Let me also add that a lot of Swiss Made price bashing is totally bogus and unsubstantiated. I see a lot of much lower-priced watches being touted as “just as good” or “the same” as a higher-end luxury product from Switzerland and that simply isn’t true. Undone, of course, doesn’t use language such as this, and their mission isn’t to replace traditional luxury watches. Rather, I understand that their mission is to add more of the luxury watch experience to affordable products. How? In addition to their customization service (that costs only $30 for the Urban Vintage Chronograph), they feel that “artisan” dials such as those on the Mystique watches are treats normally expected at much higher price points. I certainly can’t think of any dials like this available on anything at this price today. It is possible that Seiko or Citizen have some attractive gradient dial watches at similar prices, but not produced using the same painting technique as far as I know.

Let’s get back to the watches themselves, which again are not materially different from the Undone Urban Vintage Chronograph Killy, which I reviewed on aBlogtoWatch. The case has been refined to look better and wear more comfortably. That means a 40mm wide steel case, that depending on the dial color, is offered in polished natural steel or PVD-coated with a rose gold tone. At 13mm thick with a lug-to-lug distance of 52mm, the Urban Vintage Chronograph wears big for a 40mm wide case, which is a good thing for me. That is mainly because of the longer lugs and the prominent crown and chronograph pushers. I mentioned that the case has been updated a bit from previous Urban Chronograph models, which is expressed in downward angles for the lugs, and a modified bezel which looks nicer and is also said to protect the crystal better.

Quality wise, the case is great for the money, and it even includes both polished and brushed elements. Over the dial is mineral crystal, which I of course wish was sapphire (though at this price, I understand why it isn’t). More so, I would have liked to see a lot more AR-coating given the “box dome” style of the crystal’s shape. It isn’t that the glare is wildly heavy, but there is glare and it does keep me from fully appreciating the dial design in more lighting situations.

The dial design overall is minimalist but attractive. I continue to like that the only text on the dial is the Undone logo under 6 o’clock. The hands and hour markers are relatively legible – which is actually a bit surprising given that they are polished, over a glossy dial, with a crystal that has glare. Funny enough, similar watches at much higher prices tend to have these exact same issues, so let’s see them resolve this first and I am sure the less expensive guys will follow.

Attached to the case is a pretty nice black “Caviar” leather strap that is both soft and comfortable to wear. It has that vintage-style to it with thick contrast stitching at the ends and handy quick release spring bars. A totally acceptable strap for sure, but given the rich color character of the dials, the Undone Mystique models are begging for owners to personalize them with straps that better match the dial colors. With all Mystique watches, Undone will also include an additional alligator-style leather strap.

Inside the Undone Mystique watches are Seiko VK61 “meca-quartz” (that means that while the regulation system is quartz versus a spring-powered oscillator, the chronograph system uses traditional gears, springs, and wheel elements to operate), chronograph movements – which at this price, I have zero problems with. I do however miss the display caseback allowing for a view of the quartz movement – as I’ve see on other Undone watches. This was in my opinion a deliberate decision by Undone since they wanted the Mystique to have a slightly more classy caseback. With a rounded, polished look, the sparse peripheral text on the caseback seems to mimic the look of some traditional dress watches. The caseback appears to be a snap-on, and the case is water-resistant to 30m.

Earlier in 2017, I covered the launch of the lovely limited edition Glashutte Original Sixties Iconic Chronograph “original dial” watches. Style-wise, I put them in the same category as the Undone Mystique. Such a comparison is proper not because I am suggesting they are equal watches, but in trying to demonstrate how someone can fall in love with the notion of artisanal watch dials and appreciate both. Many collectors do not have the budget for the high-end German pieces, and get understandably excited when something like the Mystique comes out. Even though the above-mentioned Glashutte-Original watches are a decent value at just under $10,000 (for what you get)… for the same money you could buy almost 33 Undone Mystique timepieces.

If you are the type of watch lover who is always on the search for interesting aesthetic styles and eye-catching designs (that aren’t too avant-garde), then something like the Undone Mystique is something I recommend you look at. What makes these so compelling in addition to the good value and effort-intensive dials, is the otherwise conservative design mixed with the elegantly flamboyant dials. This is just the right amount of “look at me” without having to explain “what am I looking at?” Normal price for the Undone Mystique watches is $325 USD but until November 30th, 2017 the pre-order price via Undone is $260 USD. undone.watch

Necessary Data
>Brand: Undone
>Model: Mystique
>Price: $325 USD
>Size: 40mm wide
>Would reviewer personally wear it: Yes.
>Friend we’d recommend it to first: Someone who normally doesn’t spend more than a few hundred dollars on a watch seeking something conservative with genuine aesthetic appeal and interesting talking points.
>Best characteristic of watch: Dials look great, especially when mixed with the vintage-style chronograph case and dial design. Value is very real, and the affordability easily makes one double, or even triple take luxury watch pricing. Comfortable to wear.
>Worst characteristic of watch: Crystal could benefit from much more anti-reflective (AR) coating. Less polish on the hands would improve legibility.