Klynt Geneve in steel – Hands-on Review

Klynt Geneve

A little while ago, we introduced Klynt Geneve on the pages of Fratello Watches. The brand launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for their Swiss made automatic watch.  You can find many similar watch ideas on Kickstarter. However, Klynt managed to come up with a design that the watch world has not seen for a while. Last time I saw such a time piece it was when Seven Friday introduced their models some 4 years ago. The two brands share several design features thanks to the same company behind the visuals of both Klynt and Seven Friday; it’s a watch that looks like an haute horlogerie piece, feels like one yet comes with a very sympathetic price tag. I wore a Klynt Geneve for a few weeks to give you a hands-on review on the watch. So, without further ado, let’s see what I found out.

Case

The Klynt Geneve is a large watch at 43.5mm yet is sits comfortably on the wrist. It’s 12mm thick so even though it is not the slimmest around, it does not bother at all and fits nicely under a jacket cuff. The case is amazing. As the company puts it “a subtle combination of the most advanced finishing techniques used in Haute Horlogerie: sandblasted lugs, vertical and circular brush effects and polishing.” The edges are sharp the details are cool and unique.

The case back is large even with the display window. 4screws hold it in place on the back of the watch case, you can see the limited-edition number with the other usual stuff (movement info, crystal info etc). I love the lugs and their pattern, especially how the company plays with depths and layers. This will be more significant when we look at the dial.

Dial

The Klynt Geneve is a time only watch with a date window and a seconds indicator. The date is between the 1 and 2 o’clock position in a cut out. It is not actually a date window as the whole dial is kind of open, close to a skeleton. The seconds indicator is at the 9 o’clock position, a big round indicator and something you’ve likely seen on another brand’s models – such as the one I mentioned above. The same design company is responsible for those watches as well hence the similarity. The dial must be the most significant part of every watch and it is indeed an eye-catching feature of the Klynt Geneve.

The two colors of silvery steel and dark metal have a nice contrast and the different layers and textures, as well as the depths, create a great unique look. Klynt Geneve calls it “one of the most complex dials ever made” and while I cannot comment on that, one thing is for sure; it truly is a watch face you instantly love when you lay your eyes on it. You find the Klynt logo at 4 the solid Swiss Made at 6 and even a few details about the movement under the second disc. This, meaning the movement, makes the Klynt Geneve eligible for the Swiss Made trademark. So, what is it exactly?

Movement

Let there be no misunderstanding, Klynt Geneve watches are not only Swiss Made because of the movement. The movement arguably has the largest impact on this claim but the watches are also assembled in Switzerland. So, where other brands only use it as nice marketing bait, in this instance it is true. The watches are designed and manufactured in Geneve, though not 100% of course. The beating heart of the Klynt Geneve is a Sellita movement. It is the SW-290, an automatic 31-jeweled caliber with 38 hours of power reserve and a frequency of 28,800 vph (4Hz). While my model is only a prototype and has no decoration, the final version will have Côtes de Geneve (what else?) motif on the rotor.

Brands like TAG Heuer, Bvlgari or Baume et Mercier also chose this very movement in the past and it has proven to be a reliable workhorse. This is one of the reasons Klynt Geneve went with it. They opted for a reliable movement with original display of the seconds at 9 o’clock. Sellita just like Klynt is an independent brand which also weighed in the decision in when it was time to choose the movement manufacturer. While I was wearing the watch, it was working flawlessly and kept time as it should. Arguably the design of the Klynt Geneve watches are more important than the actual movement, but still the company did not comprise when they picked their SW-290.

Strap

The least interesting part of every watch review is probably the strap. I mean unless it’s a truly cool bracelet you cannot say much about a strap, right? Wrong! A strap should balance out the flaw of a watch or tone it down a bit if it’s too loud. The 4 different versions of the Klynt Geneve come on 2 types of straps; for the steel and PVD models you have black and for the gold and gold-PVD models you have brown leather strap with matching buckles.

In our case, you have a plain black leather strap with black stitching and no pattern. 22mm in size and curved ends to fit the watch case better. On the other side, you have the Klynt logo and the ‘Hand Made -Genuine Leather’ tags. The buckle is no ordinary thing either. It is a special design for Klynt sporting the logo.

All-in-all

If you like the watch and want to be one of the chosen few who can own one of the first series, you must back their campaign on Kickstarter. I absolutely loved the Klynt Geneve and wore it throughout the last few weeks. It has a great wrist presence and an awesome design (regardless what some people say) with a price you can barely beat in this segment. I mean 990 CHF (€925) gets you many things but not a lot of time pieces with such mojo. I hope the Klynt Geneve campaign will be a success and we will see the light of other creations from the band. First, however, they must succeed. I wish them nothing but the best and hope to hold the second Klynt model in my hand soon.

For further info on Klynt Geneve please visit their site.