Cincinnati Watch Company Guild Review

I only learned about the Cincinnati Watch Company recently. Having a personal connection to the city of Cincinnati, I was immediately interested in learning more. The company was founded in 2016. They design and assemble all their watches in Cincinnati, and have their own in-house watchmaker. They also donate a portion of their sales to various local, Cincinnati institutions and community organizations. I found a few of their designs intriguing, so I went ahead and ordered one. The watch I bought is called the Guild, and is part of their “Time Hill Collection”, which is a reference to Cincinnati’s Time Hill, which is the former home of the Gruen Watch Company. There is some interesting information on Cincinnati Watch Company’s website about the history of Gruen and Time Hill here if you’re interested. Proceeds from the sale of this model support the Lighthouse Youth & Family Services nonprofit organization.

Dial: The Guild’s dial has a vintage style, reminiscent of the Art Deco era, with plenty of visual interest and variety. The white outer ring of the dial has an almost enamel appearance. Stylized numerals appear on the smooth outer ring, while the central section of the dial features a subtle, snow-like texture. Small holes mark each minute along the outer edge of the dial, and a framed date window occupies the three o’clock position, blending in nicely with the overall design. A small seconds hand, just above the six o’clock position appears within a silver sunburst subdial. The hour and minute hands are a silver tone with gray colored inserts that match the gray ring separating the raised outer and inner dial segments. This gray, white, and silver color scheme gives the dial an elegant, refined appearance, while allowing the black numerals to contrast clearly against the smooth white outer ring, ensuring good legibility at a glance.

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Case: The case design is reminiscent of some early 20th century designs, with relatively long lugs, and not much curvature. While the case is only 36mm, the lug-to-lug distance measures just under 45mm. Lug width is 20mm. The watch is quite slim, at 10.3mm thick, including the domed acrylic crystal. The crown is screw-down, and the watch is rated for 50 meters of water resistance. The crown operates smoothly and I've had no problem with the screw threads. The caseback is simple, with only basic information including the water resistance rating, steel type (316L), Swiss movement, and that the watch was designed and assembled in Cincinnati, Ohio. This watch is quite small on paper, but it definitely wears larger than its 36mm case would suggest.

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Bracelet: The bracelet is comfortable, and seems to be good quality, featuring solid links and endlinks. The width is 20mm tapering to 16mm at the clasp. The clasp is stamped, and only allows for 2 micro-adjust positions, but the links are quite small, so I would imagine finding a good fit should be possible for most. Due to the drilled lugs and 20mm lug width, replacement straps are also a good option, and can be easily swapped.

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Movement: The movement in this watch is a top grade, quartz, Swiss Ronda 6004.D. It has been functioning well for me so far, with accuracy tracking showing it to be running about +6 seconds per month.

Negatives: I don’t have many complaints about this watch, especially considering the relatively low price. It is a bit difficult to tell exactly where the seconds hand is pointing due to the limited number of indices, but to me, this is a very minor concern for a dress watch. Of course features like a stamped clasp, acrylic crystal, 50m water resistance, and quartz movement keep this watch from competing with higher end watches with better materials and specs. It does have a lighter build than something like a good Seiko dive watch, and will probably not be as durable over years of use, but I can’t really complain about the wearing experience overall, considering this is a vintage inspired dress watch.

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Cincinnati Watch Company Customer service: When I received this watch, it immediately became clear there was a problem. It had lost about 55 seconds in the first 5 hours I wore it. So I immediately contacted the company by email. I received a reply from the company founder within an hour, and had a return label a few minutes after that. I sent the watch back the following day, and was kept informed when it was received. The in-house watchmaker soon contacted me with an update, stating that he had identified the problem and would be fixing it, and sending it back asap. The watch arrived on my doorstep exactly one week after I sent it back. It has been working perfectly since. Of course no one wants to have a problem with their new watch, but problems can occur with any brand, and I couldn’t have asked for a better customer service experience.

Overall, I really like this watch. I enjoy the classy, vintage look. The grab-and-go simplicity and the reliability of the quartz movement make it a fun piece to choose when I want to reconnect with the past. The vintage style allows me to imagine another time, and a long past era of watchmaking, while also reconnecting with my own past, and the fond memories of growing up in Cincinnati.

