Worn & Wound
Hands-On: the Zeitwinkel 240° Noir
It’s hard not to focus on price these days. The world has gotten more expensive over the last few years, and watches have not been immune to price hikes. Anyone following watch media in 2025 would be able to tell you that, and this site has not been immune. It’s the topic of the day in a big way, and ignoring it altogether would be a mistake on all fronts. Still, if you look back at the 13 years since Worn & Wound has been around, the narrative arc in that time isn’t about rising prices, it’s about value. In the more than a decade since Worn & Wound first came online, watchmaking has been dramatically democratized. Value has, in large part, been the name of the game, and increased access to complications, techniques, and materials has largely been a big part of what has kept me so interested in watches on a deep level - I mean, the idea that anyone complaining that a sub-$1000 GMT watch only had a caller movement would have been anathema to any collector just 10 years ago. Most of the value conversation in recent years has been focused on affordable watches, but a remarkable reality is that there is also value to be had if you take a step up. Brands at all scales have noticeably stepped up the quality of their movements, and while I’d never consider calling a 17,200 CHF watch anything but expensive, it’s hard to ignore that Zeitwinkel is offering (or at least trying to offer) something really special at a price that would have been hard to imagine not that l...
