Who says that dress watches shouldn't be bold?: the Firle Sennen Automatic
When it comes to taste and preferences people usually have strong opinions, for example you could be a Beatles fan or a Rolling Stones fan, perhaps you like both but you do have to pick a side. The same happens with dress watches and sport watches, yes you might have the 2 on your collection but people around you (watch people) can easily put you on the dress column or the sport column, this depends on many things from what kind of clothes you wear to even how you behave in social events. The dress category has a bit of an issue and that is that our life is not a constant martini party where you get to dress to impress, our life is much more active with a mix of gym, commuting and then work (sometimes even from home), that means that at least for me I do not have the opportunity to use a dress watch too much, this got me thinking: ''why can you wear a dress watch to all the activities mentioned?'' the answer is easy... it's because dress watches are a bit to serious, a bit to traditional, when you are holding that martini thanking your guest for coming and joining you on a lovely evening you don’t want to have the loudest piece of jewelry on your wrist, you want something cool but subtle, enter the Sennen which we are about to review.
I love every watch weather is loud or not, but it has to fit the occasion and that is why steel sports watches are so hot at the moment, that said nobody created a rule stating that dress watches should be boring and here in my humble opinion is the strength of the Firle Sennen automatic, it's has a mix of modernity and versatility that it will match perfectly with a sweater and jeans while going to the supermarket or with a dinner jacket on a black tie event, and that my friends is very difficult to pull.
The specifications:
The dimensions of this piece is what makes it so versatile, the case is 41mm which gives it more presence without feeling overpowering, dress watches are usually smaller but not the Sennen and this is a good thing because the dial is two-tiered enameled beauty. This dial is one of the darkest and most mesmerizing blacks I have encountered, the face of the watch is so dark that any small detail (like the minute track in white) makes perfect contrast while the large seconds hand reaches the far end of the chapter ring.
All the indices are applied and there are only 4 of them in a cross pattern, this for me was an excellent choice because it leaves the watch to breathe free, the dial also has minimal wording (just 3 very small lines and one a bit bigger) making it feel more like an precision instrument than a dress piece. On the back you have a display case back which houses an STP I-II (swiss technology production) automatic movement with a customized rotor signed ''Firle'' adding a nice touch and cool feature when you show the back of the watch.
On the wrist:
As I mentioned the Sennen fits like a glove, I believe the dial is the star of the show but not taking credit away from the case because without it, the watch will be like one of those amazing sports cars that can go 320 km/h but don’t have the tires to keep it on the track, the case of any watch is already half of the experience.
The lugs curved dramatically making the whole watch sit flat on your wrist and the 41mm size makes the watch very legible even with a slight glance. I am also happy to report that reflection is not an issue, the double indices at 12 are always very easy to spot as a point of reference. The version we got to review is in rose gold and it came with 2 extra vintage cowhide leather straps, one in cognac and the other in light brown. The straps are 22 mm which for the size of the watch are spot on and the quick system relief was very appreciated as I could dress up and dress down the watch as much as I wanted keeping the versatility of the Sennen.
Conclusions:
As you might be aware really enjoyed my time with the Sennen, I think a watch like this can blurry the boundaries of us having to choose between a sports watch and a dress watch.
I've also believe the size and the design are very strong making the whole package irresistible, every time I looked down on my wrist to check the time I ended up staring at the dial, this made me always looked twice which is not a bad thing when you have this beautiful piece to do it. I think what I love most about the Sennen is that I don’t have to create a fake party in order to wear it, I can just go out for a coffee and not feel overdress, sound like a simple statement but it takes a lot to get there, bravo to Firle for creating this amazing bold instrument which blends with both our day to day grocery shopping and elegant speech making.
The Firle Sennen is now live on Kickstarter, follow the link below:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/456138653/the-sennen-automatic-by-firle-watches
More information at www.firlewatches.com
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