In fashion, music, and popular culture, there’s no doubt that the distinctive flair of the 1970s is making its way back to the fore. While that decade has been a fount of inspiration for the watch industry for quite some time, broader cultural trends are catching up, and this has a rebound effect for the watch community as newer brands seek to reinterpret the style of the era without the lens of heritage. Young Canadian brand Vieren is a prime example of this phenomenon, with its latest model drawing inspiration not from fan-favorite ‘70s timepieces, but from one of the defining trends of the decade itself – disco. With a gleaming luxe ethos inspired by legendary New York City nightclub Studio 54, the new Vieren Gold Mirror Special Edition delivers opulent styling and thoughtful details in equal measure for a standout look in photos.

Measuring in at 41.5mm-long by 27mm-wide, the 18K gold plated case of the Vieren Gold Mirror Special Edition offers a sharper, more angular profile than many comparable rectangular case designs. The short lugs and case sides feature no softening outer chamfers in photos, instead opting for the brutal simplicity of flat surfaces and full polishing. However, that’s not to say that this case is without nuance. For example, the lugs do feature a broad chamfer across their top surfaces, sloping downwards to meet with the bracelet endlinks. The octagonal 3 o’clock crown is likewise a visual standout, with broad gem-like facets that taper to a sharply engraved Vieren signature. For the caseback, Vieren offers a contoured form that should give the watch a more ergonomic stance on the wrist, and caps the case design with a sapphire display window. This relatively small, round window may prove to be a point of contention among enthusiasts, but it’s frankly unrealistic to expect a young brand to source or engineer a custom rectangular movement to fit the case at this price point.

Vieren opts for a high-impact, tone-on-tone look for the skeleton dial of the Gold Mirror Special Edition. The majority of the real estate under the sapphire crystal is dedicated to an expansive minimalist matte gold hours scale with engraved line indices, augmented by a similarly elemental engraved minutes track on the polished vertical rehaut. Even the handset is similarly minimal, with simple flat polished batons for the hours, minutes, and seconds. This extreme simplicity can lead to legibility struggles in photos, but as with the case this apparent minimalism hides a handful of details. The most obvious focal point is the skeleton window at the center of the dial, which selectively frames elements of the gear train behind a polished gold plate. It’s the date display that offers the most intriguing touch, however. In keeping with the disco-era theming, Vieren claims to model the central date display on volume knobs and VU meters from classic stereo equipment. The sloping polished ring is engraved with a full 31-day scale, while the sharply brushed exposed date wheel is finished in gold and adorned with a simple white stripe to act as an indicator. It’s a relatively basic way to dress up the traditional date wheel design without re-engineering the movement, but in practice it offers a smoothly integrated visual highlight for the design.

Inside the Vieren Gold Mirror Special Edition beats the ETA 2671 automatic movement. Although this powerplant is notably smaller than the familiar 2824 family of movements, the 2671 offers comparable performance, with a 44 hour power reserve at a 28,800 bph beat rate. In terms of finishing, the brand tops a relatively straightforward series of matte blasted bridges with a more elaborately decorated gold tone rotor, complete with a unique variation on radial striping. To complete the package, Vieren fits the watch with an 18K gold plated multi-link bracelet. With an ornate seven-link design and a seemingly endless array of small rectangular surfaces, this should glitter like a disco ball on the wrist, and it features a hidden two-button butterfly clasp.

With its defiantly bright disco-era styling and unique music-inspired touches, the new limited-run Vieren Gold Mirror Special Edition offers an intriguingly different take on ‘70s-inspired horology. Only five examples of the Vieren Gold Mirror Special Edition will be made, and the watch is available now through the brand’s e-commerce platform. MSRP for the Vieren Gold Mirror Special Edition stands at $5,250 USD as of press time. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.