I’m no stranger to Brathwait. I was one of the first ever to release a review of their first model, the Classic Slim. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing the Minimalist Automatic, the Swiss Automatic, and the Swiss Classic. Ok, the names aren’t that exciting, and this model is just a tad more so – named the “Minimalist Luminous”. I’ve always found their watches to be great quality and aggressively priced, especially the gold Swiss Classic.

Let’s checkout the Brathwait Minimalist Luminous to see if it lives up to it’s brothers and sisters.

The specs

• Dimensions: 40mm diameter x 12mm height x 42.5mm lug to lug
• Weight: 76g
• Water resistance rating: 10 ATM / 100m
• Movement: Ronda Cal. 1004
• Lug width: 20mm
• Warranty: 1 year
• Price: $279 / £210
• Available from: https://www.brathwait.com/products/the-minimalist-luminous-steel-melano-top-grain-italian-calf-leather-strap

The case

The case of the Brathwait Minimalist Luminous is fully polished, with a slightly angular barrel shape. the 40mm diameter is decent, but the 12mm height is quite a surprise for a quartz movement – ideally it would be a tad thinner.

The lugs stick straight out a 45 degree angle; with a simple elegance to them.

The caseback is secured in place with 6 screws, which is also fully polished. It has Brathwait in the centre surrounded by various specifics which are laser etched.

Sitting on top of the case is a single domed sapphire crystal. As it’s only domed on top, you do get distortion at tight angles. It has a fairly decent anti-reflective coating, but the heavily domed nature of it still provides reflections.

The push-pull crown has decent grip and the Brathwait logo accurately but lightly engraved on the end. It’s rather small, and fits into scale with the case.

The dial

The dial is a sandwich dial – where the hour markers and numerals are cut out of the top level, revealing a lumed layer below. This is a nice surprise which I didn’t initially expect.

Personally I think they could do with the cut outs being thicker as they are a bit on the thin side which effects legibility. However, these cut outs are exceptionally neat and

As well as being sandwich, it’s also a domed dial – a sloped downward edging created an interesting visual impression.

A small seconds hand subdial resides at a lower level in the bottom half of the dial, with a lovely crisp cut out. The hand is black so a little hard to see.

The main hour and minute hands have thick black borders which reduces the size visually, also effecting legibility. The hands are long, elegant, pointed sword shaped arrows.

The printing is kept to a minimal on the dial which is fresh – the logo is located within the top half and there’s just the small seconds track around the small running seconds subdial.

This watch is named the “Minimalist Luminous” – so how’s the lume? It’s average and what you’d expect for a watch of this price to be honest. It’s just a shame they didn’t really go for it.

The strap

The strap comes loaded with quick release pins, which I always like to see – in my opinion every strap should come with them.

The leather has a very nice texture to it – super soft and supple, and feels great quality on the wrist. It has a matching black stitching.

The strap is loaded with a standard, but well constructed butterfly clasp, which is fully polished to match the case. It has the Brathwait logo deeply and accurately engraved on the top bar. I usually find it tends to get a bit uncomfortable after a long day’s wear, but that might just be me as I find that with all butterfly clasps.

The movement

The movement powering the Brathwait is the Ronda 1004. It’s Swiss Made and boasts 10 jewels. It’s gold plated and has a 25 month battery life. It’s not an exciting movement, but it’s dependable and well made. It’ll be a long-lasting and trustworthy movement.

Final comments

As is usually the case, I find the quality of this Brathwait to be solid in terms of fit and finish. There’s a couple of things I’d like to change – the cut outs should be a little thicker, and the hands should be a bit more legible (not using a black seconds hand, and not as thick borders on the hours and minute hands).

Whilst these would be nice-to-have improvements, the dial is still a lovely part of the watch – well designed, with an uncommon domed / sandwich crossover.

With code JCF15, it makes it under £190 which is a very tempting proposition.

GET 15% OFF ALL BRATHWAIT ORDERS BY CLICKING HERE AND USING CODE JCF15!

The post Brathwait Minimalist Luminous Watch Review appeared first on 12&60.

