Salmon Guilloche Perfection
I just receive this watch two days ago. It has been quite a wait. I got a spot on the allocation list in October, after having registered my interest earlier in the summer of last year. The watch finally shipped on July 1, so it has been the better part of a year.
Was it worth it? For something that is pretty unique in the industry I think so. You don't see that many hand turned guilloche dials, and "plays with the light" does not even begin to capture this one.
The watch wears notably smaller than its stated 40mm by 9.4mm size. It feels more like something in the 38-39mm range. This is mostly because the dial is proportional small to the overall size of the case. A few other design decisions also seem to contribute to this outcome. The scalloping of the corners of the case further reduce the watches visual wight as does the rather narrow top of the bracelet. All of that conspire to give the watch a very vintage feel. The on the fly micro-adjustment (similar in style to IWC) in is really nice to have and something that we should be seeing on every new production watch.
I ordered my Xia with both black and white rubber straps. They are easy to fit without tools and give the piece some added versatility, though in their current iteration they really work best for people with medium to larger wrists. I have been blessed with big wrists and they are perfect for me. Atelier Wen says they are in the process of redesigning their rubber straps so we will have to wait and see what sort of design they ultimately land on.
I can't wait to wear this piece for a few weeks and write a more comprehensive review of it. I also plan on comparing it to some of the other similar integrated bracelet sports watches that have come out recently. But for now I am just going to sit back and bask in the shimmer of that dial....
A student of time and space with a watch on his wrist.
I was on the reservation list, but gave up my allocation, because I'm trying to save up for an upstairs remodel, before my wife gets fed up with me being a spendthrift and divorces me!
I am soooooooooo jealous!!!
I was on the reservation list, but gave up my allocation, because I'm trying to save up for an upstairs remodel, before my wife gets fed up with me being a spendthrift and divorces me!
I am soooooooooo jealous!!!
I feel your pain. I gave up one of the red dialed LE ones for similar reasons. I lost sleep over that. But I think that this one is much more wearable day to day.
Amazing salmon dial on that!
It's a great purchase, outstanding at its price point. I wore mine yesterday to a wedding, perfectly paired with my new grey linen suit (what a great decision on a very hot and humid day), and it just shone all day. The Zia glows as if it has a backlight.
What a beautiful watch. I never seen or heard of this brand before. I’m going to have to do some homework on this one.
Thank you for the post.
Absolutely stunning!
Beautiful piece, congratulations
Awesome! Congrats!
Gorgeous piece. Congratulations !!
Congratulations on a beautiful timepiece.
Very nice indeed!
My blue one arrives tomorrow
My blue one arrives tomorrow
Post pics! You are going to love it!
This is indeed a beautiful watch. I love what this brand has done. What detail!
Ordered mine for the next batch. How is the watch so far, any red flags discovered?
Ordered mine for the next batch. How is the watch so far, any red flags discovered?
The big warning is would be that the aftermarket rubber strap is too long for most wrists and people find it uncomfortable or oversized (the actual metal bracelet is excellent, I am just speaking on the rubber here). I understand that a new version is being worked on now and should be ready when the next batch of watches are done. The cases and brackets are all polished and finished by hand so there has been some variability there between one watch and the next, but nothing that I found very concerning. That just seems to be the nature of hand made dials and watches.
The big warning is would be that the aftermarket rubber strap is too long for most wrists and people find it uncomfortable or oversized (the actual metal bracelet is excellent, I am just speaking on the rubber here). I understand that a new version is being worked on now and should be ready when the next batch of watches are done. The cases and brackets are all polished and finished by hand so there has been some variability there between one watch and the next, but nothing that I found very concerning. That just seems to be the nature of hand made dials and watches.
Thank you I will be asking if the upgrade for the rubber strap is completed for the next batch.