While Serica has only been around for a handful of years, the French brand has quickly garnered itself a strong cult following, thanks to its carefully considered expressions of vintage-style tool watches. While the brand’s original series of field watches was already regarded as a highly compelling offering, Serica updated its field watch collection last year to feature a thinner, more refined case profile and a chronometer-certified movement. Now for 2024, Serica is expanding upon the recently updated platform to create a sophisticated expression of the minimalist tool watch, and the new Serica 6190 M.S.L. Chronometer makes its debut appearance in three different colorways with enamel dials and applied luminous hour markers.
At its core, the new Serica 6190 M.S.L. Chronometer is essentially a dial variation of the brand’s existing 6190 series of field watches, although this latest release is intended to be a more refined option that still provides users with a highly legible display and ample levels of durability. The Serica 6190 M.S.L. Chronometer is part of the greater 6190 series, and despite aiming to be a more refined offering within the collection, the M.S.L. Chronometer is categorically not a dress watch, and the “M.S.L.” part of the model’s name is a reference to the M.S.L. meter, which is the international unit of measurement for measuring the vertical distance of a summit above sea level.
From an external perspective, the new Serica 6190 M.S.L. Chronometer watches are more-or-less identical to the brand’s standard 6190 series field watches, which means that they feature a case crafted from brushed and polished 316L stainless steel that features twisted lugs and a simple fixed bezel. Just like the brand’s 6190 series field watches, the case of the new Serica 6190 M.S.L. Chronometer measures 37.7mm in diameter by 10.4mm thick, and this includes the double domed sapphire crystal (with anti-reflective treatment on its underside surface) that slightly sticks up above the rim of the bezel.
The twisted lugs of the Serica 6190 M.S.L. Chronometer’s case are set 20mm apart and extend to create an overall lug-to-lug profile of 46.5mm, and its bezel features the same alternating finishing as the case, with a linear brushed top surface and high-polished bevels running along the sides. Like the rest of the 6190 series, the reverse side of the 6190 M.S.L. Chronometer receives a solid screw-down caseback, while a large unsigned crown sits at the 3 o’clock location. The crown screws down to the middle case to help guarantee the fairly generous 200 meters of water resistance that is offered by the 6190 collection.
The trio of dials inside the standard 6190 Chronometer field watches are all black in color and feature entirely printed designs that offer different expressions of a classic utilitarian layout. Conversely, the enamel dials fitted to the new Serica 6190 M.S.L. Chronometer are available in three different colorways (Enamel Black, Polar White, and Storm Gray), and all of them forego the standard printed indexes of their 6190 field watch siblings in favor of applied hour markers that appear in the form of geometric shapes. The indexes themselves are placed relatively close to the center of the dial to create room for a large printed minute track, and the handset for the 6190 M.S.L. Chronometer models has been updated to include a luminous dot near the tip of its seconds hand.
While the placement of the hour markers on the Serica 6190 M.S.L. Chronometer is undeniably a bit unusual, having the indexes located closer to the center of the dial creates a unique sense of negative space around the periphery of the display, and the elongated lines that extend inward from the minute track help to promote a cohesive overall aesthetic. When combined with its glossy enamel surface, the appearance of the dial is simultaneously refined yet purposeful, although it still feels incredibly true to Serica’s signature minimalist design language. Additionally, despite being the most dressy model in the brand’s current lineup, the Serica 6190 M.S.L. Chronometer still places a strong emphasis on legibility, and all of the hands and hour markers are finished with C3 Super-LumiNova to help provide them with added visibility in dark settings.
Like its field watch siblings, the new Serica 6190 M.S.L. Chronometer is powered by Soprod Caliber M100 automatic movement, often considered a slightly more elevated alternative to the ETA 2892 or Sellita SW300. With that in mind, despite sharing external dimensions with these two familiar movements, the Soprod Cal. M100 isn’t another clone of this highly popular design but rather based upon a completely different underlying architecture. While the Soprod Cal. M100 offers fairly standard specs with an operating frequency of 28,800vph (4 Hz) and a power reserve of 42 hours, Serica uses a COSC-certified version of this movement, which means that the 6190 M.S.L. Chronometer will keep time within the standards of -4/+6 seconds per day.
Fitted to the lugs of the Serica 6190 M.S.L. Chronometer is the same Bonklip bracelet that you will find attached to the field watches from the 6190 collection. Crafted from stainless steel, the Bonklip bracelet offers a unique wrap-around design, where the clasp can be fitted between any two links to create a near-infinite amount of adjustability. Additionally, due to its rather unusual structure of interlocking bars and sleeves, the Bonklip bracelet is essentially hollow, and it feels far less substantial than a traditional style of bracelet with chunky solid links. However, the Bonklip is also incredibly lightweight and comfortable on the wrist, and its inherently retro design perfectly complements the vintage-inspired spirit of the Serica 6190 M.S.L. Chronometer.
Due to the more elaborate design of its enamel dial with applied hour markers, the new Serica 6190 M.S.L. Chronometer costs slightly more than its entry-level field watch counterparts, and it is accompanied by an official retail price of €1,090 EUR (or approximately $1,200 USD, at the time of writing). With that in mind, given that the additional premium is only a hundred bucks, the 6190 M.S.L. Chronometer represents a similarly strong value proposition, as it offers a well-proportioned case with an enamel dial and a chronometer-certified Swiss movement for a price that is significantly less than what you typically associate with timepieces that have these features. While Serica’s field watches adhere to a distinctly utilitarian design ethos, the new 6190 M.S.L. Chronometer takes the collection in a more refined and sophisticated direction, and it aims to be a go-anywhere timekeeping companion that can easily transition from casual to formal settings. For more information on the Serica 6190 M.S.L. Chronometer, please visit the brand’s website.
