engraver and jeweller from China. And by the seems to be of it, Qin is a grasp in his craft!

The dial is the primary speaking level right here, and it is available in two carefully associated kinds and in 5 totally different colors. The dial is hand-carved to get both a sunray-brushed or spiralling sample, with 700 grooves radiating from the centre. They’re every given their very own title, with Flare for the straight line dial, and Spiral for the, nicely, spiralling one. It takes as much as 5 hours of labour to create a single dial, earlier than it’s given its color. And talking of which, Selten affords a set of 5 very distinct and vibrant tones to select from: Prism Violet, Sunbird Blue, Rustique, Golden Fall and Moonstone.

After the grooves have been reduce into the dial clean, it’s coated with a translucent enamel to offer it depth and shine, earlier than being completed with printed markers and particulars. Elongated Roman numerals and a railroad-style minute observe are classical parts in watch design, however by no means exit of favor. So as to add an additional contact of class, the central minute and seconds palms have a bent tip, whereas the hours are indicated with an observatoire-style hand. Within the Golden Fall and Moonstone iterations, the seconds hand can be thermally blued. The consequence may be very spectacular, because the dial may be very energetic and throws round mild as you put on it, and seemingly modifications colors as you go about your enterprise.

All that is set in a properly proportioned metal case of 39mm in width and 10.9mm in peak. The ending is a mixture of brushed sections, on the caseband and the lugs, for example, and polished ones. The bezel has a concave profile and is totally polished, and there’s a sapphire crystal on either side of the case. The crown has a flat-onion-like design and is straightforward to grip and manipulate. The water-resistance is rated at 50m. All issues thought of, the match and end are fairly good and actually stunned me in a great way! It’s a considerate design with attention-grabbing particulars with out being revolutionary.

Whereas earlier collections by Selten have relied on actions from Miyota, the Grand Feu Enamel vary is an enormous step up by way of mechanics. It makes use of the Soprod M100 computerized, which might be seen by means of the again. It’s basically an evolution of the Soprod A10 calibre and, at coronary heart, a clone of the ETA 2892. It runs at frequency of 28,800vph and delivers 42 hours of operating time. The ending is sort of acceptable, with effective brushing, perlage and blued screws. The hand-engraved rotor you see on this Golden Fall version is a USD 100 premium.

The Selten Grand Feu Enamel is fitted to a grained leather-based strap with a pin buckle and quick-release pushpins as customary. On prime of that, it’s also possible to go for two kinds of bracelets. Whereas they appear equivalent, and each have a spring-loaded butterfly clasp, the distinction is the micro-adjustable end-links to permit for that additional little bit of flexibility throughout your day. With out it, Selten costs an additional $80 for the bracelet, and with it, that jumps to $150. In the course of the pre-order window, which begins right now (Might twenty second), the costs are USD 1,899 for the Flare dial and USD 2,199 for the Spiral dial. The common costs for each are USD 2,599 and USD 2,899. All issues thought of, that isn’t too dangerous for a watch with such a placing dial! Not too dangerous in any respect!

For extra info or to safe a pre-order, please go to SeltenWatch.com.