Worn & Wound
Collecting: Why I Chose the Zeitwinkel 273° Saphir Fumé
Since I picked up the Zeitwinkel 273° Saphir Fumé in the fall of last year, I’ve been meaning to write something about it. It’s an incredible watch, probably the best I’ve owned, and I feel lucky to have it. That’s a strange thing to say, I know. I’m sure Zeitwinkel would happily sell this watch to anyone who was willing to provide the agreed upon amount of money – luck doesn’t really have that much to do with it. But there are things about this watch that are special and set it apart from other watchers I’ve owned that make having it in my watch box and on my wrist a unique pleasure. This isn’t an owner’s review, because what I really want to talk about with respect to the 273° aren’t the specs, or the finishing, or even the experience of wearing it (all are great, by the way). What I want to talk about is the strange route I took to focusing on Zeitwinkel and picking the 273°. It echoes, I think, the piece I wrote at the end of last year for our “My Year in Watches” series, where I talked about a renewed focus on independent brands. Zeitwinkel is about as independent as it gets, and that’s a big reason why this watch resonates with me – it reflects the very specific interests of the brand founders, and represents a certain no-compromises approach to watchmaking that can’t easily be found with brands owned by big luxury groups, and certainly not at the price point of the 273°. I’ll be honest here and admit that I was largely unfa...
