The sporty daily wear watch with a polygonal case and matching metal bracelet is one that has long appealed to watch enthusiasts and collectors. Until recently however, there were never any serious contenders at an affordable (relative as that term is) price-point. The new Dietrich Time Companion watch, is one of a number of modern microbrand offerings that aim to fill this gap.
Now, I can already see the criticisms about this being a Audemars Piguet Royal Oak derivative. To be fair to watches like the Dietrich Time Companion, the very concept of a polygonal case, metal sport watch is so intermeshed with the AP Royal Oak, that there’s no way to escape the comparison. The most you could do, is add more or fewer sides to your polygon, change the bracelet shape, or play around with the dial.
As far as offerings from Dietrich go, I would say this is one of the more traditional, restrained designs and it is worth noting that the hexagonal case shape has long been a brand signature – see our full review of the Dietrich OT-3 here, for example. The Time Companion has a 42mm case, which is offered in stainless steel or PVD. Given the case shape and the wide bezel, I think this is a good size choice. The use of eight bezel screws instead of six, leads me to believe that they might actually be functional and not just decorative – you can’t have a screw right over the crown stem, which would’ve been the case with six screws.
Despite the use of a steel caseback and a screw-down crown, the Dietrich Time Companion only offers 50m of water resistance. While the reality is that few actually need 100m of water resistance, most of us expect it these days from a sporty watch like this. In addition to the PVD option for the case, you can also choose between an engraved bezel and three different dial colors, giving customers 12 different variants to choose from. The engraved bezel is an additional service the brand offers, and not part of the standard line-up.
For a time-only watch, there’s a lot going on with the dial. The center has a pattern the brand calls a “hexagonal prism’s field” and the outside is vertically brushed. The applied markers and the hands are filled with Super-LumiNova, and as far as date windows go, this one is quite well integrated. On all dial colors – black, blue, and grey – I don’t expect legibility to be an issue at all.
The bracelet on the Dietrich Time Companion, echoes the hexagonal theme of the rest of the watch. It’s a unique, three-link design and adds a lot to the character of the watch – this isn’t a watch you’d wear on a leather strap. Props to Dietrich for expending the time and resources (tooling is not cheap for one of these, after all) in designing a bracelet from scratch. The watch is powered by the ETA 2824, a well-known movement, with a 42-hour power reserve, running at 4Hz… you know the specs. Suffice it to say it’s an apt and expected choice for this price point.
Limited to 50 pieces of each dial color and case type (300 total), the Dietrich Time Companion is currently on pre-order with deliveries slated for mid-December and is available online or through retailers for a price of 1,800 CHF with a stainless steel case and 2,000 CHF with the PVD case. There is a 150 CHF up-charge if you’d like your bezel to be engraved. dietrich.luxury
