Hands-On With The Sinn 105 Series — A Fresh Take On the Day/Date and GMT Complications To Brighten Darker Days

I thought I was totally over white dials. I thought I had given in to the dark side. Give me black dials, green dials, even a moody blue, and I’ll be happy. I really didn’t expect to be charmed by this goody-two-shoes, butter-wouldn’t-melt, choirboy of a watch. But I can’t help it. There is something about the levity of this design that just kind of works. Let’s dive into the highlights of my week with the Sinn 105 watch.

Okay, look: when we shot this watch, we chose to shoot it in a particularly summery way. We did that after it made us feel that way during the wear test, not before. The bright background may well be the most extravagantly colored thing about the images in this article, but this watch (mostly the white-dialed variant) simply sings on the wrist. It is clean. It is crisp. The proportions of the markers and hands sit comfortably between professional and playful. For me, it simply has to be worn on the rubber strap, but a couple of my Fratello teammates preferred the bracelet so I guess it goes both ways.

Dead solid perfect

You might have heard this term used in regards to the game of golf. A book and film of the same name popularized the phrase which is just about as self-explanatory as it gets. In other words, it means “on the money”. For me, it is the perfect description of these two watches because they are the equivalent of a golfer selecting exactly the right club for the kind of shot they make with their eyes closed, and pulling it off with typical aplomb. This kind of release is right within Sinn‘s wheelhouse and it has been absolutely crushed on this occasion.

Sure, it is exciting to see brands step outside their comfort zone and push one envelope or another in the name of progress. I like those occasions because they are unexpected, but the kind of watches that come from such stunts rarely wind up in my collection. Maybe I’m becoming more and more conservative in my old age, but I like something I can rely on. I like it when brands stick to their guns and do what they do better than the competition because, well, that’s the whole point of having a brand.

Unremarkable heroes

Sinn isn’t known for rocking the boat. Its recently released R500 was about as wild as the brand gets. That model will have its lovers and its haters because it is deliberately polarising (and strictly limited to 300 pieces likely because of that). The Sinn 105 series, however, is nowhere near as polarizing. Rather than lovers and haters, this series is more likely to be greeted with a shrug and then adopted with increasing passion over time.

It really helps to have this watch on the wrist to appreciate just how satisfying it can be when a watch does exactly what it’s supposed to and nothing more. The Sinn 105 Series has two models within it, each available in two colors. There is either the 105 St Sa (day/date) in either black or white (denoted by an extra “w” after the reference number), or the 105 St Sa UTC (again, available in black or white, expressed by the same coding system).

Here we have the Sinn 105 St Sa and the Sinn 105 St UTC w. The black dial of the 105 St Sa has a beautifully symmetrical day/date dial, which makes the wise decision to use white-on-black day and date discs to perfectly integrate the functionality with the matte background. The mid-orange seconds hand provides a chromatic connection to the white-dialed GMT model, which repeats that color on the 24-hour hand and on the UTC printing just above the 6 o’clock marker.

Daily warriors

Both models have 41mm bead-blasted stainless steel cases, topped with tegimented black rotating bezels. Interestingly, all four pieces have transparent case backs, which is something I really appreciate from Sinn. I never actually expect to see it from this conservative German manufacture based in Frankfurt am Main, but it isn’t as uncommon as I allow myself to believe. It is simply a symptom of my being interested in the diving tools the brand makes above all others.

These watches can withstand a fair bit of pressure themselves, though. The Sinn 105 St Sa pieces are all water-resistant to 200 meters. The day/date models are powered by the Sellita SW220-1. Meanwhile, the UTC is driven by the Sellita SW330-1. Both have a 4Hz operating frequency and are anti-magnetic as per DIN 8309.

The cases are 11.9mm thick, weigh 73 grams without the strap or bracelet, and have 20mm lugs, which makes them ripe for strap-experimentation (not something to underestimate the importance of when dealing with daily warriors such as these). All in all, this is another very solid and satisfying release from Sinn.

You might need to see these pieces on the wrist to get the same feeling. As such, I would recommend arranging an appointment with your local AD as soon as restrictions allow. The Sinn 105 St Sa in black or white) retails for €1,350 on either a leather or rubber band. It is €1,550 on the bracelet pictured here. The Sinn 105 St Sa UTC (in black or white) is slightly more expensive. On the leather or rubber, it comes in at €1,590. On the bracelet, the UTC model is €1,790. Learn more about Sinn here.

Make sure to check-out our Sinn 105 video as well.