I’ve reviewed a fair number of Brathwait’s: the Classic Slim, Automatic Minimalist, and the Swiss Automatic (they probably could do with a better naming tradition). Now I’m pleased to take a look at another one of their offering – the Swiss Classic. Not only one though, but two versions – the more traditional and classic Gold, and the more casual black Gun Metal.

They both come in at a pretty crazy $159 / £125, and if they’re like any other Brathwait I’ve handled, they’re due to be great value for money – especially as they contain a Swiss Made quartz movement for this price. Let’s take a closer look.

The specs

• Dimensions: 38mm diameter x 6.5mm height x 46mm lug to lug
• Weight: 88g
• Water resistance rating: 10ATM / 100m
• Movement: Ronda (515?)
• Lug width: 20mm
• Warranty: 1 year
• Price: $159 / ~£125
• Available from:
  • https://www.brathwait.com/products/swiss-classic-gold-stainless-steel-mesh-strap
  • https://www.brathwait.com/products/swiss-classic-wrist-watch-black-gun-metal-black-mesh-strap

The case

The case is a distinct vintage shape, with a domed sapphire crystal and retro angular case.

The quality of finish is excellent, with crisp edging and interesting angles for what is in reality a petite case. On the Gold version the case is fully brushed bar the bezel; which is polished. The Gun Metal version retains the polished bezel but utilises a more industrial and casual blasted finish on the case.

The single domed sapphire crystal has good AR coating – which is especially noticeable on the Gold version, but that’s probably just due to the lighter dial which tend to naturally show less.

The push-pull crown is very small and can be difficult to use; thankfully as the movement is quartz you won’t have to use it often. It is simple in design: with a rounded tip and minimal grip.

The screw-in caseback is also simple enough, with the Brathwait logo across the centre and details surrounding it.

The dial

The dial is also vintage inspired, thanks to the gold accents and the shape of the hour markers and hands.

The Gold version has a splendid sunburst / galvanic steel effect, which reflects the light in a circular motion. The Gun Metal model has a plain matte black base, which makes the dial a little bit plain in my eyes.

The printing on the dial is kept to absolute minimum – it’s literally just the logo in the centre of the top half.

The long, elegant hour markers are gold plated, and are pleasantly deep which signifies quality.

The hands are the same gold plating finish as the hour markers, and are a simple baton shape with pointed tip

The lumed centre consists of lume of adequate strength, but nothing to get excited about.

The bracelet

I do like a good mesh bracelet; and the offering on the Brathwait Swiss Classic is certainly impressive. It’s smooth, comfortable, and very well manufactured for the price.

The bracelet also features quick release pins, which you don’t usually see on a non-leather strap: making it easy to change (not that you would really).

The double locking buckle is a little tricky to adjust: make sure you release the lock from above rather than trying to wedge it open over the top thin bar. The top flap has the Brathwait logo lightly etched on top.

The movement

The movement used is just labelled by it’s manufacturer – Ronda. The model itself isn’t specified, although I’d hazard a guess at it being the 515. Whatever it is, it’s a Swiss Made quartz – so you’ve got a pretty good guarantee that it’s a solid, dependable movement that’ll last the test of time.

Final comments

For the RRP of $159 / ~£125, there’s absolutely no denying that the Brathwait Swiss Classic is a much better choice than other designer alternatives such as Skagen. The Gold especially looks extremely luxurious for the price – it gives you the feeling that it looks much more than it costs, which is always great and one I look out for as a sign of a class watch.

It’s not a massive amount of money, but the fit, finish and appearance of the Brathwait Swiss Classic is excellent for what you’re paying. The Gold is my favourite, with the sunburst dial working so well with the polished gold and steel. The Gun Metal is still a lovely watch, but doesn’t have the same visual glamour.

Get 15% off all Brathwait orders by clicking here and using code JCF15!

The post Brathwait Swiss Classic Watch Review appeared first on 12&60.

I was proudly one of the very first reviewers to feature both the Brathwait Classic Slim and Automatic Minimalist. Without a doubt, their watches always prove to be great value for money; they are well designed, well built, all at a competitive price.

