Based in Toronto, Canada, Ématelier is a brand that specializes in mechanical watches with handcrafted enamel dials. As many of you might know, mechanical watches with handmade enamel dials are extremely pricey. Take the Breguet Classique 7147 ‘Grand Feu’ Enamel Dial watch, for example. It has a plain white enamel dial and yet it is priced at $21,000. It is Ématelier’s goal to make such watches more accessible. Following on the release of their first collection, the Harmony collection, Ématelier has just introduced its second collection called the Ématelier Kingdom, which features animal motifs on the dial.
The case of the new Ématelier Kingdom is identical to that of the Harmony collection. The case is made out of 316L “German Surgical Stainless Steel” and has a classic round shape. Case diameter is 38.8mm and case thickness is 10.2mm. These are very nice dimensions for an elegant and classic watch. If you want to add a bit of bling, you can also opt for diamond-paved bezels. Water resistance is rated at 50m. Each watch also comes with a matching alligator strap and owners will be able to pick from a variety of colors such as brown, pink, fuchsia, red, white, and more to match their watch. The straps also come with a quick-release mechanism so they can be swapped easily.
The name Kingdom collection refers to the Animal Kingdom and so watches in this collection feature enamel animals on the dial. There are five to choose from: jaguar, zebra, cockatoo, giraffe, and a pair of lovebirds. Even though Ématelier has streamlined the dial manufacturing process to make the watches more affordable, each dial still requires up to 10 days of work to complete. Painters have to work under a microscope and an interesting tidbit is that a thin piece of 0.1mm gold ribbon is used as a partition between the different enamel colors. Each dial uses up to 70cm of gold ribbon.
The movement within is a highly decorated version of the self-winding Soprod A10 and it is visible through a sapphire display caseback. It has a custom rotor with graining, extensive perlage on the bridges, blued screws, and a rhodium-plated finish. It beats at 4Hz and has a power reserve of 42 hours.
Though the watches seem more suitable for women, I think guys who are a bit more adventurous will be able to pull them off too. More importantly, however, is that it’s nice to see brands like Ématelier making enamel dial watches more accessible to watch lovers. The Ématelier Kingdom watch in plain stainless steel is priced at $7,600. With a diamond-paved bezel, it is $10,450. And finally, if you have diamonds on the bezel and lugs, it is $11,200. ematelier.watch