Cincinnati Watch Company Guild Review

4.8
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5/5
  • Interesting vintage design
  • Reliable and accurate quartz movement
  • Light and comfortable to wear
  • Great customer service
  • Only 2 micro adjust holes on clasp
  • Clasp and crystal materials could be better
  • Seconds hand indication is not very precise
Reply
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What a beauty. I'm in love with small seconds at the moment and those numerals are fabulous. 

I hadn't heard of Cincinnati before but I love what they stand for.

Thank you for taking your time to write this lovely review 🙏

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Solid review. Near me there is Towson Watch Company in Baltimore making these incredibly technical pieces. Point being, finding U.S. companies going to a next level of design is getting interesting. Don't get me wrong, with Long Island Watch going more toward domestic production too, I'm happier and happier to purchase there as well. I love my BOLDR as well. But things are looking up beyond dive watches and field watches.

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The 3rd thing to come out of Cincinnati or be about Cincinnati that I like. The first was perhaps the best TV Show ever: Cincinnati WKRP. The second is of course the Bengals; and now Cincinnati Watch Company. :)

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really cool piece.  thanks for the detailed info.

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CTReese

Solid review. Near me there is Towson Watch Company in Baltimore making these incredibly technical pieces. Point being, finding U.S. companies going to a next level of design is getting interesting. Don't get me wrong, with Long Island Watch going more toward domestic production too, I'm happier and happier to purchase there as well. I love my BOLDR as well. But things are looking up beyond dive watches and field watches.

Nice looking pieces by Towson. Yes, US watch making seems to be on the rise, and I'm looking forward to seeing Islanders with US built automatic movements at some point.

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For those not as interested in 36mm vintage style dress watches, Cincinnati Watch Co. just announced that a new version of their 40mm P40 mechanical pilot watch will be available to order this summer. This run will have an automatic Sellita SW200. It looks very nice, and I'll definitely be getting in on the pre-order.

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I live within driving distance from Cincinnati, and it is actually an awfully good party place. Still a bit rough around the edges in some parts, bit definitely fun. I will definitely give those watches a closer look, and I noticed the clock of the Union Terminal before, which they seemed to have turned into a watch. 

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thatguy306

The 3rd thing to come out of Cincinnati or be about Cincinnati that I like. The first was perhaps the best TV Show ever: Cincinnati WKRP. The second is of course the Bengals; and now Cincinnati Watch Company. :)

Now you have to try Cincinnati chili, and Graeter's ice cream!

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gbelleh

Now you have to try Cincinnati chili, and Graeter's ice cream!

If I hit Cincinnati in my travels I will do my best to remember those lol

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Well done review and photos. Will give them a look. 

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A beautiful watch and an excellent review!

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Fantastic review and a beautiful watch. Love the review box score - reminds me of guitar reviews in Premier Guitar - very helpful. 

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Thanks for sharing your review. I grew up in Ohio, graduated from University of Cincinnati, and have lived the majority of my adult life in the Cincinnati area. So I am interested in Cincinnati Watch Company out of personal connection to Cincinnati. I also like their watches. Nice to see a local company doing great things in their industry. I have been eyeing the Cincinnatian and the Cincinnatus models for some time. I like the new P-40M as well. One of those will likely be my next watch purchase. 

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dmcguire0208

Thanks for sharing your review. I grew up in Ohio, graduated from University of Cincinnati, and have lived the majority of my adult life in the Cincinnati area. So I am interested in Cincinnati Watch Company out of personal connection to Cincinnati. I also like their watches. Nice to see a local company doing great things in their industry. I have been eyeing the Cincinnatian and the Cincinnatus models for some time. I like the new P-40M as well. One of those will likely be my next watch purchase. 

I just visited Cincinnati this summer, and wore the Guild while there. It's an interesting city for sure. I have a P40 pre-ordered, and looking forward to getting it in the next few weeks. If you do want one, it looks like the pre-order pricing will be going up soon. Probably this month.