When they released their latest offering, the Swiss Made Automatic, I was very excited. This watch should literally take the timepieces to the next level. Better craftsmanship, better movement, same great design. Obviously the price is higher at $595 / £460, but for a Swiss auto that’s still a great deal. Let’s see if that is the case.

The specs

• Dimensions: 38mm diameter x 10mm height x 45.5 mm lug to lug
• Weight: 80g
• Water resistance rating: 100m
• Movement: Sellita SW260-1
• Accuracy: -2.8 s/d
• Lug width: 20mm
• Warranty: 1 year
• Price: $595 / £460

The dial

The dial of the Brathwait Swiss Made Automatic is a similar style to all their designs; minimal, classy.

The quality of finishing is exquisite. Although it’s simple in nature, everything is crisp and precise. The print work, hands, hour markers; all are perfectly executed.

The dial features thin and elegant, flat dauphine hands with lumed centres.

There are also applied baton hour markers. Polished to match the case, they are well finished and feature a little lumed pip at the base. This pip is a welcome little surprise, one that you don’t necessarily notice at first glance.

The lume used on the hand and pips is very strong; it lasts a while and charges quickly. It’s certainly above average for a watch of this price (apart from Seiko of course).

The running seconds hand is housed in the subdial at 6. The subdial sits at a lower level, providing a subtle sense of depth. The hand is a straight point.

The date window is located at 3 with a matching date wheel. It has an exquisite border surround to it, well executed under close scrutiny.

All of the printing across the dial is precise and fine. It’s all fairly minimal, the logo in the top half, a minute track, and markings for the subdial – not forgetting the Swiss Made text at the foot of the dial.

The case

The case is a pleasant size at 38mm, one that is well suited to smart attire. It also has a reasonable weight of 80g, and an average height of 10mm. All result in a well balanced, comfortable wear.

The case is highly polished with a splendid variety of facets and angles creating reflections all over – just be careful that you don’t put any hairline scratches on the mirror finish. The case features thin and elegant lugs, fluidly sweeping from the case.

The domed top sapphire crystal provides a clear view of the crisp white dial. It’s single domed, so it distorts at tight angles.

The push-pull crown has the logo laser etched on end – I personally think it would have been nice if it was engraved however. It is easy to use, thanks to the very good grip.

The screw-in caseback is simple enough, with the logo located in the centre with batch details and other specs surrounding it.

The strap

The leather strap is made of premium top grain Italian leather. Let me tell you, it’s very soft, luxurious and feels beautiful. The top has a lovely natural matte finish to it, which I much prefer to a fake alligator stamp or patent finish.

I’m always happy to see quick release pins included on a strap, and Brathwait include them on all of their watches. They make changing straps simple and quick, without the risk of damaging the case or lugs.

The butterfly clasp is a fairly regular affair. It is fully polished to match the case, with some attractive pearlage on the inside. The top bar has the Brathwait logo deeply engraved on it.

One thing I have found is that the underside of the clasp can dig into the wrist a bit, so sometimes it’s difficult to wear it for prolonged periods of time – but I find that with all butterfly clasps so it’s not an issue directly related to the Brathwait Swiss Made Automatic.

The movement

The movement powering the Brathwait Swiss Automatic is the Sellita SW260-1. Whilst I’ve not come across this particular movement before, I’ve seen it’s brother the SW200 a good number of times – the only difference between them is the small seconds hand.

Sellita did a lot of subcontracting for ETA in the past before releasing their own equivalents to the ETA 28xx range. Many people actually prefer Sellita due to their newer tooling machines as well as adding in an extra jewel. Personally, I really like them and they always perform well. This exact movement is used in a number of other luxury watches, the most notable being the Baume & Mercier Clifton.

The SW260-1 has 31 jewels, a 38 hours power reserve, and of course runs at a high beat of 28.8k bph (8 ticks per second). It’s also a reasonably nice looking movement, so it’s a shame you can’t see it.

Using my Lepsi Watch Scope, I’ve measured the accuracy to be a very impressive -2.8 sec / day. That’s within COSC specs, which is a great plus.

Final comments

I’ve always found that Brathwait watches are impeccably made. Their fit and finishing is spotless and their timepieces look impressive on the wrist.

