Let’s Start The Week Being “Brutally” Honest — I Love The Papar Anillo GMT
There are two ways to “handle” the peculiar watches in the picture — with a focus on the design or the specs. Both are impressive. The steel and rose-gold-PVD-treated models are available in a limited run of 100 pieces each. Because there’s an automatic Miyota 9075 “flyer” GMT movement inside their architecturally shaped cases, the price of US$750 makes these bang-for-the-buck watches. That is if you like the loud “bang” these watches make. The brutalist-inspired case shape and minimalist dial sure are an acquired taste. But I will be “brutally” honest with you: I love the Papar Anillo GMT.
Let’s round off the specifications of the Papar Anillo GMT Steel and Rose Gold so we can focus on the design. Despite its remarkable and original shape, the 316L steel case has a 100m water resistance rating. As you can see in the pictures, its dimensions are also not average. This angular case has a 36mm diameter, 12mm thickness, and 43mm lug-to-lug. The 4.92mm-thick Miyota 9075 “flyer” GMT movement inside allows you to set the hour hand independently. When you set the hour hand with the tiny screw-down crown, you’ll notice a distinct click. The Miyota 9075 was a veritable game-changer because it brought superior GMT functionality to an affordable level. No, you won’t wonder if you want a GMT-Master II or a Papar Anillo GMT, but plenty of “caller” GMTs out there have a reason to fear Miyota 9075-equipped watches.
I love the Papar Anillo GMT, and here’s why
The way the Papar Anillo GMT displays a second time zone is one of many reasons I love this watch. It’s also the bridge between functionality and design. This “flyer” GMT displays the additional 24-hour time zone not with a central hand but through a rotating GMT disc underneath the laser-cut dial. There are 24 compartments in which a red or orange indicator highlights the time. The Paper brand logo at 12 doubles as a day/night indicator. It changes color throughout the day to visually represent the morning, afternoon, and night in the home time zone. Once you know where to look, it works. The readability is good and surprisingly intuitive. So, the functionality is on point, but how does the brutalist watch wear?
A bit of background on Papar
Since this is our first time featuring Papar on Fratello, some background might be nice. The Papar Watch Company is run by a husband-and-wife duo. It was founded in the high desert of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, by Josh, the designer, and Emily, Papar’s chief creative officer. The brand now operates out of the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. For their first watch, Emily and Josh found inspiration in vintage watch design, brutalist architecture, and — get this — paper planes. The name is a combination of papel, meaning “paper,” in Spanish, and doblar, meaning “to fold” in the same language. You can indeed see the “folded” shapes of the Anillo’s case. The watch’s name, by the way, is Spanish for “ring,” which makes sense considering the contemporary interpretation of a sector dial with an outer ring displaying the second time zone.
Some background on brutalism
The term “brutalism” was invented in 1956 by Swedish architect Hans Asplund as a sarcastic remark about a project being built. The word originates from the famous Swiss architect Le Corbusier’s use of beton brut, meaning “raw concrete” in French. “Brutalism” is a lost-in-translation term, but it’s also a deliberate one to express disapproval. That’s sad when you know that Le Corbusier began to work with concrete out of love for the material. The first building he designed after World War II was La Unité d’Habitation, a Marseille apartment complex made with reinforced concrete for 1,600 people of the working class. It was built with the best intentions and a positive perception of the future, so other architects followed Le Corbusier.
Angular concrete buildings were a great success initially, but these brutalist structures began to fall out of fashion in the 1970s as people started perceiving them as overpowering and cold. Today, stark and imposing brutalism is making a comeback with its unapologetic use of raw concrete and geometric forms. The Oscar-nominated movie The Brutalist plays a part in that, but so does the fact that trends come and go, and now it’s brutalism’s turn to be in the spotlight again. In a world of melancholic retro styles, brutalism’s much harsher, unapologetic design approach stands in strong contrast.
Other brutalists
The US$750 Papar Anillo GMT isn’t the only Brutalism-inspired timepiece available today. Two other watches come to mind — the Audemars Piguet [RE]Master02 Selfwinding and the Toledano & Chan B/1. Those watches share the edgy lines of the Anillo GMT, but the Papar has the edge in pricing. The steel Toledano & Chan costs US$4,000, and the sand gold “AP” costs €47,400. The huge difference in pricing makes these watches impossible to compare. Alas, this inevitably happens because there are infinitely fewer brutalist watches than, say, dive watches.
Wearing the Papar Anillo GMT
Of the two colorways of the Papar Anillo GMT, I prefer the “softer” one. The black-dial steel version is as hard as it gets. The contrasts in this model are very strong, partly due to its steel-colored hands, the red marker triangle displaying the second time zone, and the black nylon strap. The steel case’s dramatic, angular lines stand out because of the bare metal color and the contrast between the brushed and polished surfaces. Especially in bare steel, the watch case mimics a building in beton brut.
The rose-gold-colored version is a bit softer. Just as AP softened its angular creation by using sand gold, the rose tone makes the Anillo GMT easier to approach. It looks more inviting to put on the wrist, and that’s also because the colors used on the dial are softer. The hands match the case color, the middle part of the dial is a shade of beige, the 24-hour ring is gray with an orange triangle marking the second time zone, and the flange is executed in a grayish shade of green.
The Anillo GMT Rose Gold and Steel models feel the same on the wrist, of course. Sure, it will take some time to get used to a small yet thick watch that probably doesn’t look like anything you’ve ever worn, but how cool is it when you get to wear completely new stuff? I truly enjoy these moments. Luckily, I had the chance to try out the Toledano & Chan B/1 and the Audemars Piguet [RE]Master02 Selfwinding and get that sensation of experiencing something different and daring. The same thing happened with the two new Papar watches.
More details of the Papar Anillo GMT
The lined nylon straps’ appearance matches the looks of the case, and they come with angular, custom-designed pin buckles. Breaking these straps in does take some time, though, which initially causes them to push the Anillo GMT from its ideal position on the wrist. If these 20mm straps don’t break in quickly enough for you, they do have a quick-release system, so you can easily swap them out for something more supple. Still, I’d advise using the original buckle because it’s part of the overall look.
The shapes and details of the Anillo GMT speak to me. It starts with the case shape, which vaguely resembles a sharpened, edgy version of the Roger Dubuis Sympathie case. The straight-brushed “four-part” octagonal bezel is a geometrical joy with Escher-like qualities. It shows a subtle difference in height, and in combination with the round dial under the AR-coated sapphire crystal, the bezel becomes a hypnotizing object. The case’s detailed and distinct profile is a visual bonus, and because of the watch’s thickness, you will see it a lot. This is good because the different finishes stand out, and the dynamic interaction between shapes and lines repeatedly catches the eye.
Brutalist balance
It’s not all high praise, though. The small octagonal screw-in crown looks great and proportionally matches the watch. Operating it, though, is not the nicest horological experience. It’s just too tiny and angular. Since this watch has a GMT function — perhaps one of the last truly practical complications in mechanical wristwatches — you will interact with it more than you would with a regular three-hand timepiece. But the crown isn’t a dealbreaker. The price-design-quality ratio is in perfect balance.
I think the Papar Anillo GMT is a brutalist beauty, but what are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below.
