Alvin Wong 07 October 2016

Time to ditch those Daniel Wellingtons, people!

SO YOU WANT A MECHANICAL WATCH? And don’t want to have to live on instant noodles for months ahead? Here’s a tip: Swatch’s Sistem51. Launched two years ago, the original collection had customers clamouring for a piece of the action. Why? At S$209 a pop, it is certainly one of the most affordable Swiss-made mechanical watches around.

IN FACT, SOME DIDN’T EVEN CARE THAT IT WAS REVOLUTIONARY. But not that you shouldn’t. Here is the amazing horological value you get for S$209. An automatic timepiece that is truly innovative. The movement comprises just 51 parts and offers 90 hours of power reserve. Those stats just about trump any other ‘normal’ automatic watch available today.

THIS YEAR, THE SISTEM GETS AN UPGRADE. The original models were colourful and clad in plastic. Which was great but perhaps a tad too casual if you were looking for something dressier or with a little more gravitas. Hence the Sistem51 Irony - there are seven new models and most of them are decidedly dressier. This is courtesy of new stainless steel cases – Iron-y, get it? – some paired with leather straps and others with bracelets.

SO WHICH SHOULD YOU GET? The fanciest of the lot is the bi-metallic Sistem Tux. For office-appropriate styles, one can check out the Sistem Boreal, Sistem Earth, Sistem Fly and Sistem Soul. The model that is closest in terms of aesthetic to the first Sistem51 models would be the Sistem Arrow, a pilot’s watch-style creation with rubber strap.

AND, AHEM, THE PRICE? They do cost a little more. S$279 for models with leather straps and S$310 for those with steel bracelets. There is even a ladies’ model called Sistem Stalac (below) with crystal stones on the bezel, priced at S$330. We think it is all par for the course, given the upgrade of case material. Even then, the increase feels manageable.

Alvin Wong

Ex Editor-In Chief

Alvin promises not to be a douche when talking about watches. He may have scoured the Basel and Geneva watch fairs for the past 15 years, and played an instrumental role to the growth of Singapore's pioneering horological and men's lifestyle publications, but the intrepid scribe seeks to learn something new with each story he writes.