The Swiss Automatic, however, takes this on a whole other level. The quality is staggering – it’s a real beauty thanks to lovely design and flawless construction.

Swiss Made automatics always demand a premium, but in reality $595 / £460 is a very good deal. Brathwait like to be a bit disruptive, and with their “transparent” marketing they’re doing a good job at that. It’s good that they’re also making decent watches to go along with it. The amount of watches going for around the $500 mark with Miyota movements in surprises me (no way should they be that much), so to pay a little bit extra for a completely Swiss Made timepiece is a no brainer.

Get 15% off all Brathwait orders by clicking here and using code JCF15!

The post Brathwait Swiss Made Automatic Watch Review appeared first on 12&60.

My original Brathwait Classic Slim Quartz review has proved to be a real hit, as it consistently performs well as one of the top 5 reviews read every month.

That was their very first model, which was only available in rose gold. Now though, they’ve released a full stainless steel version. It’s only available with a leather strap, so it’ll cost you $185 rather than $150.

Let’s have a brief look to get acquainted with this alternative.

The main things to be aware of is that it’s exactly the same excellent quality as the original rose gold version – it’s simply a steel equivalent. It also features a better box and strap.

The box is much nicer than the original, an unusual square.

The leather strap is very good, and features excellent quick-release pins making changing straps literally a doddle.

As well as the case, the dial’s elements have been changed from rose gold too – so the hour markers and hands are all stainless steel.

All in all, the Brathwait Classic Slim Steel is as enjoyable as the rose gold version, and for $185, it does still provide a lot of watch for the money. The finishing of the case is spot on, and the stand-out specs of sapphire crystal with impressive AR coating and Swiss movement mean it’s as superb as its brother.

Get 15% off all Brathwait orders by clicking here and using code JCF15!

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Brathwait have updated their Minimalist Automatic in three ways – the date window, the box, and the leather straps.

Watch the video below to see all these details in real life (I always think a video gives a better perspective).

Apparently, a number of potential buyers have been in contact with Brathwait concerning the rough date window I pointed out in my review of their Minimalist Automatic review.

Well, I’m pleased to say that Brathwait have worked hard to resolve this issue!

Now, rather than a plain cut straight out of the dial, the date window is surrounded by a delicately executed border. It has a bevelled edge, which means the top level of the dial smoothly reduces to the level of the date window. It is obviously a million times better than before, and very well done to them for making the effort to correct it.

But that’s not all they’ve updated.

The box is now a pleasant affair, providing a pleasing opening experience.

Finally, the leather straps are now available in 4 different colours.

And if that’s not good enough, they now also include quick release spring bars – which in my opinion should be on every single watch going as they’re brilliant. They literally make changing a strap a doddle, and something you can do in 30 seconds without damaging your watch.

So all in all, they’ve done a great job in making an already excellent value for money watch even better!

Get 15% off all Brathwait orders by clicking here and using code JCF15!

The post Brathwait Update The Minimalist Automatic appeared first on 12&60.

UPDATE July 2015: Due to concerns based on my comments regarding the rough edging to the date window, I’m pleased to announce that Brathwait have updated it, and it now has a splendid bevelled border, which is perfectly made. Read the update post here, where I talk about the date window, new box, and new straps that now come with quick release pins. The price has now gone up too, as the original batch were being made at a loss.

My review of Brathwait’s first watch, the Classic Slim, has proved to be extremely popular – in fact, it’s my fourth most read review on Watch It All About. For many watch enthusiasts, though, it being Quartz wasn’t particularly attractive and so Brathwait probably lost some sales due to that. The good news is that they’ve now released an automatic model, named the Brathwait Minimalist Automatic. Costing $265 / £178 $359 / £230, it’s still extremely reasonably priced, and I for one have been pretty excited about it. It definitely has the potential to be even more popular than their first model, as it boasts impressive specs for a very sensible amount of money. Let’s take a look to see if it’s a good buy.

The case

The case supports the Minimalist label. It’s simple in its design, and is rather angular rather than curvaceous. It’s a simple barrel-shaped case, which tucks in at a 45 degree angle just before the screw-in caseback. It is all polished rose gold plated, which is pleasantly well finished and manufactured.

