Zeitwinkel is a still relatively unknown brand making a range of dressy mechanical watches with in-house movements from their home in Saint Imier, Switzerland. While Zeitwinkel, whose name means “time angle” (in reference to a sundial), is only a few years old, they have managed to develop their own in-house movements and a range of watches in both 42.5 and 39mm sizes. Created by a design professor and watch enthusiast, Zeitwinkel is one of those small brands that just seems to be doing their own thing at their own pace. With simple but detailed styling that, much like their name, could be confused for German, Zeitwinkel is definitely worth a closer look.

Zeitwinkel’s flagship model is the 273°, a 42.5mm everyday dress watch that boasts multiple complications backed by their ZW 0103 in-house movement. The 273° uses a steel case with both brushed and polished finishing that measures 13.8 mm thick including the domed and anti-reflective sapphire crystal. The display case back also features a sapphire crystal that offers a clear view of the 273°’s fully decorated movement and skeletonized rotor.

The galvanized dial on the 273° can be had in black, silver, or blue and incorporates diamond finished applied markers and hands. The traditional time display offers a small seconds dial at six along with a grande date at eleven and a retrograde power reserve indicator between two and three. The black dial model offers strong legibility and the date display features a color matched background (white on black for the black dial, opposite for silver). Dial text is minimal, with just the branding and a simple “Swiss Made” under the seconds display.

Managing all of these functions is the previously mentioned ZW 0103 manufacture movement. With bridges and plates crafted from German silver, the ZW 0103 has 387 components and 49 jewels. With a running rate of 4 hertz (28,800 vph) and 72 hours of power reserve, the ZW 0103 is based on Zeitwinkel’s primary movement, the ZW 0102 – before additional components are added to support the power reserve and grande date complications.

The 273° comes fitted to a 20mm hand-sewn calfskin leather strap in either brown or black for a grand total of CHF 10,750 (~$11550). At that price, the Zeitwinkel is basically open to competition from the entire Swiss watch industry, including heavyweights like JLC, IWC, Rolex, Breitling, and Zenith (to name only a few). While I’m not entirely sure what kind of buyer constitutes an ideal Zeitwinkel buyer, I do like the look as well as their use of in-house movements. Be sure to swing by their website and see their entire lineup for yourself. zeitwinkel.ch