Every watch brand is always trying to make better watches in terms of style and value. This is because luxury timepiece consumers demand functional, expressive, and unique watches. When a watch brand now offers infinite customization possibilities with a near impossibility of having two same watches, then people are more endeared to their timepieces.
The watch we are reviewing today is the Brüggler Bespoke Automatic Chronograph Watch. Brüggler as a watch brand is dedicated to making high-quality, individually customized bespoke Swiss chronographs for their customers. They offer a plethora of customization possibilities in terms of color and material (258 nonillion available combinations!!!).
They have eight watch lines that serve as a base; from there you can now be specific about each customizable detail. Before we talk about the customization process, let’s take a look at the engine and general dial design of the watch.
The Movement
Inside the watch is the TVRITIA HB 28-929 Automatic Movement from the Swiss movement ETA 2892-A2. It oscillates at 28,800 bph (4 Hz) and has a power reserve of 42 hours. The top grade has an accuracy of +/-4 sec/day to +/-15 sec/day. Other information such as 21 Jewels, Incabloc Shock system, 51 degrees lift angle, and Bi-directional winding direction further describes the movement.
Paired with the ETA 2892-A2 is the Dubois Dépraz 2222 chronograph module which has a deviation of about 0 to +6 sec./day well within the COSC standard which does require -4 to +6 sec./day. The combination allows for greater accuracy and noticeable reduction in service costs.
The quartz version of this watch is recommended if you keep your watch for several months before next usage and you would like to maintain its accuracy. However, it’s quite discouraging to see a movement commonly found in $500 watches, in a watch that’s over $5000.
Base Case and Dial Design
The watch case made from wither 316L Stainless steel is 40mm wide, and has a lug width of 20mm, just enough to offer the wrist presence needed for a casual/sports watch without necessarily being oversized. The case is well proportioned and has crisp edges, giving a sort of a conservative look but properly executed design. The watch is water resistant up to 200 meters, but it’s not advisable to use it as a professional a dive watch.
Over the case is a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides, a feature well expected at this price point. Paired with the case is a customizable bezel insert on a unidirectional rotating bezel. The bun-shaped signed screw-down crown and the other two pushers are placed in a perfect symmetrical Crown-Chrono pusher position.
Moving on to the dial, the watch has the three-eye chronographs, with hour, minute, and seconds registers. It also features lumed applied markers and lozenge hands standard in all possible combinations. At the 12 o’clock position is an applied Brüggler logo with the brand name engraved just below it. If you opt for a base model with a date window, it will be placed at the 4 o’clock position not obstructing any marker or register.
Looking closely at the dial, you’ll see the text “Swiss Made to Measure” faintly printed on both sides of the 6 o’clock marker. This means that every part of the watch is 100% tailor-made and manufactured in Switzerland.
Customization Process
The part we’ve all been waiting for, the customization process. There are preconfigured models available for those who don’t want to go through the process of customization. This, however, takes out the fun 258 nonillion times from it, I also can’t imagine having to spend all that money on a watch without having a say in how it looks.
To begin the customization process, Brüggler offers eight base unit models from which you can start. The Brüggler Watch Creator is well-defined; it immediately shows the changes and customizations you make to the color and material. The case is the first element on the list; available customizations include Brushed steel, Polished edges, Steel DLC anthracite, Gold, Rose Gold, Platinum, and Titanium.
For the bezel, you can either choose the one with tachymeter engraving or the one with Gems. The Gem bezels have 51 gems on them, each with a 2mm. The gem could be diamonds, Medium-Dark Sapphires, Amethysts, Pink Rubies, and other highly-priced gems. The available bracelets are metal, leather, caoutchouc, and textile with about 60 possible options altogether. The front dial and the outer and inner sub dials can also be customized from 26 different colors and different materials.
There are limited options for the hour and minute hands as opposed to the options available for the subdial and stop seconds hands. The same options available for the hour and minute hands are also available for the icon and minute markers. I guess they have done their research and picked the best materials that can match other combinations, so your watch doesn’t look like a color riot.
Another interesting customization option is choosing from 18 different luminous colors for the minute markers and hands (finally, a break from the generic green and blue lume). Lastly, you are allowed to engrave a maximum of 24-character length on the case back.
Final Thoughts
It’s a difficult task to fit in all the possible combinations of this watch into this review. You’ll probably get bored of reading, which is why you can check out the combinations yourself from Brüggler’s website. You’ll definitely be able to customize the watch you have in mind.
The packaging of the watch is just icing on the cake. It is a glossy white and brushed silver box with a push button catch. Inside the box are fitted sections made with Premium Kamosho microfiber for the watch, straps, the watchmaker tool, and the booklet.
Brüggler states that it takes about six weeks to deliver your watch.
To have a look at all the design possibilities offered from Bruggler you can view their official website here.
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