The case is a reasonable 40mm in diameter, which is proving to be a popular size for smart dress watches nowadays. It has a height of 9mm, which is pretty thin for an automatic watch. It sits under a cuff easily and comfortably. Lug to lug, the case measures in at 46mm, so it is a rather compact watch. It weighs a mere 85g so it’s also pretty light. This means that it’s quite a gentle and comfortable wear on the wrist.

Sitting on top of the case is a domed sapphire crystal, which is 1.9mm thick. It’s got quite a steep dome, which gives a fair bit of distortion at tight angles.

The crown is a push-pull type, and is completely unsigned. It is a sort of onion shape, but is quite small, and in proportion with the case. The grip is gentle and suitable enough to wind the movement and adjust the time.

The Brathwait Minimalist has a water resistance rating of 100m, which is quite good for a dress watch. This is sufficient to be fully submerged, but not too deep.

The caseback, as mentioned before, is screw-in. It features a drawing of mount Everest, and the signatures of 5 of the world’s most experienced sherpas. These were chosen to be featured because they are the people Brathwait admire the most. A really nice touch is how Brathwait donate a day’s wages to the sherpas of Nepal with every watch sold. Can’t argue with that, that’s extremely charitable of them.

So whilst the case is fairly simple, it’s very well made, with no sharp edging anywhere. The polished finish is spotless and has held up extremely well despite me wearing it a lot. So far, so good for the £178 watch.

The dial

As the name suggests, the dial is pretty minimalistic. It’s a slight off-white, almost creamy / champagne in colour. This goes well with the rose gold case, offering an overall light and pleasant appearance.

Printing is kept to a minimal, with logo in top half, automatic at the foot of the dial, and a thin minute track around the outer edge. It’s all fairly precise, although the Automatic at the foot of the dial looks slightly rough under the macro lens. But, this is nothing to worry about, as it’s genuinely minute and looks perfect to the eye.

One thing I really like about the dial is the hour markers, and how they’re long, thin, and channeled in the dial, ending with a small polished rose gold disc. Very minimalistic, yet does the job surprisingly well. You can see each hour marker easily no matter which angle you look at the dial, which is actually pretty clever how they’ve manage to make these work so well whilst keeping things so simple.

The date window is shut straight out the dial, and is a little rough around the edges when looked at under a macro lens. The date window has now been updated, providing a lovely bevelled border. This creates a smooth transition between the higher level of the dial and the date wheel itself.

The date wheel itself is white with black text, and doesn’t sit too deep. 

Date wheel before:

Date wheel after:

The hands are quite a unique design; flat, thin and elegant with a slight bulge in the middle. They’re very well machined, and the shape is pleasantly simple yet interesting.

The dial does as the watch suggests: minimalistic. Brathwait have done a great job in keeping it interesting whilst also maintaining a refreshingly simplistic approach.

The movement

The movement found in the Brathwait Minimalist Auto is the popular Miyota 9015. This is movement found in the majority of affordable boutique watches nowadays, thanks to the fact that it’s high beat, well-made, and much cheaper than the Swiss alternatives whilst still offering the same specs. One thing that is worth noting is that the rotor on the Brathwait is very noisy – you can hear it spinning around if it’s quiet and you’re wearing it on your wrist. This may cause issue with some, but it is easy to fix by getting a watchmaker to add some oil to the bearing. The movement feels solid in the hand whilst changing the date and time, and gives you the sense of quality and sturdiness. The Miyota 9015 is now very well regarded, so if any non-Swiss movement was to be used, you’ll be hard to find one better.

The strap

The leather strap measures 20mm wide at the lugs, reducing to 18mm at the butterfly clasp – to me, that’s the correct sizing. 

The leather is a red oak brown colour, which suits the rose gold case, and the contrasting cream stitching refers back to the colour of the dial.

The feel of the leather is a little on the hard side, it’s not as soft as I’d like – but it’s perfectly understandable for a watch costing this much. 

