Review: the Sinn 544, a Tool Watch for Minimalists
Simple and sporty. That’s it. That’s the review. Well, sure, I can elaborate. Sinn likes to surprise us on occasion, and in the most Sinn way possible. Not by releasing something high-tech or with a ton of bells and whistles, though they occasionally do that, but rather by releasing something we didn’t realize we wanted as badly as we do. The U50 from 2020 is a great example of this. A simple concept, Sinn took their aggressive, modern dive watch design and shrunk it down to an easy-to-wear 41mm. It was a huge hit. Earlier this year, Sinn released the 544, a watch I don’t think any Sinn-head (not sure if that’s an expression) saw coming. Truly stripped down, the 544 is one of the cleanest expressions of Sinn’s no-nonsense, purpose-driven design philosophies. There is an expression I love that is attributed to Coco Chanel that goes like this: “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.” It’s a great ethos not just for attire, but all things design. With the 544, Sinn has nothing left to take off, and that’s part of its charm. With that said, there are actually two versions of the watch (technically more if you include strap options): the straightforward 544 and the 544 RS, which replaces the white seconds hand with a fluorescent red/orange (they say red, I see orange). So, basically, the fully reduced model, and the model that kept one thing on. Well, I lacked the restraint to request the pure 544 as that hand looked sexy, so ...