Watch Review: Kent Wang Bauhaus v3

There is something about the Bauhaus aesthetic that is uniquely suited to watch design.  The minimalist, form-is-function philosophy can be especially appealing to those in pursuit - though some might say in vain - of a single watch for every occasion.  For those who want such a watch to not only be as universal as possible, but also affordable and powered by a dependable automatic movement, it's hard to think of a better candidate than Kent Wang's Bauhaus Watch V3.

This third iteration of Kent Wang's minimalist watch gets a lot of things right.  At 40mm in diameter (down from the beefier 42mm original), it's poised right at the sweet spot between today's larger watches and the more restrained proportions you'd find in vintage or dedicated dress models.  It features a polished steel case with a scratch resistant sapphire crystal, display case back, and a versatile leather strap that surprised me by managing to fit my 6" wrist on its innermost adjustment hole.  (Most regular-length straps on the market today, or offered standard on men's watches, tend to go only so far as a 6.25" wrist or so.)  As the v3's strap length was, to my understanding, lengthened to accommodate larger wrists up to 8", its ability to accommodate a 2" range in wrist sizes is extremely impressive.  In addition, the Bauhaus's lug width of 20mm means that it is compatible with a wide range of after-market strap options, from NATOs in nylon to unlined straps in shell cordovan.

Of course, it's the dial where this watch earns its Bauhaus moniker.  A simple matte surface with printed (or, in the case of the black version, applied metal) indices form a clean, uncluttered, and utter utilitarian template for telling time.  Eminently readable (especially when contrasted with the white model's blued hands), its only potential flaw - the sameness of the indices could cause one to misread the time if viewed at an off angle - is negated by the date window at 3 o'clock.  The date window's presence is the only real design concession that falls short of the Bauhaus ideal, but it serves enough of a function in utility and improved readability that I think its inclusion adds more to the watch than it detracts.

At under $400 retail (or around $300 if you can catch it during a Massdrop group buy), the Bauhaus V3 offers a tremendous amount of value for its price.  Its Japanese Miyota 9015 movement (upgraded from the Chinese Seagull the original and v2 used) is a solid competitor to the once-ubiquitous ETA 2824-2, and is the workhorse movement that many watch brands turned to after ETA shuttered its supply lines to third parties.  It matches the 2824-2 in virtually every metric except for its winding rotor mechanism, which is uni-directional rather than bi-directional.  While hardly a deal breaker in itself, that fact does mean that it will wind itself a a slightly reduced rate versus a comparable movement with a bi-directional rotor.  It had no difficulty sustaining itself while I used it as my workday wearer, despite my mostly sedentary responsibilities, and if you plan to wear it every day, as I did, it should have no trouble keeping itself wound from day to day.

If you're looking for an extremely versatile yet affordable automatic - perhaps as your introduction to automatic watches in general - Kent Wang's Bauhaus v3 watch is an excellent choice.

Watch Radar: Timex Weekender Timex Unisex T2P1439J Weekender Green Blue Stripe Slip Thru Nylon Strap Watch

It seems that Timex has introduced several new color variations since I first reviewed their Weekender series of watches.  My pick of the new offerings for the summer is the T2P1439J, which has a bright Green Blue Stripe strap and a blue second hand.  If a blue second hand model had been available among the initial model offerings, it would have been my first pick.

Watch Review: Hamilton Intra-Matic 38mm H38455151

I had thought that I'd managed to kick the watch buying habit after paring down my collection, and especially after a brief Halloween-and-November-themed excursion with the new Seiko Orange Monster SRP309 that ended with a eBay flip.  But a review of the 2012 Hamilton Intra-Matic by James Stacey on A Blog to Watch (formerly A Blog to Read) put the vintage-styled automatic on my radar.  I've bemoaned the trend toward larger case diameters in a previous Watch Primer post, so coming across a freshly released model under the 40mm threshold was a welcome surprise.  The classic styling and silver sunburst dial were immediately attractive, as was the notion of adding an automatic back to my watch box that wouldn't break the bank, and which I would be comfortable wearing daily to work at the courthouse.

With a street price a little over $500, the Intra-Matic is also one of the least expensive options that I know of that is powered by an ETA 2892-2, a slightly thinner and more upscale movement than the ubiquitous ETA 2824.  I've owned two watches in the past powered by this movement or its subsidiary seconds variant - the Omega Seamaster 2253.80, wielding a modified 2892 in its Caliber 1200, and the Xetum Tyndall, employing an ETA 2895, which is the 2892's subsidiary seconds counterpart.  Both came in well above the $1000 mark, so the opportunity to pick up a 2892-powered model with bracelet for less than $600 was too good to pass up.

I found the 38mm case well proportioned for a 6" wrist, the sweet spot for which seems to reside somewhere between 34mm and 38mm.  The dial is preeminently legible, such that it is readable even under low light conditions despite having no applied lume.  I opted for the bracelet version because I suspected the standard-length strap would prove too long for my wrist, and had planned to use a spare black Nomos shell cordovan strap instead.  The watch looks very good combined with the black shell cordovan, but I eventually opted to return it to its stock bracelet, in part so the OCD part of me wouldn't be tempted to swap out the strap for its brown shell cordovan counterpart every time I wore a brown belt and shoes.  While the bracelet tends to make the gorgeous dial blend more into the rest of the watch, the contrast of a black strap really draws attention to it.

Timekeeping on my Intra-Matic has been superb, with less than a minute gained in the several months I've been wearing the watch as a weekday wearer.  The only functional quirk is, regrettably design-based:  the juxtaposition of a hours-and-minutes-only dial with a date display.  Even after several watches successfully weaned me from my fixation with minute markers - the Hamilton Ventura - and second hands - the Citizen Stiletto - the date display would, under normal circumstances, have been a deal breaker.  But the lack of a screw-down crown coupled with my professional responsibilities having made knowing the date at a glance a very welcome convenience, pushed me to take a chance on the Intra-Matic.  I'm very glad that I did.  While I still prefer dateless models in general, the Intra-Matic is a watch that I'd be happy to wear day in and day out for the indefinite future.