The butterfly clasp is polished rose gold plated to match the case. It’s excellently made and finished, but there are a couple of minor points. It can be a little bit hard to click together sometimes, as in you can’t just push it closed, but rather sometimes you need to depress the buttons to fully close it. This can be a little annoying, but it’s nothing that should put you off. The only other thing is that it can get a little uncomfortable after wearing it for quite sometime. Whether that’s because my wrist is an annoying half-hole size so it’s a little tight for me, or because the clasp itself is a tad too deep I’m not sure. Worth mentioning though. 

The clasp has Brathwait deeply engraved on the top bar, perfectly executed.

To be honest, despite these little issues it’s still quite impressive to receive a butterfly clasp on a watch like this, so it actually makes the watch even better value for money. Although the leather strap isn’t anything to write home about, it’s still reasonable enough to not have to change it and is fit for purpose.

Update: The straps are now available in 4 different colours, and all come with quick-release pins.

The competition

There’s two alternatives that immediately come to mind. They’re both smart, classy watches with rose gold cases. Firstly, there’s the Melbourne Parkville. Costing you around £230, it’ll cost you more than the Brathwait, but it is a smaller size at 36mm if the 40mm Minimalist is a bit too large for you. The Rosetta Spiral guilloche dial is stunning.

There’s also the Erroyl Heritage E30, a brilliant first watch from the young, new Australian company. Its price is between the Brathwait and Melbourne at £200, and is a great buy in my eyes. 

Final comments

For £178, I honestly believe this is an outstanding watch. The case is made extremely well, it’s designed wonderfully, and you get a high beat Miyota 9015 movement, sapphire crystal, and butterfly clasp. It’s pretty tough to find a watch offering that for cheaper, so for those of us who like a bargain, the Brathwait is an excellent choice. Given the popularity of their first Quartz model, I have no doubt that the Minimalist auto will be even more well received.

Get 15% off all Brathwait orders by clicking here and using code JCF15!

The post Brathwait Minimalist Automatic Watch Review appeared first on 12&60.

When I first heard of the new affordable watch brand Brathwait, I immediately checked out their website. What I found really intrigued me. They have a complete breakdown of the pricing of their watch, showing how much the case, dial, strap, movement, crystal etc cost exactly. They give you the total price it cost to make it ($75), their price they’re selling it at ($150), and what you’d expect to pay for a watch of the same standard on the high street. This is known as transparent marketing, and in the land of watches, it’s something I’ve never seen before (everlane.com were apparently one of the first to do this, but don’t sell timepieces). This impressed me so much I just had to get a Brathwait Classic Slim watch. Can a watch manufacturer really do this successfully? Read on to find out.

The case

Brathwait is named after Richard Brathwait, “the world’s first acclaimed gentleman”. A British poet, he introduced the notion of the gentleman in 1631 when he published “the complete guide to the English gentleman”. If he was alive today, what watch would he wear? The watch manufacturer bearing his name would no doubt believe it would be theirs.

The Brathwait Classic Slim is without doubt a smart dress watch. Measuring in at 40mm in diameter, and a very thin 7.5mm tall, it is extremely easy to fit under the shirt cuff of gentlemen who love to wear a suit or jacket. Weighing in at a mere 37g without a strap fitted, and just 47g with the NATO strap, it is also extremely lightweight – resulting in an easy, comfortable and unobtrusive wear. With a lug width of a very popular 20mm, it’s easy to switch the strap with an endless selection of others.

A classic dress watch aims to be subtle, elegant and simple. The Brathwait has achieved this.

The case itself is made of AISI (American Iron and Steel Institute) approved 316L stainless steel, costing $9.70 to make. It is covered by a flawless polished rose gold plating, which is extremely reflective. It looks like an excellent quality plating, and that’s backed up by the thickness of it. It’s 6uM thick, which is 6/1000 of a mm (yup, six thousandth of a millimetre). Apparently, this is very thick and should last many a year (around 12) without rubbing away, as 1uM is regarded to last 2 years.

So now we know the techno specs, what’s the case like in the flesh? The finishing is so good, it’s actually very hard to photograph due to the reflection being just like a mirror. All the machining is spot on, with no flaws or sharp edging apparent.

The Brathwait also boats a 1.9mm thick domed sapphire crystal, with a layer of anti-reflective coating on the underside, costing $14.50. Whilst the AR coating provides an appealing blue hue, it doesn’t appear to be the most effective at reducing reflections. This adds to the nightmare of trying to photograph this watch, it’s hard to get a decent face-on shot without seeing yourself in the reflection. Realistically, though, in everyday life it’s not a big deal. Reading the time is still quick and easy thanks to the simple dial. I think it’s great that Brathwait have made the point to include a sapphire crystal. It’s the most pricey part of the watch, and eats the most into their profit, but you get the feeling that they don’t care about that – they just want to create a simple, top-notch watch for as little as possible and pass that onto the purchaser, whilst being as transparent as possible. I love that.

The lugs are very shapely. Looking at the case side-on, you’ll see that they are rather thin and reasonably long, with a gentle curve downwards. From above, they’re a baton shape with slightly curved edges. They’re well designed, and of course, excellently machined.

The push-pull crown is extremely small (as in, about 2mm in diameter), but not in a “looks stupid” kind of way, but rather in a unobtrusive and subtle way. It actually suits the watch well from a design perspective. It has a unsigned end, and a good level of grip, allowing you to easily use it despite its small size. I do like the underneath of the crown. Due to the rear of the case angling inwards toward the smaller caseback, the crown stem is housed by a rounded surround, a nice solution.

Moving on to the shape of the back of the case – it’s much wider on the top side, so it’s angled in toward the caseback. This gives the appearance of the case being thinner than it actually is, due to the fact that when you’re wearing it normally, you can’t really see the sides of the case. This is a good thing on a watch designed to be a gentleman’s dress timepiece.

Just like the rest of the case, the caseback is polished, with a flawless finish, and is secured in place by 4 screws. Where these screws fit is all surprisingly tidy for a watch at this price.

The caseback also has some information deeply engraved on it. Nothing fancy, just “Brathwait” along the centre, and other watch specifics around the outer edge such as “Swiss movement” and “sapphire glass”. They’ve kept it plain and simple, like the whole watch, which is good.

All in all, whilst being uncomplicated (which is the point), the case of the Brathwait Classic Slim watch is machined and finished to an excellent standard despite the price of just $150.

The dial

Simplicity seems to be a running theme here. The dial is very minimal in its design. But, like the case, it is very well executed.

It’s interesting to note that Brathwait apparently used the “golden ratio” in the design of the dial, which has been found in nature.

During the design process, this graphic was placed on the dial, and was used as a base to design the length and max width of the hands, the difference in length between the minute and hour markers, the total length of the hour markers, and the placement of the logo. An intuitive way of designing a watch.

It had a very light beige colouring, which provides a smart appearance and good legibility.

The next thing you notice is the applied hour markers. Thin and long, they look elegant, and don’t detract from the simplicity of the watch. They are also surprisingly well made and applied for a watch at this price. They are all plain stick batons, with a polished finish as high quality as the case, and are aligned and applied perfectly.

Around the outer edge of the dial is a very minimal printed minute track, consisting of thin black dashes at every minute between the applied hour markers. The printing is clean and crisp, with no smudging apparent. Bar the logo, this is the only printing on the dial, keeping it super clear.

The logo is in the usual position centred in the top half of the dial. It is printed rather than any sort of applied logo, and also is quite a small font size. A rather plain sans-serif font has been used, making sure there’s no unnecessary complication with the dial. Personally, I think I would have preferred it if they made a little bit more of an effort with the logo, as it does look slightly too plain, and I think something a little bit more interesting would have made the watch stand out more. Just like the minute track, the printing of the logo is precise.

The final aspect of the dial to discuss is the hands. The minute and hour hands are both the same polished gold plating as the case and applied hour markers. It’s good to see continuity like that throughout the watch. They are a thin and elegant long triangle shape, with a smaller triangle on the back end as a counter weight. They also have a 3D appearance to them, being slightly raised in the middle, which creates a nice variety of shades of reflection of light based on the angle you are looking at the watch.

The second hand is a red lacquer finish, allowing it to stand out from the equally as long hour hand. It is also thinner, being a thin stick rather than an arrow or triangle shape, and has a wider rectangular counter weight. When you have a dress watch with very thin hands it can be hard to differentiate between the minute and second hands. This was the case on our recent review of the Christopher Ward C9 Big Day Date. With the Brathwait Classic Slim watch, however, they have done a good job of creating a visual distinction between them, making reading the time at a quick glance easy.

The dial on the Brathwait is possibly one of the simplest I have reviewed yet. Not that that is a bad thing. It is still pleasing to the eye from a design perspective, and is made very well.

The movement

Powering the Brathwait is a Swiss Made quartz Ronda movement. A good choice, as you could easily slap in a cheapo Chinese or Japanese quartz movement that costs a fifth of the price ($2 vs the $10 Ronda) but that would cheapen the aura of the watch. Instead, the Brathwait houses a decent, rugged quartz movement which is unlikely to let you down and just keep going until the battery runs out. Although not specified, it’s likely to be one of their standard 3-hand quartz movements, providing 4 years life span, and accuracy to -10/+20 seconds a month.

So although there’s not a great deal to say about the movement itself, it says a lot about Brathwait and their desire to use good parts.

The straps

For the price of $150, you get the choice of one of three different coloured NATO straps: green, blue, or purple. If you want all three, you can buy the set for $26, and for an extra $25 you can choose a brown leather strap instead. I only had the NATO straps sent through, so unfortunately I can’t comment on the leather strap. Although I feel that the watch would great on any decent quality brown leather strap. The lugs are a standard 20mm wide, so fitting a strap of your choice would not be a problem.

The NATO straps cost Brathwait $5.80. Considering you can buy a new one off eBay for around £6, these seem to be a high grade. The colours are all a luxurious shade, not cheap or tacky looking. The straps also have a thin red/orange strip running down the centre. This ties in nicely with the red second hand and matches and maintains the coloured aspect of the dial. Some NATO straps are very colourful and much more stripy, but I like the simplicity of these straps.

The quality of these NATO straps is apparent. The edging is tidy, the stitching thick and shows that it’s well put together. They are also very soft and comfortable, and extremely light – the Brathwait is overall a very light watch, weighing in at 47g with the strap fitted as mentioned before, resulting in a very comfortable wear. You’d barely notice it on your wrist.

Each NATO strap also has the same polished rose gold hardware as the rest of the watch. By matching this all up, it creates a great overall impression and appearance of the watch. As you’ll imagine, the finishing is very good, albeit prone to scratching due to the polished finish – although to be fair the buckles have held up very well so far, still looking as good as new. This is possibly due to the fact that the buckle doesn’t sit directly on the centre of the underside of your wrist, thus avoiding desk swirlies.

One final thing to mention – If you’ve never really had much experience with NATO straps before, the great thing about them is how extremely easy they are to change. You can literally change one within 10 seconds. Check out the video review to see.

I think the decision to sell the Brathwait Classic Slim watch primarily on NATO straps is a good idea. So often with affordable watches they include a rubbish leather strap to keep costs down which is too poor to keep, so you end up changing it. With the NATOs though, you are getting a good quality strap for the price you are paying. If you want a leather strap, you can source one yourself, or pay an extra $25 for a fairly decent looking one. So you avoid the annoying rubbish leather strap situation completely. I also think it makes the Brathwait a little different too – this is quite an unusual mix of styles, as NATOs are regularly used for diving. But by coupling this with very elegant dress styling creates a unique appearance.

Final comments

The Brathwait Classic Slim is a lovely watch. The fit and finish is excellent for the price, and the rose gold plating is very impressive. The case shape is pleasing to the eye, and the thick sapphire crystal makes this a great buy at $150. It’s designed and constructed well throughout, supporting their claim that the Classic Slim is equivalent to watches much more expensive. Let’s hope there’s an automatic version coming soon, as I have no doubt that it will become even more successful than I know this one will. A great buy for someone looking for a affordable elegant dress watch offering high build quality and a no-hassle movement. Isn’t that us all?

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